EAGER: Field Computational Ecology Course

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This project will address the "frontier problem-solving" aspect missing in interdisciplinary research, and create a model of a course where experts from several disciplines collaborate on a complex project, particularly a field project. Today's science is increasingly an interdisciplinary endeavor, with researchers from several disciplines collaborating on a project. Yes, current graduate (and undergraduate) education is discipline-centered, with few opportunities for team projects, especially from outside the field. As a result, students are unprepared for the realities of cutting edge research. This problem is starting to be addressed by many institutions in a variety of ways. This work will design a highly integrated interdisciplinary field course, centered around computational and field biology research. The proposed course will be offered by the University of Illinois - Chicago, Princeton, and University of Nairobi where graduate students in biology (primarily ecology and evolutionary biology) and engineering (primarily in computer science and bioinformatics) work with faculty in both disciplines to learn how to ask questions, frame hypotheses and understand how and why the disciplines and cultures do this differently. Fieldwork will be conducted in Kenya.