RACER Group

faculty and undergraduates doing collaborative research on reptile and amphibian ecology and conservation

RACER Faculty

RACER faculty are teaching-intensive faculty with a passion for ecological research, education, communication, and undergraduate mentorship.

Dr. Jennifer Purrenhage
Department of Natural Resources and the Environment

wildlife, ecology, herpetology, conservation

Dr. Dave Steinberg
Department of Biological Sciences

ecology, evolution, herpetology, conservation


Each academic year, hundreds of UNH undergraduates are exposed to RACER projects through their coursework and a smaller group of 10-20 students commits to extracurricular participation in RACER projects. The students shown below have made particularly strong contributions to our collective work through some combination of summer research experiences, field technician work, project management, and independent studies.

RACER Students

Danae Streetsmith (Wildlife & Conservation Biology)
RACER Project: Vernal Pools (wood frog acoustics)

RACER Alum

Qiayra Randolph (Biology ’23)
RACER Projects: Redbacks; Vernal Pools

Mark Troiani (Wildlife & Conservation Biology ’23)
RACER Projects: Redbacks; Vernal Pools

Maeve Kelley (Wildlife & Conservation Biology ’22)
RACER Projects: Turtles; Redbacks; Vernal Pools

Watch Maeve’s UNH undergrad research profile ‘Wading into her future’ (2 min) & read Maeve’s plain-language article about her connectivity mapping research in the Spring 2022 issue of INQUIRY (UNH’s Undergraduate Research Journal).

Julia Powell (Zoology ’22)
RACER Projects: Redbacks; Vernal Pools

Maggie Sturtevant (Wildlife & Conservation Biology ’22)
RACER Projects: Redbacks; Vernal Pools