REU Site: Statistical Models with Applications to Geoscience

Florida Institute Of Technology, Melbourne FL

Investigators

Abstract

In an effort to broaden participation in the geosciences, this 8-week summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the Florida Institute of Technology will recruit students from community colleges and minority serving institutions. Eight undergraduate students per summer will be immersed in hands-on learning activities and research projects designed to both encourage them into and prepare them for careers in the geosciences. To accomplish this, participants will first be exposed to basic statistical models and computer programming skills and then will apply those skills to their geoscience related projects. To promote teamwork and esprit de corps, students will work in groups of two in four specific project areas that share a common theme related to a changing climate. The individual projects, which link climate impact on rainfall patterns to water quality and sea level rise with melting glaciers, address key geoscientific problems and issues. Making these connections between projects and disciplines is an important outcome that will be achieved through various activities including workshops, engaging discussion, and mentorship. Professional development activities include team building, presentation and personal interaction skills, preparing for and applying to graduate school, and career opportunities and options. This is an 8-week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the Florida Institute of Technology. This REU Site will recruit underserved and underrepresented students from community colleges and minority institutions. The participating undergraduate students will be immersed in hands-on learning activities and research projects designed to both encourage and prepare them for careers in the geosciences. Eight students per summer in groups of two will work on four research projects with a unifying theme of statistical models with applications to real geoscience problems. Cross-fertilization and connections are important components in geoscience research and synthesizing various scientific disciplines can help to emphasize areas of common interest. Students will work on four diverse projects in this REU program of which climate change forms the nexus. These projects address climate-related impacts involving changes in precipitation patterns, mountain glaciers, benthic communities/coastal estuarine water quality, and ciguatoxins that make fish poisonous. The diverse set of projects integrates accumulated knowledge from individual disciplines and applies that knowledge toward the understanding of connected geoscience processes ranging from the local to global scale. Students will learn basic statistical analysis methods and tools and then implement them using a programming language applied to their geoscience projects. The participants will also learn how to interpret and present their research findings. Professional development activities include team building and personal interaction skills, preparing for and applying to graduate school, and career opportunities and options. 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.