Harvard Forest offers an exciting program for up to 35 undergraduate students from institutions across the country to collaborate with scientists conducting ecological research for 11 weeks during the summer.
Program Description: Each student will participate in an ongoing study with senior researchers from Harvard University, the Ecosystems Center of the Marine Biological Lab, University of New Hampshire, University of Massachusetts, Boston University, and other institutions. Responsibilities generally include field and laboratory studies, computer modeling, data analysis, and scientific writing. In addition, students attend weekly research seminars given by nationally known scientists, workshops on research and ecological ethics, and career and graduate school panels. Students will develop their research results and present their findings at a student research symposium. Research Projects: Harvard Forest research focuses on the dynamics of forest ecosystems and their response to natural and human disturbances. While some summer projects involve a single mentor and student, there are several interdisciplinary group projects. These consist of 2 or more students working collaboratively with 2 or 3 mentors as a single team. Project areas include population and community ecology, paleoecology, landuse history, conservation management, statistics and modeling, biogeochemistry, and ecophysiology. Project areas include but are not limited to: Invasive Plants, Pests & Pathogens Conservation Management and Biodiversity Plant Biology, Population and Community Ecology Watershed and Aquatic Ecology Atmosphere-Biosphere Exchanges Forest Ecosystem Response to Global Change Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics Reading and Conserving the New England Landscape Compensation: Students are paid a stipend of $5,500 for the 11 week session which runs from mid May through early August. Excellent onsite housing and a full meal plan are included as part of the program. Assistance with travel costs to and from Harvard Forest is also provided. Who Should Apply: We seek a diverse group of students from a variety of undergraduate programs across the country. Students should have a demonstrated interest in ecology but are not required to have previous field/lab experience and there is no minimum GPA required. We accept students from all class years and majors,and are particularly interested in recruiting students from community colleges and small teaching schools, as well as larger research institutions. Apply online at Harvard Forest website: http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/other-tags/reu
