REU Site: Summer Program at Harvard in Earth and Environmental Research (SPHEER): Investigating a changing planet across multiple timescales

哈佛大学的本科生研究体验网站为本科生提供了一个为期10周的密集课程，以进行地球和环境科学的研究。该计划利用了地球和行星科学部(EPS)的广泛技能和知识，并纳入了正在或即将受到气候变化深刻影响的社区的基于地点的知识和专业知识。每年夏天，十名学生与EPS教职员工和研究生密切合作，以获得地球系统变化研究的实践经验。这种变化发生在多个时间尺度上，从几十年到数百万年。通过SPHEER，学生加深对陆地-大气-海洋相互关联的过程的理解，包括不受控制的人类活动的潜在后果。来自经历环境变化影响的社区的专家被邀请参加研讨会，并与REU的学生和导师接触，以便将这些社区的基于地点的历史知识、观点和优先事项纳入当前的研究。SPHEER的首要主题是调查地球系统变化的驱动因素和后果。研究项目涉及大气化学和物理、气候变化、地球化学、地质学和地球物理的研究。SPHEER的具体目标是：(1)指导学生进行开创性研究；(2)帮助学生了解实地和实验室研究、数据分析和建模在环境变化研究中的相互作用；(3)使学生沉浸在实践这些新技能中；(4)熟悉学生进入研究生院和职业生涯的途径；(5)让不同的学生群体参与以变化的地球为中心的职业生涯；以及(6)将不同的文化视角纳入环境变化的研究中。目标参与者包括历史上黑人学院和大学、西班牙裔服务机构和部落学院和大学的学生，以及大多数服务机构中历史上被边缘化的科学、技术、工程和数学学生。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 Research Experiences for Undergraduates site at Harvard provides a 10-week intensive program for undergraduates to conduct research in the earth and environmental sciences. The program draws on the broad skills and knowledge of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) and incorporates the place-based knowledge and expertise of communities that are or soon will be profoundly affected by climate change. Ten students each summer work closely with EPS faculty and graduate students to gain hands-on experience in research on Earth system changes. Such changes occur across multiple timescales, from decades to millions of years. Through SPHEER, students deepen their understanding of linked land-atmosphere-ocean processes, including the potential consequences of unchecked human activity. Experts from communities experiencing the effects of environmental change are invited to give seminars and engage with REU students and mentors in order to incorporate the place-based historical knowledge, perspectives and priorities of these communities into current research.The overarching theme of SPHEER is investigation of the drivers and consequences of Earth system change. Research projects involve the study of atmospheric chemistry and physics, climate change, geochemistry, geology, and geophysics. Specific SPHEER objectives are to (1) mentor students in pioneering research; (2) help students understand the interplay between field and laboratory research, data analysis, and modeling in studying environmental change; (3) immerse students in practicing these new skills; (4) familiarize students with pathways to graduate school and careers; (5) engage a diverse group of students in careers centered on the changing Earth; and (6) incorporate diverse cultural perspectives in the study of environmental change. Targeted participants include students at historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, and tribal colleges and universities, as well as historically marginalized students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at majority-serving institutions.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.