Pathways to Environmental Science and Sustainability

环境科学和可持续发展之路

• 批准号: 1356358
• 负责人: John Moore
• 金额: $ 60.82万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-05-01 至 2020-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1356358&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Pathways; Environmental; Science; Sustainability

This project focuses on the study of environmental change and solutions to the consequences of these changes to society. The program is built on a collaborative interdisciplinary research history at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) and the newly established Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability (ESS) within the Warner College of Natural Resources. Degree options in the department include a BS in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability and a BS in Watershed Science.Intellectual Merit: NREL and ESS have developed a mature and productive community of scholars who are committed to undergraduate education and experienced in mentoring low income students and students underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Through the education initiatives at the university, there is a recruitment pipeline from partner high schools. What has been missing is a concerted effort to connect the recruitment pipeline and retention activities operated through the student affairs side of campus directly to the research community. This project is making these connections by having researchers work with the student affairs staff to attract and prepare prospective students while they are still in high school. Scholarship recipients are participating in three university programs: 1) the Summer Bridge Program for recent HS graduates, 2) the university Key Freshmen Learning Communities that include students taking common courses and living in the same dormitory, coupled with courses and seminars that foster professional development and bridge science-to-societal issues, and 3) the BS degree programs in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability that stress content knowledge through coursework, research and internships, and opportunities to communicate findings at professional conferences. The six program goals are to: (1) recruit and retain 4 cohorts from 23 partner high schools resulting in a total of 57 lower and upper classmen students over 4 years, from low-income backgrounds, into the BS programs in either Ecosystem Science and Sustainability or Watershed Science; (2) provide the scholars with a multi-year educational experience that includes courses, seminars, research and internship opportunities, and career advising. (3) create a scholarly environment that supports academic success and promotes research skills and intellectual development; (4) provide an environment in which scholars explore environmental questions and discuss solutions to environmental challenges; (5) create a professional development environment that addresses the personal and social needs of the scholars to enable them to pursue a career in ecology or in an ecosystem or watershed science-related field; and (6) institutionalize key elements of the program to sustain it after NSF funding is completed.Broader Impacts: Students are being exposed to relevant questions such as: a) climate variability and biological diversity; b) state-of-the-art field and laboratory approaches, instrumentation, and techniques that include molecular techniques, stable isotopes, and modeling; c) essential professional skills (e.g., analytical, writing and presentation); and d) multiple career options and the pathways through which the students can achieve them (e.g., academia, government, and the private sector). The greatest impact comes from the efforts to connect the recruitment pipeline and support networks operated through the student affairs side of campus directly to the curricula and scholarship practiced by the academic affairs side of campus.

该项目重点研究环境变化以及这些变化对社会造成的后果的解决方案。该项目建立在自然资源生态实验室（NREL）和华纳自然资源学院新成立的生态系统科学与可持续发展系（ESS）的跨学科合作研究历史的基础上。该系的学位选择包括生态系统科学和可持续发展学士学位以及流域科学学士学位。 智力优势：NREL 和 ESS 已经建立了一个成熟且富有成效的学者群体，他们致力于本科教育，在指导低收入学生和学生方面拥有丰富的经验在科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 领域代表性不足。通过大学的教育举措，有来自合作伙伴高中的招聘渠道。所缺少的是协调一致的努力，将通过校园学生事务部门运作的招聘渠道和保留活动直接与研究界联系起来。该项目通过让研究人员与学生事务人员合作来建立这些联系，以吸引和准备未来的学生，而他们还在高中。奖学金获得者将参加三个大学项目：1）针对应届高中毕业生的暑期桥梁计划，2）大学重点新生学习社区，其中包括学习公共课程并住在同一宿舍的学生，以及促进专业发展的课程和研讨会并将科学与社会问题联系起来，3）生态系统科学与可持续发展系的学士学位课程强调通过课程作业、研究和实习来传授内容知识，以及在专业领域交流研究结果的机会会议。这六个项目的目标是：(1) 从 23 所合作高中招募并留住 4 批学生，在 4 年内共有 57 名来自低收入背景的低年级和高年级学生进入生态系统科学和可持续性或分水岭科学； (2) 为学者提供多年的教育经验，包括课程、研讨会、研究和实习机会以及职业建议。 (3) 创造一个支持学术成功、促进研究技能和智力发展的学术环境； （4）为学者们探索环境问题、讨论环境挑战的解决方案提供环境； （5）创造一个满足学者个人和社会需求的专业发展环境，使他们能够从事生态学或生态系统或流域科学相关领域的职业； (6) 将项目的关键要素制度化，以便在 NSF 资助完成后维持该项目。 更广泛的影响：学生们正在接触相关问题，例如： a) 气候变化和生物多样性； b) 最先进的现场和实验室方法、仪器和技术，包括分子技术、稳定同位素和建模； c) 基本专业技能（例如分析、写作和演示）； d) 多种职业选择以及学生实现这些职业的途径（例如学术界、政府和私营部门）。最大的影响来自于将校园学生事务部门运营的招聘渠道和支持网络直接与校园学术事务部门实施的课程和奖学金连接起来的努力。