| NSF Org: |
AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | June 3, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | October 21, 2015 |
| Award Number: | 1262634 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Manda S. Adams
amadams@nsf.gov (703)292-4708 AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | November 1, 2013 |
| End Date: | October 31, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $376,510.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $376,510.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1109 GEDDES AVE STE 3300 ANN ARBOR MI US 48109-1015 (734)763-6438 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
9133 Biological Road Pellston MI US 49769-9149 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | EDUCATIONAL LINKAGES |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001415DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
This REU Site at University of Michigan Biological Station will engage students in research that examines how virtually all ecological systems are now being influenced by global change drivers such as rising temperatures, altered precipitation, altered soil moisture, increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 and ozone, deposition of reactive nitrogen, invasive species, and habitat loss. Multiple global change drivers typically interact with one another; for instance, rising temperatures may interact synergistically with increasing ozone levels to impede terrestrial carbon storage, and with reduced soil moisture and increased atmospheric nitrogen deposition to facilitate the spread of invasive plant and animal species. Such biosphere-atmosphere-hydrosphere interactions are poorly understood, but are crucial components of global change science. It is therefore very important to train promising young researchers to identify and quantify these interactions in order that they may ultimately help solve the increasingly complex environmental problems of the 21st century.
The ultimate goal of this interdisciplinary REU program at University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) is to nurture young scientists to enter research careers addressing atmospheric, hydrological, and ecological causes and consequences of global change. The program provides comprehensive training via intensively mentored individual research projects, workshops in biogeochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, global change, ecology, experimental design and statistics, professional ethics, and communication, a weekly biosphere-atmosphere-hydrosphere reading group, and attendance at UMBS research seminars. The program emphasizes active participation by REU students in all phases of high quality research, from hypothesis formation through presentation of results in oral and written formats. Recruitment efforts will be expanded to include more partnerships with Underrepresented Minority Serving Institutions and institutions with limited opportunities for STEM research (including an on-site presence of faculty), a Recruiting Event at UMBS, and support for prior REU students to act as student ambassadors for the program.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The overarching goal of our interdisciplinary REU program was to nurture young scientists in a way that encourages them to complete their undergraduate degrees and to consider graduate studies to prepare them for research careers addressing the atmospheric, hydrological, and ecological causes and consequences of global change. It is our hope that our student participants will eventually help to solve some of the most serious environmental problems of the 21st century.
To achieve this overarching goal, for 30 students over three years, we:
- Provided comprehensively mentored training and experiential learning in all aspects of high quality research, from hypothesis formation through presentation of final results, and
- Provided an interdisciplinary perspective and a basic understanding of the fundamental atmospheric, hydrological, and biological processes that determine the responses of species and ecosystems to changing environmental conditions.
Student research projects addressed a wide variety of topics, such as the effects of severe precipitation events on transport of mercury from soils to lakes, the consequences of large scale tree dieback for forest carbon sequestration, and the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 on interactions between the monarch butterfly and its milkweed food plants.
To help them develop interdisciplinary thinking skills, each student was mentored by a committee consisting of the primary advisor (who acted as Chair) and the two program co-Directors (an ecologist and an atmospheric chemist). Interdisciplinary thinking was also emphasized in six content-oriented workshops addressing the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, and interactions among them.
An additional eight workshops addressed professional skills and ethical issues likely to be relevant to their future careers (e.g. experimental design and statistics, GIS and mapmaking, how science can inform policy, and how to succeed in graduate school).
REU students also attended a series of 8-10 evening research seminars, including several endowed lectures by invited outside speakers, such as “How mercury in Michigan loons is helping the United Nations”, presented by David Evers, Executive Director of the Biodiversity Research Institute.
Each week, students participated in a reading/discussion group focused important recent papers about atmosphere-hydrosphere-biosphere interactions, such as “Multimodel assessment of water scarcity under climate change” by Schewe et al. (2014). After the first two sessions, students chose the papers and facilitated the discussions.
At the end of the summer, students produced a journal-style paper summarizing the rationale, methods, and results of their research project, and gave a 15-minute conference-style presentation in the REU Research Symposium, which is open to the public. All student papers are made available online, worldwide and at no cost, via Michigan’s Deep Blue research repository.
Students completed comprehensive program evaluations after two, five, and eight weeks. Without exception, evaluations of all program components were very positive.
We also increased participation by underrepresented minorities and students from institutions that cannot provide a wide range of undergraduate research experiences (i.e. other than the nation's top R1 research institutions). During this three year award, we trained undergraduate students from 24 institutions located in 15 states and Puerto Rico; 41% of students were from underrepresented groups, 59% were from non-R1 institutions, and 72% were women.
Last Modified: 04/28/2018
Modified by: David N Karowe
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