UMEB: Inter-Disciplinary Approaches to Mentoring of Undergraduates in Aquatic Ecology

NSF的资助将在肯特州立大学的生物科学系建立一个环境生物学本科生导师（UMEB）项目。 该计划的中心目标是教育/培训本科生的研究事业，采用协同的方法，将不同的，跨学科的观点纳入水生栖息地的生态调查。 该计划将促进来自不同学科（生物学内外）和学生之间的互动;它还将说明跨学科合作在理解当今世界面临的复杂环境问题方面可以发挥的作用。计划目标将通过创建一个由本科生，水生生态学教师和外部学科（如细胞生物学，生理学，地理学，地质学等）的教师组成的导师团队来实现。 教师将共同指导学生，共同设计和实施一个真正跨学科的研究项目。 跨学科，基于团队的研究的好处和实际方面将使用多种方法进行沟通。 在春季学期（该计划的开始），学生将参加一门课程，为科学的实践和理论方面提供指导，作为一个综合的过程。 第一学期还将让学生了解他们的教师导师的研究领域/方法。 在夏季学期，学生有多个目标：1）学习合作的好处，2）与导师一起设计研究项目，3）通过协助其他学生的项目收集数据来探索其他研究领域。 在秋季学期，学生将参加一个研讨会，提供科学写作，数据分析和统计所需的工具，并介绍调查结果。 该计划将以向大学社区介绍每个学生的研究项目而告终。 除了大学社区之外，该计划还与公众有关，特别是在淡水资源方面。 湖泊、溪流和湿地是至关重要的自然资源，跨学科培训将被证明是解决环境问题的资产。 例如，关于湿地保护、入侵物种的影响和微生物存在的研究（例如，E.大肠杆菌）在作为饮用水源的湖泊/河流中的作用将受益于跨学科合作提供的多样性视角

NSF funding will establish an Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology (UMEB) program in the Department of Biological Sciences at Kent State University. The central goal of this program is to educate/train undergraduates for research careers using a synergistic approach that incorporates diverse, interdisciplinary perspectives into ecological investigations of aquatic habitats. The program will foster interactions among faculty from different disciplines (both within and outside of biology) and students; it will also illustrate the role that interdisciplinary collaboration can play in understanding complex environmental issues facing the world today. Program goals will be accomplished by creating a mentorship team composed of an undergraduate student, a faculty member in aquatic ecology, and a faculty member from an outside discipline (such as cell biology, physiology, geography, geology, etc.). The faculty members will co-mentor the student, working together to design and implement a research project that is truly inter-disciplinary. The benefits and practical aspects of interdisciplinary, team-based research will be communicated using multiple approaches. During spring semester (the beginning of the program), students will take a course providing a guide to the practical and theoretical aspects of science as an integrative process. This first semester will also allow students to get to know the research areas/approaches of their faculty mentors. During summer semester, students have multiple objectives: 1) to learn the benefits of collaboration, 2) to conduct research projects designed with their mentors, and 3) to explore other research areas by assisting in data collection for other students' projects. During fall semester, students will take part in a seminar that provides tools needed for scientific writing, data analysis and statistics, and presentation of findings. The program will culminate with the presentation of each student's research projects to the university community. Beyond the university community, this program has relevance to the general public, particularly with respect to freshwater resources. Lakes, streams, and wetlands are vital natural resources and interdisciplinary training will prove to be an asset for addressing environmental problems. For example, research regarding wetland conservation, effects of invasive species, and the presence of microorganisms (e.g., E. coli) in lakes/rivers that serve as sources of drinking water will benefit from the diversity of perspectives provided by interdisciplinary collaboration