REU Program Overview

The Observing the Ocean Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program will be located at Texas A&M University's campus in College Station, TX. The Department of Oceanography will host 10 REU students for a 10-week summer program focusing on innovative ocean observing technologies to address issues facing the coastal oceans, such as hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, ocean acidification, and chemical pollutants. Students will have access to a suite of ocean data acquisition technologies incorporated in TAMU's offshore buoy system, glider technology, remote real-time measurements from moored instrumentation, shipboard field surveys with CTD profiling and water sampling, and will work with faculty mentors to prepare a short research proposal and conduct individual projects. As a group, the students will develop a mission plan for a research cruise in the Gulf of Mexico onboard the R/V Pelican.

Training will be provided on sensors, data analysis, graphical representation of oceanographic data, data management, and science writing. Students will participate in weekly REU seminars and will demonstrate their communication skills with a final written report and a seminar presentation at the Department of Oceanography's REU Student Research Symposium. Preparation and presentation of a poster is also an option. The program will also include professional development workshops and the opportunity to interact with other researchers at TAMU.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for this research opportunity you must be:

• a US citizen, US national, or US permanent resident.
• enrolled as an undergraduate in a degree program leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree; preference will be given to students with rising junior or sophomore status.
• most accepted applicants have a minimum grade point average of 2.75.
• Graduating seniors are not eligible to apply for this program.

Financial Matters

• REU students will receive a stipend of $550/week for the 10-week program - students are responsible for taxes on this stipend.
• Housing will be provided by the program for REU students at an apartment site adjacent to campus.
• Research expenses are covered by the program.
• At the end-of-summer Student Research Symposium, students' final presentations will be judged and the student winning the "Best Presentation" will be awarded a $1500 travel grant to allow the student to present their results at a regional or national scientific conference.
• A travel allowance is provided for travel to and from College Station.

Funding for this REU site is provided by the National Science Foundation's Division of Ocean Sciences located in Arlington, VA. (GEO-OCE). The NSF contact for this program is Elizabeth Rom. NSF does not handle REU applications; please contact each REU site directly for application information.

Evaluation

As part of this NSF REU program, we are required to conduct an evaluation of the usefulness of the REU components and how participation in this program impacts students. All REU students will be asked to complete one preliminary survey at the beginning of the summer and one post-summer survey, including an evaluation of program activities. Your voluntary participation in these surveys is requested. After the program concludes, we will encourage you to keep in touch with your REU cohort and all prior and future cohorts, using Facebook and LinkedIn. We have a fantastic group of REU alumni who room together at national conferences and provide a scientific network for life.