This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports the further development of a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional graduate training program of education and research in Biospheric-Atmospheric Research Training (BART) at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS), in collaboration with five key partner institutions (Indiana University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, Washington State University, and Western Michigan University) and the institutions of all participating U.S. doctoral students. Intellectual merit. The purpose of this program is to provide doctoral students with enhanced multidisciplinary training in the skills required for conducting research at the interface of the biospheric and atmospheric sciences. The over-arching research theme is to improve the understanding of the interactions and feedbacks that occur between biospheric and atmospheric properties and processes. Broader impacts include the training in this new environmental discipline. BART builds on the unique collection of scientists, research projects and academic programs that exist at UMBS. BART training commences with a novel 10-week residential research experience. Students conduct research on atmospheric composition, atmospheric flux measurements, and ecosystem dynamics using state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. Each student has two co-mentors for his/her doctoral career: an atmospheric scientist and a biospheric scientist. During Phase II, students will participate in a new University of Michigan course in the Essentials of Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions. Lectures will be based upon material developed for BART Phase I Fundamentals Workshops, and the course will have a new, extensive laboratory component. Phase II Students will also have the opportunity to participate in technical short courses (e.g., in Ecophyisological Methods, Heat, Radiative, and Gaseous Species Exchange, and Atmospheric Monitoring) and a biennial International Conference. As in Phase I, Phase II students will also participate in reading groups and Perspectives Workshops (e.g. on policy, industry, mentoring, and grantsmanship). In addition to the residential research experience, students receive continuing multidisciplinary training including an annual workshop and participation in atmospheric and biospheric professional conferences. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
