NSF Award
0139392
This award provides funding to initiate a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site that will provide a ten-week summer research experience in estuarine science for a total of eight students each year. A team of over 30 faculty mentors will help the students develop research projects on the physical, chemical and biological aspects of estuaries. Their research site will be Charlotte Harbor, one of Florida's largest and most ecologically and economically important estuaries. At the end of the program, students will develop a presentation on their research project and will be encouraged to present their results at a major scientific conference. One important aspect of this REU site is that the PI will attempt to recruit at leat 3 or 4 Native Pacific Islanders (NPI's) each year. Recruitment of NPI's will be facilitated by a subcontract to the University of Hawaii's Hawaiian Internship Program. The proposal is based on the theory that mentoring and networking are the most effective methods for recruiting students into a profession and for training young researchers. This program will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the ecology of an estuarine system. Plans for the site include all the essential elements for an excellent REU site. The students will receive one-on-one mentoring from researchers and will gain a broad understanding of the scientific process. This program also fills an important niche in the continuum of program supported under the REU program by the Division of Ocean Sciences as it will be the only site that will focus on recruiting Native Pacific Islanders into ocean sciences.
