GP-UP: Collaborative Research: Developing a diverse hydrology workforce through an undergraduate hydrological research experience in a coastal California watershed

University Enterprises, Incorporated, Sacramento CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This project will boost recruitment and retention of Sophomore and transfer students in hydrology and geoscience programs across three campuses of the California State University (CSU). Our program will engage with and support these students in the summer between their first and second year, or at the outset of their transfer, and provide pathways for them to succeed in hydrology and the geosciences. The CSU student body is ethnically, economically and academically diverse. Increasing participation of CSU students in hydrology and water resources science is critical to training a skilled workforce in this area, and therefore to securing California’s water future. The project offers a dual experience - a year-long learning community model where students work in small groups to complete research projects and gain transferable and subject-based research skills, supplemented by an immersive 10-day field experience at a hydrology research facility. During the field experience, students will contribute to cutting-edge research in coastal Californian watersheds, where rich habitat and summer baseflows sustain federally-protected salmonid fish species. Students who complete the program should have the motivation and skillset to pursue a geoscience career, and have strong resumes to apply to jobs, Masters programs and research internships in their home institutions or beyond as they reach their senior year. The program will recruit cohorts of students from San Diego State University, Sacramento State University, and Humboldt State University, all of which are minority serving institutions. The recruitment plan includes leveraging existing programs at each campus that engage students from diverse backgrounds in STEM disciplines. Students will participate in the experience in three stages: (1) Spring research preparation seminar series and cross-CSU webinars, (2) Intensive 10-day summer field experience with a cross-CSU cohort, and (3) Fall class for a sustained learning experience and presentation of results at a regional conference. Student research will be organized around three research themes: (1) Water held within and moving through the critical zone, (2) Water quality and aquatic habitat, and (3) Scaling up and human effects. Planned outcomes include development of research and professional skills, increased identities as members of the geoscience community, and increased student retention in the geosciences. 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.