Bradley University is recruiting six undergraduate students to participate in a 10-week summer research experience in ecology. Students will be exposed to molecular, physiological, organismal, community and ecosystem approaches. Although individual students will be responsible for a particular project, they will also work collaboratively with other REU students and faculty mentors on related projects. REU participants will be expected to submit a final report and to present their results at an end-of-program research symposium. Participants will be immersed in a culture that (1) integrates research and educational activities throughout and beyond the classroom, (2) fosters and supports multi-investigator, multi-institutional, cross-disciplinary collaborations, (3) introduces students to the broader scientific community through multiple university collaborations and research at multi-investigator research sites and (4) shows the highest commitment to supporting faculty-student research. Selection criteria include (1) a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and the successful completion of two years of Biology and one year of Chemistry; (2) letters of recommendation; (3) a statement of research interests; and (4) a statement of career goals. Applicants not meeting the stated criteria will also be considered on a case-by-case basis. Minority students are encouraged to apply. REU students will be provided on-campus housing and will receive a stipend and meal allowance. More information is available at www.bradley.edu/academics/las/bio/summerreu.html or by contacting Kelly McConnaughay at kdm@bradley.edu.
". The grant had as its main objective to build a team of faculty mentors and undergraduate students that would work collaboratively to address real-life problems of ecological importance along the Illinois River Corridor. Through our program, we immersed students in a culture that (1) integrated research and educational activities, (2) fostered and supported multi-investigator, multi-institutional, cross-disciplinary collaborations, (3) introduced students to the broader scientific community through multiple university collaborations and research at multi-investigator research sites, and (4) showed the highest commitment to supporting faculty-student research. We placed REU students in research laboratories with faculty or professional research science mentors working on issues requiring integration across multiple ecological scales. Additionally, the laboratories students were placed in hosted high school students in Bradley University’s BEST (Building Excellent Scientists for Tomorrow) program or supported by NSF RAHSS supplements. The melding of the REU and BEST programs provided a research community that allowed the REU students to engage as both researchers and peer-mentors, and encouraged the development of communication and leadership skills needed by professionals in scientific fields. These activities are designed to foster workforce development and retain youth in science and engineering fields. During our four-year program, we engaged nineteen students in research, including eleven students from outside our campus. Four of these students were from community colleges and one was from an HBCU. Of our nineteen students, we worked with twelve female students, six African American students, two Hispanic students and one Native American student. All of the students in the program were provided experience in experimental design, hypothesis testing, and data analysis. Students in individual labs were provided experience in animal physiology techniques, genomics, molecular and cellular biology techniques, population biology techniques and ecosystems techniques as needed for their work. All of the students were responsible for implementing a project and collecting necessary data over the course of the 10-week program period. Many students also visited multiple labs during the summer to both see and experience the research projects that other REU students were working on. The following activities were also offered for all students: REU workshops- Participants were exposed to the principles and practices of science and scientific ethics as related to biology through faculty-led workshops. Workshops focused on laboratory and field safety and practice, ethics with experience in case studies, scientific literacy including guidelines for finding and reading scientific papers, basic and advanced statistics and experimental design, developing a research proposal, effective scientific communication, and a leadership component focused on developing effective peer-mentoring skills. Students also participated in social and professional networking activities designed to acquaint and immerse them in a community of scholars. They went on a group research field trip, where they received an introduction to ecology research in central Illinois through hands on data collecting activities at Sand Ridge State Forest, and a tour of the Illinois River. We also invited a wide range of scientific professionals to address students, including researchers from universities and government labs, natural resource managers from federal agencies and NGO’s and local policy- makers. Students in our program presented the results of their research at the end of the program during out interns’ symposium. Several of the students also presented at national meetings, including the Soil Science Society of America Meeting and the Ecological Society of America meetings. There were two publications from this REU site that focused on our layered mentoring model, and one research paper with multiple student co-authors. There are four manuscripts currently in development for publication on the research that students participated in from this program. Students participating in the program reported increased appreciation and understanding of science following engagement in our program, and have subsequently matriculated to four-year undergraduate programs from community colleges, or have enrolled in graduate or professional programs upon completing their bachelor’s degrees.
