REU Site: Interdisciplinary Research Experiences for Undergraduates on Bioenergy

南达科他州立大学的这个面向本科生的跨学科研究体验(REU)网站将允许10名本科生在2013至2015年的夏季为期10周学习研究技能，并参与与生物燃料和生物能源作物相关的独特研究体验。生物能源不仅是科学和工程领域的一个新兴领域，对美国经济有着深远的影响，而且它也是多学科研究的优秀培训基地。该行业仍在发展中，可以预期，在不久的将来，对这一领域的科学家和训练有素的劳动力的需求将会增加。对行业合作伙伴的实地考察将使学生了解生物能源行业的潜在职业。该项目将来自6个不同系(生物学和微生物学、农业和生物系统工程、植物科学、化学、经济学、地球空间科学)的教师导师与积极的生物能源研究计划联系在一起，这将为该计划的参与者提供一个多学科的研究环境。化学、生物学、工程学和经济学的学生将积极参与代表最先进的生物能源研究的所有项目，从原料基因组学到生物加工的新技术和将生物能源作物转化为生物燃料，再到农业作物生产的生态和环境可持续性，但也将考虑全球生物能源生产的社会和经济影响。学生还将参加研讨会和各种研讨会，如道德培训和负责任的研究行为。这些学生是根据他们的学业成绩、推荐信和他们在多学科研究环境中工作的动机来挑选的。项目结束后，将使用一个通用的评估工具来评估学生在不同研究相关领域的收获。对学生进行跟踪，以确定他们对学术研究领域的持续兴趣、他们的职业道路以及研究经验的持久影响。欲了解更多信息，请访问该计划的(http://www.sdstate.edu/biomicro/REU/index.cfm)，网页，或联系sdsu.reU.S.BioEnergy@sdstate.edu、该计划的PI(Heike.Bucking@sdstate.edu博士)或该计划的联合PI(Jose Gonzalez博士，jose.Gonzalez@sdstate.edu)。该网站由国防部与NSF REU计划共同资助。

This interdisciplinary Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site at South Dakota State University will allow ten undergraduate students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2013 to 2015 to learn research skills and to participate in unique research experiences related to biofuels and bioenergy crops. Bioenergy is not only an emergent area in science and engineering with profound implications for the U.S. economy, but it is also an excellent training ground in multidisciplinary research. The industry is still developing, and it can be expected that the demands for scientists in this area and a trained work force will increase in the near future. Field trips to industry partners will allow students to learn about potential careers in the bioenergy industry. This project links together faculty mentors from 6 different departments (biology and microbiology, agricultural and biosystems engineering, plant science, chemistry, economics, geospatial sciences) with active research programs on bioenergy, and this will provide a multidisciplinary research environment for the participants of the program. Students in chemistry, biology, engineering, and economics will get actively involved in projects representing the whole spectrum of state of the art bioenergy research from feedstock genomics, to new technologies in bioprocessing and the conversion of bioenergy crops into biofuels, to ecological and environmental sustainability of agricultural crop production, but will also consider the societal and economic impacts of global bioenergy production. Students will also participate in seminars and various workshops, such as ethics training and responsible conduct in research. The students are selected based on their academic record, letters of recommendation, and their motivation to work in a multidisciplinary research environment. A common assessment tool will be used to evaluate the gains of the students in different research relevant areas after the program. The students are tracked to determine their continued interest in their academic field of study, their career paths, and the lasting influences of the research experience. More information is available by visiting the web page of the program (http://www.sdstate.edu/biomicro/REU/index.cfm), or by contacting sdsu.reu.bioenergy@sdstate.edu, the PI (Dr. Heike Bücking at heike.bucking@sdstate.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Jose Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@sdstate.edu) of the program.The site is co-funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.