Collaborative Research: Alaska/Hawaii Joint Undergraduate Field Program

阿拉斯加和夏威夷在人口、地理和地质方面有许多相似之处：土著人口众多，与美国大陆其他地区隔绝，环太平洋地区经济、文化和科学联系密切，地质动态，但物理环境截然不同。因此，地理位置是这两个州地质学教育的优势和障碍。夏威夷提供了正在进行的玄武岩火山活动的壮观例子，但夏威夷学生很少看到非玄武岩或结构和构造复杂的地质。大多数阿拉斯加学生无法接触到阿留申弧形火山，而在学年期间，恶劣天气阻碍了实地考察变质、褶皱和断层岩石的旅行。这个Track 1项目是一个阿拉斯加-夏威夷联合讲座和实地课程，建立在阿拉斯加和夏威夷科学界之间的现有联系上，以实现共同的目标-鼓励阿拉斯加原住民和夏威夷原住民本科生通过接触不同的地质环境和过程进入地球科学领域。该项目包括一个为期8周、3个学分的阿拉斯加和夏威夷地质学二年级讲座课程，通过视频会议同时在阿拉斯加费尔班克斯大学(UAF)和夏威夷大学马诺阿大学(UH)提供。课程结束后，所有学生将立即参加由密歇根大学教职员工主持的为期7天的夏威夷实地考察之旅，重点是活火山过程、火山监测和分析以及相关的自然灾害。然后，该课程将前往阿拉斯加，由UAF主办为期7天的阿拉斯加地质实地考察，重点是碰撞构造和相关的火山作用、断层、褶皱、变质作用和沉积作用。阿拉斯加原住民、夏威夷人和其他少数族裔本科生是专门为这门课招募的，入学人数保持在较低水平，以鼓励学生与教师和其他学生互动。该项目建立在太平洋联盟(NSF Louis Stokes Alliance for少数族裔参与联盟(LSAMP)计划)开发的框架之上。太平洋联盟为参加该课程的学生提供地质学学位所需的基础科学课程的学费和后续指导。该项目的目标受众是阿拉斯加原住民、夏威夷原住民和其他少数族裔本科生，他们已经对地球科学表现出兴趣，但可能不确定他们可以选择的教育和职业选择。该项目通过让这些少数群体接触不同的地质学科、专业人员和职业选择，扩大了他们对地球科学的参与。该项目建立在UAF和UH之间现有的学术联系基础上，在此过程中，阿拉斯加原住民、夏威夷原住民和其他少数族裔学生有机会体验不同的土著文化，同时探索两所学校的研究生学习选择。

Alaska and Hawai'i possess a number of demographic, geographic & geologic similarities: a large indigenous population, physical isolation from the remainder of the continental U.S., close economic, cultural, and scientific ties throughout the Pacific rim, and geologically dynamic, but vastly different, physical environments. Location is thus an asset and an obstacle to geologic education in both states. Hawai'i provides spectacular examples of on-going basaltic volcanism, but a Hawaiian student rarely sees non-basaltic rocks or structurally and tectonically complex geology. Volcanoes of the Aleutian Arc are inaccessible to most Alaskan students, while field trips to view metamorphosed, folded, and faulted rocks are hampered by severe weather during the academic year. This Track 1 project is a joint Alaska-Hawai'i lecture and field course that builds on existing links between the scientific communities in Alaska and Hawai'i to address a mutual goal-to encourage Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian undergraduate students to enter the geosciences by exposing them to different geologic settings and processes.The project consists of an 8 week, 3-credit sophomore-level lecture course on the geology of Alaska and Hawai'i, offered simultaneously at University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and University of Hawai'i Manoa (UH) via videoconferencing. Immediately following the lecture portion of the class, all the students participate in a 7-day field trip to Hawaii hosted by UH faculty that focuses on active volcanic processes, volcano monitoring and analysis, and associated natural hazards. The class then goes to Alaska for a 7 day, UAF-hosted field trip on the geology of Alaska, where the focus is on collisional tectonics and associated volcanism, faults, folds, metamorphism, and sedimentation. Alaska Native, Hawaiian, and other minority undergraduate students are specifically recruited for the class, with enrollments kept low to encourage student interaction with both the faculty and other students.This project builds on the framework developed by the Pacific Alliance (a NSF Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program). The Pacific Alliance provides the students participating in the course with tuition and follow-up mentoring in the basic science courses needed for a geology degree. The target audience for the project are Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and other minority undergraduate students who have already demonstrated interest in the geosciences, but may be unsure of educational and career options available to them. The project broadens the participation of these minority groups in the geosciences by exposing them to different geologic disciplines, professionals, and career options. The project builds on existing academic ties between UAF and UH and, in the process, provides Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and other minority students the opportunity to experience a different indigenous culture while exploring graduate study options at both schools.