Govs Go Abroad: Tanner Sigears

By: Colby Wilson August 30, 2024

Tanner Sigears, a junior earth and environmental sciences major at APSU, visits the Czech Republic on a research trip offered through the National Science Foundation.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — When Tanner Sigears boarded a plane bound for the Czech Republic, he carried more than just his luggage. The junior earth and environmental sciences major packed a wealth of curiosity and a handful of peculiar glass samples.

Sigears' journey was part of the National Science Foundation's International Research for Students (IRES) program, a grant-funded initiative that catapults young scientists into the global research arena. For Sigears, this meant swapping the familiar labs of Austin Peay State University's (APSU) College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for the cutting-edge facilities at the University of Pardubice in the Czech Republic.

"This was my first research opportunity," Sigears said. "It definitely spoiled me for lab work. I wasn't treated like a student but like a grad student or someone who worked at the university."

The focus of Sigears' research was slag glass, the often-overlooked byproduct of iron foundries that once dotted the Middle Tennessee landscape.

"There's an interesting geological pattern to where all these old foundries went in a semi-linear pattern," Sigears said. "While we can't investigate the original ore that was mined at these sites, the slag glass was left behind. We can do geochemical analysis on it to retrieve information about the original ore and determine why this depositional pattern occurred."

Armed with samples prepared at APSU, Sigears immersed himself in the world of advanced spectroscopy at Pardubice. The university's state-of-the-art scanning electron microscope opened new avenues in his investigation.

A typical day for Sigears began at 8 a.m., with hours spent poring over academic journals, reviewing data, and attempting to unravel the meaning behind his results. The collaborative environment at Pardubice pushed him to think critically and independently.

"The graduate students we worked with encouraged us to ask questions and learn the machinery, not just how to interpret the results," Sigears said. "We weren't being spoonfed anything; we had to learn how these methods happened and what the data actually meant."

The experience wasn't without its challenges. Language barriers created minor hiccups, and a missed train in Germany led to some nerve-wracking moments. However, these obstacles only strengthened Sigears' resolve and adaptability.

"We're taught over here that there's very little interaction between scientific fields," he said. "Pardubice really threw a wrench into that idea. There were physicists who are also chemists working with the glass, and it was interesting to see how those scientific fields all work together. It gave me confidence that if I go into mineralogy, I can still interact with other fields in science."

The research yielded intriguing results, revealing the presence of unexpected trace elements like strontium, chromium, copper, and zirconium within the slag samples.

"We're investigating whether that's something added during the smelting process or something that came naturally in the soil," Sigears said.

As for the practical applications of his research, Sigears sees potential in products where slag is mixed into cement as a recycling measure, commonly called Portland slag cement.

"We need to look at the possibility of transition metals potentially contaminating the soil," he said. "The results we've seen so far indicate no concern for contamination, but there's a lot of investigation that needs to go on to see if this is an overarching pattern for all the slag or just within the Middle Tennessee region we selected."

This hands-on experience proved transformative for Sigears, helping him narrow his focus within a vast field.

"Before this experience, I didn't know what kind of specialized field I wanted to go into," he said. "I was between sedimentology and mineralogy, which are really opposite ends of the spectrum. But working with the glass is more mineralogy, and seeing that play out in the laboratory – how chemistry and physics interact with mineralogy – it helped me determine that's what I want to pursue."

The National Science Foundation's International Research for Students (IRES) program gives students like APSU’s Tanner Sigears opportunities for both cultural immersion and academic research.

Beyond the lab, the IRES program offered Sigears a chance to immerse himself in European culture. Weekends were spent exploring the Czech Republic, with excursions to Brno and Prague. His travel radius grew during the seven-week trip, with journeys to Dresden, Germany, and Vienna, Austria.

For students considering similar international research opportunities, Sigears offers simple advice: "Don't be afraid. I was horrified to go over to the Czech Republic when I first signed up. I thought I was really in over my head. But as soon as I stepped off the plane, it was fine."

Sigears' journey from Clarksville to Pardubice and back again represents more than just a summer abroad. It's a testament to the transformative power of international collaboration in scientific research and the invaluable experiences awaiting APSU students willing to explore new horizons.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation International Research for Students (IRES) grant (Project No. NSF OISE-2106457).

About the Austin Peay College of STEM

The College of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) provides studies for students in the areas of agriculture, astronomy, aviation sciences, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental sciences, engineering physics, engineering technology, information technology, mathematics, medical laboratory sciences, radiologic sciences and physics. Our outstanding, discipline-based programs are student-centered and designed to prepare students for responsible positions at all levels of research, industry, education, medicine and government positions.