IRES Track I: Collaborative Research: GYP-NEXTGEN: Empowering future scientists within an international consortium focused on gypsum plant communities

不寻常的土壤类型，如石膏，是世界上很大一部分植物多样性的家园，拥有独特的、往往是稀有的生物群落，具有保护意义，并且是促进我们对基本进化和生态过程理解的优秀系统。通过IRES Track I的资助，吉普赛- nextgen项目允许约翰卡罗尔大学、新墨西哥州立大学和奥伯林学院每年支持6名学生（每所大学每年两名学生，为期三年）与西班牙皮雷纳科研究所Ecología、Almería大学和雷·胡安·卡洛斯大学的合作伙伴一起开展指导研究项目。主要目标是促进我们对独特植物和相关生物的理解，这些生物专门研究不寻常的石膏土壤，同时为不同类型的美国本科生（总共18名学生）提供高质量的国际研究经验。学生参与者将从三个不同的机构中选出，包括一个为西班牙裔服务的机构和两个以本科生为重点的机构，其中一个有很多第一代学生。吉普赛- nextgen建立在现有的美国-西班牙合作基础上，为美国学生提供了与该研究领域的许多全球专家一起工作的机会。gypg - nextgen将为全球劳动力培养18名未来的科学家，培养他们在STEM领域的跨文化、人际关系和学术研究技能。每位学生将在美国和西班牙科学家的密切指导下，制定研究计划，在实地和实验室进行研究，并准备他们的工作，以供展示和进一步出版。学生们将通过直接到西班牙当地学校讨论他们的工作，以及在美国和墨西哥制作关于他们项目的双语播客，来提高他们的科学交流技能。该项目还为美国和西班牙的多元化教师团队提供了专业发展机会。通过利用和扩展GYPWORLD， gypn - nextgen加强了美国和西班牙合作机构之间的联系，使基础研究和石膏生态系统保护取得实质性进展，并为本科生、初级教师和高级教师创造了有意义的专业发展机会。不寻常的土壤类型，如石膏，为了解基本的生态和进化过程提供了独特的机会。适应这些土壤的生物往往天生稀有，需要加以保护。尽管石膏生态系统在干旱和半干旱地区普遍存在，但与其他恶劣土壤类型相比，石膏生态系统仍未得到充分研究，但它们在五大洲拥有生物多样性的特有植物和生物土壤结皮群落。该项目建立在美国和西班牙合作伙伴之间现有的合作基础上，为来自三所美国机构（约翰卡罗尔大学、新墨西哥州立大学和奥伯林学院）和三所西班牙机构（皮雷纳科研究所Ecología、Almería大学和雷胡安卡洛斯大学）的18名学生提供指导和培训的机会。通过进一步联系美国和西班牙的合作伙伴，该项目将推进与石膏生态系统的生理学、生态学、进化和保护相关的基础研究问题。我们的主要目标是推进我们对石膏生态系统的理解，同时为不同的美国本科生提供高质量的国际研究经验。重要的是，西班牙是石膏生态和进化研究的国际中心，包括在石膏- nextgen中的西班牙pi代表了石膏生态和进化的大多数全球领导者。学生在西班牙的研究经历之前，期间和之后将通过综合活动进行指导，以确保始终如一的高质量指导。gypg - nextgen将为全球劳动力培养18名未来的科学家，培养他们在STEM领域的跨文化、人际关系和学术研究技能。每位学生将在美国和西班牙科学家的密切指导下，制定研究计划，在实地和实验室进行研究，并准备他们的工作，以供展示和进一步出版。学生们将通过直接到西班牙当地学校讨论他们的工作，以及在美国和墨西哥制作关于他们项目的双语播客，来提高他们的科学交流技能。该项目还为多元化的教师提供了专业发展机会。通过利用和扩展现有的欧盟资助的GYPWORLD项目，gypgen - nextgen加强了美国和西班牙合作机构之间的联系，使基础研究和石膏生态系统保护取得实质性进展，并为本科生、初级教师和高级教师创造了有意义的专业发展机会。该项目由国际科学与工程办公室（OISE）和促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。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。

Unusual soil types such as gypsum are home to a significant proportion of the world’s plant diversity, host unique and often rare biological communities of conservation concern, and serve as excellent systems to further our understanding of basic evolutionary and ecological processes. Through IRES Track I funding, the GYP-NEXTGEN project allows John Carroll University, New Mexico State University, and Oberlin College to support annual 6-student cohorts (two students per institution per year for three years) to conduct mentored research projects with partners in Spain at the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Universidad de Almería, and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. The main objective is to advance our understanding of the unique plants and associated organisms that specialize on unusual gypsum soils, while simultaneously providing high-quality international research experiences to a diverse set of US undergraduates (18 students, total). The student participants will be drawn from three diverse institutions, including a Hispanic-serving institution and two undergraduate-focused institutions, one of which has many first-generation students. GYP-NEXTGEN builds on an existing US-Spanish collaboration, providing US students the opportunity to work alongside many of the worldwide experts in this research area. GYP-NEXTGEN will train 18 future scientists for a global workforce, developing their cross-cultural, interpersonal, and academic research skills in STEM fields. Each student will be closely mentored by US and Spanish scientists as they develop research proposals, conduct studies in the field and laboratory, and prepare their work for presentation and further publication. Students will advance their scientific communication skills through direct outreach to local schools in Spain to talk about their work, and in the US and Mexico through production of a bilingual podcast about their projects. The project also provides professional development opportunities for a diverse faculty team in the US and Spain. By leveraging and expanding upon GYPWORLD, GYP-NEXTGEN strengthens the links between the US and Spanish partner institutions, enables substantive advances in basic research and conservation of gypsum ecosystems, and creates meaningful opportunities for professional development for undergraduates, junior faculty, and senior faculty alike.Unusual soil types such as gypsum offer unique opportunities for understanding basic ecological and evolutionary processes. Organisms adapted to these soils are often inherently rare and of conservation concern. Despite their global presence in arid and semi-arid regions, gypsum ecosystems remain understudied compared to other harsh soil types, yet they host biodiverse endemic plant and biological soil crust communities on five continents. This project builds on an existing collaboration between US and Spanish partners, providing opportunities to mentor and train 18 students total from three US institutions (John Carroll University, New Mexico State University, and Oberlin College) at three Spanish institutions (Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Universidad de Almería, and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos). By further linking US and Spanish partners, this project will advance fundamental research questions related to the physiology, ecology, evolution, and conservation of gypsum ecosystems. Our main objective is to advance our understanding of gypsum ecosystems while simultaneously providing high-quality international research experiences to a diverse set of US undergraduates. Importantly, Spain is the international hub of gypsum ecological and evolutionary research, and the Spanish PIs included in GYP-NEXTGEN represent most of the global leaders in gypsum ecology and evolution. Students will be mentored through an integrated campaign of activities before, during, and after their research experiences in Spain, to ensure consistent high-quality mentorship. GYP-NEXTGEN will train 18 future scientists for a global workforce, developing their cross-cultural, interpersonal, and academic research skills in STEM fields. Each student will be closely mentored by US and Spanish scientists as they develop research proposals, conduct studies in the field and laboratory, and prepare their work for presentation and further publication. Students will advance their scientific communication skills through direct outreach to local schools in Spain to talk about their work, and in the US and Mexico through production of a bilingual podcast about their projects. The project also provides professional development opportunities for a diverse faculty. By leveraging and expanding upon the existing European Union funded GYPWORLD project, GYP-NEXTGEN strengthens the links between the US and Spanish partner institutions, enables substantive advances in basic research and conservation of gypsum ecosystems, and creates meaningful opportunities for professional development for undergraduates, junior faculty, and senior faculty alike.This project is jointly funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.