REU: Watershed Development and Engineering in Urbanizing Regions

提案编号：9732609 PI：Steenhuis University：Cornell U摘要该提案寻求在康奈尔大学与阿拉巴马农工大学、佛罗里达农工大学、克拉克亚特兰大大学和波多黎各大学合作，让代表性不足的少数族裔和妇女参与分水岭开发和工程的研究。拟议课程的理念将是让学生参与形成问题或假设，规划回答问题或测试假设的方法，批判性分析结果，得出结论，并展示结果。重点是分水岭内具有生物和/或环境因素的问题。为此，我们将启动一种跨学科的方法，让具有生物、环境或土壤科学背景的教师参与进来。主题将包括农用化学品、生物体(如隐孢子虫)和其他化学品在景观中移动的实验和模拟研究，动物饲料中氮的减少，堆肥，以及城市污泥对金属流动性的影响。在每周会议期间，将强调在分水岭范围内整合这些学生项目。一项针对十名学生的暑期REU计划被提出。我们还包括了暑期REU学生继续在国内机构学习的可能性。在暑期计划期间，将为学生建立一个有组织的环境，其中包括：(1)讨论研究计划的关键要素的介绍性会议(2)每周由教师导师和REU研究员进行正式报告的研讨会，讨论研究的分水岭尺度整合的主题，以及一般主题(图书馆、书目数据库、计算资源、方法的批判性分析、实验设计的基础以及研究生项目的机会)，(3)与教师导师的定期会议，每周至少两次，(4)在第7周期间，REU学生向小组介绍他们的进展，以及(5)在10周内在全部门范围内进行的最后一次报告。此外，还将组织各种团体建设活动。建议采取一种积极的招聘程序，以扩大从REU经验中受益的少数族裔群体。该项目是康奈尔大学和阿拉巴马州农工大学之间的合作项目，另外三所少数族裔大学参与了该学年的招生和辅导工作。

Proposal No.: 9732609 PI: Steenhuis University: Cornell U ABSTRACT This proposal seeks to engage underrepresented minorities and women in research on watershed development and engineering at Cornell University with cooperation of Alabama A&M, Florida A&M, Clark Atlanta University and the University of Puerto Rico. The philosophy of the proposed program will be to engage students in the forming of a question or hypothesis, planning of a method to answer the question or test the hypothesis, critically analyzing the results, drawing conclusions, and presenting the findings. The focus is on those problems within the watershed that have biological and/or environmental components. For this, we will initiate an interdisciplinary approach which involves faculty with background in either biological, environmental or soil sciences. Topics will include the experimental and simulation studies of the movement of agri-chemicals, organisms (such as Cryptosporidium) and other chemicals through the landscape, the reduction of nitrogen in animal feeds, composting, and the effect of municipal sludges on metal mobility. The integration of these student projects on a watershed scale will be emphasized during the weekly meetings. A summer REU Program is proposed for ten students. We have also included a possibility for the summer REU students to continue their research at the home institutions. A structured setting for students during the summer Program will be established, which includes: (1) an introductory session that discusses the critical elements of a research program (2) a weekly seminar with formal presentations by faculty mentors and REU Fellows, dealing with the topic of watershed scale integration of the studies, and general topics (libraries, bibliographic databases, computing resources, critical analysis of the approach, basics of experimental design, and opportunities for graduate programs), (3) regular meetings with the faculty mentor at least twice a week, (4) a discussion during week 7 in which the REU students present their progress to the group, and (5) a final presentation during week 10 in a department-wide setting. Also, various group building activities will be organized. Proposed is an aggressive recruitment procedure to expand the pool of minorities that benefit from the REU experience. The project is a cooperative effort between Cornell and Alabama A&M and involves the participation of three more minority universities in recruitment and mentoring during the academic year.