STEM disciplines are in great need of students that are aware of the aquatic systems on Earth, big and small as well as the interdisciplinary nature of ecological research. One of the programs is the NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates that provides students with different backgrounds and diverse interests a place to experience research in an environment that nurtures hypothesis-testing research.
Results/Conclusions
The program includes introductory cruises aboard the R/V Neeskay, and gives exposure to a wide variety of field sampling techniques and the joys of being at sea. The offshore station is sampled for water column physics, optics, and chemical/biological profiling, followed by an inshore coastal station and three harbor stations to demonstrate spatial gradients. The experience includes a day of inshore exploration using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) equipped with video camera and powerful suction sampler coupled with water and benthos sampling procedures. A hands-on workshop on nutrient and organismal analysis is offered to the students.
The program not only provides student with a well rounded research opportunity, but also an Oceanographic-Scale Research Experience. During the latter weeks, recently-acquired skills can be put to the test on oceanographic expeditions to a seamount, the Mid-Lake Reef Complex (MLRC), aboard the R/V Neeskay. Several individual and team projects have been directly involved with interactions among physics, chemistry, and biology of the MLRC because of current invasive species colonization.Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs provide a stellar introductory opportunity for young scientists to decide if aquatic science careers are appealing to them. During their Site experience the weeks at sea and in the laboratory, time in the library, and associated academic pursuits place an often new and always stimulating perspective on undergraduate coursework. Immersion in an environment dedicated to cutting-edge funded research provides one of the best ways to understand the thrill and agony of the lives of oceanographers and limnologists. Yet only a few laboratories or even institutions encompass such breadth that the true range of career choices is apparent.