REU Site: Undergraduate Research Experiences in Estuarine Processes

马里兰大学环境科学中心（UMCES）的海洋和河口科学本科生研究经验（REU）项目将获得为期五年的支持。该项目将在UMCES的两个实验室，马里兰州所罗门的切萨皮克生物实验室（CBL）和马里兰州剑桥的角点实验室（HPL）进行。每年夏天，共有15名本科生将参加为期12周的项目，在此期间，学生将在教师导师的指导下进行一个独立的研究项目。根据指导，REU学生与他们的导师一起撰写研究计划，进行实地和实验室研究，分析数据，撰写研究论文，并在最后的研讨会上发表演讲。该计划介绍REU学生应用科学的方法；学习现场、实验室和数据分析方法；发展对海岸和河口过程的理解；对研究问题有深入的了解；学习解释，组织，并以书面和口头形式呈现研究项目的结果。学生可以与他们的导师单独工作，也可以作为一个更广泛的跨学科研究团队的一部分。该项目包括与华盛顿特区的加劳德特大学和波多黎各的几所小型机构的合作。大部分资金用于支持75名本科生的参与者费用，包括学生津贴、住房和往返于他们家参加该计划的交通费用。这个REU项目有助于培养下一代科学家和发展国家科学素养劳动力的国家目标。最近学生的研究课题包括营养生物地球化学、河口模拟、沉积学、微量元素化学、渔业生物能量学模拟、捕食者/猎物和其他生态学研究、微生物生态学、遗传学、环境污染和毒性研究。此外，专业发展将包括科学传播、研究伦理、研究生院申请程序和科学领域的非学术职业。学生将被鼓励在项目结束后继续他们的研究，可以是科学出版物的合著者，追求一篇高级论文，或参加科学会议。该计划的主要目的是通过鼓励75名本科生从事海洋科学事业，以实现美国国家科学基金会发展多样化，具有国际竞争力的科学劳动力队伍的目标。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in marine and estuarine science at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) will be supported for five years. The program will be run at two UMCES laboratories, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) in Solomons, MD and the Horn Point Laboratory (HPL) in Cambridge, MD. A total of fifteen undergraduates will participate in the program each summer for twelve weeks during which students will conduct an independent research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Following orientation, REU students work with their mentor to write a research proposal, conduct field and laboratory studies, analyze data, write a research paper, and present a talk at a final symposium. The program introduces REU students to applying the scientific method; learning field, lab, and data analysis methods; developing an understanding of coastal and estuarine processes; achieving an in-depth understanding of a research problem; and learning to interpret, organize, and present in written and oral form the results of a research project. Students may work individually with their mentors or as part of a broader, interdisciplinary research team. The program includes a partnership with Gallaudet University in Washington, DC and several small institutions in Puerto Rico. Most of the funding provided supports participant costs for seventy-five undergraduates, including student stipends, housing and transportation to and from their home to participate in the program. This REU program contributes to the national goals of training the next generation of scientists and developing the nation's scientifically literate workforce. Recent student research topics include nutrient biogeochemistry, estuarine modeling, sedimentology, trace element chemistry, fisheries bioenergetics modeling, predator/prey and other ecological studies, microbial ecology, genetics, environmental contamination, and toxicity studies. In addition, professional development will include sessions on science communication, research ethics, the graduate school application process and non-academic careers in science. Students will be encouraged to continue their research after the program, either by being a co-author on a scientific publication, pursuing a senior thesis, or attending a scientific conference. The primary intent of the program is to meet NSF's goal of developing a diverse, internationally competitive scientific workforce by encouraging seventy-five undergraduate students to pursue a career in marine science.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.