Research Experience for Undergraduates in Coastal Bays of New England

Trustees Of Boston University, Boston

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides renewed funding to support the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) located in Woods Hole, MA. The goal of this program is to expose highly selected undergraduate interns, recruited nationally, to research in behavior, ecology, biogeochemistry, hydrogeology, and management of organisms and ecosystems within coastal bays of New England. The work will be done in various field sites along the coast of New England, under the direction of experienced research mentors. The program will support ten undergraduate interns for a total of ten weeks during each summer. Students will participate in weekly workshops focussed on topics such as career options, graduate school, statistical analysis, experimental design, and oral and written presentation of research. Each student will prepare an oral presentation for the Annual Scientific Meeting of the MBL and the reports will be published in the MBL Bulletin publication following this event. 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 is well designed to encourage highly motivated students to continue the their pursuit of research careers in oceanography. The program will encourage a diverse set of students to continue their education in the field of oceanography. In the past the program has had more than 50% female participants and has drawn students from across the nation.