CoPe EAGER: Pathways for Community College Students to Explore the "Tipping Point" in Vulnerable Coastal Communities Following a Natural Hazard

奥斯汀社区学院(ACC)将启动一项公民科学计划，让社区大学的学生参与收集和分析飓风哈维及其对德克萨斯州海岸线的影响的数据。至少25名学生将为德克萨斯州阿兰萨斯港脆弱的沿海社区进行探索性工作，人类压力或环境条件的变化可能会导致临界点或生态系统的突然变化，这些变化可能很难或不可能逆转。这项初步研究将利用飓风哈维前后的水分配等数据，重点关注脆弱的阿兰萨斯港社区。学生还将使用经济数据(人口普查、税值等)。在研究临界点方面。ACC将对学生进行自然灾害、数据收集和分析以及在德克萨斯州附近社区的应用方面的教育。一旦学生接触到这些技术，他们就可以在服务不足、代表性不足和研究不足的社区建立一个公民科学家网络。该项目的目标将是1)让未来的潜在公民科学家了解自然灾害、自然灾害的后果，并利用现有数据评估受影响社区的生活条件；2)教育未被充分代表的STEM学生科学方法和数据收集；3)审查临界点的概念，将其作为数据收集、跨学科科学整合和科学应用的重点。该项目将促进有关利用公民科学促进社区参与以及留住STEM中代表性不足的学生的知识。该项目将衡量学生在以下方面的收获：1)提高对海岸灾害及其影响的认识，2)对科学事业的兴趣。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Austin Community College (ACC) will launch a citizen science program to engage community college students in the collection and analysis of data from Hurricane Harvey and its impact on the Texas coastline. At least 25 students will conduct exploratory work on the "tipping point" for the vulnerable coastal community of Port Aransas, Texas Shifts in human pressures or environmental conditions can cause tipping points or abrupt changes in an ecosystem that may be difficult or impossible to reverse. This pilot study will focus on the vulnerable Port Aransas community using data such as water distribution before and after Hurricane Harvey. Students will also use economic data (census, tax values, etc.) in studying the tipping point. ACC will educate students in natural hazards, data collection and analysis, and the application in close Texas communities. Once students are exposed to these techniques, they can then establish a network of citizen scientists in underserved, underrepresented, and understudied communities. The goals of the project will be to 1) inform future potential citizen scientists on natural disasters, the aftermath of natural disasters and evaluating living conditions of an impacted community using existing data, 2) educate underrepresented STEM students in scientific methods and data collection, and 3) examine the concept of tipping points as a focus for data collection, scientific integration across disciplines and scientific application. The project will advance knowledge on using citizen science for community engagement as well as for retaining underrepresented students in STEM. The project will measure student gains in 1) increased awareness of coastal hazards and their impact, and 2) interest in a career in the sciences.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.