This award provides funding for an REU site at the University of Southern California's Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. The academic focus of the program will be marine geobiology. The program will support eight students each summer for three years. The students will spend ten weeks at USC conducting independent research projects under the supervision of various faculty members. Possible topics for student research include, but are not limited to, marine microbiology, ocean biogeochemistry, and the adaptation, evolution, and population dynamics for marine animals. Students will also participate in an orientation session held at the USC research facility on Catalina Island, a series of field trips, faculty seminars, and mini-symposia. The program will culminate with a public REU science symposium showcasing the student's research projects.
