REU: Training Undergraduates in Science and Technology (TRUST)

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This award will support the participation of ten talented undergraduate students each year in the Training Undergraduates in Science and Technology (TRUST) program at San Francisco State University. The goals of TRUST are to: 1) prepare undergraduate students with the skills and inspiration to enter careers in science; 2) foster student development from relative dependence to relative independence through emphasis on critical thinking and student-driven discovery, and 3) prepare students for applying, entering and attending graduate schools through academic preparation, advising and identification of opportunities for fellowships and grants. The research theme of TRUST is the importance and relevance of genetic diversity. It consists of a two week DNA technology workshop, evolved from three years of prior NSF support, followed by eight week, individual student-driven research internships. Group activities include critical thinking exercises, trips to Sierra Nevada and Monterey Bay field sites, weekly informal round-table discussions, graduate preparation workshops, and bioethics and visiting scientists seminars. Student faculty interactions will be cultivated by a "mentor-in-residence" program in which different mentors will live with the group of students each weekend. TRUST is expected to increase the participation of women and under-represented groups in science because 60-70% of our student recruitment pool is represented by these groups. The culminating experience for TRUST students will be seminar presentations modeled after professional scientific meetings. After a summer's participation, students will be tracked through an E-mail network and annual contact by mail and phone. In addition, alumni of the program will participate as role models in 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 the various aspects of research i n environmental sciences, including ecology, systematics and population genetics. It will also help to inform young citizens about ethical questions in science and aspects of management and decision making in environmental issues.