GP_EXTRA: Academic Year Pathways Research Experience Program (AY-PREP)

美国需要在目前的基础上每年增加大约34%的STEM本科学位授予人数，以满足劳动力中对科学家和工程师的高需求。此外，研究复杂和动态地球系统的地球科学是多样性最少的STEM领域之一。因此，如果美国要在地球科学领域保持领先地位，招聘、留住和培养下一代多样化的地球科学家仍然是重中之重。这个项目，学年路径研究体验计划（AY-PREP），通过实践活动和研究经验，让学生接触到广泛的职业机会，新兴的地球科学主题和环境问题，并通过分层指导和专业和软技能培训，为他们成为未来的地球科学家做好准备。埃尔帕索地区被富兰克林山脉和奇瓦瓦沙漠包围，为探索地球科学和环境问题提供了理想的自然环境。埃尔帕索位于大裂谷南端，沿着大河流，其地质特征是可见且易于接近的断层峭壁、盆地和山脉地形以及火山。此外，埃尔帕索地区与我们的边境城市墨西哥华雷斯城（Ciudad Juarez）面临着许多环境挑战，包括淡水资源有限、农业土壤盐度升高、粉尘和空气污染问题。德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校（UTEP）在过去的基础上，成功地扩大了STEM的参与，并利用UTEP独特的人口结构（80%是西班牙裔）和研究基础设施，开发了一个全面的项目，招募、保留和培养下一代多样化的地球科学家，以获得高级学位和/或进入劳动力市场：学年路径研究体验项目（AY-PREP）。该计划包括：1)每年为六名本科生提供一学年的跨学科研究经验；2)每周研讨会和讲习班，让学生接触前沿研究、研究生课程和就业机会，并为学生的技术、专业和软技能做好准备；3)分层辅导计划；4)队列参与地震现场实验部署的机会；5)为期两周的夏季桥营，将即将入学的AY-PREP学生、本科生、高中生和职前教师聚集在一起。夏令营包括到新墨西哥州的杰梅兹关键区天文台的实地考察，IRIS教育和外展计划的整合，地球物理/地球化学仪器和传感器技术的培训，以及作为本科生研究项目基础的大型数据集的综合。

The United States needs to increase the number of awarded STEM undergraduate degrees by about 34% annually over current rates to meet the high demand for scientists and engineers in the workforce. Furthermore, the geosciences, which address complicated and dynamic Earth systems, are one of the least diverse STEM fields. Thus, recruiting, retaining, and preparing the next generation of diverse geoscientists remains a top priority if the U.S. is to remain a leader in the geosciences. This program, Academic Year Pathways Research Experience Program (AY-PREP), exposes students to a wide-range of career opportunities, emerging geoscience topics and environmental issues through hands-on activities and research experiences, and prepares them as future geoscientists through stratified mentoring and training of professional and soft skills.The El Paso region, surrounded by the Franklin Mountains and within the Chihuahuan Desert, provides an ideal natural setting for exploring geoscience and environmental issues. Located at the southern end of the Rio Grande Rift and along the Rio Grande River, geology in El Paso features visible and easily accessible fault scarps, basin and range topography, and volcanoes. Furthermore, the El Paso area shares many environmental challenges with our border city, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, including limited fresh water resources, elevated soil salinity in agriculture, and dust and air pollution issues. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is building upon past, successful efforts to broaden participation in STEM, as well as leverage UTEP's unique demographic (80% Hispanic) and research infrastructure, to develop a comprehensive program that recruits, retains, and prepares the next generation of diverse geoscientists to earn advance degrees and/or enter the workforce: Academic Year Pathways Research Experience Program (AY-PREP). The program includes: 1) an academic year interdisciplinary research experience for a cohort of six undergraduates per year, 2) weekly seminars and workshops to expose students to cutting-edge research, graduate programs, and career opportunities, and prepare students for technical, professional, and soft skills; 3) a stratified mentoring program; 4) opportunities for the cohort to participate in the deployment of a seismic field experiment; and 5) a two-week summer bridge camp that brings together incoming AY-PREP students, undergraduate students, senior high school students, and pre-service teachers. The summer camp includes field trips to the Jemez Critical Zone Observatory in New Mexico, integration of IRIS Education and Outreach programming, training on geophysical/geochemical instrumentation and sensor technology, and the synthesis of large datasets that serve as a foundation for undergraduate student research projects.