The Summer Yosemite Research Training in Environmental Science program offers undergraduate students a unique opportunity to actively experience field research in environmental science in a premier National Park, over a nine-week period in the summer. This REU is a collaboration between three institutions (the University of California at Merced, Yosemite National Park, and the USGS Western Ecological Research Center), and students interact with professionals engaged in multiple park-related activities, from research to management. Student activities mainly consist of individual research projects, spanning a broad range of disciplines such as Ecology, Geosciences, Biodiversity, Conservation, Restoration, Hydrology, and Engineering. Research training is provided by mentors from UC Merced (Schools of Natural Sciences, Engineering, and Social Sciences) and the USGS Western Ecological Research Center. Students also participate in a series of field trips and lectures led by teams of researchers and National Park Service staff members, focusing on Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. The Summer Yosemite Research Training in Environmental Science includes several outreach activities, such as a student research poster exhibit in the Park facilities for the general public, and a one-day field trip with high school students from the Central Valley of California (led by REU students at the end of the project). Students are recruited from the University of California at Merced, colleges in the Central Valley, and colleges nationwide. More information is available by contacting Dr. Benoit Dayrat at bdayrat@ucmerced.edu or by visiting http://qsb.ucmerced.edu/faculty/bdayrat/lab/REU.html. .
