REU Site: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships in Earth and Environmental Sciences (SURFEES)

Chapman University, Orange CA

Investigators

Abstract

This summer REU-Site program in the Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University will annually provide 10-11 students selected exclusively from 2-year community colleges (focusing specifically on under-represented minorities, women, and low-income students) with the opportunity to engage in research on interdisciplinary earth and environmental topics ranging from mineral-surface interactions to wetland ecosystems to extreme global weather events. Engaging under-served students in this REU-Site program is expected to create a more diverse population of science-literate citizens to address current and future scientific challenges. Measurable outcomes include the number of community college students remaining committed to STEM majors by transferring to and graduating as science majors from 4-year institutions, REU students' increased understanding of the research process, research ethics, and the value of research contributions to local and global communities, and the number of REU-Site participants who enter graduate programs or careers in the sciences. Chapman University campus resources and local community organizations will provide professional development workshops, give presentations at a weekly speaker symposium on scientific careers and internships, and prepare participants with the skills needed to be effective and ethical science researchers. Southern California is a highly developed urbanized area with considerable natural resources, resulting in a wide range of earth and environmental challenges and problems. Addressing these complex issues requires an interdisciplinary and educated workforce of scientists. Through participation in cutting-edge research with faculty mentors working at the forefront of their respective disciplines, students will engage in complex scientific studies on topics including the transformation pathways of pollutants, environmental impacts on intertidal ecosystems, effects of climate change on extreme weather-related events, and carbon sequestration in wetlands. These interactions will both provide valuable interdisciplinary research experiences to a typically underserved student population and drive the principal investigators' scholarly research forward. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.