REU Site: Retracing the Lewis and Clark Expedition: Contemporary Aspects of Culture and Environment Along the Missouri River

University Of South Dakota Main Campus, Vermillion SD

Investigators

Abstract

The main goal of this three-year project is to develop a truly interdisciplinary ten-week undergraduate summer research program at The University of South Dakota (USD) that takes advantage of unique regional resources. Eight students will be selected to conduct research in NSF-eligible areas and will join four additional students in other, non-science fields with funding from USD. The overall program consists of three major components: (i) the research itself, including projects in a number of disciplines from a variety of departments, such as Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, and Archaeology; (ii) social and educational events, which rely upon the excellent and unique opportunities for outdoor activities associated with the river and surrounding areas; (iii) communication of research results, including the weekly Lewis and Clark Hour sessions with participation of the program director, students and research mentors, and student presentations at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and the USD annual undergraduate research conference, IdeaFest. This program provides a mechanism to expand the undergraduate research culture across campus and to more completely integrate student scholarship into undergraduate education. In an effort to provide research experiences to talented undergraduate students from other campuses in the state, USD will expand involvement to include students from smaller colleges and universities in the state and region and from South Dakota's two tribal colleges.