Polaris: Catalyzing Demographic Change in the Arctic Research Community through an Immersive and Sustained Undergraduate Research Experience

北极星：通过沉浸式和持续的本科研究经验促进北极研究界的人口变化

基本信息

批准号：
1624927
负责人：
Robert Holmes
金额：
$ 141.48万
依托单位：
Woodwell Climate Research Center, Inc.
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2016
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2016-09-01 至 2020-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1624927&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Polaris Catalyzing Demographic Change Arctic

项目摘要

This project is integrating scientific research in the Arctic with education and outreach, with a strong central focus on engaging undergraduate students and visiting faculty from groups that have had little involvement in Arctic science to date. Science and society in the United States will be stronger in the long-term if the scientific workforce more closely reflects the racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of its residents. The Arctic research community currently does not. Of the Principal Investigators funded by NSF's Arctic programs in the past five years, only 1% were African American, Hispanic, Native American, or Alaska Native. This project is catalyzing change in these demographics by engaging faculty from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and a diverse group of undergraduate students in cutting-edge Arctic research and providing them encouragement, mentoring, and opportunities to continue pursuing Arctic studies in subsequent years.The central element of the project is a month-long research expedition to the Yukon River Delta in Alaska. The expedition provides a deep intellectual and cultural immersion in the context of an authentic research experience that is paramount for "hooking" students and keeping them moving along the pipeline to careers as Arctic scientists. The overarching scientific issue that drives the research is the vulnerability and fate of ancient carbon stored in Arctic permafrost (permanently frozen ground). Widespread permafrost thaw is expected to occur this century, but large uncertainties remain in estimating the timing, magnitude, and form of carbon that will be released when thawed. Project participants are working in collaborative research groups to make fundamental scientific discoveries related to the vulnerability of permafrost carbon in the Yukon River Delta and the potential implications of permafrost thaw in this region for the global climate system.

该项目正在将北极科学研究与教育和外展活动相结合，并强烈着重于吸引本科生，并从迄今为止参与北极科学的团体的访问。如果科学劳动力更加紧密地反映其居民的种族，种族和文化多样性，那么美国的科学与社会将在长期内更加强大。北极研究界目前没有。在过去五年中，由NSF北极计划资助的主要调查人员中，只有1％是非裔美国人，西班牙裔，美洲原住民或阿拉斯加人。该项目是通过吸引少数族裔服务机构（MSI）的教师以及一群在尖端北极研究中的多样化的本科生来促进这些人口统计学的变化，并为他们提供鼓励，指导，并提供了继续在后来进行北极研究的机会。该项目的中心是为期一个月的研究探险。在真实的研究经验的背景下，这次探险提供了深厚的智力和文化沉浸，这对于“吸引”学生至关重要，并使他们沿着北极科学家的职业发展向职业发展。驱动研究的总体科学问题是北极永久冻土（永久冷冻地面）中的古代碳的脆弱性和命运。预计将在本世纪发生广泛的多年冻结融化，但是在融化时将释放的碳的时机，幅度和形式仍然存在很大的不确定性。项目参与者正在合作研究小组中工作，以与育空河三角洲的永久冻土碳脆弱性有关，以及该地区永久冻结融化对全球气候系统的潜在影响。