IGERT: Geobiological Systems Science: Providing Connectivity across Molecular and Environmental Scales

这一综合性研究生教育和研究培训计划(IGERT)专注于复杂微生物系统的地球微生物学，汇集了流体力学、地球化学、微生物生态学、生物化学和基因组学方面的专业知识。这项研究和教育计划的主要目标是培训学生在微生物群落研究中使用一致和连贯的跨学科方法，这将导致对生物圈和地圈之间的重要界面的更全面的了解。这一新颖的培训计划包括研究科学家，他们专注于极端高温、嗜冷或工业生物膜群落的微生物学。该项目的研究生参加为期四个学期的综合课程序列、专业研讨会、在国家和国际实验室的实习、针对美洲原住民高中生暑期实习生的辅导活动以及生物膜工程中心(CBE)和热生物研究所(TBI)的研讨会项目。这个IGERT项目的毕业生将做好充分的准备，以解决任何系统中的微生物过程的复杂性，同时保持显著的学科深度。这一研究生培训计划的影响是广泛的，包括与现有的热生物学、寒冷地区研究和生物膜工程方面的卓越中心建立合作伙伴关系。外展是教育经验不可或缺的一部分，该项目的研究生将参与并协助一项或多项重要的外展活动，包括正式的K-12科学教师课程、科学研讨会、工业合作伙伴计划、对黄石国家公园(YNP)讲解人员的培训、K-12学生的实地考察、落基山脉博物馆和老忠实游客博物馆的教育展览、指导美国原住民高中和本科生，以及与YNP研究协调网络合作开发数字图书馆和网站内容。这些更广泛的影响在支持IGERT计划的不同教育目标和进一步发展地球生物科学扫盲方面是协同的。IGERT是一个NSF范围内的项目，旨在应对培养具有跨学科背景、所选学科的深厚知识以及满足未来职业需求所需的技术、专业和个人技能的美国博士科学家和工程师的挑战。该项目旨在通过建立创新的研究生教育和培训新模式，在超越传统学科界限的合作研究的肥沃环境中，催化研究生教育的文化变革。

This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program is focused on the geomicrobiology of complex microbiological systems, and brings together expertise in hydrodynamics, geochemistry, microbial ecology, biochemistry and genomics. The primary goal of this research and education program is to train students to use consistent and coherent interdisciplinary approaches in the study of microbial communities that will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the important interface between the biosphere and geosphere. The novel training program encompasses research scientists focused on the microbiology of extreme thermal, psychrophilic, or industrial biofilm communities. Graduate students in this program participate in an integrated four-semester course sequence, professional workshops, internships at national and international laboratories, mentoring activities for Native American high-school student summer interns and seminar programs in the Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE) and Thermal Biology Institute (TBI). Graduates from this IGERT program will be well-prepared to address the complexity of microbial processes in any system, while maintaining significant disciplinary depth. The broader impacts of this graduate training program are extensive, and include partnerships with existing centers of excellence in Thermal Biology, Cold Regions Research, and Biofilm Engineering. Outreach is an integral part of the educational experience and graduate students in this program will participate and assist with one or more important outreach activities including a formal K-12 science-teacher course, scientific workshops, industrial partner programs, training for Yellowstone National Park (YNP) interpretive staff, field trips for K-12 students, educational exhibits at the Museum of the Rockies and the Old Faithful Visitor Museum, mentoring Native American high school and undergraduate students, and development of digital libraries and web content in collaboration with the YNP Research Coordination Network. These broader impacts are synergistic in supporting the diverse educational goals of an IGERT program, and in further developing literacy in the geobiological sciences. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.