USF Making Waves REU
Overview
• Story by Sean Beckwith – REU 2019 Summary | USF College of Marine Science
Five undergraduate students spent ten weeks developing professional skills and studying
marine science with mentors in five different disciplines as part of a 2019 Research
Experience for Undergraduates program hosted by the USF College of Marine Science
(CMS).
The students were selected by faculty members from five minority serving institutions
(MSIs) who were invited to visit CMS for the Faculty Visitation Program in Fall 2018.
The goal of that program was to establish new research collaborations between USF
and MSIs and to help increase student diversity at CMS.
The objective of this REU supplement is to provide an interdisciplinary research and
professional development experience that will encourage underrepresented minority
students to pursue both graduate education and STEM careers. Another goal of the
NSF funded USF CMS REU program is to develop a PhD student pipeline, especially with
students from other disciplines (engineering, computer science, mathematics, bio-med,
etc.) who have historically not entered graduate programs in Marine Science. Ana Arellano, who is directing the program by coordinating professional development workshops,
lab tours, graduate seminars, a research cruise, and social/team building activities,
also reviewed the applicants and matched their backgrounds with USF faculty members’
research. David Naar, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (USF CMS), and Bernard Batson, Director of Diversity and Outreach (USF College of Engineering), have also been
involved in developing this program as part of a Sloan Foundation designated University
Center for Exemplary Mentoring. The five participating USF faculty members, Professors
Tim Conway, Larry Dishaw, Xinfeng Liang, Brad Rosenheim, and Amelia Shevenell are training the students in marine chemistry, marine microbiology, marine physics,
marine geochemistry, and marine geology, respectively.
| Name | Undergraduate Institution | REU Faculty |
|---|---|---|
| Tione Grant | University of the Virgin Islands | Timothy Conway |
| Angel Cedeno | University of the Virgin Islands | Xinfeng Liang |
| Alexis Peterson | Spelman University | Larry Dishaw |
| Jenelle DeVry | Xavier University of Louisiana | Brad Rosenheim |
| Richard Rivera | Medgar Evers College | Amelia Shevenell |