REU Site: Undergraduate Research in the Geosciences

在为期十周的暑期计划中，六名本科生实质性地参与了华盛顿卡内基研究所布罗德布兰克路校区一名科学家的研究。选择的主要标准是奖学金、个人动机、根据学生推荐信判断的科学潜力，以及学生兴趣与现有研究项目的良好匹配。在课程开始时，学生与导师一起决定与地球或行星地球科学研究的某些方面有关的研究项目。在大约两周的阅读和前期工作后，学生们写一份简短的研究计划书。该小组还每周举行午餐讨论，在此期间他们有机会相互通报研究进展的最新情况。午餐时间的会议通常还包括与科学家教职员工交谈的非正式研讨会，向学生介绍科学家的兴趣、研究计划、职业道路和选择，正是这些兴趣、研究计划和选择导致了他们目前在卡内基的职位。对华盛顿地区地质名胜的实地考察是夏季研究经验的补充。学生准备一篇研究论文，利用所在领域的领先期刊的格式，描述他们的研究结果；然后，学生在项目最后一周举行的特别研讨会上向他们的同龄人和研究人员展示结果。鼓励学生提交结果，以便在专业会议上展示，或将结果用作高级项目的一部分。实习生将直接与一位顶尖的科学家合作，并使用最先进的技术和设施第一手参与科学发现的兴奋。学生们获得了对科学的新欣赏，他们可以带回自己的机构，在充分了解研究生涯的回报的情况下继续他们的学业。我们的计划旨在弥合教育和研究之间的差距，最终表明这两项活动对科学进步至关重要，而且实际上是同一过程的两部分。招聘的重点是接触到没有大量研究经验的学生，以及历史上在科学领域代表性不足的学生。在卡内基，我们处于有利地位，可以从各种类型的教育机构、地理位置和不同的背景中挑选出高素质的学生，所有这些都将显著增加我们校园充满活力的智力活动。

During a ten week summer program, six undergraduates participate substantively in the research of a scientist at the Broad Branch Road campus of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Primary criteria for selection are scholarship, personal motivation, scientific potential as judged by student references, and a good match of student interests with available research programs. At the beginning of the program the student decide with the advisor on a research project related to some aspect of earth or planetary geoscience research. Students then write a short research proposal after approximately two weeks of reading and preliminary work. The group also meets each week for lunchtime discussions during which they have the opportunity to update each other on research progress. Lunchtime meetings also generally include informal seminars by conversation with staff scientists giving students a personal introduction to the interests, research programs, and career paths and choices of scientists that have led to their current positions at Carnegie. Field trips to sites of geological interest in the Washington area complement the summer research experience. Students prepare a research paper, utilizing the format of a leading journal in their field, describing the results of their research; students then present the results to their peers and the research staff at a special symposium held during the last week of the program. Students are encouraged to submit the results for presentation at a professional meeting, or use the results as part of a senior project. Interns will work directly with a leading scientist and participate first-hand in the excitement of scientific discovery using state-of-the-art techniques and facilities. Students gain a new appreciation of science that they can take back to their home institutions and resume their studies with an informed understanding of the rewards of a research career. Our program is designed to bridge the gap between education and research, ultimately showing that both activities are essential to advancements in science, and really are two parts of the same process. Recruitment focuses on reaching students who have not had substantial research experiences, and students historically underrepresented in science. At Carnegie, we are well positioned to select highly qualified students from a variety of types of educational institutions, geographic locations and diverse backgrounds, all of which will add significantly to the vibrant intellectual activity that characterizes our campus.