REU Site: Indigenous America to Indigenous Mekong - Adventures in Biology and Biodiversity

University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award (co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering) to the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, AR, will support the training of 8 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2018-2020. Research will be conducted in two countries of the Lower Mekong Basin in Southeast Asia, specifically, Vietnam and Thailand (in alternating years). Students will engage in projects focused on research in climate science, microbiology, ethnobotany, aquatic biology (fish, microalgae, and aquatic plants), biofuels sciences, and small mammal ecology. The overarching theme relates to Food, Energy, and Water systems. Students will receive training in responsible conduct in research, lab and field safety, and scientific writing. Students who are U.S. citizens, US nationals, or permanent residents are eligible to apply. Although GPA and academic performance will be one factor considered in selection, any high-potential undergraduates especially those from economically-disadvantaged communities and those from groups which have been historically underrepresented in the sciences are strongly encouraged to apply regardless of GPA. It is anticipated that a total of 24 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. The goal is to use this Site program as a method of enhancing the theoretical and technical skills of the students to facilitate successful completion of bachelor's programs in STEM and either admissions into graduate programs or entry into successful careers in their respective fields of study. A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about this is available by visiting http://fulbright.uark.edu/departments/biology/undergraduate/mekong-reu or by directly contacting the PI (Dr. Ruben Michael Ceballos at ceballos@uark.edu).