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CALL FOR RESEARCH MENTORS
NAPIRE: Native American and Pacific Islander Research Experience
at Las Cruces Biological Station, Costa Rica
Mentors needed between June 20th and August 3rd
The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) is seeking Research Mentors (ABD or PhD only) for the Native American and Pacific Islanders Research Experience (NAPIRE) Program funded by the National Science Foundation’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NSF LSAMP) at the Las Cruces Biological Station in Costa Rica. This is an exciting and highly rewarding research internship program for minority undergraduate students enrolled in accredited institutions in the United States and Pacific Island Territories.
The goal of the NAPIRE Program is to facilitate a successful summer research experience for Native American and Pacific Islander undergraduate students and, therefore, strengthen their interest and potential for pursuing careers in biology or environmental science. The program seeks to provide a quality, safe environment where students are motivated to learn scientific skills, such as:
- Critical thinking,
- Hypothesis building and testing,
- Research design and sampling,
- Statistical analysis skills, and
- Scientific writing and presentation.
Mentors will live at the Las Cruces Station where whey will provide personal, direct guidance in ecological research for one or two (typically) undergraduate students. Mentors will guide students as they work to develop an answerable research question, design their research goals and data collection methods, analyze data, and interpret and present results. In addition, mentors will also participate in symposia, evaluations, and ethics discussions.
Mentors do not receive honoraria, but NSF funds their transportation to and from Costa Rica, as well as room, board, station use, research permits, in-country transportation, and needed equipment and supplies. The Las Cruces Station offers excellent installations, logistics, and other conditions for long-term research projects in forest ecology, climate change, ecological restoration, habitat fragmentation, and other similar studies.
NAPIRE Mentors are needed between June 20th and August 3rd, 2016. Interested researchers should send a letter of interest and a short summary (max 250 words) of potential student research project(s). This summary will be used on the OTS website so that students can select their preferred mentors/projects in their applications. For researchers who have not previously served as mentors in the NAPIRE Program, please also provide a copy of your curriculum vitae and a statement of mentoring philosophy. To allow sufficient time for appropriate matches between mentors and accepted students, please send this information by no later than November 30th, 2015.
Applications should be sent electronically to Barbara Dugelby, Program Coordinator, at barbara@dugelby.com.
