Program

In 2013, the REU program will begin on May 20, 2012. Students should plan to arrive on May 19, 2012. Before arrival, students will be expected to start communicating with their mentor to begin the background reading necessary for the research project.

Academic and Research Program

Students in the REU program will be members of at least one research theme: Theory, Evolution, Ecology or Systematics.

The REU program has multiple learning goals

to develop skills to support research including library research skills, reading primary literature and experimental design. These will be primarily addressed in our orientation program and our weekly program.
to develop laboratory and field skills specific to a particular problem. This will be accomplished through mentored research.
to develop communication skills for the dissemination of research results in our weekly program and final poster session.
to learn about professional career options within the research sciences and how to pursue such options., also addressed in our weekly program.

Weekly meetings: Students will be enrolled in a weekly seminar course conducted by the program director. Time spent in weekly meetings will be divided between working groups and journal clubs. Working group sessions will focus on skills for success in research, discussions of the responsible conduct of research and professional development. Journal clubs will consist of smaller groups of REU students arranged by research theme joined by their mentors, lab mates and other interested members of the EEB community. Students will read and discuss journal articles.

Professional development program. The Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship Office runs a day long program for all of the REU (NSF and non-NSF funded) at the university. This offers students a chance to develop professional skills as well as an opportunity to network with students from across the country.

Visit to the Konza Prairie Long Term Ecological Research site. The students in the program will visit this unique site, one of the few remaining tall grass prairies and an ecosystem found in few states other than Kansas.

Campus- wide research symposium. Hosted by the Self Program, the campus-wide research symposium at the end of the summer gives students an opportunity to share their research with others and learn about the research fellow students have accomplished.

Social Program

In addition to our academic goals, the REU program has two social goals: to establish a cohesive, cohort of students in the program and to establish relationships with the EEB community. To that end, we will have several departmental picnics and optional weekend trips. Possible weekend trips may include boating/canoeing on Clinton Lake, a trip to an amusement park, a professional (or semi-pro) baseball game, a tour of Lawrence, a visit to a local zoo and a bowling night.

Schedule of the REU Site Program

Week	Academic Events	Assessments	Group Events
1	Orientation (multiple days): Discussion of expectations of students and mentors Library tour and discussion of finding resources Reading journal articles Modeling in biology Tours of Biodiversity Institute and Field Station Tour Weekly meeting: How to write a proposal	Preliminary program survey	Introductory lunch for mentors and students, get together Friday evening
2	Weekly meeting: How to conduct a research project Brown bag lunch	Draft research proposals due to mentors	Optional recreational trip
3	Weekly meeting: Responsible conduct of research I Brown bag lunch	Research proposals due to program ()	Field trip: Konza Prairie and KSU REU program
4	Weekly meeting: Self Program Campus Wide Professional Development Program for Undergraduates Brown bag lunch		Self Program Luncheon (cross campus REU programs)
5	Weekly meeting: Applying to graduate school, alternative careers in biology Brown bag lunch	Mid-program survey)	Pizza dinner with current KU graduate students
6	Weekly meeting: Responsible conduct of research II Brown bag lunch		Department-wide picnic
7	Weekly meeting: Presenting research and writing abstracts Brown bag lunch
8	Weekly meeting: Responsible conduct of research III Brown bag lunch	Abstracts due to program	Optional recreational trip
9	Weekly meeting: EEB Oral Presentations Brown bag lunch	Oral presentations	Optional recreational trip
10	Weekly meeting: Poster session practice Campus-wide Self research symposium Recording of 15-second research explanations.	Poster presentation Final program survey	Picnic for REU students and EEB faculty

Housing

Students will be housed in dormitory rooms with a roommate and will have a meal plan at the cafeteria (all expenses covered by the REU program). Students will need to bring linens and clothing appropriate for outdoor field work (further details will be available upon acceptance to the program). If a student brings a car, free parking is available next to the dorm.