REU Site for Ecosystems in Transition:

The Role of Research in Assessing Ecosystem Responses to a Changing Environment:

This program will not be held in 2008.

We hope to resume the program in 2009.

Communicating Research Results:

Scientific Presentations. The importance of effective communication was stressed throughout the REU program in 2004 and 2005. Each student gained experience in scientific communication by:

Preparing oral and written presentations for their research proposal.

Attending presentations and seminars given by outstanding ecology researchers, including faculty mentors and participants of the 90th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Montreal. The REU students will have the opportunity to interact with many of these speakers.

Presenting their results at an REU symposium at MTU during the final week of the program.

Writing a manuscript based on their independent research project which will be published by MTU.

Presenting their results at an undergraduate research conference (optional). These might include sessions held at their home institutions or national conferences, such as the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in April or the Council on Undergraduate Research’s 11^th National Conference, hosted by DePauw University, June 24-27, 2006. Students that chose to attempt this option will communicated with their mentors through email to help prepare their presentations. Any unexpended REU funds from the summer session, supplemented by funds the mentors may make available from their research accounts, were potentially available to help pay the cost involved for interested students.

All sessions at MTU were attended by the REU mentors, fellow REU students and invited faculty and staff. The REU students received constructive feedback from the group attending their presentations, to help improve their communication skills.

Communicating Science to Lay Audiences. Communicating science news to the general public presents different challenges than does preparing a presentation for fellow researchers. Each student was required to present their research to a lay audience at least once during their REU program. Several opportunities existed for achieving this goal, including:

Students presenting research results to the general public during the 6 hour boat ride to Isle Royale National Park, in conjunction with an educational program series sponsored by the Park Service

Presentations to lay audiences at local science series

Helping teach secondary and middle school students involved in MTU’s Summer Youth Program (SYP) for a day. As part of this, they presented their research to the SYP participants. Existing SYP topics that REU students have assisted with include general ecology, aquatic ecology, wildlife and habitat, and forestry.