REU Site: Ocean Coastal Zone Sustainability through University of Southern California Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies

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The Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of Southern California (USC) will focus on coastal oceans sustainability and will provide 8 students with a 10-week active learning experience each summer for 3 years. Participants spend their first two weeks on the USC University Park Campus in orientation, training and project development and then move to the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center (WMSC) on Catalina Island for project implementation/completion over the following eight weeks. Support includes student housing and meals, student stipends and travel associated with participation in the program.Participants will conduct independent research on coastal ocean science topics that are related to sustainability. In the past student research topics included: nutrient biogeochemistry, marine organismal biology, the effectiveness of marine protected areas, applications of geographic information systems, marine microbial ecology, biology of invasive species, fisheries population ecology, trace element chemistry, land use impacts, predator/prey studies, population genetics, and environmental contamination and organism toxicity. The designed research opportunities, where students work individually and in teams with graduate students and their mentors, will help undergraduates gain confidence and see themselves as future STEM professionals. The USC REU students also will receive focused training in professional development activities that promote STEM readiness, i.e., science communication, research ethics, approaches for graduate school and professional application processes, networking, and non-academic career paths in marine and coastal science.