Increasing research opportunities for undergraduates: A program for Native American and Pacific Islander students

热带研究组织（OTS）与路易斯·斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）合作，支持一项热带生物学研究计划，旨在解决美洲原住民和太平洋岛民本科生的特定文化和社会背景，这两个群体在环境和生物科学领域的代表性严重不足。该项目是由LSAMP资助的一个成功项目的延续和扩展。2010-2012年美国原住民和太平洋岛民项目的目标是为美国原住民和太平洋岛民本科生提供密集的实地研究经验。该项目安排在八周的时间框架内，参与者将在OTS？拉斯克鲁塞斯生物站，以及其他地点，并参观当地土著社区。这个项目的重点是学生的发展。对生物学有兴趣并有能力进行实地研究。该计划的优势在于让美国原住民和太平洋岛民学生参与纯生物学和应用生物学研究，同时向他们介绍生物多样性、文化多样性和以社区为基础的热带保护问题。在项目工作人员和教师研究导师的指导下，学生将完成高质量的研究项目，旨在提高他们的技术技能，丰富他们的专业发展。此外，通过提供广泛的科学视角和研究经验，学生将获得一种职业意识，以澄清和指导他们未来的学术生活。NAPIRE计划旨在通过提供广泛的科学和研究技能来提高他们在本科和研究生阶段的学术竞争力，并鼓励他们从事环境和生物科学方面的职业，从而影响美国原住民和太平洋岛民学生的学术和专业发展。

The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), in collaboration with Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP)supports a research program in tropical biology designed to address the specific cultural and social background of Native American and Pacific Islander undergraduate students, two groups that are severely underrepresented in the environmental and biological sciences. This program is a continuation and extension of a successful program funded by LSAMP. The goal of the 2010-2012 Native American and Pacific Islander program is to provide an intensive field research experience for Native American and Pacific Islander undergraduate students. The program is structured around an eight week timeframe during which the participants will conduct research at OTS? Las Cruces Biological Station, among other sites, and visit local indigenous communities. The focus of the program is the development of the students? interest in biology and their capacity to conduct field research.The strength of the program lies in engaging Native American and Pacific Islander students in pure and applied biological research, while introducing them to the biodiversity, cultural diversity and community-based conservation issues of the tropics. Under the guidance of the program staff and faculty research mentors, the students will complete high quality research projects designed to sharpen their technical skills and enrich their professional development. In addition, by providing a broad range of scientific perspectives and research experiences, the students will gain a sense of career awareness to clarify and direct their future academic life.The NAPIRE program is designed to impact the academic and professional development of Native American and Pacific Islander students by providing a broad range of scientific and research skills to improve their academic competitiveness at the undergraduate and graduate levels and to encourage them to pursue careers in the environmental and biological sciences.