Application Deadline:
March 16, 2009
(Midnight, PST)

Program Outline:

Oregon State University is pleased to host an NSF funded summer research experience for undergraduates in biological sciences.  This 10 week program will provide undergraduates experience in cross disciplinary comparative research in pollination biology in natural and manipulated ecosystems. Participants will initially learn about the scientific process, and about structural adaptations in plants and bees involved in pollination, while becoming skilled in identification of local bees and flowers. Each student will conduct an individual research project comparing native bee pollinator diversity and dynamic mutualistic interactions with local flora at three ecologically diverse habitats - a dryland prairie in northeast Oregon, a forest ecosystem at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, and agricultural landscapes in western Oregon. The program is enriched by professional development in photography, grant writing and scientific communication, and field tours to the coast and a wetland. In the tenth week, participants will upload their research to the program website, and present their research results to a general audience during a Pollination Biology Conference.

Nine participants will be selected annually. Outstanding students in biological science-related majors who are in their sophomore or junior year of undergraduate study are eligible.  Students who have little or no opportunity to participate in research at their home institutions, and students from underrepresented minority groups are strongly encouraged to apply. NSF requires that participants are U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and its territories.

(Photo Credits: Bart Elevald, Jennifer Bergh, Sujaya Rao)