IRES Track I: Collaborative Research: GYP-NEXTGEN: Empowering future scientists within an international consortium focused on gypsum plant communities

IRES 轨道 I：合作研究：GYP-NEXTGEN：在专注于石膏植物群落的国际联盟中为未来的科学家提供支持

• 批准号: 2153145
• 负责人: Michael Moore
• 金额: $ 10.57万
• 依托单位: Oberlin College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2153145&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IRES; Track; Collaborative; Research; GYP

Unusual soil types such as gypsum are home to a significant proportion of the world’s plant diversity, host unique and often rare biological communities of conservation concern, and serve as excellent systems to further our understanding of basic evolutionary and ecological processes. Through IRES Track I funding, the GYP-NEXTGEN project allows John Carroll University, New Mexico State University, and Oberlin College to support annual 6-student cohorts (two students per institution per year for three years) to conduct mentored research projects with partners in Spain at the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Universidad de Almería, and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. The main objective is to advance our understanding of the unique plants and associated organisms that specialize on unusual gypsum soils, while simultaneously providing high-quality international research experiences to a diverse set of US undergraduates (18 students, total). The student participants will be drawn from three diverse institutions, including a Hispanic-serving institution and two undergraduate-focused institutions, one of which has many first-generation students. GYP-NEXTGEN builds on an existing US-Spanish collaboration, providing US students the opportunity to work alongside many of the worldwide experts in this research area. GYP-NEXTGEN will train 18 future scientists for a global workforce, developing their cross-cultural, interpersonal, and academic research skills in STEM fields. Each student will be closely mentored by US and Spanish scientists as they develop research proposals, conduct studies in the field and laboratory, and prepare their work for presentation and further publication. Students will advance their scientific communication skills through direct outreach to local schools in Spain to talk about their work, and in the US and Mexico through production of a bilingual podcast about their projects. The project also provides professional development opportunities for a diverse faculty team in the US and Spain. By leveraging and expanding upon GYPWORLD, GYP-NEXTGEN strengthens the links between the US and Spanish partner institutions, enables substantive advances in basic research and conservation of gypsum ecosystems, and creates meaningful opportunities for professional development for undergraduates, junior faculty, and senior faculty alike.Unusual soil types such as gypsum offer unique opportunities for understanding basic ecological and evolutionary processes. Organisms adapted to these soils are often inherently rare and of conservation concern. Despite their global presence in arid and semi-arid regions, gypsum ecosystems remain understudied compared to other harsh soil types, yet they host biodiverse endemic plant and biological soil crust communities on five continents. This project builds on an existing collaboration between US and Spanish partners, providing opportunities to mentor and train 18 students total from three US institutions (John Carroll University, New Mexico State University, and Oberlin College) at three Spanish institutions (Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Universidad de Almería, and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos). By further linking US and Spanish partners, this project will advance fundamental research questions related to the physiology, ecology, evolution, and conservation of gypsum ecosystems. Our main objective is to advance our understanding of gypsum ecosystems while simultaneously providing high-quality international research experiences to a diverse set of US undergraduates. Importantly, Spain is the international hub of gypsum ecological and evolutionary research, and the Spanish PIs included in GYP-NEXTGEN represent most of the global leaders in gypsum ecology and evolution. Students will be mentored through an integrated campaign of activities before, during, and after their research experiences in Spain, to ensure consistent high-quality mentorship. GYP-NEXTGEN will train 18 future scientists for a global workforce, developing their cross-cultural, interpersonal, and academic research skills in STEM fields. Each student will be closely mentored by US and Spanish scientists as they develop research proposals, conduct studies in the field and laboratory, and prepare their work for presentation and further publication. Students will advance their scientific communication skills through direct outreach to local schools in Spain to talk about their work, and in the US and Mexico through production of a bilingual podcast about their projects. The project also provides professional development opportunities for a diverse faculty. By leveraging and expanding upon the existing European Union funded GYPWORLD project, GYP-NEXTGEN strengthens the links between the US and Spanish partner institutions, enables substantive advances in basic research and conservation of gypsum ecosystems, and creates meaningful opportunities for professional development for undergraduates, junior faculty, and senior faculty alike.This project is jointly funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

石膏等不寻常的土壤类型是世界上很大一部分植物多样性的家园，拥有独特且往往罕见的受保护的生物群落，并且是通过 IRES 第一轨资金进一步了解基本进化和生态过程的优秀系统。 ，GYP-NEXTGEN 项目允许约翰·卡罗尔大学、新墨西哥州立大学和欧柏林学院支持每年 6 名学生组成的小组（每个机构每年两名学生，持续三年）与西班牙的合作伙伴在Pirenaico de Ecología研究所、阿尔梅里亚大学和胡安卡洛斯国王大学的主要目标是增进我们对专门研究不寻常石膏土壤的独特植物和相关生物的了解，同时为不同的群体提供高质量的国际研究经验。的美国本科生（总共 18 名学生）。学生参与者将来自三个不同的机构，包括一个为西班牙裔服务的机构和两个以本科生为重点的机构，其中一个机构拥有许多第一代学生。 GYP-NEXTGEN 建立在美国与西班牙现有合作的基础上，为美国学生提供与该研究领域的许多全球专家一起工作的机会。 GYP-NEXTGEN 将为全球劳动力培训 18 名未来科学家，培养他们的跨文化、人际交往能力。以及 STEM 领域的学术研究技能。每个学生在制定研究计划、在现场和实验室进行研究以及为演示和进一步出版做准备时，都将得到美国和西班牙科学家的密切指导。学生将促进他们的科学交流。技能通过直接联系西班牙当地学校谈论他们的工作，以及在美国和墨西哥通过制作有关其项目的双语播客，该项目还为美国和西班牙的多元化教师团队提供了专业发展机会。并在 GYPWORLD 的基础上进行扩展，GYP-NEXTGEN 加强了美国和西班牙合作机构之间的联系，在石膏生态系统的基础研究和保护方面取得了实质性进展，并为本科生、初级教师和高级教师的专业发展创造了有意义的机会石膏等不寻常的土壤类型为了解基本生态和进化过程提供了独特的机会，适应这些土壤的生物通常很罕见，并且受到保护关注，尽管石膏生态系统在全球干旱和半干旱地区都存在，但人们对它们的研究仍然不足。与其他恶劣的土壤类型相比，它们在五大洲拥有生物多样性的特有植物和生物土壤结皮群落。该项目建立在美国和西班牙合作伙伴之间的现有合作基础上，为总共 18 名学生提供指导和培训的机会。来自三所美国机构（约翰·卡罗尔大学、新墨西哥州立大学和欧柏林学院）和三所西班牙机构（Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología、阿尔梅利亚大学和胡安·卡洛斯国王大学）的合作 通过进一步连接美国和西班牙合作伙伴，该项目将与石膏生态系统的先进生理学、生态学、进化和保护相关的基础研究问题我们的主要目标是增进我们对石膏生态系统的理解，同时提供高质量的国际研究成果。重要的是，西班牙是石膏生态和进化研究的国际中心，GYP-NEXTGEN 中的西班牙 PI 代表了石膏生态和进化领域的大多数全球领导者。 GYP-NEXTGEN 将为他们在西班牙的研究经历之前、期间和之后开展一项综合活动，以确保始终如一的高质量指导，将为全球劳动力培训 18 名未来科学家，培养他们的能力。 STEM 领域的跨文化、人际交往和学术研究技能在制定研究计划、在现场和实验室进行研究以及准备他们的作品以供展示和进一步发表时，将受到美国和西班牙科学家的密切指导。将通过直接与西班牙当地学校谈论他们的工作来提高他们的科学沟通技能，并通过制作有关其项目的双语播客在美国和墨西哥提高他们的科学沟通技能。并在现有的欧盟资助的基础上进行扩展GYPWORLD 项目 GYP-NEXTGEN 加强了美国和西班牙合作机构之间的联系，促进了石膏生态系统的基础研究和保护方面的实质性进展，并为本科生、初级教师和高级教师等的专业发展创造了有意义的机会。该项目是由国际科学与工程办公室 (OISE) 和刺激竞争性研究既定计划 (EPSCoR) 共同资助。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为是值得的通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来获得支持。