REU Site: Research Experiences in Integrative Climate and Environmental Sciences

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES), a unit within the College of the Environment (CoEnv) at the University of Washington (UW), will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site for undergraduates interns. The project will bring students to the campus in Seattle, WA for nine weeks each summer for three years. Students will be recruited nationally from all major science and engineering disciplines mostly during their Junior year in college. Special efforts will be made to recruit students from under-represented groups and from community colleges. Each student will be matched with a mentor and a research project. Professional development activities conducted during the nine-week period will include a special lecture series, a Responsible Conduct of Research workshop, training on how to prepare a scientific poster, and discussions about graduate school with a postdoc/graduate student panel. During the summer each student conducts independent research and gives final oral and poster presentations at the end of the program. Mentors participating in this REU program will provide foundational training in core disciplines and promote collaboration across research fields. Students will be encouraged to present their results at scientific conferences after the program is over and/or co-author publications in peer-reviewed journals. As a multidisciplinary, cooperative institute, CICOES facilitates interactions between academic and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) government scientists and among academic units within and outside the UW CoEnv. CICOES’ REU program will immerse students in the process of how scientific research is conceived, designed, conducted, interpreted, and communicated. Students will explore the climate and environmental research in research projects about the earth system. Potential research topics include oceanography, fisheries, conservation and resource management, earth sciences, environmental engineering, and marine policy. Students will also have access to state-of-the-art analytical instruments, sampling devices, and modeling programs for their research projects that across multiple disciplines. 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.