The Geology Departments of Bryn Mawr College, Bucknell University, Lafayette College, and Lehigh University have successfully formed a consortium fostering undergraduate geologic research. Important research opportunities in Pennsylvania and surrounding areas will be undertaken by undergraduates from these institutions in subjects as diverse as tectonics and hydrogeology. To comprehend fully how a research project is conceived and conducted, students will generate a proposal, conduct field work, sampling, and/or laboratory studies, as appropriate, and periodically report on their research progress. Ultimately they will present their results formally to faculty and colleagues at a Consortium symposium. Independent, undergraduate research begins with close supervision and guidance by one or more faculty members and may evolve into senior theses or projects that reflect original and individual student effort. These projects are materially improved by discussion and interaction with other students, working on allied problems. Follow up activities will focus on revision of the student reports in preparation for presentation of the findings in a symposium session, involving students and faculty, not only from the Consortium Schools, but also from non-participating schools. Special efforts will be made to invite students and faculty from schools with large proportions of underrepresented students, both to promote the efforts of the previous student projects and also to recruit potential student/faculty pairs for the following year's projects.
