REU Site: Summer Program in Chihuahuan Desert Biodiversity

这个REU网站奖给德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校（UTEP），位于德克萨斯州埃尔帕索，将支持8名学生的培训10周，在2016年至2018年的夏天。研究在UTEP及其印第奥山脉研究站沿着与其他奇瓦瓦沙漠（CD）在得克萨斯州和新墨西哥州的网站。该计划侧重于CD生物多样性，重点是与UTEP生物科学教师的利益相关的进化和生态学研究，他们将担任导师。预计学生将做全职的实地和实验室研究，并参加研讨会和讲习班，如负责任的研究行为，专业沟通技巧等。REU学生将有机会获得导师和跨部门研究设施的设备齐全的实验室。学生是根据学习成绩，研究兴趣和潜力，以及教师的建议选择。预计共有24名学生，主要来自研究机会有限的学校，将在该方案中接受培训。学生将主要是大三或大四学生，但特殊的学生将被考虑。该计划旨在招募和激发一批在科学领域代表性不高、在本国机构从事研究的机会有限的学生。学生将通过假设驱动的合作研究项目来指导，以产生最终可能为环境可持续性和人类福祉提供信息的知识。学生将在UTEP校园范围内的夏季研究研讨会上展示他们的研究成果，并鼓励许多人在科学会议上展示他们的研究成果。由生物基础设施司（生物科学理事会）资助的所有REU计划使用的共同基于网络的评估工具将用于确定培训计划的有效性。还将利用内部调查对培训课程进行反馈。学生将在课程结束后进行跟踪，以确定他们的职业道路。学生将被要求通过NSF报告系统自动发送电子邮件。有关该计划的更多信息，请访问http：//science.utep.edu/cdb-reu，或联系主要研究者（Michael Moody博士，网址：mlmoody@utep.edu）或共同主要研究者（Jerry约翰逊博士，jjohnson@utep.edu）。

This REU Site award to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), located in El Paso, TX, will support the training of 8 students for 10 weeks, during the summers of 2016- 2018. Research is conducted at UTEP and its Indio Mountains Research Station along with other Chihuahuan Desert (CD) sites in Texas and New Mexico. The program focuses on CD biodiversity, with emphasis on studies in evolution and ecology linked to interests of UTEP Biological Sciences faculty, who will serve as mentors. Students are expected to do full-time field and lab research and participate in seminars and workshops, such as responsible conduct in research, professional communication skills, among others. REU students will have access to well-equipped labs of mentors and interdepartmental research facilities. Students are selected based on academic record, research interest and potential, and faculty recommendations. It is anticipated that a total of 24 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will be mostly juniors or seniors but exceptional sophomores will be considered. This program seeks to recruit and excite a population of students poorly represented in science and with limited opportunities to do research at their home institutions. Students will be guided through hypothesis driven collaborative research projects to generate knowledge that may ultimately inform actions for environmental sustainability and human well-being. Students will present their research at a UTEP campus-wide summer research symposium and many will be encouraged to present their research results at scientific conferences.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 the training program. Internal surveys will also be used for feedback on training sessions. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting http://science.utep.edu/cdb-reu, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Michael Moody at mlmoody@utep.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Jerry Johnson at jjohnson@utep.edu).