Iracambi Rainforest Research Center and partners are delighted to announce the launch of our exciting new program of scientific exchange for college students for the year 2014. The program is funded by the US Department of State and the Partners of the Americas. Together with the Federal Technical Institutes of Southeastern Minas Gerais and the Sustainable Communities Institute of Muncie, Indiana, we shall be offering a year-long program of student exchanges with the goal of expanding opportunities for US and Brazilian students to live, study and do practical internships together in the fields of agro-ecology and sustainable environmental management.

We believe that by putting international teams of students together they will learn to navigate one another’s realities, and acquire valuable experience, not only in hands-on scientific projects designed to help them find creative solutions to problems of sustainability, but also in the field of intercultural communications. Focusing on these two objectives will open their imaginations to new and exciting ways of problem solving and help to unleash their creative potential as citizens of tomorrow’s world.

Four-week courses will start on May 12, July 21, August 25 and September 29. They will cost $600 (tuition, board and lodging).

Week One: US students arrive at the Iracambi Rainforest Research Center and spend their first week acclimatizing, learning about the programs offered at Iracambi, and acquiring the first basics of Portuguese. Instruction at Iracambi will be given in English, and instruction at IFET in Portuguese, but students will have access through the buddy system to friends who can help translate. During this week students will be put in touch through social media with their opposite numbers at IFET. Course content offered at Iracambi will include data collection on weather, water quantity and quality, forest monitoring in our permanent sampling plots which include areas of agroforestry and shade coffee, working in the Iracambi Forest Nursery and harvesting and processing fruit of the jussara palm, (first cousin to the better known açai berry.)

Week Two: Students from IFET will arrive on the Iracambi campus and start living, studying and carrying out practical internships alongside their US counterparts. Workload during each week will be eight hours daily, to include classroom instruction and the maximum possible time spent outside the classroom.

Week Three: Students will move to the IFET campus to continue working with their colleagues. During this week there will be a day-long workshop delivered by the Sustainable Communities Institute (in English with translation into Portuguese). During the course of this workshop students will be challenged to consider their concepts of sustainability and decide how they can put their skills to work.

Week Four: Students will return to their respective campuses to collate their findings, evaluate what they have learned, and produce a short report on their findings. Contacts: www.iracambi.com, email: [email protected] Tel: 55

STRI-REU Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama
Research Experience for Undergraduates 2014

Program Dates: Jun. 9-Aug. 15
Application deadline: March 30

We are currently recruiting applicants for the Research Experience For Undergraduates in Integrative Biology (REU-STRI) program 2014. This 10-week summer program is directed to 3rd or 4th year undergraduates enrolled in the traditional life science departments (e.g. biology, ecology, botany, etc.), as well as, engineering, mathematics, and computer science departments. We also encourage applications from groups under-represented in the sciences. Applicants must be US or Latin American citizens or permanent residents.

Built on three themes: (1) Adaptation and Resilience, (2) Species Interactions, and (3) Drivers of Ecosystem Change, the program gives undergraduate students an opportunity to explore how biological systems can be integrated to address questions of the origins, maintenance and preservation of biodiversity. Students will learn about the various tools needed to work with the data types that are transforming science across the three themes.

This unique internship opportunity offers airfare, housing, food allowance, and a $5,000 USD stipend. If you would like to apply, you should first browse through the list of potential mentors and project descriptions and identify up to three distinct projects/mentors that align with your own scientific interests. There is no need to contact the mentor before submitting you application.

All application materials, with the exception of the recommendation letters, must be compiled into a single electronic pdf file.

The file should be named as follows: SURNAME_FIRST INITIAL_REU.pdf and sent to [email protected] For further questions about the application process please contact us: [email protected] or check our website.

Central Michigan University is offering a 10-week undergraduate research experience at its Biological Station (CMUBS) on Beaver Island. This program will provide funding for 6 undergraduates to work with CMU and Northwestern Michigan College faculty on research projects related to the Great Lakes ecosystems.

Students will live and work on Beaver Island from June 2 – August 8, 2014, receiving a $4,000 stipend, together with free room and board and up to $500 for travel to Beaver Island.

More information on potential projects and the online application are available at:

https://www.cmich.edu/colleges/cst/cmubs/students/summer_research/Pages/default.aspx

Applications are due by Friday, March 21, 2014, with the final selection of participants expected by April 11.

REU Opportunity Summer 2014
Research Experience for Undergraduates in Chihuahuan Desert Biodiversity

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Department of Biological Sciences invites applicants for the NSF sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Chihuahuan Desert Biodiversity. This is a 10 week summer program. The goal of this program is to provide undergraduate students with experience in hypothesis-driven collaborative research utilizing field based and/or laboratory methods and fully engage students in projects associated with the ecology and evolution influencing Chihuahuan Desert biodiversity.

THE PROGRAM PROVIDES: -

• High quality research experience in ecology and evolutionary biology in the field and/or lab
• Research opportunities at the Indio Mountains Research Station (IMRS), a 40,000 acre facility controlled by UTEP
• One-on-one and group mentoring from active research faculty in multidisciplinary fields
• Training in bioethics and other relevant professional skills

THE PROGRAM INCLUDES:

• $5,000 stipend for 10 weeks
• Housing in shared apartment and field station
• Travel reimbursement of up to $600