Student Research Opportunities in Thailand
The University of Arkansas has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for a project entitled "Studies of Fungal Biodiversity in Northern Thailand." The funding provided by NSF will support a program that provides the opportunity, during each of three summers, for four undergraduate and/or graduate students to spend a month carrying out biodiversity studies of fungi and fungus-like organisms associated with tropical forests in northern Thailand as research projects. Tropical forests are thought to be the terrestrial ecosystems characterized by the highest fungal biodiversity, but a major portion of this biodiversity has yet to be documented. In Thailand, the student participants will interact with scientists and graduate students at Chiang Mai University, Mae Fah Luang University and the Mushroom Research Centre. The international aspects of the program are expected to represent an extraordinary training/educational experience for these students, since the interaction with their student counterparts in Thailand will involve sharing the same accommodations, joint field work at study sites in northern Thailand and laboratory-based sessions during which they will work together on processing and analyzing samples and data. Steve Stephenson of the University of Arkansas is the program coordinator, with Dennis Desjardin of San Francisco State University and Steve Miller of the University of Wyoming serving as co-directors. Mycologists in Thailand involved in the program are Kevin Hyde at Mae Fah Luang University and Saisamorn Lumyong at Chiang Mai University. The first period of student research in Thailand is scheduled to be carried out during mid-June to mid-July of 2010. Potential student research projects would include such things as studying the basidiomycetous fungi associated with coarse woody debris and forest floor litter (to be mentored by Desjardin), ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with the forests of northern Thailand (to be mentored by Miller), and ecological assemblages of macrofungi and slime molds of different types of forest communities (to be mentored by Stephenson). To be considered eligible for the program, students must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions (e.g., Puerto Rico). The program is open to both undergraduate students enrolled in a degree program (full- or part-time) leading to a bachelor's degree and graduate students pursuing an advanced degree. Because of the somewhat specialized nature of the research projects to be carried out (i.e., assessing fungal biodiversity), any student applying for the program would be expected to have completed (or be scheduled to complete by the end of the academic year in which their application was submitted) at least one course in general mycology. However, having had a course in mycology is not an absolute prerequisite. Although the goal is to have two undergraduate students and two graduate students involved in each of the three years of the program, the ratio of undergraduate students/graduate students will depend upon the composition of the pool of applicants. Applications from students attending predominantly undergraduate institutions, students who are the first members of their family to attend college, non-traditional students returning to school, and students from ethnic groups that are traditionally under-represented in the sciences are especially welcomed. The program will cover all of the costs involved (i.e., roundtrip airfare, health insurance, lodging, meals, and travel to study sites) in traveling to and then carrying out a research project in Thailand, and each student participant will receive a stipend of $1,750. Potential graduate and undergraduate student program participants should submit applications directly to the program coordinator at the University of Arkansas. Each application must consist of (1) a letter expressing the student's interest in being considered for the program, (2) a copy of the student's academic transcript, (3) letters of recommendation from two persons and (4) a two-page essay addressing the development of the student's interest in mycology, tropical ecology or evolutionary biology and his/her current professional career goals. All application materials can be submitted by regular mail (to Stephenson), e-mail (slst...@uark.edu) or by fax (479-575-4010). It is anticipated that letters of recommendation would come from faculty advisors (or other individuals who are able to comment on the applicant's academic ability) at the student's home institution or from mentors from previous research activities. All materials related to the application must be received on or before February 1, 2010. The students selected for the program plus at least two alternates will be selected by March 15, 2010. Once accepted into the program, student participants will be given assigned readings (i.e. relevant papers supplied as pdf files) relating to tropical mycology and the particular groups of fungi that could form the basis of their student projects. Addition information on the program is available from the coordinator and both co-directors. -- Steve Stephenson slst...@uark.edu - Dennis Desjardin d...@sfsu.edu - Steve Miller fu...@wwyo.edu
