REU Site: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Virginia's Blandy Experimental Farm

位于弗吉尼亚州夏洛茨维尔的弗吉尼亚大学获得的REU Site奖将支持2017-2021年夏季为期11周的10名学生的培训。该项目将在弗吉尼亚大学博伊斯的布兰迪实验农场进行。学生将进行生态学或进化生物学的研究，许多项目侧重于人类活动的影响。大多数项目的研究生物体将是植物和/或昆虫。例如，学生们可能会调查的问题包括，污水中的药物对水生无脊椎动物的影响，以及城市化对本地蜂群的影响。学生将在田野、实验室或温室中进行研究，分析他们的数据，并通过科学海报、最终书面报告和口头陈述来展示他们的结果。学生们还将参加研究生院入学和研究道德等主题的研讨会。鼓励有兴趣的本科生申请，特别是来自非研究型大学的学生，来自未被充分代表的民族的学生，以及处于早期学术阶段的学生。申请必须使用该计划的在线申请系统(https://sites.google.com/site/blandyreu/apply).提交教师导师将根据几个方面来选择参与者：学生和导师研究兴趣的兼容性，本科生课程的相关性，学术成就的程度，以及推荐信中描述的资格。预计共有10名学生将在该计划中接受培训，这些学生主要来自研究机会有限的学校。学生将学习研究是如何进行的，许多人将在科学会议上展示他们的工作成果。学生还将学习如何教授幼儿研究方面的知识。由生物基础设施部资助的所有REU网站项目使用的通用网络评估工具将用于确定培训计划的有效性。项目结束后，将对学生进行跟踪，以确定他们的职业道路。学生将被要求回复通过NSF报告系统发送的自动电子邮件。有关该计划的更多信息，请访问https://sites.google.com/site/blandyreu/，或联系国际和平组织(凯尔·海恩斯博士，电子邮件：Haynes@virginia.edu)或联合国际组织(玛丽·麦肯纳博士，电子邮件：MMKENA@howard.edu)。

This REU Site award to University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville, VA, will support the training of 10 students for 11 weeks during the summers of 2017- 2021. The program will be conducted at University of Virginia's Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, VA. Students will carry out research in ecology or evolutionary biology, with many projects focusing on the impacts of human activities. The study organisms for most projects will be plants and/or insects. Questions students may investigate include, for example, the effects of pharmaceuticals in sewage on aquatic invertebrates and effects of urbanization on native bee colonies. Students will carry out research in the field, lab, or greenhouse, analyze their data, and present their results through a scientific poster, a final written report, and an oral presentation. Students will also attend workshops on topics such as gaining admission to graduate school and research ethics. Interested undergraduates are encouraged to apply, especially students from non-research colleges, students from underrepresented ethnic groups, and students at an early academic stage. Applications must be submitted using the program's online application system (https://sites.google.com/site/blandyreu/apply). Faculty mentors will select participants based on several aspects: compatibility of student-mentor research interests, relevance of undergraduate coursework, degree of academic achievement, and qualifications described in letters of recommendation. It is anticipated that a total of 10 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Students will also learn how to teach young children aspects of their research.A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting https://sites.google.com/site/blandyreu/ , or by contacting the PI (Dr. Kyle Haynes at haynes@virginia.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Mary McKenna at mmckenna@howard.edu).