REU Site: Climate and Atmospheric Science Research Experience in the Center for Climate and Aerosol Research at Portland State University

Portland State University, Portland OR

Investigators

Abstract

This Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site supports a ten-week intensive summer program for undergraduates to conduct atmospheric and climate science research through the Portland State University (PSU) Center for Climate and Aerosol Research (CCAR). The program will support ten undergraduate scholars per year to work with an interdisciplinary team of faculty mentors towards the goal of investing in a sustained and diverse atmospheric science research community. The REU site recruits and is designed to be particularly effective for rural Northwest and Native American students by focusing on geoscience and incorporating elements of a practical environmental orientation, outdoor field work, and assessment of student participants through a range of deliverables. The specific objectives of the program are to: (1) train a diverse cohort of students from universities and colleges across Oregon & Washington in atmospheric science research; recruiting efforts will focus on students currently underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields including Native Americans and students from rural areas with limited or no opportunities for research experience at their own colleges and universities, and on those students for which such experience would come with significant financial or personal burdens; (2) provide in-depth education to participating students in atmospheric and climate science, opportunities not typically available to undergraduates; (3) teach skills transferable across STEM research fields (e.g., scientific inquiry, hypothesis testing, information literacy, critical thinking data analysis, computer programming, research instrumentation, laboratory and field research science, oral and written communication); (4) mentor students in independent interdisciplinary research, guided by PSU atmospheric science faculty. Successfully addressing the four REU site goals will promote retention in STEM disciplines while increasing the diversity of scientific researchers. Through partnerships with our regional community colleges and rural four-year institutions and leveraging significant institutional resources at PSU, the REU site will recruit a strong and diverse pool of scholars with a regional reach. Once at PSU, the program aims to further foster a sense of belonging (identity) for rural, Native American and other underrepresented students in STEM fields throughout the REU experience. Training undergraduate research scientists has direct benefit to REU scholars and will support their development as researchers in these fields as select students pursue careers in climate and atmospheric sciences. The technical laboratory, field and computational training they receive and the professional development provided through the REU for all participants will be applicable to a range of STEM disciplines regardless of their final career trajectories. Finally, this REU site will impact and elevate research in climate and atmospheric science at PSU as a whole and will help improve accessibility, quality, and diversity of research experiences for undergraduates. Through presentations and a planned publication, the REU site will share the program and its evaluation with other geophysical undergraduate-based research programs across the United States and globally. 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.