RaMP: Research opportunities and access for diverse scientists (ROADs) in extreme dryland environments

该项目建立了通往STEM职业生涯的道路(不同科学家的研究机会和途径)，旨在为本科阶段研究经验有限的大学后毕业生奠定基础。它将为下一代全球变化科学家提供变革性的研究培训和专业发展，并将他们嵌入到多样化的专业网络中。毕业后的学生将从事尖端科学，涉及北极和沙漠的干旱环境问题。这些研究不足的环境往往被认为是对气候变异性、土地利用变化和其他人类活动最敏感的环境。其中许多变化有能力在我们受训人员的有生之年内改变地球系统，只有在这些生态系统中培训下一代全球变化生物学家才能解决这些问题。参与者将成为精通数据的全球变化科学家、强大的合作者、有效的沟通者和未来的跨学科领导者。毕业后的毕业生从事研究，重点是在从基因到宏观系统的多个生物组织层面上识别北极干旱环境和沙漠对全球变化的生物和生物地球化学响应，同时拥有一个由导师和同行组成的广泛支持团队。UTEP和其他学术或其他专业导师的全年研究项目将集中在两个重点领域：(1)种群和物种[MAL]--适应快速变化的环境，以及(2)旱地物种和群落的变化范围。其他方案部分包括专业发展讲习班和研讨会，以及确保公路培训学员成功过渡到政府或行业的研究生院或STEM职位的网络活动。网络合作伙伴包括来自学术机构、政府机构、行业和教育的代表。学员还将受益于同行指导，以帮助他们驾驭研究活动、导师-学员关系和项目后计划，包括研究生院或行业、机构和非政府组织的职位。项目导师将作为一种模式，专注于其他少数族裔服务机构的毕业后经验，以支持多样化的下一代STEM专业人员。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 project establishes ROADs (Research Opportunities and Access for Diverse Scientists) to STEM careers aimed at postbaccalaureates who had limited opportunity for research experience as undergraduates. It will provide the next generation of global change scientists with transformative research training and professional development, and embed them within a diverse professional network. Postbaccalaureates will engage in cutting-edge science spanning questions focused on dryland environments of the Arctic and deserts. These understudied environments are often identified as being the most sensitive to climate variability, land use change, and other human activities. Many of these changes have a capacity to alter the Earth System within the lifetime of our trainees and can be tackled only by training the next generation of global change biologists in these ecosystems. Participants will become data-savvy global change scientists, strong collaborators, effective communicators, and interdisciplinary leaders of the future.Postbaccalaureates engage in research focusing on identifying biological and biogeochemical responses of dryland environments of the Arctic and deserts to global change at multiple levels of biological organization from genes to macrosystems, while having an extensive support team of mentors and peers. A year-round research project with UTEP and other academic or other professional mentors will be in two focal areas: (1) populations and species [mal]-adaptation to rapidly changing environments, and (2) shifting ranges of dryland species and communities. Other programmatic components include professional development workshops and seminars, and network events to ensure a successful transition of ROADs trainees to graduate school or STEM positions in government or industry. Network partners include representatives from academic institutions, government agencies, industry, and education. Trainees will also benefit from peer mentoring to help them navigate research activities, mentor-mentee relationships and post-program plans, including graduate school or positions in industry, agencies, and non-governmental organizations. The project mentors will serve as a model approach focused on the postbaccalaureate experience for other Minority Serving Institutions to support a diverse next generation of STEM professionals.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.