Brooke Beers ’25

Major

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Project Title

Farm Project Field Assistant

Certificate(s): Sustainable Energy

I worked on the Three Sisters Project through the Rubenstein Lab to study the mutualisms of maize, beans and squash. Our goal was to experimentally test whether growing these three plants together helps crop efficiency and soil health. I was involved with setting up and starting data collection for the project, which is still ongoing throughout the fall. I was also tasked with managing the irrigation system, a combination of drip tape and piping that spanned four fields. I learned more about sustainable farming practices, some hands-on skills with tools and the basics of data collection and analysis through JMP software. I was most interested in the challenges of conducting research in an agricultural setting, where conditions are difficult to control. This internship sparked my interest in increasing agricultural efficiency sustainably, and I’m now interested in potentially pursuing a career in that direction.



Internship Year

2023

Project Category

Food Systems and Health

Organization(s)

Rubenstein Lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University - Princeton, New Jersey

Mentor(s)

Daniel Rubenstein, Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology, Emeritus, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Emeritus; Gina Talt, Project Manager, Food Systems, Office of Sustainability