REU Site: Plant Biology and Conservation Research Experiences for Undergraduates--From Genes to Ecosystems

这个REU网站奖给芝加哥植物园，位于格伦科，IL，将支持30名本科生在三个夏天从2018年至2020年的培训。该植物生物学课程向本科生介绍了旨在了解生态学，进化和人类对植物和真菌的影响的研究，其工作范围从遗传到生态系统尺度的分析。该方案有两个目标：1）研究植物生态学和人类主导的景观恢复，2）激励和教育新的研究人员推动该领域的发展，同时与科学界内外的广大受众进行交流。学生在线申请该项目，研究生和教师导师负责面试和选择在该项目中匹配良好的学生。预计30名学生将主要来自研究机会有限的学校，他们过去没有参加过REU或类似的经历，和/或来自传统上在生物科学中代表性不足的群体。学生将学习如何进行研究，参加一系列培训活动，对芝加哥公立高中学生进行近距离的指导，并在公开研讨会上展示他们的工作成果。他们还将制作一个关于他们研究的短片，供广大观众观看，并张贴在花园的YouTube频道上。由生物基础设施部资助的所有REU研究中心项目使用的通用网络评估工具将用于确定培训项目的有效性。学生将在课程结束后进行跟踪，以确定他们的职业道路。学生将被要求通过NSF报告系统自动发送电子邮件。有关该计划的更多信息，请访问http://cbgreu.org，或联系PI（Andrea克雷默博士，akramer@chicagobotanic.org）或联合PI（Jeremie Fant博士，jfant@chicagobotanic.org）。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This REU Site award to Chicago Botanic Garden, located in Glencoe, IL, will support the training of 30 undergraduate students over the three summers from 2018- 2020. This plant biology program introduces undergraduates to research aimed at understanding the ecology, evolution, and human impacts on plants and fungi, with work spanning from genetic to ecosystem scales of analysis. The program has two goals: 1) investigate plant ecology and restoration in human-dominated landscapes, and 2) inspire and educate new researchers to move the field forward while engaging and communicating with a broad audience within and beyond the scientific community. Students apply for the program online, and graduate student and faculty mentors are responsible for interviewing and selecting the students that match well in the program.It is anticipated that the 30 students will primarily be from schools with limited research opportunities, who have not participated in REU or similar experiences in the past, and/or are from groups traditionally underrepresented in the biological sciences. Students will learn how research is conducted, engage in an array of training activities, conduct near-peer mentoring of Chicago Public high school students, and present the results of their work at a public symposium. They will also produce a short video about their research that is accessible to a broad audience and posted on the Garden's YouTube channel. 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 in order 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 http://cbgreu.org, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Andrea Kramer at akramer@chicagobotanic.org) or the co-PI (Dr. Jeremie Fant at jfant@chicagobotanic.org).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.