GP-IN: An immersive urban environmental geochemistry research experience as a pathway to careers in the geosciences

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。城市社区往往因糟糕的水、空气和土壤质量而遭受最大的破坏。然而，尽管本科地球科学课程是解决这些问题的工作的基础，但在这些领域，经历了不成比例的环境负担的种族少数居民的比例远远低于这些领域。此外，传统的地球科学课程没有充分涵盖与城市人口相关的问题。PIS建议创建一个新颖的高中环境地球科学教育和研究计划，使用以社区为中心的环境正义方法。PIS假设，身临其境的、以当地为基础的、与文化相适应的城市环境地球化学研究经验将为未被充分代表的矿化(URM)学生开辟一条通往地球科学的途径。这将解决两个紧迫的社会正义问题：少数民族在地球科学职业生涯中的代表性不足以及城市环境污染的差异。该项目试图通过分两个阶段的活动来吸引来自种族分化群体的学生：(1)学年、基于学校的、以探究为导向的研究体验，其中包括由维拉诺瓦地球科学教师和一名研究生共同指导，以调查学生当地社区内的水、土壤和空气污染；(2)维拉诺瓦环境地球化学夏季研究所(VEGSI)，一个身临其境的校园内，为期四周的暑期研究经验，高中生(每年9名)与3名维拉诺瓦大学地球科学专业的本科生合作，与现有的社区合作伙伴共同开展当地现有的城市环境地球化学研究项目。VEGSI将包括一个专业发展系列，由以费城为中心的不同专家小组发言，阐述解决环境危害的现场经验和专业努力的重要性，进一步促进参与者对地球科学专业的抱负和认识。PIS计划通过一系列评估来评估项目的成功，包括焦点小组、前期和后期的态度和知识调查，这些评估衡量了人们对地球科学领域和机构从事环境管理的兴趣的变化。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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Urban communities often suffer the greatest damage from poor water, air, and soil quality. Yet, while undergraduate geoscience programs are the foundation for jobs tasked with remedying these problems, the racially minoritized residents who disproportionately experience environmental burdens are vastly underrepresented in these fields. Furthermore, the traditional curriculum offerings in geoscience do not adequately cover issues of relevance to urban populations. The PIs propose to create a novel high school environmental geoscience education and research program using a community-centric environmental justice approach. PIs hypothesize that an immersive, locally-based, culturally responsive research experience in urban environmental geochemistry will broaden a pathway to the geosciences for underrepresented minoritized (URM) students. This will address two pressing issues of social justice: underrepresentation of racial minorities in geoscience careers and disparities in urban environmental contamination.This project seeks to engage students from racially minoritized groups by using a two-phased activity approach: (1) an academic year, school-based, inquiry-driven research experience which will involve co-mentoring by Villanova geoscience faculty and a graduate student, to investigate water, soil and air contamination within the students’ local community, and (2) the Villanova Environmental Geochemistry Summer Institute (VEGSI), an immersive, on-campus, four-week long summer research experience where high school students (9 per year) collaborate with 3 Villanova undergraduate geoscience majors on existing, local urban environmental geochemistry research projects with established community partners. VEGSI will include a professional development series featuring a diverse panel of Philadelphia-centered experts speaking to the importance of both lived experience and professional efforts to redress environmental harm, furthering participant aspiration and awareness of geoscience professions. PIs plan to evaluate project success through a series of assessments, including focus groups, pre- and post-period attitude and knowledge surveys that gauge changing interest in geoscience fields and agency to engage in environmental stewardship.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.