REU Site: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of Changing Environments: Integrating from Genomes to Biomes

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This REU Site award to Kansas State University, located in Manhattan, KS, will support the training of 9 students in a 10-week program during the summers of 2015-2017. The program is hosted by the Division of Biology, Konza Prairie Biological Station, and the Ecological Genomics Institute (EGI). The program focuses on mechanistic and integrative research in ecology and evolutionary biology, with a theme of ecology and evolutionary biology in changing environments. Program activities include: i) independent research projects that will train students in experimental techniques and design, ii) a seminar on integrative analysis in ecology and evolutionary biology, iii) comprehensive ethics training, iv) professional development and research skills workshops, v) field trips to field sites, biological collections, and genomic facilities, and vi) training in oral communication of students' research results. Participants will have access to an extensive range of facilities and equipment for ecological, evolutionary, and genomic research. Faculty mentors are world leaders in integrative ecological and evolutionary research. Synergy among the REU, EGI, and Konza will provide participants exposure to new and ongoing experiments at Kansas State University. Recruitment and participant selection will focus on the identification of students with outstanding research potential. The program will target students attending institutions without significant undergraduate research opportunities (e.g., primarily undergraduate institutions, community colleges, and tribal colleges). However, all students with outstanding research potential should apply.It is anticipated that a total of 27 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, analyzed, and communicated. Many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences, and some will publish the results in peer-reviewed journals.A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure (Directorate for Biological Sciences) will be used to determine the effectiveness of program. Students are required to be tracked after the program and must respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information is available by visiting www.ksu.edu/reu, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Morgan) or co-PI (Dr. Snyder) at biologyreu@ksu.edu.