Undergraduate Summer Research in Seismology - REU Site

Earthscope Consortium Inc., Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), a consortium of over 110 research universities and institutions dedicated to monitoring the Earth and exploring its interior through the collection and distribution of seismological data, will provide 12 undergraduate students with research experiences as part of its 9-11 week internship program. Students will have the opportunity to work with leaders in seismological research, to travel to exotic sites for fieldwork, and to produce research products worthy of presentation at large professional conferences. Given the Consortium's distributed nature, the program employs an approach that blends mature telecommunications technology and recent research on distance learning to achieve the spirit of a traditional REU site. The resulting blended REU model will create novel opportunities for interns to communicate with one another to more fully develop and express their understanding of the process of research. Students will also receive consistent professional development throughout the internship, and connect both in person and via technology to create and maintain a cohort experience while benefiting from the resources of the IRIS Consortium. This REU model has the opportunity to contribute to the growing body of knowledge regarding the application of telecommunications for distance learning, community building and the implementation of the skills associated with metacognition. The success, documentation and dissemination of this model will enable other organizations to apply geographically distributed resources to the development of their human capital. Additionally, this project presents an opportunity to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in the study of seismology. IRIS continues to work closely with minority professional organizations to raise awareness of the study of seismology as a potential career path. A key mechanism for achieving this goal lies in creating personal connections between the program and potential applicants through a lecture series that targets students in physics classes at minority serving institutions and features alumni of the internship program that are advanced PhD students. The site is co-funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.