REU Site: Exploring the Limits of Life - Understanding Biofilms in Extreme Environments

蒙大拿州立大学（MSU）的卓越中心，热生物学研究所（TBI）和生物膜工程中心（CBE），位于蒙大拿州博兹曼，将实施一个REU站点，以支持在2021-2023年夏季每年培训10名学生。这个REU项目将探索极端环境下生命的极限（例如，冰川下和黄石国家公园的温泉），并结合团队导向的学习和指导研究，帮助学生发现新的方法来成长，理解和使用极端生物膜，为社会造福。REU计划的目标是1)增加代表性不足的少数民族学生参与创新科学和工程研究；2)让更多本科生有机会攻读生物工程、微生物学及相关学科的高级学位；3)通过新颖的研究和专业发展，加强和鼓励学生对理工科身份的坚持。预计总共有30名学生将接受该项目的培训，他们主要来自非研究型大学、部落学院、社区学院或代表性不足的少数民族。为了实现招聘目标，核心参与者团队将积极与地区大学和学院的教师建立联系，并在州立部落学院和社区学院开展年度亲自招聘“闪电战”。项目评估将利用SALG URSSA在线评估工具和学生访谈，并在项目结束后使用纵向跟踪调查来确定学生的职业道路。这个REU项目是一种体验，参与者分成两人一组，在教师专家的指导下合作完成一个极端生物膜研究项目。作为他们研究的一部分，项目参与者帮助a)表征和培养极端生物膜，b)研究极端生物膜的功能，或c)探索极端压力/温度/pH下的生物膜生长，评估其在不同生物技术中的效用。作为一个小组，学生们参加黄石国家公园的实地考察和研讨会，科学素养和交流短期课程，以及每周的专业发展活动。几个讲习班帮助学生学习如何制定研究问题，设计实验和批判性地评估数据的基础知识。学生每周参加非正式的午餐聚会，与教师导师讨论项目进展，即将到来的目标，并分享解决问题的方法。参与者通过在当地的夏季科学和技术会议上展示海报，在研究研讨会上发表演讲，并完成一项写作学习任务来交流他们的研究成果。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。

Montana State University’s (MSU) centers of excellence, the Thermal Biology Institute (TBI) and the Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE), in Bozeman, Montana, will implement an REU site to support the training of 10 students each year during the summers of 2021-2023. This REU program will explore the limits of life in extreme environments (e.g., under glaciers and in Yellowstone National Park hot springs) and combine team-orientated learning and guided research, helping students discover new ways to grow, understand, and use extreme biofilms for society’s benefit. The goals of the REU program are to 1) increase participation of underrepresented minority students in innovative science and engineering research; 2) empower more undergraduates to pursue advanced degrees in bioengineering, microbiology, and related disciplines; and 3) strengthen and encourage the persistence of students’ science and engineering identities through novel research and professional development. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from non-research-intensive universities, tribal colleges, community colleges, or from an underrepresented minority will be trained in the program. To achieve the recruitment goals, the core participant team will actively network with faculty at regional universities and colleges, as well as embark on an annual in-person recruitment ‘blitz’ at state tribal colleges and community colleges. Program assessment will leverage the online SALG URSSA evaluation tool and student interviews, with longitudinal tracking surveys used after the program to determine student career paths. This REU program is an experience where participants are paired into teams of two and work collaboratively on an extreme biofilm research project under the guidance of faculty experts. As part of their research, program participants help a) characterize and grow extreme biofilms, b) investigate extreme biofilm functions, or c) explore biofilm growth at extreme pressures/temperatures/pH, assessing their utility in different biotechnologies. As a group, students participate in a field trip and workshop in Yellowstone National Park, a scientific literacy and communication short course, and weekly professional development activities. Several workshops help students learn the fundamentals of how to formulate a research question, design an experiment, and critically evaluate data. Students attend weekly informal lunch gatherings with faculty mentors to discuss project progress, upcoming goals, and share ways of solving problems. Participants communicate findings from their research by presenting a poster at a local summer science and technology meeting, giving a presentation at a research symposium, and completing a writing-to-learn assignment.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.