REU Site: Research Experience for Undergraduates: Analyzing Global Databases

DESCRIPTION: This award provides funding for a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) located in Palisades, NY. This program has a Global Databases theme that focuses the intern experience on unsolved scientific problems in the ocean and earth sciences within the sub-disciplines of Geology, Petrology, Physical Oceanography, Marine Biology, Geochemistry, and Geophysics. Support includes stipends, housing, and travel to attend the program for a total of 14 students each summer for two years. Students will be recuited nationally. LDEO has over 120 PhD-level geoscientists (~80 in ocean and/or earth science). Each student will be mentored by one of these scientists who will serve as research advisor. The 10-week program takes the students from initially posing a scientific question, to collecting data or producing models to answer that question, to asking new questions of their own. It includes a lecture series on leading scientific research and workshops in professional ethics, scientific writing, and career opportunities. Students will present their research results at a final student symposium and will be encouraged to publish or present their research at professional conferences following the program.