This award provides funds to the Department of Zoology at Arizona State University to establish a program to give undergraduates individual mentoring and a rewarding experience doing research on the physiological bases of behavior. All participants will integrate their work into a broad perspective encompassing both mechanisms and evolution of behavior, and all will be introduced to both laboratory and field studies. During the ten summer weeks of the program ten undergraduate students will work with six participating faculty members to design a research project, to implement it, and to report their results. Faculty and students will meet weekly as a group to discuss research in progress. Some social and cultural events are planned, in order to strengthen a feeling of collegiality. Students will be recruited nationally and selected on the basis of interest and preparation. Special efforts will be made to recruit women and minorities, the latter particularly from institutions in the southwest. This Research Experience for Undergraduates award will give 10 students a lively research experience, including opportunities to discuss their work, as well as providing incentive to enhance on-going efforts of faculty in the Department of Zoology to involve undergraduates in research.
