REU Site: Ecohydrology of Tropical Montane Forests—Diversity in Science, Interdisciplinary Breadth, and Global Awareness

这个REU网站将支持每年8名学生，从2年制和4年制机构在全国范围内招募，参加为期10周的国际研究经验。参与者将在德克萨斯A M大学（TAMU）四所学院（农业与生命科学，工程，地球科学和布什政府学院）的教师指导下工作，与哥斯达黎加的国际专家一起工作。参与者将在TAMU校园内度过5周，并在哥斯达黎加San Isidro de Peñas Blancas附近的TAMU Soltis中心度过5周。该计划旨在通过以下方式促进学生在科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）未来职业的发展：A）展示科学多样性的基础重要性; B）灌输跨学科广度的能力和欣赏，同时扩大对森林，水，人和地球之间相互联系的认识;和C）通过在热带森林和附近地区提供变革性的国际研究经验来促进全球意识。 除了进行研究项目，学生将进行专业发展活动，以促进他们在STEM研究和继续教育的地方接受，并参加文化交流和动手学习项目，提高他们在多元化和全球化社会中有效生活和工作的能力。预期成果包括在领先的研究期刊，研究会议上的演讲，以及研究，以评估国际实地经验的成功师生联合出版物。项目负责人将分享招募不同学生群体、项目设计和管理的策略，并通过研讨会和其他影响深远的渠道建立成功的国际REU项目。这个国际REU网站的独特学习环境支持跨领域的发现，这些发现将不断变化的气候和土地管理与热带生态系统功能以及森林为当地社区提供的相关水文服务联系起来，例如，清洁可靠的饮用水和水力发电。关键的科学问题将包括，除其他外：气候变化将如何影响热带森林生态系统功能，水的可靠性，生物多样性和土壤碳固存？土地管理是如何通过蒸散、叶片湿润持续时间和生产力的变化来影响陆-气相互作用的？森林如何为受气候、土地管理和自然地质影响的当地社区提供水文服务？我们的招聘和多阶段选拔流程优先考虑该REU的潜在影响、适当的期望和态度以及对队列多样性的贡献。小组建设活动旨在建立一个包容性和支持性的学习社区，以提高批判性思维，解决问题，沟通和协作的技能。教育计划评估也将进行，以了解学生的经验和自我概念作为研究人员的完整时间轴。除了标准的项目前和项目后调查外，还将使用更频繁的评估来评估学生在研究过程的各个方面的过度自信与挣扎周期的经历。该计划的其他成果包括通过卓越教学中心的TAMU研讨会，并与本科研究的TAMU办公室的主题，如应用程序设计，招聘和选拔过程，设置适当的期望，队列建设，设计专业发展，旨在“进入研究”，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识产权进行评估来支持。优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。

This REU site will support eight students per year, recruited nationwide from 2-year and 4-year institutions, to participate in a 10-week international research experience. Participants will work under the guidance of Texas A&M University (TAMU) faculty from four colleges (Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engineering, Geosciences, and Bush School of Government), alongside international experts based in Costa Rica. Participants will spend 5 weeks on-campus at TAMU and 5 weeks at the TAMU Soltis Center near San Isidro de Peñas Blancas, Costa Rica. This program aims to enhance student development towards future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by A) demonstrating the foundational importance of Diversity in Science; B) instilling competencies and appreciation for Interdisciplinary Breadth while broadening awareness of the interconnection between forests, water, people, and planet; and C) fostering Global Awareness by providing a transformational international research experience within the tropical forest and nearby sites. In addition to conducting research projects, students will undertake professional development activities to foster their acceptance of a place in STEM research and continuing education and participate in cultural exchanges and hands-on learning projects that enhance their ability to live and work effectively in a diverse and global society. The expected outcomes include joint faculty-student publications in leading research journals, research conference presentations, and studies to assess the success of international field experiences. The project directors will share strategies to recruit diverse student cohorts, program design and management, and building successful international REU programs through workshops and other far-reaching outlets.The unique learning environment of this international REU site supports crosscutting discoveries that relate changing climate and land management to tropical ecosystem function and associated hydrological services provided by forests for local communities, e.g., clean reliable drinking water and hydropower generation. Key science questions will include, among others: how will altered climate affect tropical forest ecosystem function, water reliability, biodiversity, and soil carbon sequestration?; how does land management affect the land-atmosphere interaction through changes in evapotranspiration, leaf wetness duration, and productivity?; and how are hydrological services provided by forests for local communities affected by climate, land management, and natural geology? Our recruitment and multi-phase selection process prioritizes potential impact from this REU, appropriate expectations and attitudes, and contribution to diversity of the cohort. Cohort-building activities are designed to create an inclusive and supportive learning community to improve skills in critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration. Educational program assessment will also be conducted to understand the full timeline of student experience and self-conception as researchers. In addition to standard pre- and post-program surveys, more frequent assessments will be used to evaluate students’ experiences with overconfidence versus struggle cycles for various aspects of the research process. Additional outcomes of this program include workshops through the TAMU Center for Teaching Excellence and assisting with the TAMU Office of Undergraduate Research on topics such as application design, processes for recruitment and selection, setting appropriate expectations, cohort-building, designing professional development aimed at ‘entering research’, and building successful international programs outside of the study abroad model.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.