REU Site: Basic and Environmental Soil Science Training (BESST)

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Soils are critically important to society for their roles in agriculture and environmental processes, including those that regulate climate and provide clean water. Yet, the number of scientists trained with specific soils expertise is rapidly declining. The Basic and Environmental Soil Science Training (BESST) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site will provide mentored, soils-focused research opportunities for undergraduate students recruited from a range of STEM backgrounds. The overarching goal for this REU Site is to develop a critically needed pipeline for the next generation of geoscience researchers, equipped to address wide-ranging research problems in soils. The program will train a diverse group of students to engage in addressing important societal and ecological issues throughout their careers. The program seeks to develop a new paradigm for soil science, extending student recruitment and training beyond traditional foundations in agriculture, and transforming soil science into an integral part of the geoscience research community. Student research opportunities will highlight relationships between human activities and terrestrial environments, which are central topics in modern soil science that are broadly applicable to many other sub-disciplines of the Earth and environmental sciences. With this unique offering and targeted recruitment of underrepresented groups in the geosciences, the program will attract a diverse pool of student researchers and facilitate their pursuit of research careers with specific emphases on the potential for academic, industry, and non-profit career paths in soils. The BESST REU Site utilizes a diverse, multi-disciplinary team of scientists to deliver individualized student research experiences in state-of-the art soil science topics, synergized through unifying themes and team training opportunities. Specific objectives for the BESST REU are to: i) recruit outstanding students without extensive previous experience in soil science, with an emphasis on those from under-represented groups; ii) train these students by providing a substantive research experience and exposure to broad opportunities in basic and environmental soil science, with an emphasis on socially relevant areas of food, water, and energy; and iii) develop a pool of future professionals empowered to advance understanding of soils in the geoscience community. Ten students will be trained each year for three consecutive years. Program activities will be supported by a university with well-developed infrastructure for undergraduate student research, and hosted by a department with a long-standing tradition of international excellence in soil science. Student recruitment will be pursued through departmental and university collaboration with undergraduate-serving institutions, HBCUs, and national undergraduate research organizations. The program will be assessed by external experts to ensure that the BESST REU is rigorously evaluated and pedagogic impact maximized.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.