URM: Undergraduate Research and Mentoring at a Hispanic Serving Institution Investigating a Rare Ecosystem

该奖项授予德克萨斯大学泛美分校，由《2009年美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)资助。德克萨斯大学泛美分校(UTPA)将与亚利桑那大学、佐治亚理工学院和普渡大学合作，建立一个本科生研究和指导(URM)项目，该项目将吸引拉美裔服务机构(HSI)的学生参与研究和指导。其目标是增加未被充分代表的少数群体对科学的参与。每年将招收7名学生，每个学生将参加该项目一整年。在四年的助学金期间，总共将有28名学生接受培训。URM项目将在学年期间将课程作业与独立研究相结合，并在夏季几个月期间在三个合作机构之一进行研究。该计划还包括学生演讲、社区推广和小组活动，包括研讨会、伦理和写作课程以及研究生入学考试(GRE)准备。URM的学生将与UTPA的生物学教师合作，研究砷和其他污染物与南得克萨斯州高盐度河口生态系统拉古纳·马德雷的植物和微生物的相互作用。除了提高学生的批判性思维能力外，该项目还将培训学生科学写作和科学伦理行为。今年夏天，学生们将与亚利桑那大学、佐治亚理工学院或普渡大学的合作教师一起进行研究。除了接触最先进的仪器设备外，学生还将接触到研究密集型机构的学术文化和研究环境。耶鲁大学的学生将参观当地学校，并在一年一度的拉美裔科学展览以及州和国家会议上展示他们的工作。URM计划提供了一个机会，让学生参与将直接影响他们所在社区的研究，同时旨在增加生物学家的培训和多样性。欲了解更多信息，请访问http://www.utpa.edu/dept/biology/nsf-urm.html，或联系克里斯汀·洛博士，电话：(956)3808749，电子邮件：klowe@utpa.edu。

This award to the University of Texas -- Pan American is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The University of Texas -- Pan American (UTPA), in partnership with the University of Arizona, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Purdue University, will establish an Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM) program that will engage students from a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) in research and mentoring. The goal is to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in science. Cohorts of seven students per year will be recruited, and each student will participate in the program for a full year. Over the 4-year period of the grant, a total of twenty eight (28) students will be trained. The URM program will combine coursework with independent research during the academic year, as well as research at one of three collaborating institutions during the summer months. The program also includes student presentations, community outreach, and group activities consisting of workshops, ethics and writing courses, and Graduate Record Exam (GRE) preparation. URM students will work with biology faculty at UTPA to examine the interactions of arsenic and other pollutants with plants and microorganisms in Laguna Madre, a hypersaline estuary ecosystem in South Texas. In addition to enhancing students' critical thinking skills, the program will train students on scientific writing and the ethical conduct of science. In the summer, the students will conduct their research with collaborating faculty at the University of Arizona, the Georgia Institute of Technology, or Purdue University. In addition to accessing state-of-the-art instrumentation, students will be exposed to the academic culture and research environment of a research-intensive institution. URM students will visit local schools and present their work at an annual Hispanic science exhibition as well as at state and national conferences. The URM program provides an opportunity to involve students in research that will directly impact their community, while aiming to increase the training and diversity of biologists. More information is available by visiting http://www.utpa.edu/dept/biology/nsf-urm.html, or by contacting Dr. Kristine Lowe at (956) 380-8749 or klowe@utpa.edu.