Implementation Grant: Community-driven Inclusive Excellence and Leadership Opportunities in the Geosciences (CIELO-G)

社区驱动的地球科学包容性卓越和领导机会（CIELO-G）项目将形成研究生、博士后学者和各级教育工作者的群体，通过以下方式改变地球科学社区的文化：1)支持一个多元化和多学科的团队来解决基本的气候变化和地球系统科学问题；2)与当地教育工作者进行培训和协同学习，在两国社区中创建现代地球科学学习生态系统；3)增加来自不同社会经济背景的学生成为地球科学专业人员的数量和成功率。4)提高对地球科学重要性的认识，激励服务不足的社区和学生；5)通过以证据为基础的专业发展，包括技术和软技能，提高研究生和博士后学者的培训。为了实现这些目标，项目负责人采用了一种集体影响的方法，为结合社区参与的创新、稳健的研究奠定了基础。集体影响（CI）模型通过推进共同议程、提供集中支持、促进持续沟通、创建相互加强的活动和执行共享的度量，开发了一个由社区成员、组织和机构组成的网络。在项目规划上，项目负责人将创建由六名研究生、六名高中和社区大学教育工作者、两名博士后以及初级教师和六名教师研究导师组成的团队，共同致力于社区研究，并与五个当地非政府组织合作。项目负责人将与当地社区一起，设计和执行结合四个基本要素的地球科学研究项目：1)解决影响Paso del Norte地区（德克萨斯州西部，新墨西哥州南部和墨西哥北部）的基本气候变化和地球系统科学问题的基础科学问题，2)使用启发式研究，其结果可能导致为社区实施实用解决方案，3)社会相关成果推动社区对地球科学重要性的认识发生实质性变化。4)强大的社区参与将在该地区形成一个持久和可持续的地球科学学习生态系统。项目负责人确定了四个初始研究项目，并认识到随着CI的实施可能会发展出新的项目：1)干旱地区水资源和农业可持续发展面临的紧迫挑战；2)探索地质结构和水通道之间的相互作用，包括对侵蚀、洪水、山体滑坡和含水层补给的影响；3)调查西德克萨斯州和新墨西哥州南部的板内地震灾害；4)理解和缓解日益增加的城市热量和灰尘。这些项目将被设计用来解决关键的科学挑战，同时深入到它们将以有机方式产生影响的社区，使它们能够响应持续的社区投入而发展。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。

The Community-driven Inclusive Excellence and Leadership Opportunities in the Geosciences (CIELO-G) project will form cohorts of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and educators at all levels to transform the culture of the geoscience community by: 1) Supporting a diverse and multi-disciplinary team to address fundamental climate change and Earth system science problems, 2) Training and synergistic learning with local educators to create a modern geoscience learning ecosystem in a bi-national community, 3) Increasing both the number and success rate of students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds that become geoscience professionals, 4) Increasing awareness of the importance of geosciences and inspiring underserved communities and students, and 5) Improving graduate students’ and postdoctoral scholars’ training through evidence-based professional development covering both technical and soft skills. To achieve these goals, the project leaders adopt a collective impact approach that provides a foundation for innovative, robust research that incorporates community engagement. The collective impact (CI) model develops a network of community members, organizations, and institutions by advancing a common agenda, providing centralized support, promoting continuous communication, creating mutually reinforcing activities, and executing a shared measurement. Programmatically, the project leaders will create cohorts of six graduate students, six high school and community college educators, two postdoctoral fellows along with junior faculty, and six faculty research mentors, with integrated efforts for community research and engagement with five local non-government organizations. Together with the local community, the project leaders will design and execute geoscience research projects that combine four essential elements: 1) a basic science question addressing fundamental climate change and Earth system science issues impacting the Paso del Norte Region (west Texas, southern New Mexico, and northern Mexico), 2) use-inspired research which results may lead to implementation of practical solutions for the community, 3) socially relevant outcomes driving substantial changes of awareness towards the importance of geosciences in the community, and 4) strong community engagement leading to a long-lasting and sustainable geoscience learning ecosystem in the region. The project leaders identify four initial research projects, recognizing that new projects may develop as CI is implemented: 1) Urgent challenges around water and agriculture sustainability in arid lands, 2) Exploring interactions between geologic structure and water pathways, including impacts on erosion, floods, landslides, and aquifer recharge, 3) Investigating intraplate earthquake hazards in West Texas and southern New Mexico, and 4) Understanding and mitigating increasing urban heat and dust. The projects will be designed to address key science challenges while reaching deep into the communities that they will impact in an organic way, allowing them to evolve in response to continuous community input.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.