Student Research, Made in R and Python
Students in my group analyse their data in R or in Python, whichever suits the project. Each clip below is a published student project, re-run from the student’s own data and method. The six projects shown so far were all made in R. Every map and graph on screen is real R output, and every number was checked against the student’s poster. The students are co-authors of the work, and the full citation closes each clip.
The clips are silent and run for about twenty seconds each. Each one plays once as it comes into view; point at a clip to play it again. Click or tap a clip to watch it full screen, and click again to return.
Monitoring Earthquakes in New York (MENY)
A live earthquake map of the New York region, built with
shiny and leaflet from United States Geological
Survey records, and presented at the Geological Society of America.
Open the live app.
William Jones is now a doctoral student at Temple University, working on
seismic analysis.
Jones, W., & Marsellos, A. E. (2025). Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 57(3). doi:10.1130/abs/2025NE-407847
Is the sea eating away Belitung Island?
Eight digitised outlines of the island, 1990 to 2024, measured with the
package sf. A quarter of the lost land lies more than one
kilometre inland, and the water bodies inside the island more than doubled.
Liu, Chace Nusantoro, & Marsellos, A. E. (2026). HUSSRP Students Conference, Hofstra University. High school researcher. Poster (PDF)
Which parts of Rumson, New Jersey, flood first?
A United States Geological Survey elevation model flooded foot by foot
with the package terra. Every extra foot of sea-level rise
floods more land than the foot before.
Demma, G., & Marsellos, A. E. (2026). HUSSRP Students Conference, Hofstra University. High school researcher. Poster (PDF)
More heatwaves at sea?
Forty-one years of daily sea surface temperature, analysed with the
package heatwaveR. The clip uses the whole 1982 to 2022
record as its baseline: 56 of the 70 heatwaves began in 2009 or later.
Cann, I., & Marsellos, A. E. (2025). Hofstra Undergraduate Research & Creativity Day. Poster (PDF)
Is the 11-year sunspot cycle steady?
Two centuries of sunspot numbers and a wavelet analysis with the
package WaveletComp. The cycle is always there, but its
length moves between about 10 and 11.4 years.
Colucci, D., & Marsellos, A. E. (2025). Hofstra Undergraduate Research & Creativity Day. Poster (PDF)
Do the crystals in a deformed rock point the same way?
323 quartz crystals traced on a microscope photograph, then a rose
diagram drawn with ggplot2. 37 percent of the crystals point
within one 30-degree range, against about 17 percent for random directions.
Persaud, D., & Marsellos, A. E. (2025). Hofstra Undergraduate Research & Creativity Day. Poster (PDF)
Learn R at Hofstra
The course Intro to R for Geoscience and Sustainability (Earth Data Analytics), 2 credits, starts from the first line of code and works with real climate, groundwater, air quality and map data. No coding experience is needed, and all course materials are provided free. It is open to undergraduate and graduate students.
In Fall 2026 the course has no catalog listing of its own, so it registers under these two codes:
- Undergraduate students: INDEPENDENT SPECIAL PROJECTS 152-01
- Graduate students: GRAD IND STUDY IN SUSTNABILITY 251-02
Hofstra’s last day to add a Fall 2026 course is September 27, 2026. Write to Dr. Marsellos (antonios.e.marsellos@hofstra.edu) or to Jilly Duffy in the department office (jilly.duffy@hofstra.edu), and either of us will guide you through registration. After that date, write to be kept informed about a possible next run. Office: Gittleson Hall (GTLSN), Room 138.
More student work: the Poster Wall, and the full lists for university and high school researchers.