Daniela Aleman Perez ’25 has always had a passion for birds. She’s been alarmed at the steady global decline of bird populations due to a variety of the threats.
One such threat to the populations are bird collisions. It is estimated that over a billion birds die each year worldwide due to collisions with glass windows.
Daniela Aleman Perez ’25 presents her research on bird collisions at Union during the 35th annual Steinmetz Symposium.
An environmental science major with a concentration on ecology, Perez decided to focus on bird collisions on campus, which is home to a variety of species, including mourning doves, dark-eyed juncos and American goldfinch.
Each day from last September through November, she would walk a designated path through campus to document the number of bird collisions. She also enlisted the help of others to track the incidents.
She discovered for that period, there were 930 hits, many of which were fatal. Buildings with the most collisions were the Integrated Science and Engineering Center, the Peter Irving Wold Center and Schaffer Library.
“There is a large number of collisions here at Union,” said Perez, a native of Houston, Texas.
Perez presented her research Friday to a rapt audience in Karp Hall as part of the 35th annual Steinmetz Symposium. She credited Jennifer Bishop, senior lecturer of biological sciences, for helping with her project. Hands-on, faculty-mentored undergraduate research is a staple of the Union experience
More than 500 students showed off their research, scholarship and creative pursuits. The all-day event featured a diverse lineup of oral presentations, poster sessions and exhibits highlighting student research as well as dance and musical performances, an art exhibit and other activities.
Classes were canceled to allow families, faculty, staff and students to support projects from every discipline.
Aaron Rueter ’25 was one of the busiest students at Steinmetz. At 10:40 a.m., the mechanical engineering major from the Philadelphia suburb of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., gave a presentation in the Wold Center on the development of a water strider inspired robot. Water striders are a family of insects which use surface tension, as opposed to buoyancy, to support themselves on the surface of water.
Aaron Rueter ’25 was one of the busiest students at Steinmetz. In addition to giving a presentation on the development of a water strider inspired robot. He also performed at the Chamber Music Showcase and the spring concert.
From there, he hustled over to Emerson Auditorium in the Taylor Music Center to perform at 11:30 a.m. in a new addition to Steinmetz, the “Chamber Music Showcase.” Featuring live pieces or digital recordings performed by students, it was directed by resident ethnomusicologist and department chair Jennifer Milioto Matsue.
Following a break in the afternoon with his father, Michael, mother, Julie Stone ’86, and brother, Matthew ’21, Rueter, a tenor, performed in the spring concert at 7 p.m. featuring the Union College Schola Cantorum, Union College Choir and Union College and Community Orchestra in Memorial Chapel.
“I’ve been busy, but I’m enjoying it,” said Rueter, who will attend graduate school at Carnegie Mellon.
As part of this year’s event, the Templeton Institute hosted “The Powers of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research.”
A perennial highlight was the Lothridge Festival of Dance in a packed Nott Memorial. Eighty-nine students performed 14 works in an array of styles.
At the end of the show, the Edward Villella Fellowship, which allows exceptional students to expand their dance studies beyond the campus during the summer, was awarded to three rising seniors, all dance minors.
A perennial highlight was the Lothridge Festival of Dance in a packed Nott Memorial. Eighty-nine students performed 14 works in an array of styles.
Melanie De La Cruz, a political science and theater major who also has a Seward Organizing Theme minor, will attend Vassar College’s Powerhouse Summer Theater Program. Ava Duboff, who is majoring in environmental science and also has a classics minor, will study a variety of techniques at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, 92NY and the Taylor School in New York City. Jennifer Vil, a Spanish major with a minor in French and Francophone studies, will study aerial silks, lyra and heel dancing in New York.
Other highlights included the Steinmetz Symposium Student Art Exhibition in the Crowell and West Galleries in the Feigenbaum Center for Visual Arts. The exhibit features some 250 works by more than 80 students. Mediums include digital art, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. Subject matter ranges from family, romantic and other relationships to body imagery.
On Saturday, a concert featuring the Union College Jazz Ensemble, led by Professor Tim Olsen, was held in Emerson Auditorium in the Taylor Music Center.
This year’s symposium was organized by Matt Anderson, director of undergraduate research and associate professor of computer science.
For a complete list of presentations, visit the Steinmetz website.
The Steinmetz Symposium is named for Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1865-1923), who taught electrical engineering and applied physics at Union. Also a chief consulting engineer for the General Electric Company, he was widely regarded as America’s leading electrical engineer.
The first symposium was established in part by Margaret Schadler, associate dean for undergraduate programs, in April 1991. Sadler died earlier this month. She was 93.
The symposium coincided with Prize Day, which was Saturday afternoon in Memorial Chapel. More than 100 awards were presented to honor students for achievement in academics, leadership and community service.
Eastwood Yeboah ’25 and Gabriella (Gabby) Baratier ’25 captured the top two awards.
A double major in Africana studies and psychology from Germantown, Md., Yeboah received the Frank Bailey (1885) Prize. It is awarded annually to the senior who has rendered the greatest service to the College in any field. It is considered the most prestigious student prize at Union.
Baratier, a double major in history and English with a minor in political science from Altamont, N.Y., received the Josephine Daggett Prize. It is presented annually to a senior for conduct and character.