REU Site: Great Lakes ecosystem research to build foundations for successful STEM futures

该REU网站奖授予位于密歇根州芒特普莱森特的中密歇根大学（CMU），将在2019-2021年夏季为8名学生提供为期10周的培训。研究在密歇根州比弗岛的CMU生物站进行。跨学科的研究主题将记录目前正在进行的前所未有的变化（例如入侵和非本地物种和人为压力）在劳伦森五大湖，世界上最重要和受威胁的淡水生态系统之一，正在影响近岸环境的结构，功能和生态系统服务。学生将与CMU教师合作开展研究项目（包括湖沼学、渔业生物学、保护和空间生态学、分子生态学和微生物生态学），从实验设计到数据传播和翻译，在科学过程的各个方面获得实践经验。学生将与对五大湖资源感兴趣的多个利益相关者（如政府、私人和文化）接触，并将学习将他们的科学与这些群体联系起来。预计共有24名学生将接受该项目的培训，他们主要来自部落学院和大学以及研究机会有限的学校。学生将学习如何进行研究，许多人将在科学会议上展示他们的工作成果。教育目标是通过有意义的研究经验来激励、鼓励和培养学生在STEM领域的职业生涯。学生将接触并为科学事业和/或研究生教育做好准备。此外，学生将发展沟通技巧，向公众传达科学信息，从而学习如何成为他们所在社区的科学领袖和环境倡导者。由生物基础设施部资助的所有REU站点计划使用的通用网络评估工具将用于确定培训计划的有效性。课程结束后，将对学生进行跟踪，以确定他们的职业道路。学生将被要求回复通过NSF报告系统自动发送的电子邮件。有关该计划的更多信息，请访问http://se.cmich.edu/cmubsreu或联系PI（德里克·利尔曼博士deric.learman@cmich.edu）或联合PI（凯文·潘格尔博士pangl1k@cmich.edu）。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行了评估，认为值得支持。

This REU Site award to Central Michigan University (CMU), located in Mount Pleasant MI, will support the training of 8 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2019-2021. Research is conducted at CMU's Biological Station, Beaver Island, MI. The interdisciplinary research theme will document how unprecedented changes currently underway (e.g. invasive and non-native species and anthropogenic stress) in the Laurentian Great Lakes, one of the world's most important and threatened freshwater ecosystems, are affecting the structure, function, and ecosystem services of the nearshore environment. Students will develop research projects (ranging from limnology, fisheries biology, conservation and spatial ecology, molecular ecology, and microbial ecology) in collaboration with CMU faculty to gain hands-on experience in all parts of the scientific process, from experimental design through data dissemination and translation. Students will engage with multiple stakeholders (e.g. government, private, and cultural) who have interests in Great Lakes resources and will learn to relate their science to these groups. It is anticipated that a total of 24 students, primarily from Tribal Colleges and Universities and schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. The educational goal is to inspire, encourage, and prepare students to pursue careers in STEM via meaningful research experiences. Students will be exposed to, and prepared for, scientific careers and/or graduate education. Additionally, students will develop communication skills to convey scientific information to the general public and thereby learn how to become scientific leaders and environmental advocates in their communities. A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. 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://se.cmich.edu/cmubsreu or by contacting the PI (Dr. Deric Learman at deric.learman@cmich.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Kevin Pangel at pangl1k@cmich.edu).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.