Collections-Based Research Experiences for Undergraduates at The Academy of Natural Sciences

9731886 .由于在许多现代大学的科学项目中，学生们很少接触到有机生物学的收藏和研究，因此，从事以收藏为基础的研究的专家人数已经减少了。拥有强大研究项目的博物馆，如自然科学院，为填补本科教育的这一空白提供了机会。其目标是为本科生提供多样化和令人兴奋的研究经验，以努力招募新的年轻研究人员进入这个日益重要的领域。生物多样性、系统学和分类学以及保护方面的教育将使学生能够探索、记录和保护全球生物多样性和生态系统。申请者将主要从大费城地区（包括新泽西州和特拉华州）的大学中寻找，重点招收女性和未得到充分服务的少数族裔。奖学金将颁发20个，为期10周，学生将根据学习成绩，整体兴趣和潜在能力，两份推荐信和面试来选择。在为期一周的入门课程后，学生将选择一名导师作为他们研究项目的主要顾问。研究项目将涵盖与系统生物学相关的各种主题，包括进化、分子生物学、生态学和科学收藏史。学生将与策展人和资深科学家并肩工作，并将参与以收藏为基础的研究的各个方面，包括：在博物馆的世界级生物收藏品中进行研究，标本的收集和管理，参加实地考察，与科学家一起参加讨论小组，以及通过口头报告和出版传播科学成果。导师和学生的书面评估将被用来评估该研究项目的影响，并在随后改进该项目，在完成他们的研究经验后，他们将评估该项目的价值，以实现这些目标。导师也会评估学生和项目的表现。学生将以论文的形式展示他们的研究成果，并发表在期刊上。此外，学生将在为期一天的学生研讨会上口头报告他们的研究。

9731886 The number specialists dedicated to collections-based research has declined because students often receive little exposure to collections and research in organismal biology in many modern university science programs. Museums with a strong research program such as The Academy of Natural Sciences offer an opportunity to fill this gap in undergraduate education. The goal is to provide a diverse and exciting research experience for undergraduates in an effort to recruit new young researchers to this ever important field. Education in biodiversity, systematics, and taxonomy along with conservation will enable students to explore, document and conserve global biodiversity and ecosystems. Applicants will be sought primarily from colleges in the greater Philadelphia area (including New Jersey and Delaware), with emphasis on recruiting women and underserved minorities. Twenty, 10-week fellowships will be awarded and students will be chosen on the basis of academic performance, overall interest and potential ability, two recommendations, and an interview. After a one-week introductory session, students will choose a mentor to serve as the primary advisor of their research project. Research projects will cover diverse topics related to systematic biology, including evolution, molecular biology, ecology, and history of scientific collections. Students will work side-by-side with curators and senior scientist and will be involved in all aspects of collections-based research including: conducting research in the museum's world-class biological collections, collection and curation of specimens, participation in field expeditions, participation in discussion groups with scientists, and dissemination of scientific results through oral presentation and publication. Written evaluations by mentors and students will be used to assess the impact of this research program and to improve the program in subsequent, and after completing their research experience they will assess the value of the program t oward reaching these goals. Mentors will also evaluate the student and program performance. Students will present the results of their research in the form of a paper to be published in a refereed journal. In addition, students will give oral presentations of their research in a one-day student symposium.