REU Site: Undergraduate Research and Mentoring - Using the Lake Erie Sensor Network to Study Land-Lake Ecological Linkages

University Of Toledo, Toledo OH

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award to the University of Toledo's Lake Erie Center, located in Toledo, OH, will support the training of 10 students per year for 9 weeks during the summers of 2015- 2017. This REU builds science research skills through multi-disciplinary independent projects addressing key environmental challenges of land-water ecosystems (including harmful algal blooms, invasive species, and climate change) partnering academia, agencies, public sectors, and industry. This Lake Erie Center REU experience gives fellows an opportunity to work in the areas of environmental biology, geospatial technologies, and civil engineering, all linked via a Land-Lake Sensor Network. Tiered mentoring teams partner each fellow with a professor, a Ph.D. graduate student, and an agency scientist, networked within an Environmental Science Learning Community. All will receive ethics/responsible conduct of research training. Fellows gain formative skills to: (1) ask scientific questions and develop testable hypotheses, (2) master science terminology, tools, and techniques, (3) design and conduct original experiments, (4) build working partnerships, (5) analyze and synthesize data, and (6) present, publish, and communicate research. Online application information is available at the program website listed below. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students who are underrepresented minorities, first generation college students, women, veterans, or from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained for the science and engineering careers of tomorrow. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences, and a website, publications, and workshops. A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure (Directorate for Biological Sciences) will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students are required to be tracked after the program and must respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information is available by visiting http://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/lec/REU.html, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Stepien at carol.stepien@utoledo.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Czajkowski at kevin.czajkowski@utoledo.edu).