This spring, Andrew Peters, director of university programs at BIOS, and Samantha de Putron, assistant director of university programs, received some good news from the National Science Foundation: their Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) proposal was awarded funding for three more consecutive years. This enables eight undergraduates to spend twelve weeks at BIOS each year, with mentorship from a BIOS scientist as they conduct an independent research project. Students hoping to come to BIOS this fall for a fully supported research opportunity (including airfare, stipend, room and board) must apply by May 31, 2018.

This spring, BIOS microbial oceanographer Rachel Parsons and Education Director, University Programs, Penny Barnes, received some good news from the National Science Foundation: their Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) proposal, “Fall Semester Student Research in Oceanography and Marine Science at BIOS,” was awarded funding for three more consecutive years.  This enables eight undergraduates to spend twelve weeks at BIOS each year, with mentorship from a BIOS scientist as they conduct an independent research project. Students hoping to come to BIOS this fall for a fully supported research opportunity (including travel, stipend, room and board) must apply by May 31, 2015.

When Esra Mescioglu learned she was accepted to the Fall 2013 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at BIOS, she didn’t know what to expect.  Frankly, she was a little nervous to leave behind her friends and routine at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Now, more than a year after her internship in Bermuda, she is thankful her nerves didn’t deter her and is flying from one scientific adventure to the next.  Last week Mescioglu is presenting the results of her research project at the Aquatic Sciences meeting of the American Society for Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) in Granada, Spain, and is quick to share how valuable her experience in the BIOS REU program was.

Each spring, BIOS is one of more than 350 colleges, universities, medical centers, professional organizations, and research institutions that accepts undergraduate students as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. For more than 30 years, the REU program has given U.S. students the opportunity to conduct hands-on research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields as part of their undergraduate education.

Small fishes play an important role in the marine food chain, providing food for larger fishes and water birds, but they are also caught for use as bait in both commercial and recreational fisheries. Over the past thirty years, a decline has been noted in some species of baitfish, leading scientists and resource managers to look more closely at the population dynamics of these important fish. However, baitfish tend to congregate in large schools containing multiple species, making it difficult to study individual populations.

Neoprene exposure suits, rapid-fire sampling, and filtering for DNA; according to 2014 BIOS REU student Keeley Rideout, science never sleeps. Find out why in Keeley’s blog!

Beginning late August 2019, a select group of undergraduate students will embark on a new adventure in their education: a semester at BIOS as part of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Initiated by NSF in 1958, the competitive program gives students the opportunity to participate in ongoing research programs or independent research projects in a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Internships at BIOS offer many benefits to students pursuing future studies or careers in the oceanographic and atmospheric sciences, including practical experience, mentorship, and—for some—the opportunity to publish the results of their research in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. For students continuing into Ph.D. programs, this latter benefit can be particularly helpful in gaining admission into choice schools and securing paid research with specific labs and faculty members.

From February 23-28, nearly 5,600 ocean scientists, engineers, students, educators, and policy makers gathered in Honolulu for the 2014 Ocean Sciences Meeting. This biennial meeting, co-sponsored by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), The Oceanographic Society (TOS), and the American Geophysical Union (AGU), is an important venue for scientific exchange across broad marine science disciplines. With 141 scientific, educational, and policy sessions, the conference covered topics as wide-ranging as phytoplankton biogeography, ocean science workforce development, marine renewable energy, microbial oceanography in the deep sea, infectious marine diseases, and climate change.

Since 1987, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded a research internship for undergraduate students called the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. The internships, which usually run for 10 to 12 weeks, are hosted at universities, research institutions, and professional scientific organizations and allow participants to work alongside faculty members and scientists on research projects in a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.