GP-UP: Applied Geosciences at the Soil, Water and Energy Nexus

社会面临的一些最关键的问题与地球科学有关，但未来的美国地球科学劳动力预计将不足以满足需求，也不能代表国家多样化的人才库。来自不同种族和族裔群体的个人在进入和留在地球科学领域方面面临障碍;这在一定程度上是由于缺乏指导和对地球科学职业的了解。该计划通过为本科生提供真实的，以职业为基础的经验，解决当地，面向社区的地球科学问题来解决这些障碍。地球科学系的伍斯特学院正在与地方政府机构，非营利组织和雇主在环境地球科学行业合作，为学生提供动手暑期实习和专业发展机会。主要目标是建立从大学一年级到地球科学专业的桥梁。PI希望建立一个可以很容易地转移到其他学院的计划，并增加来自地球科学专业代表性不足的群体的学生人数。该项目将建立一个地球科学学习生态系统（GLE），解决当地社区为导向的问题，并增加在伍斯特学院获得地球科学学位的代表性不足的学生人数。GLE侧重于我们农村农业社区内土壤，水和能源之间的联系。该框架为面向社区的学生研究项目提供了与社会相关的驱动力，同时为我们的学生提供相关的劳动力经验。当学生在教育发展的关键时刻与GLE互动时，他们可以开始想象自己作为地球科学家的成功职业生涯。学生将参加暑期实习，地球科学职业探索体验和同行指导的协调计划，该计划提供了通往专业的有意途径，培养学生的geo-STEM身份，提高学生对地球科学职业的认识，并为学生提供可直接转移到地球科学劳动力的技能和专业网络。通过将扩大参与的循证战略与利用以白色为主的本科院校现有许多结构的框架相结合，我们的可转让计划有可能改变这些机构如何扩大种族和少数民族在地球科学中的参与。该奖项反映了NSF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。

Some of the most critical issues facing society are related to the geosciences, yet the future U.S. geoscience workforce is expected to be insufficient to meet demand and not representative of the Nation’s diverse talent pool. Individuals from racially and ethnically diverse groups face barriers to entering and remaining in the geosciences; this, in part, is due to a lack of mentoring and knowledge of geoscience careers. This program addresses these barriers by providing undergraduate students with authentic, career-based experiences that address local, community-oriented geoscience problems. The College of Wooster Department of Earth Sciences is partnering with regional government agencies, non-profit organizations, and employers in the environmental geoscience industry to provide students with hands-on summer internships and professional development opportunities. The primary goal is to build a bridge from the first year of college to a geoscience major. The PIs hope to establish a program that can be readily transferred to other colleges and increase the numbers students from underrepresented groups majoring in the geosciences.This project will establish a geoscience learning ecosystem (GLE) that addresses local community-oriented problems and increases the number of underrepresented students earning Earth Science degrees at The College of Wooster. The GLE focuses on local needs at the nexus of soil, water, and energy within our rural, agricultural community. This framework provides a societally-relevant driver for community-oriented student research projects while supplying relevant workforce experience for our students. As students interact with the GLE at critical points in their educational development, they can begin to imagine themselves in successful careers as geoscientists.Students will participate in a coordinated program of summer internships, geoscience career exploration experiences, and peer mentoring that provides an intentional pathway to the major, develops students’ geo-STEM identities, increases students’ awareness of geoscience careers, and equips students with skills and professional networks that are directly transferrable to the geoscience workforce. By integrating evidence-based strategies for broadening participation with a framework that leverages many structures existing at predominantly white and primarily undergraduate institutions, our transferable program has the potential to transform how these institutions approach broadening participation of racial and ethnic minorities in the geosciences.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.