A Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) award has been made to Heritage University (HU) to provide 10 weeks of research training for 8 students in the summers of 2012- 2014. This program also includes an academic-year component that prepares students for the summer research program and assists them in preparing abstracts and papers for submission to conferences. After preparing students for the lab work, students spend 10 weeks in the summer at partner host labs of their choosing. A diversity of REU host labs will be offered to students and placement at labs will be determined, in part, by students' interest and their needs to remain in or near the Yakama Valley. Potential host laboratories include those that are close enough for students to return home on weekends and others where students can return home daily. "Distant" REU sites include: (1) University of Washington, Seattle, WA (bacterial antibiotic resistance; dendrology, paleoecology); (2) University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA (polyploidy in plant evolution); and (3) NSF Science and Technology Center and Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission, Beaverton, OR (fisheries biology and ecology). Local REU sites include: (4) the Yakama Nation Fisheries Resource Management, Toppenish WA (lamprey biology, restoration); (5) USDA-ARS, Wapato, WA (insect molecular ecology); (6) Pacific Northwest University, Yakima, WA (microbiology); (7) Washington State University, Prosser, WA (molecular plant pathology); and (8) Heritage University, Toppenish WA, (DNA barcoding and well water quality assessment). The PI, coPI and partner sites prepare students for their internships and their presentations for national meetings. All REU students will participate in spring pre-REU and fall post-REU activities. Our overall strategy is to provide undergraduate students, who are mostly place-bound, with a fulfilling and challenging research experience supported by a richly mentored environment. These opportunities will provide a magnet for recruitment of STEM majors from the Yakima Valley and will help motivate students to pursue graduate studies and careers in science. Students are tracked to determine their continued interest in their academic field of study, their career paths, and the lasting influences of the research experience. Information about the program will be assessed by using the REU common assessment tool. More information is available at: www.heritage.edu/science dept/summer internships/reu, or by contacting Dr. Nina Barcenas (PI) at Barcenas_n@heritage.edu or Dr. Kazuhiro Sonoda (co-PI) at Sonoda_k@heritage.edu.
Heritage University (HU) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program provided ten week internships to 27 HU students (48% Hispanic; 22% Native American; 78% first generation college, 70% females and 37% non-traditional) during the summers of 2012- 2014. The focus of this REU Program was to provide place-bound, underrepresented students with research opportunities within the region, and to provide rich mentoring environments before (pre-REU) and after (post-REU) the research internship (REU). The two-week intensive pre-REU workshop trained students on the scientific method, use of library resources, basic laboratory skills, keeping a laboratory notebook, data management in Excel, and ethics/responsible conduct of research. During REU students conducted team-based research under the mentorship of research scientists at HU or one of seven partner institutions (NSF-Science and Technology Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction; Pacific Northwest University; University of Puget Sound; University of Washington; USDA-ARS-YARL; Washington State University; and Yakama Nation Fisheries). Students gained practical skills in experimental design, conducting research, analyzing data, data management, and preparing reports. This award provided opportunities for undergraduate students to work in cross-disciplinary programs next to researchers in action. Research teams included scientists and/or faculty, technicians, postdoctoral fellows, and other graduate and undergraduate students. Students were exposed to weekly lab meetings that required each student to articulate their research project and present data multiple times, while also taking an active advisory role in the other students' projects. This integration and the presence of a critical mass of junior and senior researchers allowed for development of critical thinking and for actively internalizing the research experience. Laboratory and field-based research and use of sophisticated instruments throughout their research projects gave students valuable skills which they can list on their CVs. Hands-on experiences enabled students to relate classroom learning to real world situations in the field and improved their educational progress towards graduation. Furthermore, being so close to our campus gave the opportunity to outstanding REU students to be hired by our partner institutions to continue doing research during the academic year. Nine of the 27 REU students were hired after their summer internships. This added a tremendous value to their resume as they pursue graduate school or jobs in STEM fields. During post-REU, students prepared oral and/or poster presentations about the results of their research. All students (100%) gave presentations at HU (Science Seminar and/or HU Gathering of Scholars Symposium); and 74% at Regional (PBESA, WA-AAPT) and/or National (AISES, NABG, SACNAS, AAAS) Meetings. Fifteen percent of the students won awards for best poster presentations at AAAS, AISES, PBESA, and SACNAS. The availability of these research opportunities became a magnet for recruitment of STEM majors from the Yakima Valley and helped to motivate students to pursue graduate studies and careers in science. Students are being tracked to determine their continued interest in their academic field of study, their career paths, and the lasting influences of the research experience.
