REU Site: Ecology and Management for Resilient and Adapted Forests

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This REU Site award to Mississippi State University Department of Forestry, located in Starkville, MS, will support the training of nine students for ten weeks during the summers of 2024 - 2026. It is anticipated that a total of 27 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities or from an underrepresented group in forestry, will be trained in the program. Students and mentors will work together to identify best management practices for managing resilient forest ecosystems that produce multiple ecosystem services in the southeastern United States. Students will carry out high-quality, interdisciplinary research in a collegial environment, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Assessment of the program will be done through an online tool. Students should apply to the REU site using NSF ETAP (Education and Training Application: https://etap.nsf.gov).The REU site, based in the Department of Forestry at Mississippi State University, aims to: (i) welcome, include, and serve students from underrepresented groups to increase diversity and awareness of career opportunities and in forestry, (ii) train talented undergraduate students to become independent, science-literate researchers by challenging them with real-world problems in forestry, and (iii) develop methods and products to manage forests for resilience and to promote and strengthen them as a climate change solution. Leveraging the nearly 20 million forested acres in Mississippi, students will partner with faculty mentors to conduct a research project, from design and implementation to final presentation and/or publication, focused on at least one of the following areas: (i) climate change mitigation, (ii) forest health, or (iii) ecosystem function. Students and faculty mentors will participate in orientation and professional development seminars and workshops (for example, scientific writing and communication, data management and analysis, diversity in and philosophy in science, topics in forest science). Students will apply online and applicants will be interviewed and selected by research mentors. Program outcomes will be tracked using an online tool.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.