REU Site: Aquatic Chemical Ecology at Georgia Tech

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The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, GA will host a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site program from 2020-2021. The program will focus on Aquatic Chemical Ecology and will bring ten undergraduates to the Georgia Tech campus for a ten-week internship each summer. Mentors will be selected from the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, and Civil & Environmental Engineering. Students will participate in independent research and a variety of professional development activities designed to immerse them in a vibrant research culture, expose them to multiple career paths in science and research, and equip them with key skills for future success. This project supports national goals of developing the next generation of scientists and the scientific workforce. This REU Site program explores the role of chemistry in shaping ecological processes. Chemical cues are used by a wide diversity of macro and microorganisms to locate food, evade predators, select mates, launch cooperative behaviors, construct social hierarchies, and choose suitable environments. REU student research projects explore questions of chemical ecology in aquatic ecosystems, for example focusing on the chemical basis of predator-prey, host-parasite, or mutualistic interactions in environments such as coral reefs, salt marshes, or diverse freshwater ecosystems. The Georgia Tech REU Site will provide a total of twenty undergraduates with internships over the two-year period. The program conducts a national search for applicants and seeks to engage students from schools with limited research opportunities. Funding for this program supports student stipends, housing and travel to attend the program, and student professional development activities.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.