HR: 0800h
AN: ED31B-1214    [Abstracts]
TI: Providing Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research through Partnering two Undergraduate Research Programs: RESESS and SOARS
AU: * Pandya, R E
EM: pandya@ucar.edu
AF: UCAR SOARS Program, UCAR, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Eriksson, S C
EM: eriksson@unavco.org
AF: UNAVCO, 6350 Nautilus Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 United States
AB: Undergraduate research provides a unique opportunity to explore scientifically novel questions, particularly those at the intersection of disciplines. This opportunity should be balanced with the need to provide the strong discipline-based training that undergraduate students require to continue their academic careers. This need for balance is especially acute for students from groups who are historically under-represented in geosciences; their status as minorities and women makes them especially vulnerable to the devaluing of their research if it isn't along traditional lines. Combining undergraduate research with a strong, diverse learning community is one way to balance the opportunity of interdisciplinary research with the need for depth of understanding in a field. In this model, students individually pursue focused research in partnership with a particular scientist as they work collaboratively across disciplines to prepare scientific papers, presentations, and posters to share the results of their research. Over time, programmatic success can even help insulate students from the risks of interdisciplinary work. Research Experience for Students in Solid Earth Science (RESESS) and Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Science (SOARS) implement this approach. SOARS is a program with a 10-year history in the atmospheric science; RESESS is a new program focused on Solid Earth Sciences. The two currently collaborate by merging their learning communities while maintaining distinct research focuses. While still in the pilot phase of partnering, initial discussions by the student participants indicate a growing awareness of potential for cross-disciplinary collaboration. In fact, two projects, both by graduate students who have participated for multiple summers, straddle the disciplines of geology and meteorology. One project characterized dust storms in the Southwest US using remote sensing, and a second project studied wind-driven migration of sand dunes on the Navajo Nation. Based on the RESESS/SOARS partnership in 2005 and plans for a three-year collaboration, we describe the ongoing process of navigating the partnership and developing a cohesive learning community. We also provide evidence of the growing acceptance of interdisciplinary research within the SOARS and RESESS students and the scientists who work with them.
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
DE: 0855 Diversity
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005