IRES: International Research Experiences for Graduate Students in Tropical Ecology in Costa Rica

在这个由国际科学和工程办公室支持的IRES项目中，Elizabeth Losos和他的同事将在哥斯达黎加的帕洛维德生物站为15名美国研究生建立一个国际研究体验项目。该站位于哥斯达黎加西北部的帕洛维德国家公园内，保护坦皮斯克河流域的一大部分。在该项目为期三年的每一年中，将以竞争的方式从全美各地的教育机构中挑选五名处于研究生职业生涯早期的美国学生。他们将在夏季与热带研究组织(OTS)的科学家合作10周，研究热带生物学的研究项目，如湿地恢复、防洪、用水和减少对该地区的农业负面影响。这项IRES活动应该培养一支具有国际经验和联系的热带研究人员队伍。美国研究生来自传统上在科学界代表性较低的群体，他们正处于职业生涯的形成阶段，此时他们仍在发展自己的研究技能，确定自己的研究方向和问题。这个IRES项目将使OTS能够在美国学生的教育阶段为他们提供一个国际合作的研究机会，当这种国际指导和专业关系对研究问题的选择、研究设计、研究系统和研究地点产生最大影响时。与当地农民、技术人员和推广代理商的合作有可能对整个当地社区以及更广泛的受众产生巨大影响。

In this IRES project supported by the Office of International Science and Engineering, Elizabeth Losos and colleagues will establish an international research-experience program for fifteen U.S. graduate students at the Palo Verde Biological Station in Costa Rica. This station, located within Palo Verde National Park in northwest Costa Rica, protects a significant portion of the Tempisque River Basin. Each year for the three-year life of this project, five U.S. students in the early stages of their graduate careers will be selected on a competitive basis from educational institutions throughout the United States. They will spend 10 weeks during the summer working with scientists from the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) on research projects in tropical biology, such as wetlands restoration, flood control, water usage, and reducing negative agricultural impacts on the region.This IRES activity should develop a cadre of tropical researchers with international experience and connections. The U.S. graduate students, drawn from groups traditionally underrepresented in science, are at a formative phase in their careers, when they are still developing their research skills and defining their research direction and questions. This IRES project will allow OTS to offer an international, collaborative research opportunity to U.S. students at a point in their education when such international mentorship and professional relationships can have the greatest impact on the selection of research questions, research design, study systems, and study locations. The work with local farmers, technicians, and extension agents has the potential to have a dramatic impact on the entire local community as well as on a wider audience.