This INSPIRE award is partially funded by the Oceanographic Centers and Facilities Program in the Division of Ocean Sciences in the Directorate for Geosciences, the Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM Program in the Division of Undergraduate Education in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, and the Robust Intelligence Program in the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering.
This project is aimed at expanding the ways scientists conduct field work from oceanographic research platforms. To do so, the team will assemble a cohort of 12 undergraduate students who will be involved in a telepresence-based research cruise, whose mission is to investigate greenhouse gas exhalation from the seafloor. The students will be active in all phases of the planning, execution and conclusion of the project. The students will be mentored by the PIs as well as a group of early-career scientists.
In addition to the ocean science objectives, the PIs will conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the activity for recruiting and entraining undergraduate students in STEM. They will also assess the impact the experience has on the learning experience of the students. They will also improve the capability of researchers to utilize increasingly advanced robotic systems for this activity, and in the future.
Another important aspect of the project is integrating an ethnography component, defined as the study of the practices through which a community makes meaning. The PIs will compare ship-based versus telepresence interactions, paying attention to where conflicts arise and how they are resolved. They will evaluate the cultural processes involved in human-machine interactions for this activity. They will assist in developing the best practices for this approach to science and help communicate the outcomes broadly.
