Biology Grad’s Research Paper Lands Award for Excellence

UCF College of Sciences graduate, Katherine Harris ’18, has recently been awarded the UCF Library Annual Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research for her published research paper on infaunal organisms (i.e. aquatic, sediment-dwelling organisms like worms or clams) on restored oyster reefs.

The announcement of the award took Harris by pleasant surprise when she was informed of being the recipient.

“I had absolutely no idea I was going to receive this award,” said Harris. “I was absolutely thrilled because so much work went into that paper.”

“Oyster Reef Restoration: Impacts on Infaunal Communities in a Shallow Water Estuary,” focuses on the restoration of different reefs and analyzes them based on the number and variety of infaunal species found at each. The project spanned a total of six months and is currently being continued by a graduate student in the UCF Biology department.

“I have had some really great motivators and mentors throughout my undergraduate experience at UCF,” said Harris. “I couldn’t have accomplished what I have without the opportunity offered to me by the biology department.”