The California Academy of Sciences Summer Systematics Institute as a REU Site

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This award will support the participation of nine undergraduate students each year in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program offered by the California Academy of Sciences' Summer Systematics Institute. The program is ten weeks long and recruitment on a national level will give emphasis to women and minority students in science. Each prospective intern would apply to work with an Academy curator on a research project. Successful applicants would take part in formal lectures in Systematic Biology, tours of each of the Academy's nine research departments and research seminars in systematic biology by scientists from outside the Academy. Students would work on directed programs circumscribed so that an introduction to the problem and organisms to be studied, as well as data collection, interpretation and dissemination can be accomplished. Each student will produce a manuscript of the project's results in the form of a scientific paper and will make an oral presentation of his/her results to peers. Evaluations of interns and participating Academy staff will be conducted each year to fine-tune/improve the program for subsequent years. This award will foster the continued education and training of individuals who will be part of the next generation of basic researchers in systematic biology. It will also help to inform young citizens about issues related to biological diversity and its preservation.