REU Site: Marine Biogeochemistry at the University of South Carolina

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The Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of South Carolina located in Columbia, SC supports ten students each year during a ten week summer research experience. The research theme of this REU site is "Marine Biogeochemistry - from Salt Marshes to the Deep Ocean". Students have the opportunity to explore biogeochemical cycling in habitats that span the gradient from wetlands to coastal salt marshes to the deep-ocean, with the explicit consideration of human impacts and climate change on these systems. Within this framework, the program emphasizes the basics of the scientific method, hypothesis formulation, hypothesis testing, research ethics, and the fundamentals of written and oral science communication. Mentoring is provided by highly-qualified Marine Science Program and Department of Biological Sciences faculty whose research falls under the Marine Biogeochemistry umbrella. The program makes extensive use of USC's Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, located on the coast near Georgetown, SC. At the end of the summer, REU students present their results during a student research symposium and a research paper. Support provided by NSF includes funding for student stipends, student travel to and from the site, student housing and meals and some administrative costs.