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

地球科学领域在STEM领域面临着一个独特的挑战：在大学预科课程中，少数民族和边缘化学生缺乏可见性。 夏季机会在农业研究环境通过应用地球科学战略工作（SOARE：SWAG）提供了一组10个大二和大三学生的机会，在教师领导的实验室从事应用地球科学研究。为期10周的暑期课程包括专业和职业导向的研讨会，每周午餐和学习会议，以及旨在建立社区的社会活动（与研究生），并提供探索感兴趣的地球科学主题的机会。与历史上的黑人学院和大学（HBCUs）和少数民族服务机构（MSI）的合作伙伴关系将允许招募的学生参加应用研究经验和地球科学学习生态系统在马里兰州大学，学院公园（UMD）。 SOARE：SWAG的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，通过与导师的有意义的参与，网络机会以及关于社会正义，公平和科学包容的对话来推进他们的知识。SOARE：SWAG REU网站计划将通过在UMD进行的应用地球科学研究项目产生最大的影响。UMD REU计划有三个主要目标，旨在为10名学生提供体验式学习。 PI将1）招募和保留在HBCU和MSI注册的少数民族，第一代和女性学生，作为REU研究员与训练有素的教师导师一起参加指导，实践研究经验，2）将选定的研究员与UMD教师配对，进行学生感兴趣的应用地球科学相关主题的研究，3）通过战略性的职业穿梭、工作坊和活动，提高参与者对地球科学分支学科、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。 通过一个指导网络，研究员将获得战略指导支持，因为他们通过夏季计划入学，并随后进入地球科学研究生课程和地球科学事业。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.