UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The spring of 2020 was shaping up to be a bad time for Eli Vogel to get some research experience outside of his academic home at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The physics major said he applied for the Penn State Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) that focused on climate science and solutions because he’s hoping to start a career addressing climate change response. But the pandemic put a halt to the in-person, 10-week experience at Penn State. It also prevented a key component of the REU, a symposium where students from across the globe meet up at Penn State to see their faculty mentors and peers while showcasing their research.

But that fully remote experience worked out for Vogel. He was overseen by Kenneth Davis, professor of atmospheric and climate science, researching how pandemic lockdowns changed greenhouse gas emissions. The work impressed Davis so much that he kept him on as a research assistant — still fully remote — for the next few years.

Vogel, now in the graduate program for environmental science and policy at Johns Hopkins, used that time to follow up on research borne through his REU experience. The results were published in July in the peer-reviewed journal Carbon Management.

Vogel’s research used COVID-19 lockdowns to show the sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in an area of Indianapolis. His work demonstrated that tools used to measure greenhouse gases could respond accurately to sharp changes.

He said Davis, whose research includes citywide monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions, was a perfect mentor pairing. He also said Natasha Miles, a research professor at Penn State and co-director of the REU, was invaluable.

“I’m really happy that I was paired with him. The work he does on carbon monitoring in Indianapolis is really fascinating,” Vogel said. “It was already very interesting before the lockdowns created this perfect opportunity to see how the change in activity affected CO2 emissions. It also gave us a chance to test the monitoring equipment’s ability to pick up that change, which obviously happened. That, too, was a great opportunity.”

Early on, Vogel said he knew he wanted to work on climate change solutions. He minored in political science and is most interested in the policy side of things. But he said the research tools he learned were crucial toward that goal.

“The research really intensified my interest in policy,” Vogel said. “I’m really interested in learning about the problem. My future in informing and shaping climate policy will help me work on solutions to these pressing problems.”

He said his REU experience already is helping him toward that goal.

Working at a volunteer organization in Maryland this spring, Vogel combed through research on protecting vernal pools, which are seasonal wetlands. Vogel looked at other states’ effective solutions for guidance on legislation.

“What I learned from the REU about how to find and synthesize information was helpful in making the bill’s language efficient and effective,” Vogel said. “The bill didn’t pass, unfortunately, but we have high hopes for next year.”

Davis said REUs are a great opportunity for students to get a taste of research. But taking that research to the level of publishing that work in a peer-reviewed journal takes considerably more time. During the REU, Davis said, Vogel showed he had the characteristics necessary for making scientific progress.

“Eli put some interesting results together this summer and had the motivation to stick with the research after the REU program was over,” Davis said. “Getting research published takes a lot of work. The level of care and detail required is very difficult to achieve if you can’t work on it full time. Eli stuck with it. He’s motivated, curious and persistent. He cares about getting it right. That’s what it takes to be a good scientist.”

The REU in climate science has been hosted at Penn State since 2016 and is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.