The Arecibo Geoscience Diversity Program: Enhancing the Education of Hispanics through Research Experiences

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ABSTRACTArecibo Geoscience Diversity Program (AGEOP) National Astronomy & Ionosphere Center (NAIC) and the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo (UPRA), will establish the Arecibo Geoscience Diversity Program (AGEOP). The program provides a research experience in the geosciences to groups of Hispanic educators and students in the northwestern region of Puerto Rico. Atmospheric research focuses on studies of the upper atmosphere at the Arecibo Observatory using the 305 m radio telescope. The study of the karst region focuses on the Cano Tiburones tropical wetland, and is conducted at UPRA. Participants are engaged in the design and the execution of an environmental monitoring program that assesses the physical and biological profile of the wetland. The AGEOP targets fifteen free high schools in the Arecibo School District, and undergraduate science majors at UPRA. Five different schools will participate every year in this three-year effort with each school providing a team of four students and a teacher; UPRA will contribute eight undergraduates every year. The interaction of high school students, teachers, and UPRA undergraduates, establishes a bridge to help increase numbers of students that reach the college level, and that eventually graduate. The AGEOP provides up to 200 hours of geoscience training to each participant (students, teachers, undergraduates) through the following activities: a ten-day summer institute at the Arecibo Observatory to introduce the content matter and develop the research skills; sixteen days of a geoscience academy during the school year for field measurements and data analysis; and a geoscience congress in which participants present their research projects.