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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