ÑÇÖÞAV

Mason senior Eva Noroski spent a month assisting alumna and Elephant Trails keeper Ashley Fortner at the National Zoo, researching elephant sleep patterns.

ÑÇÖÞAV is known for meeting students where they are.

Sophia Chapin was the Honors College Multimedia Communications Intern from 2019 to 2021, during which time she improved the quality of Honors College student-, public-, and alumni- facing communications.

Black-footed ferrets were once thought to be extinct, until a small population was discovered in Wyoming in 1981. The species is still endangered, but scientists—including a ÑÇÖÞAV researcher and students at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC)—are coming to the rescue.

In December 2020, Willa, a black-footed ferret who died in 1988, was cloned using her cells that had been frozen. That clone, Elizabeth Ann, is now the first North American endangered species to be cloned in the United States. Senior Research Scientist Klaus-Peter Koepfli conducted critical research on her genetic cell line.

Outside their dorms, students at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) have visual access to rare and endangered species. On any given day, you can find them doing field and laboratory work with influential conservation mentors. Midway through the spring semester, the school known for its hands-on conservation training, had to quickly transition their courses online due to COVID-19.

Around the world, environmental crises are making headlines, from the potential extinction of species and ecosystems to climate change. Students in ÑÇÖÞAV’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP) are driven to make a change.
This year five PhD students in the department received grants from the Cosmos Club Foundation to tackle a wide range of conservation efforts.