REU Site: Airborne Connections: From Emission Source to Impact to Solution

空气污染物影响人类健康和气候，资源匮乏的社区感受到的不利影响比例不成比例。科罗拉多州立大学的“空气传播联系”本科生研究体验(REU)网站提供暑期培训，以解决影响所有美国人，特别是弱势社区的一种危险：能源使用、工业运营和自然过程中释放的空气污染物。这个为期三年的REU网站将招聘和培训30名不同的本科生，以测量、评估和了解这些污染物来自哪里，它们如何在大气中传播，以及它们对人类健康和全球气候的影响。学生将获得测量或建模方面的技术技能。他们还将与研究、行业和政府领域的专业人士以及他们自己的同龄人互动，以建立对带来挑战和解决方案的联系的理解。招生工作将优先考虑第一代和非传统学生，以及来自代表性不足群体的学生。科罗拉多州立大学为期三年的“空中联系”REU网站将招募和培训30名不同的本科生，学习解决空气污染物的技能、背景和动机。该网站将侧重于通过一个广泛的主题联系在一起的项目：大气污染物的生命周期，从其排放开始，然后是运输、空间变化和特征，并量化其在其生命周期中对健康和气候的影响。具体目标是：(1)为不同类型的本科生提供体验研究的机会，将复杂的人与自然的互动概念化，并了解重点研究如何解决跨学科问题；(2)通过个人规划、指导和专业发展课程，培养在STEM职业生涯和研究生学习中取得成功所需的技能；以及(3)系统化招生计划，促进第一代学生和非传统学生参与研究。学生将参与设计传感器和探测方法，开发遥感方法，解释空气浓度的变化，解释模型输出以评估健康和气候影响，并制定建筑物保护策略。除了技术技能，学生们还将学习污染物、人类健康和环境之间的联系，对低收入社区的不成比例的影响，以及弹性降低。学生的招生工作将优先考虑第一代学生和非传统学生，以及来自代表性不足群体的学生。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。

Air contaminants affect human health and climate, and a disproportionate fraction of adverse impacts are felt in under-resourced communities. The “Airborne Connections” Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site at Colorado State University provides summer training to address a hazard that affects all Americans and particularly disadvantaged communities: the release of airborne contaminants from energy use, industrial operations, and natural processes. This three-year REU site will recruit and train 30 diverse undergraduate students to measure, evaluate and understand where these contaminants come from, how they travel in the atmosphere, and the influences they have on human health and global climate. Students will gain technical skills in measurement or modeling. They will also interact with professionals in research, industry and government and among their own cohort to build an understanding of connections that create challenges and solutions. Recruitment efforts of students will prioritize first-generation and non-traditional students, and students from underrepresented groups. The three-year “Airborne Connections” REU Site at Colorado State University will recruit and train 30 diverse undergraduate students in the skills, context and motivation to address air contaminants. The Site will focus on projects connected through a broad theme: the life cycle of atmospheric pollutants, beginning with their emission, followed by transport, spatial variation and characteristics, and quantifying their health and climate impact during their lifetimes. Specific objectives are: (1) Provide opportunities for a diverse cohort of undergraduate students to experience research, conceptualize complex human-natural interactions, and understand how focused research solves an interdisciplinary problem; (2) Foster skills required for success in STEM careers and graduate study through individual planning, mentoring, and professional development offerings; and (3) Systematize a recruitment program that facilitates participation of first-generation and non-traditional students in research. Students will participate in designing sensors and detection methods, developing remote sensing approaches, explaining variation in air concentrations, interpreting model output to assess health and climate impact, and developing protective strategies for buildings. Along with technical skills, students will learn about connections between contaminants, human health and the environment, disproportionate effects on low-income communities, and reduced resilience. Recruitment efforts of students will prioritize first-generation and non-traditional students, and students from underrepresented groups.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.