LEAP: An IGERT program on integrated human/natural landscapes

LEAP (Landscape, Ecological, and Anthropogenic Processes) is an NSF-funded IGERT doctoral training program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. LEAP seeks to integrate a variety of scientific fields with relevant economic and social science disciplines to prepare students for careers in environmental science, policy, and conservation practice. The focus of LEAP is an improved understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes in integrated human-natural landscapes. Faculty participants are drawn from a number of different departments and colleges at UIC, including Biology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Civil Engineering, and Urban Planning and Public Affairs. Integral to LEAP is the participation of Chicago area partners, including the Chicago Botanic Garden, The Field Museum, Chicago District of the Army Corp of Engineers, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, the Morton Arboretum, Chicago Wilderness, and the USDA Forest Service. Students participate in an internship with a partner institute, with the goal of identifying a dissertation project integrating their academic research with a ‘real-world’ problem important to the partner. The program includes four new interdisciplinary courses, including a research-based capstone project course. Our students and faculty will develop new approaches to maintaining habitats and conserving biodiversity amidst human activities.