REU Site: Environmental Biology for Pacific Islanders

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award to the University of Hawaii Manoa, located in Honolulu, HI, will support the training of 12 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2017- 2019. This award is supported by the Divisions of Biological Infrastructure (BIO/DBI) and Oceanic Sciences (GEO/OCE). Research will be conducted at the main campus of the University and its affiliated marine laboratories co-located on the island of O'ahu, Hawaii. The project focuses on training Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, a group under-represented in STEM. Interns will spend one day each week engaged in group activities (field trips, lectures, and instruction in the ethical conduct of research) and the remainder of the week in mentors' laboratories. Interns will choose mentors from 25 faculty investigating 1) terrestrial ecology and evolution (Depts. of Botany and Biology); 2) marine and coral reef biology (Kewalo Marine Laboratory and Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology); and 3) animal/plant-microbe interactions (Pacific Biosciences Research Center). These future island leaders will experience quality training to catalyze the development of their scientific careers and benefit their home islands A total of 36 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Two-year colleges in the Pacific islands of Palau, the Northern Marianas, Guam, Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and American Samoa, will comprise up to three-quarters of the intern cohort each summer, with the remaining coming from colleges in Hawaii. Students will learn to conduct research, write scientific papers and present research results orally in an end-of-program symposium. Many will present their research results at national scientific conferences and in publications in professional journals. A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by BIO/DBI will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program to follow their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information is available at http://www5.pbrc.hawaii.edu/reu/ or by contacting the PI (Dr. Michael G. Hadfield at < hadfield@hawaii.edu>) or the co-PI (Dr. Matthew Medeiros at <mcmedeir@hawaii.edu>).