The College of Arts and Sciences played a pivotal role in an interdisciplinary research mentoring program, the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, in July.
Dr. Jennifer Collins, professor in the School of Geosciences and principal investigator on Weather, Climate, and Society REU, with two REU groups at USF this summer, one from the Tampa campus, and one from the St. Petersburg campus, on a P-3 Orion plane which is used to fly into hurricanes. (Photo by Corey Lepak)
The REU program, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), provides undergraduate
students from across the nation the opportunity to gain new skills that they can take
with them as they continue their educational journey and into future careers.
REU students worked alongside USF faculty and researchers conducting NSF-funded research
and received a stipend for travel, food, and accommodations.
Jennifer Collins, a professor in the School of Geosciences whose research focuses on weather and climate, explained that students spent about 85 percent of their time engaging in “mentored-research projects” with the rest of their time focused on improving various professional development skills, such as resume building, how to apply to graduate school, and improving knowledge of geographic information systems and statistics.
Brooke Page, a doctoral student majoring in geography and environmental science and policy, led the students while on a trip to the Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ‘Hurricane Hunters.’
There, students gained more insight into career opportunities available in the field
and how to collect and use meteorological data to gain more insight into hurricane
strength.
“We’ve been on a lot of field trips, which have been fun and educational,” Page explained. “REUs are beneficial for students because they get to experience research, which is what they would encounter in grad school, and get to see what kind of career options are out there once they graduate.”
“As human activity affects the climate, severe weather and other environmental disasters are getting worse, so it’s important to understand them so we can mitigate them in the future,” she added. “[In the REU] you learn a lot from mentors who are experts in the field and work with peers who have similar interests as well.”
Richard G. Henning, senior flight director at the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center, on his last day before he retired spent time with the Weather, Climate, and Society REU students showing them the dropsonde, an instrument deployed from a plane, to collect atmospheric measurements inside a hurricane. (Photo by Corey Lepak)
Dr. Jennifer Collins, professor in the School of Geosciences and principal investigator on Weather, Climate, and Society REU, with REU student Zion Powell who presented his summer research at the USF Undergraduate Symposium in July. (Photo by Corey Lepak)
Learn more about the REU program experiences offered by the School of Geosciences.