REU Site: Undergraduate Research in the Ecology and Evolution of Changing Environments: Mechanisms to Responses

Kansas State University, Manhattan KS

Investigators

Abstract

A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites award has been made to Kansas State University that will provide research training for 9 students to participate in a 10-week program during the summers of 2012-2014. The program has a broad focus on the mechanistic understanding of ecological and evolutionary responses to short- and long-term responses to changing environments. The 10-week summer program will provide participants with the opportunity to conduct independent research projects that address the mechanistic basis of evolutionary and ecological responses to changing environments. The summer program has six core components that will contribute to the professional and ethical development of undergraduate participants: i) independent research projects that train students in field methods, lab techniques, and experimental design, ii) a weekly seminar on modern approaches in ecology and evolutionary biology, iii) a set of ethics training in science workshops that focus on responsible research and the evaluation of case studies, iv) workshops in professional development, the graduate school application process, and specialized research skills, v) field trips to ecologically important field sites, biological collections, and genomic facilities in Kansas and Missouri, and vi) oral presentations of research results in a research symposium at the conclusion of the program. Over 30 faculty from the Division of Biology and Departments of Entomology, Geography, and Plant Pathology will serve as potential mentors. REU participants will have full access to individual mentor's facilities, as well as the facilities in the Ecological Genomics Institute and the Konza Prairie LTER site. The program's recruitment effort consists of both traditional "hard copy" formats as well as digital-based advertising. Students are selected for potential for outstanding research in biology. Participant career paths are tracked to determine the lasting influences of the research experience. Information about the program will be assessed by exit interviews and surveys, including the use of an REU common assessment tool. More information is available by visiting http://www.ksu.edu/reu, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Bruce A. Snyder at biologyreu@ksu.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Theodore J. Morgan at biologyreu@ksu.edu).