REU Site: Field and laboratory studies of coastal marine processes at the Shannon Point Marine Center

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This award will support a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at Western Washington University’s Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC), which is located in Anacortes, WA. The program will bring eight undergraduates to SPMC each summer for a nine-week research experience. During the three years (2020-2022), the project will provide summer internships for a total of twenty-eight students. Students will conduct independent research projects with the guidance of research mentors and will participate in a variety of professional development activities, including workshops on scientific ethics, scientific writing, the graduate school experience and career options, as well as field trips and outreach events. The program conducts a national search for applicants and seeks to engage students who are from community colleges and schools with limited research opportunities. Most of the funding provided supports student stipends, housing and travel to attend the program. This project supports the national goals of developing the next generation of scientists and the scientific workforce. The general theme of this REU Site involves a process-oriented approach to estuarine dynamics, emphasizing primary and secondary productivity, nutrient flux, biogeochemistry, microbial ecology, water quality, ocean acidification, sediment and nutrient transport at estuarine and boundary-layer scales, and chemical ecology, topics that articulate well with the SPMC studies of invertebrate ecology and life histories. With his/her adviser, each student develops and presents a project plan in a colloquium setting during the second week, conducts the research under the appropriate level of faculty supervision, and presents oral and written reports at the conclusion of the program. Publication of results and presentation at scientific meetings is strongly encouraged and supported.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.