REU Site: Basic and Environmental Soil Science Training (BESST)

REU 网站：基础和环境土壤科学培训 (BESST)

• 批准号: 1358938
• 负责人: Joshua Heitman
• 金额: $ 38.5万
• 依托单位: North Carolina State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-05-01 至 2019-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1358938&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Basic; Environmental; Soil

Soils play a fundamental role in myriad global processes. The need to understand the flow of elements, energy, and water through soils is immense and widely accepted across the geosciences community. Yet, the number of scientists trained with specific soils expertise is rapidly declining. The BESST REU Site utilizes a diverse, multi-disciplinary team of scientists to deliver individualized student research experiences in state-of-the art soil science topics, synergized through unifying themes and team training opportunities. Specific objectives are to: i) recruit outstanding students without extensive previous experience in soil science, with an emphasis on those from under-represented groups; ii) train these students by providing a substantive research experience and exposure to broad opportunities in basic and environmental soil science; and iii) develop a pool of future professionals empowered to advance understanding of soils in the geoscience community. Activities are supported by a university with well-developed infrastructure for undergraduate student research, and hosted by a department with a long-standing tradition of international excellence. Student recruitment is pursued through departmental and university collaboration with undergraduate-serving institutions, HBCUs, and national undergraduate research organizations. The program is assessed by external experts to ensure that it is rigorously evaluated and didactic impact maximized. The intellectual merit of the REU Site lies in constructing a new and critically needed pipeline for the next generation of geoscience researchers, equipped to address wide-ranging basic and environmental research problems in soils. Broader impacts are derived from training a diverse group of students to engage in addressing important societal and ecological issues throughout their careers. The REU site seeks to develop a new paradigm for soil science, extending student recruitment and training beyond traditional foundations in agriculture, and transforming soil science into an integral part of the geoscience research community. Student research opportunities highlight relationships between human activities and terrestrial environments, which are central topics in modern soil science that are broadly applicable to many other sub-disciplines of the Earth and environmental sciences.

土壤在无数的全球过程中发挥着重要作用。了解元素、能量和水在土壤中的流动的必要性是巨大的，并在地球科学界得到广泛接受。然而，受过专门土壤知识培训的科学家人数正在迅速减少。BEST REU网站利用多元化，多学科的科学家团队提供个性化的学生研究经验，在最先进的土壤科学主题，通过统一的主题和团队培训机会协同。具体目标是：i）招募优秀的学生没有广泛的土壤科学经验，重点是那些来自代表性不足的群体; ii）通过提供实质性的研究经验和接触基础和环境土壤科学的广泛机会来培训这些学生; iii）培养一批未来的专业人士，使他们能够在地球科学界促进对土壤的理解。活动得到了一所大学的支持，该大学为本科生研究提供了发达的基础设施，并由一个具有悠久的国际卓越传统的部门主办。学生招聘是通过部门和大学与本科服务机构，HBCU和国家本科研究组织合作进行的。该计划由外部专家进行评估，以确保它得到严格的评估和教学影响最大化。REU网站的智力价值在于为下一代地球科学研究人员构建一个新的和迫切需要的管道，以解决土壤中广泛的基础和环境研究问题。更广泛的影响来自于培训不同的学生群体，使他们在整个职业生涯中参与解决重要的社会和生态问题。REU网站旨在开发土壤科学的新范式，将学生招生和培训扩展到传统农业基础之外，并将土壤科学转变为地球科学研究界不可或缺的一部分。学生的研究机会突出了人类活动和陆地环境之间的关系，这是现代土壤科学的中心议题，广泛适用于地球和环境科学的许多其他子学科。