Increasing and Enhancing Research Experiences for Native American and Pacific Islanders Undergraduates

热带研究组织（OTS）的这项提案，“增加和加强美国原住民和太平洋岛民本科生的研究经验”，要求在2015年8月之前重新获得支持，旨在将OTS项目接受的学生从每年17名增加到20名。参与者是从路易斯·斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）机构中挑选出来的，这些机构包括部落学院、社区学院和为美洲原住民和太平洋岛民服务的非研究性机构。其次，OTS将在秋季组织一个后续研讨会，作为春季成功举办的指导研讨会的补充，为研究和校园导师以及LSAMP协调员继续改进夏季项目。此外，OTS打算更全面地将学生的研究经验与他们所在机构的课程作业和研究活动结合起来。智力优势和更广泛的影响：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。2011年，OTS的影响研究显示，大多数参加该项目的美国原住民和太平洋岛民学生继续他们的本科生涯（从两年制学校和社区大学转到四年制大学）。值得注意的是，这些校友大多主修STEM领域，许多人继续攻读研究生学位。

This proposal, "Increasing and Enhancing Research experiences for Native American and Pacific Islanders Undergraduates," from the Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS) requesting renewed support through August of 2015, seeks to increase students accepted in the OTS program from 17 to 20 participants per year. Participants are selected from the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) institutions, such as tribal colleges, community colleges and non-research (R1) institutions that serve Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. Secondly, OTS will organize a follow-up workshop in the fall to complement the successful orientation workshop it holds in the spring for research- and on-campus mentors and LSAMP Coordinators to continue improving the summer program. Also, OTS intends to integrate more comprehensively the students' research experiences with course work and research activities in their home institutions.Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts: 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 complete high-quality research projects designed to sharpen their technical skills and enrich their professional development. In 2011, OTS's Impact Study revealed that most Native American and Pacific Islander students who participated in the program continued their undergraduate careers (moving from two-year schools and community colleges to four-year institutions). Notably, most of these alumni majored in STEM fields and many went on to graduate degree programs.