EXPERIENCE
Saving the bees is the focus of grad student’s research
Published August 2018
NDSU graduate students work alongside renowned scientists conducting world-class research. The advanced education develops skilled, innovative leaders who have higher job security and higher lifetime earnings.
Heather North, for example, is a student in the biological sciences doctoral program. She is working on a project to determine whether commonly-used pesticides have helped decimate the world’s honey bee population by negatively affecting a drone’s ability to mate with the queen. She works with Kendra Greenlee, associate professor of biological sciences.
North conducts field research by donning a full beekeeping suit to observe a buzzing beehive near the NDSU campus. The hope is to provide a catalyst for change in farming practices and the way humans treat the world’s pollinators.
She is getting the experience to become an expert in her field, while also preparing to become a college professor.
“I’ve felt empowered ever since I started doing research as an undergraduate at NDSU,” North said. “You feel like you are part of a team and you don’t want to let anybody down. Doing graduate research makes you feel like you are making a difference and making a contribution to science. It’s made me feel like I want to go forward and do even more.”
Learn more about graduate studies at NDSU.
