REU Site: Environmental Focus in Food, Energy and Water Security

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。位于密西西比州斯塔克维尔的密西西比州立大学(MSU)获得的这一REU地点奖将支持10名学生在2023-2025年夏季进行10周的研究。该网站将向本科生科学家介绍水、能源和土壤系统生物产品交叉领域的多学科领域。仪器设备的接触和培训将使学生对科学感到兴奋，培训学生具有实用技能，这些技能可以转化为就业或研究生，并帮助学生发展分析和批判性思维技能。研讨会和教育活动将为学生在STEM(科学、技术、工程和数学)领域发展写作和陈述技能、个人职业分析和可能的职业机会提供支持。在这段经历中提供的研究环境和职业规划将支持和发展参与者，鼓励学生在化学领域追求职业生涯，并自我认同为科学家。工程、化学和环境科学结合部的合作研究项目将支持学生参与食品、能源和水安全，并鼓励对未来职业的创业思维。本科生将加入密歇根州立大学教职员工的实验室，他们积极参与并发表相关研究领域，包括：(1)将生物质和能源作物转化为生物燃料，(2)利用生物炭(一种生物燃料生产的副产品)来净化水，以及(3)通过改良土壤来增强粮食安全。在实验室之外，企业家精神和其他专业技能的培训将有助于培养在跨学科化学研究方面经验丰富的全面发展的学生。该网站还将招收一批非常多样化的学生，使STEM管道和未来的劳动力多样化。该奖项反映了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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).This REU Sites award to Mississippi State University (MSU), located in Starkville, MS, will support ten students for ten weeks of research over the summers of 2023-2025. This site will introduce undergraduate scientists to the multidisciplinary areas found at the intersection of bio-products for water, energy and soil systems. Instrumentation exposure and training will engage students in the excitement of science, train students with practical skills that can translate toward employment or graduate school, and aid students in developing analysis and critical thinking skills. Seminars and educational activities will offer students support for developing writing and presentation skills, individual career analysis and possible career opportunities within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. The research environment and career planning offered within this experience will support and develop participants, encouraging students to pursue careers within chemical fields and to self-identify as scientists.The collaborative research projects at the nexus of Engineering, Chemistry and Environmental Science will support student engagement in Food, Energy, and Water security and encourage entrepreneurial thinking for future careers. Undergraduate students will join labs of MSU faculty who are actively engaged and publish in related research areas, including: (1) the conversion of both biomass and energy crops into biofuels, (2) the utilization of biochar (a biofuel production byproduct) for the purification of water, and (3) the enhancement of food security through soil amendment. Outside of the lab, training in entrepreneurship and other professional skills will help to develop well rounded students experienced in interdisciplinary chemical research. This site will also recruit a highly diverse cohort of students, diversifying the STEM pipeline and future workforce.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.