Project: Fall Semester Student Research in Oceanography and Marine Science at BIOS

Research training for the next generation of marine scientists and oceanographers is an important focus for the Division of Ocean Sciences. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), which is incorporated in New York, will provide undergraduate students with experiential research training in the ocean sciences during the fall semester in Bermuda. The program will introduce eight undergraduate students per year to the techniques, skills and intellectual processes required to conduct research in oceanography and the marine sciences, including projects with long-term, ocean observation programs and near-shore projects based in ecology and molecular biology.

All REU students have an opportunity to join BIOS scientists for a research cruise aboard the R/V Atlantic Explorer. REU students will also meet visiting students from the USA, Canada and the UK and local scientists from the Bermuda Government and from industry. The BIOS REU Site will provide a total of twenty-four undergraduates with internships over the three-year period. Students will conduct independent research projects with the guidance of research mentors and will participate in a variety of professional development activities, including workshops on scientific writing and ethics, the graduate school experience and career options, as well as field trips.

The program conducts a national search for applicants and seeks to engage students who are from schools with limited research opportunities. Most of the funding provided supports student stipends, housing and travel to attend the program. This project supports the national goals of developing the next generation of scientists and the scientific workforce.The range of potential research projects for REU students at BIOS is highly varied. Students may work on deep-sea oceanography, near-shore marine ecology, molecular biology, and marine and atmospheric geochemistry. BIOS is uniquely situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, allowing students the opportunity to study the open ocean in conjunction with established oceanographic time-series programs or the near-shore environment of one of the most northerly coral reef systems in the world.

Additional opportunities include studying the relationship between global change and the physiological function and geographic distribution of marine animal species; zooplankton ecology and population dynamics using traditional morphological and distributional studies paired with cutting-edge molecular tools; nitrogen cycling in the ocean; deployments of autonomous underwater vehicles, and the interaction between the marine boundary layer and the free troposphere.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.