REU Site: UTEP-ROCCS (University of Texas at El Paso - Research Opportunities for Community College Students)

该项目将为2年制大学（2YC）学生提供实地和实验室研究机会，重点关注埃尔帕索地区的各种地质问题。2YC学生将由德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校（UTEP）和埃尔帕索社区学院（EPCC）的教师和有研究经验的本科生指导，并将被培训为学生导师。暑期体验将包括在埃尔帕索学习4周，然后在自己的学校学习4周，接受密集的虚拟指导。研究项目将重点关注埃尔帕索地区的地质和形态如何影响当地土壤发育、地表水和地下水水文、景观演变以及南部里约热内卢大裂谷的演变。该项目将使用与社会互动相关的认知变化模型来确定哪些现场活动最成功地增加了2YC学生的协作和知识/技能基础。该模型还将评估2YC参与者与其教师或学生导师之间互动的质量和程度。很少有REU的地球科学项目专门针对2YC学生在社区外进行研究。因此，本研究可作为其他院校的范本，让青年才才库的学生参与项目，而所编制的培训教材，亦会对其他有意招收和保留青年才才库学生的院校有所帮助。

This project will provide field and laboratory based research opportunities for 2-year college (2YC) students focusing on a variety of geologic problems in the El Paso region. The 2YC students will be mentored by University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and El Paso Community College (EPCC) faculty and undergraduate students who have had research experiences and will be trained as student mentors. The summer experience will involve 4 weeks in El Paso followed by 4 weeks at their home institutions with intensive virtual mentoring. The research projects will focus on how the geology and morphology of the El Paso region influence local soil development, surface and groundwater hydrology, and landscape evolution, as well as evolution of the southern Rio Grande Rift. The project will use a model for cognitive change related to social interactions to determine which on-site activities were the most successful at increasing collaboration and the knowledge/skills base of the 2YC students. The model will also assess the quality and degree of interaction between the 2YC participants and their faculty or student mentors. Few REU programs in geosciences specifically target 2YC students to conduct research outside of their community. Thus this REU will serve as a model for other institutions to involve 2YC students in REU projects and the training materials developed will be helpful to other institutions wishing to recruit and retain 2YC students.