IGERT: Integrative Graduate Research and Training in Evolutionary Primatology--Reinvigoration and Reorientation of NYCEP (New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology)

Cuny Graduate School University Center, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

NYCEP, the New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, is a graduate research and training program funded for the past 10 years by an NSF Research Training Groups (RTG) award. In drawing faculty from City University of New York, Columbia University, New York University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, NYCEP represents a rare combination of public and private universities together with privately endowed (and publicly assisted) institutions dedicated to bringing science to the public. Our consortium links over 45 faculty whose research perspectives on human and nonhuman primates include comparative morphology, paleontology, systematics, molecular and population genetics, behavior, ecology, and conservation biology. Students take courses in all these areas, attend seminars drawing on the staff of all five institutions, and have multiple opportunities to conduct original research at field sites, laboratories, and museums. NYCEP is unique for the range and diversity of courses and research opportunities that it offers. This IGERT award will further enhance and refocus our successful graduate training program by implementing a series of innovative educational, curricular, and research initiatives, as well as to provide support for the training of a cohort of talented graduate students who would not otherwise benefit from this integrative program. Since 1992, we have trained 110 students (including 63 females and 15 from groups underrepresented in science) with benefit from NSF/RTG funding, and we awarded 49 Ph.D.s. Of those with direct NYCEP funding, 22 have already received Ph.D.s, and many have obtained high-profile positions in universities, zoos and industry. We will build upon these successes by increasing our emphasis on the following areas: (1) professional development through student presentations and a new course covering the ethical conduct of science, oral and written communication skills, grant application, and job search; (2) student participation in international field research on behavioral ecology, conservation and paleontology; (3) visibility and public awareness, through an annual conference to showcase NYCEP activities and improve science literacy and interest; and (4) outreach to undergraduate, especially minority, students through interaction with college science programs on our campuses and elsewhere. Each of these features will enhance both the intellectual merit and the broader impacts of our program. This IGERT grant and associated university financial aid will support over 35 new students and fund about 180 student-years of graduate education. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In this sixth year of the program, awards are being made to institutions for programs that collectively span the areas of science and engineering supported by NSF.