REU Site: Developing Student Scientists: Collaborative Research in the Life Sciences at Davidson College

美国国家科学基金会本科生研究经验项目有效地利用指导和网络来招募和培训年轻的研究人员。作为一个新命名的REU网站，戴维森学院有资金支持10名本科生进行为期10周的密集夏季实验室或实地研究。在八名生物学和两名心理学教授的指导下，学生将在生命科学的各个层面进行独立研究，从分子生物学到神经科学再到动物种群的实地研究。学生和教师之间的正式和非正式的互动将为每个参与者提供广泛的生物学问题和技术知识。除了研究本身，参与者还将参加每周关于他们自己的研究、生命科学、研究生院的当前问题、撰写拨款提案和研究中的伦理问题的讨论。参与者将在夏末的正式演讲和科学论文中展示他们的研究结果。我们将通过互联网和与美国各地教师的个人联系，开展全国性的招聘工作。我们将积极招收非裔美国人、西班牙裔美国人和印第安人学生，通过与传统黑人学院、大学和其他少数族裔招生较多的机构的联系。通过与戴维森学院生命科学学院的教职员工密切合作，更好地了解科学是如何进行的，学生们将能够更好地就塑造当今世界的科学问题做出明智的决定，也能更好地做出自己的职业选择。

The NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates program makes effective use of mentoring and networking to recruit and train young researchers. As a newly named REU site, Davidson College has funding to support 10 undergraduate students for 10 weeks of intensive summer laboratory or field research. Under the mentorship of eight Biology and two Psychology faculty, students will conduct independent research at all levels of the life sciences, from molecular biology to neuroscience to field studies of animal populations. Formal and informal interactions among students and faculty will provide each participant with wide-ranging knowledge of biological problems and techniques. In addition to the research itself, participants will take part in weekly discussions of their own research, current issues in the life sciences, graduate school, writing grant proposals, and ethical issues in research. Participants will present the results of their research in a formal talk at the end of the summer and in a scientific paper. We will engage in a national recruitment effort via the Internet and personal contacts with faculty across the US. We will actively recruit African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students via contacts at historically black colleges and universities and other institutions with significant minority enrollments. By working closely with Davidson College Life Science faculty and gaining a better understanding of how science is conducted, students will be better able to make informed decisions about scientific issues shaping our world today and about their own career choices.