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

自然科学院本科生研究体验 (REU) 奖学金的目的是为本科生提供在自然历史博物馆环境中进行基于馆藏的研究的经验，以招募新的年轻研究人员攻读有机体和系统生物学领域的高级学位。 学院的 REU 项目填补了传统本科生培训的空白，为那些可能没有接触过系统学、进化论和有机生物学领域研究的学生提供了在博物馆环境中多样化且令人兴奋的研究体验。 该计划的另一个目标是吸引服务不足的少数群体加入我们的计划，并促进生物研究所有领域的多样性。通过互联网上的广告和直接邮寄从全国各地的学院和大学招募学生。 历史悠久的黑人学院和大学 (HBCU) 的学生是招收的优先对象，并且通过与 HBCU 教师的直接联系来吸引少数族裔申请者。 每年，根据学业成绩、对有机生物学的总体兴趣以及两名裁判的评估，选出八名学生参加为期 10 周的夏季奖学金。 在为期一周的介绍课程结束后，学生们将参观所有藏品和学院设施，然后与博士一起开展一个独立的研究项目。科学家作为他或她的导师。 研究项目的主题范围从使用传统形态学和分子技术的系统生物学到生态学、流域监测和科学收藏的历史。 学生通过与馆长和资深科学家并肩工作来获得经验，并参与基于收藏的研究的各个方面，包括标本的收集和管理、实地考察以及口头和书面论文的结果传播。 大多数学生在同行评审的科学期刊上发表论文。 学生还可以从各种团体活动中受益，包括每周研讨会、社交聚会、露营旅行和夏末宴会。像学院这样的自然历史博物馆对于有机生物学的正规教育变得越来越重要，因为学院和大学的生物学系总体上更加注重细胞和分子研究。 由于生物学教学重点的转变，致力于基于馆藏、分类学和生态研究的专家数量有所减少。 通过学院的 REU 奖学金，本科生获得了他们在本科院校可能无法获得的宝贵的有机生物学经验和教育。 大多数学生都会发表他们的研究结果，并且大多数参与者根据他们在学院的 REU 经历选择从事系统学和有机生物学职业。 为服务不足的少数群体提供本科研究机会还有一个额外的好处，即增加了攻读生物科学高级学位的学生的多样性，这一变化有望反映在未来科学研究界多样性的增加中。

The purpose of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Fellowhsip at The Academy of Natural Sciences is to provide undergraduates with experience in collections-based research in a natural history museum environment in an effort to recruit new young researchers to pursue advanced degrees in the field of organismal and systematic biology. The REU program at the Academy fills a gap in traditional undergraduate training by providing a diverse and exciting research experience in a museum environment for students who may not be exposed to a research in the areas of systematics, evolution, and organismal biology. An additional goal of the program is to attract underserved minorities to our program and promote diversity in all areas of biological research.Students are recruited from colleges and universites from around the country through advertisements on the Internet and through direct mailing. Students at historically black colleges and universites (HBCU's) are a recruiting priority and direct contact with faculty at HBCU's is used to attract minority applicants. Each year, eight students are chosen on the basis of academic performance, overall interest in organismal biology, and the evaluations of two referees, for a 10-week summer fellowship. After a one-week introductory session in which students receive tours of all collections and academy facilities, students work on an independent research project with a Ph.D. scientist as his or her mentor. Topics for research projects range from systematic biology using traditional morphological and molecular techniques, to ecology, watershed monitoring, and the history of scientific collections. Students gain experience by working side-by-side with curators and senior scientists and are involved in all aspects of collections-based research including collection and curation of specimens, field expeditions, and dissemination of results orally and in a written paper. Most students publish their papers in peer reviewed scientific journals. Students also benefit from a variety of group activities including weekly seminars, social gatherings, a camping trip, and end-of-summer banquet.Natural history museums such as the Academy are becoming increasingly important for formal education in organismal biology because college and university biology departments are, on the whole, becoming more oriented toward cellular and molecular research. Because of this shift in emphasis in biology teaching there is a decline in numbers of specialists dedicated to collections-based, taxonomic and ecological research. Through the REU fellowship at the Academy undergraduate students gain valuable experience and education in organismal biology that they might not obtain at their undergraduate institution. Most students publish the results of their research and a majority of participants choose to pursue careers in systematics and organismal biology based on their REU experience at the Academy. Providing opportunities for undergraduate research to underserved minorities has the added benefit of increasing the diversity of students pursuing advanced degrees in the biological sciences, a change that will hopefully be reflected in an increase in the diversity of the scientific research community of the future.