An REU Site award has been made to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in partnership with the Desert Research Institute. The award will allow the institution to provide research training for 12 students in a ten-week summer program, beginning 2011 through 2013. At least three students will participate in an international collaborative research program between the School of Life Sciences and Tongji University (Shanghai). The aim of the REU program is to engage students in challenging, stimulating and formative research projects that combine the fields of molecular biology and microbiology, in order to address current questions in environmental science, ecology and evolution. The environment of the southwest provides an excellent study in environmental microbiology, with the presence of hot springs and transient water systems, and the environmental stress that microbes are exposed to. In addition to the research training, students will participate in enrichment activities that will prepare them for future careers in science. Activities are scheduled weekly during the entire program, which include sessions on research design and analysis, report writing and presentation, ethics and the responsible conduct of research, and effective scientific communication. The recruitment strategy includes effective ways to reach out to all undergraduate students, especially those from underrepresented groups. Student participants will conduct their research under the supportive supervision of faculty mentors. At the end of the program, students will complete a written research paper and make an oral presentation of their work at the undergraduate research symposium. The program will use an online assessment tool for evaluating the success of the program. More information is available at http://sols.unlv.edu/reu_main.html, or by contacting Kurt Regner (kurt.regner@UNLV.edu) or Eduardo Robleto (Eduardo.robleto@unlv.edu).
