REU Site: Exploration of marine biology on the Oregon coast (EMBOC)

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The University of Oregon’s Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB), located in Charleston OR, will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site during the summers of 2020-2022. The program will support the participation of ten undergraduates in research projects during a nine-week summer internship each summer, involving a total of thirty students. Objectives of this REU site are to teach undergraduates how to conduct research into biological processes and to ensure they are aware of career pathways for marine scientists. The program offers research opportunities to students from 2-year colleges using a tiered learning model with pairs of students – one from a 4-year (4YC) and one from a 2-year college (2YC) - working with mentors to conduct research. Student participants are recruited via a national search and are provided with a stipend, housing and travel funding.Research topics focus on biological interactions of marine organisms and their environment, or on aspects of development and reproduction of marine invertebrates. Interns will conduct research projects on cellular dynamics, development, ecology and evolution of larval and juvenile marine organisms, impacts of climate change on foraging ecology of dungeness crabs, evaluating long term changes in eelgrass communities, and molecular biodiversity. Activities will include field trips to intertidal sites, the University of Oregon main campus in Eugene, and various coastal habitats. Professional development sessions will provide training in resume writing, interviewing, preparing posters, giving presentations, using R for graphs and statistics, use of professional social media, and the importance of networking and broader impacts of research. Following a workshop on outreach to broader audiences, interns will serve as scientific experts at OIMB's Charleston Marine Life Center, a public aquarium and museum. Interns will be encouraged to present their posters at undergraduate research symposia at their home institutions and at an appropriate annual professional meeting.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.