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STEP-UP: Student Projects

By Office of Science Quality and Integrity

STEP-UP students support projects across USGS scientific disciplines.

A smiling woman with glasses and wearing a black shirt flashes a peace sign while working on a computer.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.
A 2022-2023 STEP-UP student smiles and flashes a peace sign while working on her project related to invasive species.

STEP-UP projects have included:

  • Geolocating data and delineating objects in ArcGIS (geographic information system software)
  • Sorting and counting of microfossils (foraminifera)
  • Identifying species in photos taken by trail cameras
  • Cataloging rock cuttings
  • Processing soil samples in a laser particle size analyzer
  • Using Drupal to migrate images and text on USGS’s website
  • Identifying bird and frog calls in audio files
  • Researching and authoring social media posts based on USGS ecosystems research publications
  • Identifying and labeling portions of the legends of geologic maps
  • Scanning records, scientists’ field notebooks, microfiche, and 35mm slides