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Lighting the Way

Woods Hole PEP (Partnership Education Program) student Ellin Rittler from the University of San Francisco worked with WHOI biologist Scott Gallager this summer to examine the use of Raman spectroscopy as a way to as a way to study and identify plankton. Raman spectroscopy involves focusing a laser on a sample and analyzing the wavelength of scattered light for clues to the chemical composition molecular makeup of the sample. PEP students spend part of their summer on Cape Cod gaining practical experience in marine and environmental science with researchers at six local science institutions. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)