The Casperkill Project is an ongoing study of a stream that originates in Dutchess County, NY, flows through Vassar’s campus, and empties into the Hudson River. This project monitors the health of the stream and teaches Vassar students the skills required to address environmental issues today.
- Associated Press highlights Vassar evolution research through robots
Associated Press, May 31, 2009
- Biology Professor John Long does groundbreaking research on Predator X
Natural History Museum, University of Oslo
- Robot Spotlight: CoroBots and Microsoft Robotics Studio at Vassar
Robot magazine, Spring 2008
- Forum to look at saving stream By Michael Mayfield
Multidisciplinary URSI study of the Casper Kill, a 21-mile stream that flows through Dutchess County, is presented at a public forum.
Poughkeepsie Journal, December 21, 2006
- Robots' Swimming Test By Laura Blackburn
Professor John Long and his student research team evolved a population of Tadros (tadpole robots) over 10 generations in order to test some ideas about adaptation in vertebrates.
First published online November 17, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 0i (2006)
What Is URSI??
Vassar's Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) is an intensive 10-week summer program in which Vassar students explore original hands-on scientific research under faculty direction. URSI participants are engaged in the entire research process: they learn to formulate hypotheses, review scientific literature, develop experimental protocols, handle major instrumentation, gather data, analyze results, and present their findings.