This REU Site award to Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in Brooklyn, NY will support the training of ten students per year for 10 weeks during the summers of 2018-2020. BUEE offers an integrative research program aimed at developing underrepresented undergraduate students into mature and thoughtful environmental scientists. Authentic research experiences on human-coupled natural systems will be complemented by a rigorous educational program aimed at developing practical experience in research integrity, scientific communication and quantitative literacy. BUEE leverages the unique academic and research resources at Brooklyn College/CUNY, including a state-of-the-art environmental assessment and aquatic research center and the recently-established Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay, focused on urban sustainability and resilience.
It is anticipated that thirty students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities in urban ecology and the environment, will be trained during the program. BUEE will draw from a diverse pool of local, regional, and national applicants who have demonstrated an enthusiastic and committed interest to environmental science and/or policy, and will provide participants with distinctive research opportunities in the largest urban center in the United States. Community outreach is central to the program's educational mission, and will include activities aimed at public education and peer mentoring, a seminar series focusing on environmental issues in the local community, and the involvement of community representatives in the evaluation and assessment of student research projects.
A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs and funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of BUEE's training program. Longitudinal tracking of students after program completion will provide data on the effectiveness of the REU in preparing students for careers in urban ecology and the environmental sciences. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about BUEE is available by visiting http://buee.brooklyn.cuny.edu, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Tony Wilson - twilson@brooklyn.cuny.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Brett Branco - bbranco@brooklyn.cuny.edu).
