Way to Go! Students publish paleontology research

A Westhampton Beach High School duo who has participated in multiple paleontology trips recently published an article about specimen collection and identification in a science journal.

Jack Schultz, a senior, and 2022 alumnus Griffin Scheurer had their eight-page research paper published online by MethodsX, which is an open-access peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles on methodological advances.

Schultz and Scheurer's article, which was published online in August, lays out a methodology for the dissolution of sediment and calcareous deposits for paleontological specimen collection and identification, Schultz said. They were inspired to conduct research and write the paper after "dinosaur dig trips" they took to Wyoming — both on their own and through their school's paleontology program.

"We were trying to find microfossils, but there was no easy way to find them, so I said why don’t we make a methods paper on an easier way to find them," said Schultz, 17. "My research was basically using different types of liquids to dissolve the sediment to decrease the amount of sediment that needed to be sorted through."

Schultz is also a co-founder of his school's Model UN Club and a member of the National Honor Society. In addition, he sails competitively during the summer and fall months through the Westhampton Yacht Squadron and conducts research through programs at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University.

— MICHAEL R. EBERT

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.