**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** CURRENT ADVANCES IN AGRICULTURE HAVE BECOME MORE DEPENDENT ON THE ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX AND HETEROGENEOUS DATA, THUS INDICATING A CRITICAL NEED FOR A WORKFORCE THAT CAN MANIPULATE, INTERPRET, AND USE THESE DATA. TO FILL THIS NEED, WE PROPOSE AN 8-WEEK SUMMER RESEARCH AND EXTENSION EXPERIENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REEU) PROGRAM THAT USES ACTIVE LEARNING APPROACHES TO SOLVE CUTTING-EDGE CROP PHENOTYPING RESEARCH PROBLEMS. STUDENT TEAMS WILL COMPLETE INCREASINGLY COMPLEX SHOOT AND ROOT PHENOTYPING CHALLENGES, BY APPLYING STATISTICAL AND MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS, AND USING COMPUTER CODING TO VISUALIZE, SIMULATE, AND PREDICT INFORMATIVE CROP PHENOTYPES. DAILY ACTIVITIES WILL CONSIST OF MORNINGS CENTERED ON MATHEMATICAL, STATISTICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL EXPERIENCES, AND AFTERNOONS FOCUSED ON PHENOTYPE COLLECTION AND ANALYSES. THE FACULTY MENTORS AND PROGRAM COORDINATOR WILL JOINTLY DESIGN ACTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES, ASSESSMENTS, AND WILL PROVIDE DAILY STUDENT MENTORING. THIS REEU SPECIFICALLY TARGETS PARTICIPATION OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN, PACIFIC ISLANDERS AND OTHER GROUPS UNDERREPRESENTED IN STEM DISCIPLINES AT THE UH-MANOA CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES AROUND THE STATE, ALL OF WHICH ARE MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS THAT STUDENTS WILL ACQUIRE IMPROVED SKILLS IN STATISTICALLY SOUND EXPERIMENT DESIGN AND DATA ANALYSIS, AS WELL AS AUTOMATION THROUGH SIMPLE SCRIPTING THAT WILL ENABLE THEM TO BE GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE IN A KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY. THROUGH THE WEEKLY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS, STUDENTS WILL LEARN ABOUT DATA-RELATED AGRICULTURAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES, DEVELOP CRITICAL THINKING, IMPROVED COMMUNICATION, PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND TEAMWORK SKILLS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE NATION'S FUTURE AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE.