REU Site: Summer Opportunities in Agricultural Research & the Environment: Strategic Work in Applied Geoscience (SOARE: SWAG)

地球科学领域在STEM面临着一个独特的挑战：在大学预科课程中，缺乏对小规模和边缘化学生的可见性。农业研究和环境通过应用地球科学战略工作的暑期机会(SOARE：SWIG)为10名二年级和三年级学生提供了在教员领导的实验室从事应用地球科学研究的机会。为期10周的暑期计划包括专业和以职业为导向的研讨会，每周的午餐和学习会议，以及旨在建立社区并提供机会探索感兴趣的地球科学主题的社交活动(与研究生)。与历史上的黑人学院和大学(HBCU)和少数族裔服务机构(MSI)的合作伙伴关系将使招收的学生能够参与马里兰大学学院公园(UMD)的应用研究体验和地球科学学习生态系统。SOARE：SWIG夏季研究体验旨在利用地球科学领域的广度和深度，为未来的科学家提供实践技能，通过与他们的导师进行有意义的接触、网络机会，以及关于社会正义、公平和科学包容的对话，促进他们的知识。SOARE：SWIG REU站点项目将通过在UMD进行的应用地球科学研究项目提供最大影响。UMD REU项目有三个主要目标，旨在为10名学生提供体验式学习。PIs将1)招募和保留就读于HBCU和MSI的小规模第一代和女性学生，作为REU研究员参与由训练有素的教师导师指导的动手研究体验；2)将选定的研究员与UMD教员配对，从事与学生感兴趣的应用地球科学相关主题的研究；以及3)通过战略性设计的职业穿梭、研讨会和活动，提高参与者对地球科学子学科、研究生课程和职业机会的认识和理解。拟议的研究经验将提高研究员的技术技能，增加他们在地球科学领域的专门知识。通过导师网络，研究员将获得战略指导支持，因为他们通过暑期项目入学，随后进入地球科学研究生项目和地球科学职业。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The geoscience field faces a unique challenge in STEM: a lack of visibility to minoritized and marginalized students in pre-college programs. The Summer Opportunities in Agricultural Research & the Environment through Strategic Work in Applied Geoscience (SOARE: SWAG) offers opportunities for a group of 10 sophomore and junior students to engage in applied geoscience research in faculty-led laboratories. The 10-week summer program includes professional and career-oriented workshops, weekly lunch-and-learn sessions, and social activities (with graduate students) designed to build community and provide opportunities to explore geoscience topics of interest. Collaborative partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) will allow recruited students to participate in an applied research experience and geoscience learning ecosystem at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). The SOARE: SWAG summer research experience aims to take advantage of the breadth and depth of the geoscience field to provide future scientists with hands-on skills to advance their knowledge through meaningful engagement with their mentors, networking opportunities, and conversations about social justice, equity and inclusion in science.The SOARE: SWAG REU site program will provide maximum impact through applied geoscience research projects conducted at UMD. The UMD REU program has three main objectives designed to provide experiential learning for a cohort of 10 students. The PIs will 1) recruit and retain minoritized, first generation, and women students enrolled in HBCUs and MSIs to participate as REU fellows in a mentored, hands-on research experience with trained faculty mentors, 2) pair the selected fellows with UMD faculty conducting research in applied geoscience-related topics that are of interest to the student, and 3) increase participants’ awareness and understanding of geoscience sub-disciplines, graduate programs, and career opportunities through strategically-designed career shuttles, workshops, and activities. The proposed research experience will enhance the fellows’ technical skills and increase their expertise in geoscience fields. Through a mentoring network, fellows will receive strategically guided support as they matriculate through the summer program and subsequently into geoscience graduate programs and geoscience careers.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.