Research Experience for Undergraduates in the Geosciences

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

This Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site grant will support twelve undergraduate researchers in Solid Earth Geophysics each summer. The program will give undergraduates majoring in geology, geophysics, physics, chemistry and other closely related disciplines, experience in the types of research conducted at the Geophysical Institute. The program objective is to acquaint undergraduates with the research opportunities in the various fields of geophysics, concentrating on seismology, volcanology, geochronology, geochemistry, paleomagnetics, geodesy, tectonics, glaciers and sea ice, and remote sensing and encouraging them to go onto graduate school in these or other scientific areas. Women and minorities will be particularly encouraged to apply. In this program, students will work in one of three, 4-member project teams with the following emphases. Team I will have an emphasis in Seismology and Deformation in Alaska, team 2 will have an emphasis in Geochronology, Petrology and Volcanology in Alaska, and team 3 will have an emphasis in Remote Sensing in Alaska. The students will spend 10 weeks working full time on research projects under the supervision of a team project mentor, in conjunction with other individual investigators in the various fields. Through their contacts with faculty, graduate students, and research staff, and by attending seminars and thesis defenses, the students will obtain an accurate perspective of graduate student life. This program will give undergraduate students, many from small liberal arts colleges, the opportunity for in-depth exposure to the fields of solid earth sciences before they make decisions regarding graduate school. As part of the program, there will be an organized series of weekly lectures and field trips to expose interns to other fields of research beyond the scope of their own projects. At the end of the summer each team will be required to submit a written report on their project, produce an AGU-style abstract, and make an oral presentation to their peers. One student from each of the three project teams will be selected to present the results of their team's work at a national meeting.