REU Site: Brooklyn Urban Ecology and Environment Program (BUEE)

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This REU Site award to Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY) in Brooklyn, NY, will support the training of ten students for 10 weeks during each of summers 2022 thru 2024. The Brooklyn Urban Ecology and Environment Program (BUEE) offers an integrative research program aimed at developing undergraduate students into mature and thoughtful environmental scientists. Authentic research experiences on human-coupled natural systems are complemented by a rigorous educational program aimed at developing practical experience in research integrity, scientific communication and quantitative literacy, together with outreach activities in the broader community. Alumni of the BUEE program have been accepted into prestigious programs in ecology, environmental science, sustainable development and urban planning at top universities in the nation. It is anticipated that thirty students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities or from a underrepresented group, will be trained over the 3-year period. A common web-based assessment tool (SALG URSSA) will be used to determine the effectiveness of the REU program. Longitudinal tracking of students after program completion will provide data on the effectiveness of the REU in preparing students for careers in urban ecology and the environmental sciences.BUEE offers an intensive research training experience on human-coupled natural systems targeted at underrepresented students from academic institutions poorly equipped for research opportunities in STEM. Students will be drawn from a diverse pool of applicants who have demonstrated an enthusiastic and committed interest to environmental science and/or policy, and will be evaluated by potential mentors on the basis of a written application and interview. BUEE leverages the unique academic and research resources at Brooklyn College/CUNY, including a state-of-the-art environmental assessment and aquatic research center and the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay (SRIJB), focused on urban sustainability and resilience. Past research projects have included field research on oyster restoration, the impact of seascape noise on reproductive behavior, phytoremediation in urban waterways, and the analysis of soil composition in urban gardens. Students are encouraged to work with their mentors to develop independent research projects with scope for publication. More information about BUEE is available by visiting http://buee.brooklyn.cuny.edu, or by contacting buee@brooklyn.cuny.edu.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.