REU Site: Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences - Undergraduate Research Experience in the Gulf of Maine and the World Ocean

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The Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences located in East Boothbay ME, will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site for three summers (2024-2026). The program, called “Undergraduate Research Experience in the Gulf of Maine and the World Oceans”, will bring ten undergraduates to Bigelow each summer for ten weeks. The goals of this REU program are i) to provide undergraduate students from the USA with mentoring and access to high-quality, hands-on research opportunities in Oceanography and the opportunity to understand its interdisciplinary nature, ii) improve the capability and confidence of students to learn independently, iii) increase the participation of underrepresented and first-generation students in marine science careers and iv) help to prepare undergraduates for their professional careers.Students will have an opportunity to work with Bigelow scientists, who have expertise in topics such as chemical and biological oceanography, modeling, satellite-oceanography, genomics, organismal and population biology, fisheries and air-sea gas exchange, and who approach biological oceanography as an inter-disciplinary science. Bigelow’s REU program combines group learning and guided individual research to help students address societal issues concerning the oceans. As a group, students participate in a sampling cruise on the local estuary and attend weekly meetings to learn the fundamentals of the scientific process, such as how to form testable hypotheses, critically evaluate data, and present information in a scientific manner to peers and to the public. Students attend an ethics in science discussion, a lab safety course with risk assessment training and a concept mapping workshop during the early stages of their project. Students will participate in public outreach through attendance at Bigelow’s weekly Café Scientifique talks (for the general public), participation in the Lab’s Open House and frequent public lab tours. Individual learning experiences includes mentor-guided independent research, experimentation and/or fieldwork, and compiling and evaluating data in a wide arena of oceanographic topics. As part of their projects, students may have the opportunity to scuba dive, sample directly from the Bigelow’s Pier or participate in research cruises. Following the program, many students have the opportunity to present their research at international meetings or publish results from their REU experience. Funding provided supports student stipends, housing and travel and some administrative costs. The program will provide a total of thirty students with research experience and professional development and will contribute to the development of the next generation of U.S. ocean scientists.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.