URM: Undergraduate Research and Mentoring at a Hispanic Serving Institution Investigating a Rare Ecosystem

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This award to the University of Texas -- Pan American is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The University of Texas -- Pan American (UTPA), in partnership with the University of Arizona, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Purdue University, will establish an Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM) program that will engage students from a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) in research and mentoring. The goal is to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in science. Cohorts of seven students per year will be recruited, and each student will participate in the program for a full year. Over the 4-year period of the grant, a total of twenty eight (28) students will be trained. The URM program will combine coursework with independent research during the academic year, as well as research at one of three collaborating institutions during the summer months. The program also includes student presentations, community outreach, and group activities consisting of workshops, ethics and writing courses, and Graduate Record Exam (GRE) preparation. URM students will work with biology faculty at UTPA to examine the interactions of arsenic and other pollutants with plants and microorganisms in Laguna Madre, a hypersaline estuary ecosystem in South Texas. In addition to enhancing students' critical thinking skills, the program will train students on scientific writing and the ethical conduct of science. In the summer, the students will conduct their research with collaborating faculty at the University of Arizona, the Georgia Institute of Technology, or Purdue University. In addition to accessing state-of-the-art instrumentation, students will be exposed to the academic culture and research environment of a research-intensive institution. URM students will visit local schools and present their work at an annual Hispanic science exhibition as well as at state and national conferences. The URM program provides an opportunity to involve students in research that will directly impact their community, while aiming to increase the training and diversity of biologists. More information is available by visiting http://www.utpa.edu/dept/biology/nsf-urm.html, or by contacting Dr. Kristine Lowe at (956) 380-8749 or klowe@utpa.edu.