REU: Ocean Sciences Meeting Support For OCE REU Students

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This award provides renewed funding for a program that takes undergraduate students to American Society for Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) and American Geophysical Union (AGU) meetings in the semester following their participation in an OCE-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. The proposed program will continue to support 22 REU students (about one from each OCE-funded REU Site) per year to attend the Ocean Science winter meetings for three years. Each student will receive air- and shuttle bus fare, registration, room, per diem meal expenses, ticket to the Award Luncheon or similar official event, and one year of membership in ASLO and AGU. The opportunity is open to all REU students and encourages underrepresented disciplines (e.g., physical, chemical, and geological oceanography, modeling). The students will be prepared for meeting navigation and then allowed to pursue their own goals with freedom to engage in hallway discussions, lunch and dinner meetings, and all the other non-session aspects that make our meetings so productive. Several planned events will enhance the networking aspects of their experience. Daily meetings at the end of sessions will provide for feedback and interaction. This format relieves initial social-professional pressure and leads to mutually-beneficial associations with active scientists at the precise time the students are seeking their next big career step. In addition, this program develops an infrastructure for undergraduate research dissemination (a poster session and informal meeting) that is open to all undergraduates who are attending the meeting. It has developed high visibility with the professional attendees, providing invaluable networking and recruitment opportunities for students and professional scientists alike. This award promotes the development of the ocean sciences workforce by providing an opportunity for undergraduates to network with faculty at graduate schools across the nation.