REU Site: Integrative Marine Biology for the 21st Century (IMBio21)

University Of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, North Dartmouth MA

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, located in North Dartmouth, MA, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2016-2018. Students will be mentored by faculty whose research projects illustrate collaborative, interdisciplinary, and integrative approaches to the study of marine biology, ranging from the genetics of marine organisms to their ecology and behavior, as well as fisheries science and management and coastal ecosystem dynamics. Students will also be introduced to the historical, economic, and cultural contexts of marine biology through visits to the port city of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Weekly workshops will focus on research proposal development, research ethics, career preparation, and presentation of research results in poster format. Student skills and mindsets regarding conducting and communicating research will be assessed through poster presentations, writing, and surveys. Applications from first-generation and under-represented minority students at community colleges and liberal arts colleges with limited research opportunities are strongly encouraged. Applications and instructions will be available online at http://www.umassd.edu/cas/biology/nsfreu/. It is anticipated that a total of 10 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences as well as at a poster symposium at the end of the summer. Students will attend career-oriented professional development workshops and historical and cultural workshops where they will learn about relationships between marine biology and the social sciences and humanities. Students will also write about their research for a general audience through poems and blogs. 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.umassd.edu/cas/biology/nsfreu/, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Nancy O'Connor at noconnor@umassd.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Tara Rajaniemi at trajaniemi@umassd.edu).