Hometown: Cedar Falls, Iowa
Faculty mentor: Jessica Meyer, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Degree program and anticipated graduation date: BS in geoscience, environmental science minor, Spring 2025

Henry Frederick is an undergraduate academic research assistant in the UI Hydrogeology Research Group, where he contributes to a long-term project concerned with contaminant movement in groundwater at site in Wisconsin. In Summer 2024, Frederick led an effort at the site to deploy a new piece of technology that uses fiber optic sensors to continuously monitor how the groundwater flows up or down when disturbed. Currently he is analyzing data, which is revealing groundwater flow patterns that researchers did not see in previous studies. Understanding how groundwater systems work and the effects that contaminants have on these systems is important because groundwater is frequently used as a source of drinking water.

Frederick plans to continue researching hydrogeology in graduate school, earning a PhD and becoming a research professional.

Banner location: Downtown—