A program directed by faculty at Howard University aims to inspire undergraduate and graduate students with an emphasis on those from underrepresented groups through local, national and international research experiences through measurement workshops/short-courses and field campaigns (ground and aircraft) for three years. This is done locally through research opportunities at the Howard University Atmospheric Observatory (HUAO) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GFSC). Nationally, students will participate in field experiences with the University of Wyoming, the NASA Opportunity for Student Airborne Research that is sponsored by NSERC (U of North Dakota), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD). During the second year (2010), students will participate both nationally and internationally in a planned hurricane field campaign (GRIP) that is expected to operate from Florida and potentially other Caribbean countries. Moreover, students are expected to help with upstream measurements during this field campaign in Senegal and Guinea. Each student will be assigned a mentor with the research experience expected to motivate undergraduate students for pursuing graduate studies and also serving as a source of research ideas and data for graduate student thesis and dissertation research topics. Measurements in Senegal will continue to focus on rainfall variability with potential applications for societal needs.
Undergraduate and graduate students from traditionally underrepresented groups make up less than 5% of the total student population in the geosciences. These students will become part of the future workforce at a time when minority populations are growing in the United States. Summer hands-on research experiences in a variety of environments provide important exposure and networking opportunities for students to apply classroom knowledge to outstanding scientific problems. During the summers of 2010 through 2013 students received hands on experience in understanding the factors controlling the variability of tropospheric ozone in the eastern and western Atlantic ocean basins; more than 100 measurements were carried out over the period. The led to student co-authored peer reviewed journal articles. One student also participated in the NASA Genesis and Rapid Intensification Program (GRIP), directly leading the dissertation topic for one student. We also produced a 30-minute video that was produced for the public and to be used in primary and secondary classroom settings. During this period, students have helped to build and maintain precipitation, broadband, aerosol and meteorological measurements in Senegal West Africa. The research has led to a host of new inquiry, including the biological composition of Saharan aerosols and their influence on tropospheric ozone, and human health. During the project a total of 22 undergraduate and graduate student participants were involved in the summer research, resulting in 12 conference papers and 4 accepted peer-reviewed articles.
