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Applications for Stone Lab’s Research Experience for Undergraduates Open Soon

12:00 pm, Wed December 10, 2014 –

Columbus, OH Applications open January 1, 2015 for the 2015 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Scholarship Program at Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory.

Stone Lab’s REU program allows undergraduate juniors and seniors from across the country to complete a five-week independent field research project with a Stone Lab faculty mentor while taking classes at the lab. Approximately ten students per year are chosen for the program and receive full tuition, room and meals.

Students spend their three non-class days per week conducting hands-on research experience under the guidance of a top scientist. They have access to scientific equipment as they explore the Lake Erie islands and collect data, living the life of a professional researcher. Then they write up their discoveries and give a final presentation to their peers, gaining valuable professional experience.

“Previous research experience is not required”? says Stone Lab Research Coordinator Justin Chaffin.

This year, students will lead the following projects:

” Ecology of the Round Goby: Analysis of the condition of this invader of The Western Basin of Lake Erie (Ichthyology)

” Survival rates of birds of the Lake Erie Islands (Ornithology)

” Fisheries investigations to inform fisheries management (Fisheries Research/Management)

” Lake Erie Water Snake research to inform status of snake post-removal from endangered species list (Herpetology)

” Exploration of Lake Erie nutrient loading, hypoxic events (the “dead zone”?) and harmful algal blooms (Limnology)

Students may continue their projects beyond the summer. Many attend local and regional conferences related to their work and co-author scientific journal articles about their projects.

Two students chosen for the limnology REU program will work with Chaffin in the Stone lab Water Quality Laboratory and will have the opportunity to extend their project from five weeks to eight weeks. These students will earn an additional credit hour, work full-time in the water quality lab, be paid an hourly salary for 20 hours per week and have their additional tuition and room and meals provided.

Applications for the 2015 REU Program are due by 5 p.m. Eastern Time Friday, February 20, 2015. Required materials include:

” A cover letter (2-page maximum)

” A resume

” College transcripts

” Two letters of recommendation

” A Stone Lab Course Application

“It is good for the student to show in their cover letter that they have done their homework about the researchers they want to work with”? Chaffin says.

More details about the program are available at stonelab.osu.edu/reu.

Located on the 6.5-acre Gibraltar Island in Put-in-Bay harbor, Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s Island Campus on Lake Erie and the research, education, and outreach facility of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program. Established in 1895, Stone Laboratory is the oldest freshwater biological field station in the United States and the center of Ohio State University’s teaching and research on Lake Erie. Stone Lab offers 25 college-credit science courses each summer for undergraduate and graduate students, advanced high school students, and educators. For information on Stone Laboratory, visit stonelab.osu.edu.

Contact

Stone Lab Columbus Office, 614-292-8949, stonelab@osu.edu

ARTICLE TITLE: Applications for Stone Lab’s Research Experience for Undergraduates Open Soon PUBLISHED: 12:00 pm, Wed December 10, 2014 | MODIFIED: 2:38 pm, Fri July 31, 2015
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Lisa Aurand Rice
Authored By: Lisa Aurand Rice
Communication and Marketing Specialist, Ohio Sea Grant College Program

Communications and Marketing Specialist Lisa Rice promotes Stone Lab’s summer courses and is the face behind the Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab social media accounts.

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