(04/24/17) BATON ROUGE, La. – Madelyn Smith, a sophomore from Lafayette studying natural resource ecology and management (NREM) in the LSU College of Agriculture, spent the past year photographing and collecting stories from Louisiana communities threatened by coastal erosion. The book that resulted from her work, “Louisiana Gone,” is filled with black-and-white images and essays that detail life along Louisiana’s vulnerable coastline.

Smith is a 2017 recipient of the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship, which is awarded to only 50 college sophomores and juniors in the country and recognizes a student’s commitment to issues related to the environment. Smith believes her book played a role in her receiving the scholarship.

“I sent in photographs from the book with my application,” Smith said.

The Udall Foundation awards scholarships, fellowships and internships for study in fields related to the environment and to American Indians and Alaska Natives in fields related to health care and tribal public policy. As an Udall scholar, Smith will travel to Tucson, Arizona, this summer for a conference with other Udall scholars, where they will be charged with trying to find a solution to an environmental issue.

“This is a chance for us to network, but also collaborate,” Smith said.

Smith, who is also in the Ogden Honors College, received a grant from the Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors Leaders Award to complete the book. Smith is minoring in painting and drawing and said the book blended her interests in outdoors and fine arts.

She worked with Trent Andrus, a junior studying mechanical engineering at LSU, to take photographs and with Courtney Beesch, a sophomore studying digital culture at Arizona State University, to lay out the book.

Smith said the book is a call to action. “Our goal is to record a glimpse of what will be lost if we do not respond with haste to this crisis,” she said.

Michael Kaller, an associate professor in the LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources, serves as an adviser to Smith and recommended her for the scholarship.

“Madelyn is a leader and is committed to service to the LSU community and the Louisiana Gulf of Mexico coast,” he said, adding her book “documents how climate change and environmental mismanagement impact residents in and around vulnerable and declining wetlands.”

Smith serves as president of the Sierra Student Coalition, which she co-founded. This summer she will spend three weeks in Thailand with the LSU in Thailand program, which focuses on sustainable agriculture. She plans to study shrimp farms in mangrove forests and compare that industry with the Louisiana oyster industry.

She said she plans to attend graduate school and study sustainable land management and policy.

For Presentations:

In the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math category (Oral Competition) McKenxie Brandon and Madelyn McFarland, NREM, received 2nd Place with a presenation titled: Effects of Timber Harvest on Avian Abundance and Diversity. Their mentor was Dr. Kevin Ringelman.

The Discover Day 2017 visitors voted for their favorite student presenters in the “Tiger’s Choice” awards. Madelyn Smith and Trent Andrus, RNR undergraduates, were winners here. They participated in the Juried Art Show with a project titled: Louisiana Gone. Their majour pre

Several students also presented posters, describing their research efforts

Greer Darden
Project title: Response of Microbial Biofilm Structures under the Stress of Elevated Environmental CO2 Concentration
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Wei Xu

Kathryn Davis
Project Title: Range Fluctuation of Bachman's Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) in the Early 20th Century
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sabrina Taylor

Courtney Healy
Project title: Response of Calreticulin in the Eastern Oyster under Stress of Increased Environmental CO2 Concentration
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Wei Xu

Jace Hood
Project title: The Effects of Ocean Acidification on Prymnesium parvum
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Reagan Errera

Julie Huynh
Project Title: The LSU College of Agriculture Undergraduate Experience: An Evaluation of Minority Student Activities, Preferences, and Needs Faculty Mentor: Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lucien Laborde

Sarah Thomas
Project title: The Ecological Importance of Dragonflies and Damselflies Faculty Faculty Memtor: Dr. Michael Kaller

Working closely with a faculty mentor is the gateway to becoming involved in undergraduate research and creative endeavors here at LSU. By working alongside a faculty mentor, students will gain insight into the research and creative process as well as hands-on, real-world experiences in their chosen field of study