Isaiah Roberts ’20- Ingenuity student since 9th grade
Middle School: KIPP Baltimore
Research Area: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Research Topic: Reanalysis of possible shorelines in the Arabia Terra region of Mars
Q: What’s fun or unique about you outside of your research?
A: “I lifeguard at the Frankford community pool. I had one save last summer.”
Q: When did your interest in STEM begin?
A: “I can’t remember not being interested in STEM. I’ve always been drawn to science.”
Q: When did you know that STEM is what you want to do?
A: “When I was a sophomore, I had Honors Chemistry with Mr. Wishart and that confirmed it for me.”
Q: What’s your topic of research, and why did you choose it?
A: “I’m remapping the shoreline data on Mars at a high resolution and a smaller scale to determine whether or not the shorelines are actual shorelines. If you prove that they are shorelines, it’s evidence that a body of water has been there.”
Q: Where did you do your research?
A: “At Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.”
Q: What was the best thing about going off-campus to do research?
A: “It’s a really good experience to go to Hopkins and get that college student feel. I had access to the lab, and could make my own hours. That was important because I was balancing my research with my other job and a college prep course that I took in the summer.”
Q: What was the hardest part of your research? Any surprises along the way?
A: “Finding my mentor. It’s really important to find a good mentor because you’ll be working with this person for the next year and a half. Also, learning to manage my time was hard at first.”
