This REU site award to Indiana University, located in Bloomington, Indiana, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2015-2019. The site award is administered by the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, a multidisciplinary group promoting the scientific understanding of animal behavior. Based on their interests, students will be matched with potential faculty mentors from a range of departments including Biology, Psychology, and Anthropology. In addition to obtaining intensive research experience, students receive training in research ethics, experimental design, how to present research, strategies in taking GRE tests, interview skills, and career options in science and education. The overall goal of these activities is to increase students' likelihood and ability to successfully enter graduate school or embark on a science-related career. Students from institutions with limited research opportunities and those from groups under-represented in science are especially encouraged to apply. Applications can be submitted via the online website listed below.
It is anticipated that a total of 50 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. With guidance from a mentorship team, students will have the opportunity to perform and complete their own research projects-including designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting their findings. Projects are typically in active areas of research, and students may go on to present their work at national meetings.
A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure (Directorate for Biological Sciences), as well as focal groups and other events during the summer, will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students are required to be tracked after the program and must respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information is available at www.indiana.edu/~animal/REU, or by contacting Linda Summers (812-855-9663 or cisab@indiana.edu) or the Program Director, Dr. Laura Hurley (812-856-1991 or lhurley@indiana.edu).
