An award has been made to Texas A&M University that will provide research training for 10 weeks for 8 students during each of the summers of 2011- 2013. This REU Site program (Expanding Scientific Investigation through Entomology) will: 1) provide a complete scientific research experience that includes building skills in analytical thinking, quantitative analysis, research ethics, and written and oral communications, 2) improve integration with society to increase abilities to communicate the relevance, appropriate detail, and significance of projects to the public, and 3) increase diversity in the student population studying entomology and conducting related research by recruiting and performing outreach that attracts women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans returning from active duty. REU students will conduct independent research projects with one of the faculty mentors representative of the Department's intellectual, cultural, and gender diversity. Research experiences will be supplemented with integrative activities such as campus-wide REU science discussion groups and social activities, research discussion meetings, workshops in developing effective oral and written presentations, experience developing sound experimental design, and sessions to introduce and/or review quantitative methods in basic and applied entomological research. Students will also gain experience with specific laboratory and research techniques such as biochemical analyses, DNA sequencing and extraction, analysis of gene expression, molecular marker development, physiological and toxicological bioassays, stereomicroscopy, compound microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Information about the program will be assessed by various means, including use of an REU common assessment tool. More information is available by visiting http://insects.tamu.edu/reu/, or by contacting the PI, Kevin Heinz at kheinz@ag.tamu.edu, or the Program Coordinator, Rebecca Hapes at rhapes@tamu.edu.
(EXCITE): 1) provided a complete scientific research experience that included building skills in analytical thinking, quantitative analysis, research ethics, and written and oral communications, 2) improved integration with society to increase abilities to communicate the relevance, appropriate detail, and significance of projects to the public, and 3) increase diversity in the student population studying entomology and conducting related research by recruiting and performing outreach that attracts women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans returning from active duty service. REU-EXCITE students conducted independent research projects with departmental faculty mentors representative of the Department’s intellectual, cultural, and gender diversity; and each mentor had more than three years of experience in mentoring undergraduate research. Research experiences were supplemented with integrative activities such as campus-wide REU science discussion groups and social activities, and entomology short-course, progress meetings, workshops in developing effective oral and written presentations, and sessions to introduce and/or review features of experimental design and methodologies used in the execution of basic and applied entomological research. Students gained experience with specific laboratory and research techniques such as biochemical analyses, DNA sequencing and extraction, analysis of gene expression, molecular marker development, physiological and toxicological bioassays, stereomicroscopy, compound microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Information about the program was assessed by various means, including use of an REU common assessment tool. Popularity for the program continued to grow through each cohort. It should be noted that the REU-EXCITE program preferentially selected students from non-research one institutions, meaning applicants seldom had any previous exposure to entomology. Of the 24 students who participated in the REU-EXCITE program over the three years of this award, 71% were female, 37.5% were non-white. To date, 33% (N=8) of the program participants have graduated with BS degrees. Of those students, 75% (N=6) are pursuing graduate degrees, and of those six, 83% (N=5) are pursing graduate degrees within STEM fields. The remaining 25% (N=2) of the graduates areemployed in the areas of higher education and finance. Of the remaining 66% (N=16) of the student REU-EXCITE participants, 62.5% (N=10) plan to graduate in May 2014 with their bachelaureate degrees and the remainder of the students remain enrolled in their respective programs at their home institution. REU-EXCITE students from these three cohorts participated in 54 scientific presentations and 2 peer reviewed manuscripts. One student was awarded best poster award at their college competition presenting on their REU-EXCITE research. In addition to communicating with their scientific peers, student cohorts developed strategies for communicating their science to the public. This resulted in students developing social media pages (www.facebook.com/pages/TAMUs-REU-EXCITE-EXpanding-sCientific-Investigation-Through-Entomology), blogs (http://tamubugworld.wordpress.com), and Science U 101, interactive presentations to diverse high school-aged students who visited the campus of Texas A&M University. The REU-EXCITE program and the personnel associated with it have been recognized within the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for their efforts with innovative educational programs. Dr. Kevin Heinz, PI and Ms. Rebecca Hapes, Program Coordinator, were awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Diversity in January 2013 and the Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Enrichment and Innovation in 2012. Both of these awards were given based on achievements and successes of the REU-EXCITE program and the innovation and engaging approaches taken with the student participants through this program.
