MERCED - Undergraduate students need research opportunities, and
the Sierra Nevada need researchers to explore and document their
wonders and challenges.
In a new program funded by the National Science Foundation’s
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program and sponsored
in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey and
Yosemite National Park, University of California, Merced professor
Benoît Dayrat has found a way to bring those needs together.
The UC Merced REU program, officially named Yosemite Research
Training in Environmental Science, will welcome its first eight
students next summer. Dayrat anticipates they’ll be an even mix of
students from UC Merced, other San Joaquin Valley colleges and
universities, and other institutions around the United States.
Students may apply by March 15 and are eligible in their freshman,
sophomore, junior or senior year of college.
Dayrat said he thinks even in its first year, the UC Merced REU
program will be very selective. The eight students who are chosen
based on academic standing, research-related experience and career
goals and mentor recommendations will experience a summer of
well-paid research work with housing and food provided; field trips
and classes to build background knowledge; and research in the park
and on the UC Merced campus.
“The nature of environmental science includes dealing with a
variety of topics,” explained Dayrat, who served as an REU mentor
during his postdoctoral research at the California Academy of
Sciences. “We are offering broad research training in almost every
discipline you can think of in relation to the Sierra Nevada.”
As they apply for the program in the spring, the students will
state their preferences among a list of potential research projects
in geology, hydrology, biodiversity, economics, fire ecology and more.
All three schools at UC Merced are represented among the
outstanding professors and others in the mentor pool:
*
Andres Aguilar(Natural Sciences)
*
Roger C. Bales(Engineering)
*
Eric Berlow(UC Merced Wawona Field Station)
*
Yihsu Chen(Engineering and Social Sciences,
Humanities and Arts)
*
Martha H. Conklin(Engineering)
*
Benoît Dayrat(Natural Sciences)
*
Qinghua Guo(Engineering)
*
Lara M. Kueppers(Natural Sciences)
*
Peggy O’Day(Natural Sciences)
*
Samuel J. Traina(Natural Sciences, Engineering)
*
Jan W Van Wagtendonk(USGS)
Not every researcher will participate every year of the program,
Dayrat said, but all have agreed to be part of the pool. The
program is already set to run for its first three years on Dayrat’s
NSF REU grant of $234,606.
All REU sites provide paid research training. For the UC Merced
REU program, students will receive a stipend of $3,600 for the
nine-week period. Housing and meals are also provided. Students who
do not live in California will receive $400 toward their travel
arrangements to and from Merced.
“A priority for NSF is to make sure the students get research
experience and learn that their work is rewarded financially,”
Dayrat said.
For more information, interested students and their advisors
should see
http://qsb.ucmerced.edu/faculty/bdayrat/lab/REU.html.
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