Recruitment of Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) talent into professional positions starts with a strong undergraduate academic preparation, usually continues with post-Baccalaureate training to the Master’s or Doctoral level, and finally culminates with employment in academic, government, or private sector laboratories. The most challenging and important transition is between college graduation and the next step, be it further education or employment. Oddly, there have been few opportunities for undergraduates to receive professional advice and mentorship at this time. This project bridged that gap.

      The 2013 Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Winter Meeting in New Orleans marked the 15th anniversary of the Research Experiences of Undergraduates in Aquatic Sciences (REUAS) poster session. This session was limited to undergraduates ONLY, and to posters only. It was designed to be an unintimidating venue for early STEM professionals to begin serious career-promoting interaction with advisors and peers.  It was a mechanism to enhance recruitment of bright students into Aquatic Science career paths, and it has apparently fulfilled that mission while also becoming one of the largest single sessions presenting scientific research. Early in its history, a commonly heard comment was “These are undergraduate posters?” while now it is a scheduled destination every winter for scientists seeking graduate students or, less frequently, technicians.

      Students nominated by each Ocean Sciences (OCE) REUAS site were provided with a full ride to the annual meeting, including all transportation, housing, meals, and society costs for registration and dues. In addition, networking activities involving other professionals were peppered throughout the weeklong meeting experience. These expenses were typically beyond the undergraduate budget, and advisors rarely supported them through grant funding.

      Support for undergraduate participation at professional meetings has at last come of age – already in the second year there were as many contributed posters as those invited by the program from OCE REU sites. Every few years the magnitude of the program was bumped up to keep pace with growth in the number of OCE REU sites, and together they demonstrated the great value of encouraging professional development of young scientists.

      During the 1999 Albuquerque NM meeting (its first), an undergraduate won the student poster award (in physical oceanography!). The program has stressed inclusion of underrepresented disciplines, particularly (bio)(geo)chemistry, physical sciences, mathematics and modeling, for example. Over the 256 students supported by the NSF, almost half were from non-biological specialties. More importantly, from the mid-2000s it has become increasing difficult to categorize individuals because of a burgeoning interdisciplinarity among projects. This speaks highly of both students and mentors in developing 21st century scientific ideals.       Since the early years of our program, other aquatic science societies have begun to recognize the significance of nurturing undergraduate research and career development. The North American Benthological Society, the Ecological Society of America, and even the American Geophysical Union have embraced inclusion of undergraduates. Indeed, aquatic sciences have been ahead of the curve, as usual, as evidenced by the current strong push from the highest levels of government to reverse the apparent tide of mediocrity in United States science education and “workforce development.” Today, almost every major scientific society has some venue for...

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