CoPe EAGER: Pathways for Community College Students to Explore the "Tipping Point" in Vulnerable Coastal Communities Following a Natural Hazard

奥斯汀社区学院（ACC）将启动一项公民科学计划，让社区学院的学生参与飓风哈维及其对德克萨斯州海岸线的影响的数据收集和分析。至少25名学生将对德克萨斯州阿兰萨斯港脆弱的沿海社区的“临界点”进行探索性工作，人类压力或环境条件的变化可能导致生态系统的临界点或突然变化，这些变化可能很难或不可能逆转。这项试点研究将重点关注脆弱的阿兰萨斯港社区，使用哈维飓风前后的水分配等数据。学生还将使用经济数据（人口普查，税收值等）来研究临界点。ACC将教育学生自然灾害，数据收集和分析，以及在德克萨斯州附近社区的应用。一旦学生接触到这些技术，他们就可以在服务不足、代表性不足和研究不足的社区建立一个公民科学家网络。该项目的目标是：1)向未来潜在的公民科学家提供有关自然灾害、自然灾害后果和利用现有数据评估受影响社区生活条件的信息；2)教育代表性不足的STEM学生了解科学方法和数据收集；3)研究临界点的概念，将其作为数据收集、跨学科科学整合和科学应用的重点。该项目将促进有关利用公民科学促进社区参与以及保留STEM中代表性不足的学生的知识。该项目将衡量学生在以下方面的收获：1)提高对沿海灾害及其影响的认识；2)对从事科学事业的兴趣。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Austin Community College (ACC) will launch a citizen science program to engage community college students in the collection and analysis of data from Hurricane Harvey and its impact on the Texas coastline. At least 25 students will conduct exploratory work on the "tipping point" for the vulnerable coastal community of Port Aransas, Texas Shifts in human pressures or environmental conditions can cause tipping points or abrupt changes in an ecosystem that may be difficult or impossible to reverse. This pilot study will focus on the vulnerable Port Aransas community using data such as water distribution before and after Hurricane Harvey. Students will also use economic data (census, tax values, etc.) in studying the tipping point. ACC will educate students in natural hazards, data collection and analysis, and the application in close Texas communities. Once students are exposed to these techniques, they can then establish a network of citizen scientists in underserved, underrepresented, and understudied communities. The goals of the project will be to 1) inform future potential citizen scientists on natural disasters, the aftermath of natural disasters and evaluating living conditions of an impacted community using existing data, 2) educate underrepresented STEM students in scientific methods and data collection, and 3) examine the concept of tipping points as a focus for data collection, scientific integration across disciplines and scientific application. The project will advance knowledge on using citizen science for community engagement as well as for retaining underrepresented students in STEM. The project will measure student gains in 1) increased awareness of coastal hazards and their impact, and 2) interest in a career in the sciences.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.