Gulf of Main Research Institute REU

Opportunity Description:

Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) sites provide students from diverse backgrounds the chance to immerse themselves their host institutions' research methods and cultures. At GMRI, one of nearly 700 NSF-funded REU sites across the country, we introduce students to an exciting diversity of marine and fisheries science opportunities. Students lead projects in fisheries ecosystem research, with a particular focus on the impacts of Gulf of Maine warming trends, and develop skills that prepare them for what to expect in graduate school or related research careers.

Understanding the impacts climate change has on our coupled natural and human systems is one of the foremost challenges of our time. The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99.9% of the global ocean, meaning GMRI is strategically positioned to conduct cutting-edge research on this issue. This includes documenting and monitoring change, as well as predicting and mitigating future impacts of climate change on ecosystems and the communities that depend on them around the world. We welcome this opportunity to invite undergraduate students to take part in our work and contribute to our understanding of climate change and its impacts on our ecosystems.

We pair student interns with GMRI researchers engaged in a broad range of ecosystem, oceanographic, and economic studies. Students then have the chance to consult with their mentor pairs to design and conduct an intensive ten week independent research project. These projects often involve field sampling, laboratory experiments, data analysis, computational simulations, or any range of top tier research methods that help them address their research questions. At the end of the summer, students present their findings at an in-house symposium using analysis and communications skills honed throughout the summer.