This award provides funding for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site program in oceanography at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), located in Woods Hole, MA. The program will support ten students during a twelve-week summer research program each summer. The budget includes support for student stipends, housing, travel and some research expenses. Funds for this program will be matched from various sources allowing WHOI to offer fellowships to a total of twenty-five to thirty students each year. The program will include independent research projects by the students, participation in a lecture series, and field trips. It will conclude with student oral presentations and written reports. Students will be encouraged to publish in peer-reviewed journals and participate in national conferences following the summer research program.
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Summer Student Fellowship program is one of the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) sites supported by National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Ocean Sciences. Funds from the 5 years of this grant and its 1-year extension supported 60 undergraduates (10 per year) chosen in a competitive process for 10-12 weeks during the summer to work on research projects hosted by the laboratories of WHOI scientists. Each Fellow designed and implemented a research project under the guidance and mentorship of a WHOI scientist. At the end of the summer, Fellows presented their results orally and in a written report to WHOI scientists and other Fellows. Many of the reports led to presentations at scientific meetings or to scientific publications. The strong research focus of our program provided undergraduate Fellows with an opportunity to engage in the process of scholarly research, including formulating the research plan based on the scientific method, executing the research, assessing the results and presenting oral and written reports to their peers. They learned that the research path is not always straight, and that frustration and midcourse correction are not uncommon. Many studies have shown that the research process is an effective way to stimulate and sustain interest in science and technology. One of the trends during the 6-year period of this award was the increase in both applications and resident Fellows among minority students, particularly Hispanic students. In 2007 the program included no underrepresented minority students, whereas in 2012, 40% of the Fellows were from underrepresented minorities. NSF-funded Fellows showed a 50:50 gender balance during the last 3 years of the grant with an overall average for the 6-year period of 42% male and 58% female. In a recent survey, we were able to locate 88% of the Fellows who participated in our program during the first 5-year period of this grant. Of those we located, 41% were still undergraduates with as yet unannounced plans; 47% were attending graduate school in STEM fields. The 3 graduate programs having the highest number of our former Fellows were MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science/Engineering, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of Washington. Eight per cent were in technical positions in ocean science or closely related fields, and 4% were employed in something other than a STEM field, including in the Peace Corps. Based on these statistics, we believe our program achieved one of the desired outcomes of NSF REU programs - training future leaders in ocean science and other technical/scientific fields.
