REU Site: Marine Research in Puget Sound for Community College STEM Students

Seattle Community College District Office, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The Seattle Community College District VI in partnership with the Ocean Inquiry Project will host an REU Site for Marine Science Research in Puget Sound for Community College STEM Students. This three-year project will support eight community college STEM majors annually from a variety of disciplines. Students will be selected from 16 community colleges in the Puget Sound region and will participate over the course of a year. This regional and year-long approach was designed to provide research opportunities to students who have few other opportunities to participate in research. Participants will engage in university-level in-situ marine science research contributing to the understanding and preservation of Puget Sound. The PI's, Ann Murkowski (faculty at North Seattle Community College) and Co-PI Marina Halverson (faculty at Seattle Central Community College) are partners on this project and together will provide the intellectual, administrative and mentoring leadership for the project. The eight students will be working in pairs, with two pairs assigned to each PI. The Seattle Community College District will serve as the fiscal lead. Central and North will provide lab space and computer support for lab processing and analysis. The Seattle Maritime Academy (SMA) (a division of Central) will provide the ship(s) and crew for cruises. Senior Personnel, Fritz Stahr and the Ocean Inquiry Project (OIP), will organize the cruises, provide instructors for the cruises, and provide any needed equipment and technical assistance for data collection. Faculty from the University of Washington's, School of Oceanography and scientists from King County Metro's Environmental Lab will be research mentors to the students.