Progress 03/15/21 to 03/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:We received approval to include a graduate assistant this year for COVID considerations. The assistant kept in regular contact with Fellows pre-program, helped them settle into the area after arrival, coordinated social activities, and is checking in daily with the Fellows. The program assessment indicated greatly reduced logistics issues compared to pre-COVID years. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Career seminars: To learn about potential career options and the different paths taken to obtain a career in the plant sciences, the Fellows participated in seven, 1-hour career seminars organized by Co-PD MacGregor and held on Thursdays throughout the program. Presenters are diverse in ethnicity, gender and their career paths, including a government scientist who is a plant pathologist with the USDA ARS, the Associate Dean for Extension for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia, the Dean of the UGA Graduate School, two industry researchers (Corteva and Bayer) and a startup entrepreneur. The seminars alternated among three networking luncheons with graduate students to discuss different study areas in the plant sciences. Science communication: On five Wednesday mornings during the program, the fellows participated in 1.5-hour science communication workshops led by Co-PD Brewer where they learned what science communication is and the varied forms it takes, and how to effectively communicate with the public and with other scientists. As part of the workshops, the students developed their own 4-entry blogs where they worked on communicating with the public about topics including their research projects, learning new techniques in the lab, and the breeding field trip. The information from their blogs was incorporated into the articles they prepared as part of their outreach activities (discussed below). In learning to communicate effectively with other scientists, the Fellows learned how to construct an effective scientific research poster, and then received and gave feedback on the written poster format and oral presentation of the poster. The posters were presented by the Fellows on July 22nd in the UGA campus-wide Summer Research Poster Forum (modified format due to COVID). Workshops: The Fellows also participated in Research Ethics Workshops, including "Non-discrimination and anti-harassment training" on May 26, and "How to Keep a Lab Notebook" on May 27. They also attended an "Applying to Graduate School" advice panel on June 6th, an "NSF GRFP Fellowship application panel" on June 22nd, and an REEUnion zoom meeting with past REEU Fellows on June 28th. Field-based learning, service-learning, and extension and outreach activities. On July 12th in Watkinsville, Georgia, the research fellows participated in a one-day, hands-on Plant Breeding Practicum taught by faculty of the UGA Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics at the University of Georgia Hort Farm. The students learned about crop breeding and improvement using plant genetic and genomic research. To observe, participate in, and communicate about the farm-to-table concept, the Fellows participated in a service-learning activity at the Athens Farmers Market with co-PD Smith and the Athens-Clarke County Extension Agent Dr. Ney on June 24th. The Fellows worked with local growers, including the organic farmer whose farm they visited, to sell products and communicate with the consumers. This was followed an on-farm organic farm visit with Co-PD van der Knaap on July 7th with a farmer who sells produce at the Athens Farmer's Market. The Fellows worked in groups to write an article on their research and extension summer experiences. The first-place article, as selected by Smith and Ney, was published in the August 2021 issue of the UGA Extension newsletter Shades of Green. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The first-place article of Fellows' extension experience has been published in the August 2021 issue of the UGA Extension newsletter Shades of Green. Several Fellows have presented their research posters at their home institutions or at the UGA Plant Center Fall Retreat with ~200 attendees. One fellow was selected to attend and present at the SACNAS conference. Three fellows swept the Plant Center Undergraduate Poster competition in Dec 2021, winning all three awards. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This is the final year of this project. A renewal proposal has been funded for 5 more years under Crop Genetics and Genomics II.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This past year, the program supported 10 Undergraduate Research Fellows, including nine from STEM-underrepresented groups. Because of uncertainty related to COVID-19 situations at the time of recruiting, we supported more interns from the UGA (six). Two of the non-UGA students were from HBCU and HIS. The 3-year REEU program total remained 50% UGA and 50% non-UGA. or minority-majority institutions and five from the host university (UGA). We also served as the program home for another underrepresented intern supported by a new state-funded initiative to promote undergraduate research. The students were paired with 10 faculty and 10 junior mentors (postdoctoral associates and graduate students) to conduct research in areas ranging from characterization of plant pathogens, calcite-dissolving bacteria, endophytes, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, to poplar stress response, switchgrass rust resistance and fine-mapping of chlorophyll QTL in tomato. Both formative and summative evaluation was conducted throughout the program to identify strengths as well as areas for improvement from the perspectives of both the undergraduate researchers and their mentors. Fellows have continued to engage in research and extension activities after returning to their home institutions. One fellow was selected to attend and present her research at the SACNAS conference, four fellows presented their research at the UGA Fall Retreat in December 2021, and a few also received university scholarships to continue their research. Formative program assessment indicated that the fellows particularly appreciated the field trips, especially the farmers market service learning. Fellows noted that these events enabled them to observe connections between science and the community, and to gain a broader perspective onthe implications of agriculture and horticulture. Fellows appreciated the opportunity to learn more about science communication, including communicating with other scientists and with the broader community. The group universally agreed that this is an important area for development and they felt like they improved their abilities to talk with different people about science. They spoke highly about the poster symposium as an important culminating communication activity, even though it was "nerve-wracking." Lunches with graduate students allowed for casual interactions with researchers whowere closer to their own level of experience. Students felt like these were fruitful avenues togain information and ask questions, and that the graduate students appreciated hearing howother graduate students were doing. The REEU students appreciated not having PIs at theseevents so they could ask questions more freely. One REEU student noted that it was nice to talkwith a student who took a break between undergraduate and graduate school; this providedreassurance that there are multiple ways to pursue their educational and career goals beyond the "straight to graduate school" path. Fellows appreciated the opportunity to learn about industry and expand their professional networks from the career panel. A few noted that they had followed up with guests by email and had plans to connect with them beyond the end of the program. Fellows appreciated poster practice, which reduced their stress about the main event and allowed them to see each other's posters (which they did not have time to do during the symposium itself). Several REEU students expressed appreciation for the feedback papers about the poster presentation. They valued having an anonymous, structured way to give feedback because it helped to have feedback in writing and to be obliged to give feedback. Fellows also appreciated various opportunities to interact with so many different faculty throughout the program. In general, fellows found the program activities to be nicely connected and cohesive, complementing their research and promoting their professional development. Overall, the feedback from students indicated that the program is well-designed and implemented and should continue with the current structures and activities without major changes. Junior mentors provided feedback about the strengths of the program, based on their own experience and their observations of their mentees' experiences. Highlights included the freedom to work on projects together with REEU students, regular updates about program activities so they felt "in the loop," the high level of communication among everyone involved in the program, and the overall strength and well-roundedness of the program (e.g., seminars, career workshop, poster session, other extracurricular activities). They found the mentoring workshop helpful as well, but would have preferred to have sessions spaced out more so that they could bring up and discuss issues that arose over time. Faculty mentors also provided feedback about the numerous strengths of the program, which echoed the feedback from the REEU students and research mentors. They appreciated how well the program was organized and how engaged the students were both in their research and in program activities. They commented specifically on the career lunches, the mentoring professional development, the field trips, the detailed schedule, and the poster session as highlights. For the most part, the PIs said the program did not need to be improved - it was great as is! Summative program assessment included all three cohorts from 2018, 2019, and 2021. Combining the three datasets allows for a larger sample size and makes trends more apparent.It appears that students make the greatest gains in research self-efficacy and less so in science identity, although the sample sizes remain too small to detect small effects that are typical for summer research programs. However, these trends are similar to those reported for other undergraduate research programs. There are no apparent changes in students' perceptions of the alignment between their personal values and values of the scientific community or in their expectations for the outcomes of pursuing a research career, pre to post program. In general, the program appears to increase fellows' awareness of multiple agriscience careers. Students also appeared to gain in their interest in two careers, extension agent and science communication and outreach specialist, although interest in these careers is clearly varied among REEU students. Both junior mentors and PIs reported that students gained in their abilities to carry out a number of research tasks, especially designing aspects of their research and independently conducting experiments.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Marin Lonnee and Haley McMillan (2021) A Love Affair for a Better World: The Future of Agriculture. Shades of Green. Athens-Clarke County Agriculture and Natural Resources E-Newsletter, August 2021.
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Progress 03/15/18 to 03/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:Certain program components were adjusted with approval in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Professional development included seminars and workshops in research ethics, lab notebooks, science communication, graduate school application, and agriscience careers. Career discussions featured a diversity of speakers from extension, government (USDA ARS), industry, and startups (69% PEERs, 50% women) and graduate students from different plant science programs (58% PEERs, 47% women). Field learning: Fellows attended plant breeding field courses and visited an organic farm to learn different crop improvement techniques and production systems. This was accompanied by a service-learning activity at the Athens Farmers Market with an extension agent. Fellows worked with local growers, including the organic farmer whose farm they visited, to sell products and engage with the consumers. As part of the science communication workshop, fellows learned how to construct an effective scientific research poster, and then received and gave feedback on their poster drafts and oral rehearsals. Fellows presented their posters in the campus-wide Summer Research Forum. Fellows also worked in groups to write an article on their extension experience and the first-place articles (three total) have been published in the UGA Extension newsletter Shades of Green. Formative evaluation identified several program strengths. Hands-on experience in the lab, career seminars exploring a diversity of options, and field trips especially the service-learning project were valued the most. Fellows also viewed the science communication workshop as a real strengthand appreciated opportunities to gain diverse experience, work independently, and see the work of agriscience at several levels, from research to policy to practice. Fellows spoke highly about the poster symposium as an important culminating communication activity. Lunches with graduate students allowed for casual interactions with researchers who were closer to their own level of experience. In general, fellows found the program activities to be nicely connected and cohesive, complementing their research and promoting their professional development. Mentors were impressed with the motivation and work ethic of the fellows and with their growth in skills and confidence over the summer. Faculty noted the involvement of junior mentors was critical, both for helping the fellows learn and make research progress and for honing graduate students' and postdocs' mentoring skills. Faculty and junior mentors noted the high level of communication among everyone involved in the program, and the overall strength and well-roundedness of the program (e.g., seminars, career workshops, poster session, and other extracurricular activities). They found the mentoring workshop helpful as well. Summative program assessment of all three cohorts suggested that students make the greatest gains in research self-efficacy and less so in science identity, although the sample sizes remain too small to detect small effects that are typical for summer research programs. These trends are similar to those reported for other undergraduate research programs. There are no apparent changes in students' perceptions of the alignment between their personal values and values of the scientific community or in their expectations for the outcomes of pursuing a research career, pre to post program. In general, the program appears to increase fellows' awareness of multiple agriscience careers. Students also appeared to gain in their interest in two careers, extension agent and science communication and outreach specialist, although interest in these careers is clearly varied among REEU students. Both junior mentors and PIs reported that students gained in their abilities to carry out a number of research tasks, especially designing aspects of their research and independently conducting experiments. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The program supported 30 undergraduate research fellows in 2018, 2019, and 2021 (canceled in 2020 due to COVID). The fellows included 70% PEERs ((Persons who have been Excluded from STEM because of Ethnicity or Race), >50% first-generation, and >70% women. Half of the fellows were non-UGA students, and >70% were from HBCU, HIS, and/or community colleges. Each student was paired with one faculty and one junior (postdoctoral associate or graduate student) mentor to conduct research in areas ranging from characterization of plant pathogens, endophytes, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, to QTL identification associated with soybean insect resistance, to hydraulic efficiency of Georgia pines. We also served as the program home for three affiliated fellows funded by an NSF research project or a new Georgia Research Alliance Student Scholar Initiative. The group activities and program support help enrich the experiences of those individually funded REU students (especially PEERs) who would otherwise miss the sense of belonging and network opportunities. Both formative and summative evaluation was conducted throughout the program to identify strengths as well as areas for improvementfrom the perspectives of both the undergraduate researchers and their mentors. Fellows have continued to engage in research and extension activities after the program. Several Fellows have received university scholarships to continue their research, presented posters at their home institutions or regional/national meetings, including the SACNAS conference and the UGA Plant Center Fall Retreat, and won awards. One interned on Capitol Hill with a UGA Congressional Agricultural Fellowship, one was a finalist in the UGA FABricate (Food and AgriBusiness) Entrepreneurial Initiative pitch competition, and one is a McNair Scholar pursuing an International Agriculture Certificate.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Jaimie Seymour, Ryan Ward, and Sydney Dilworth, From the Field to the Table REEU Experiences, Shades of Green. Athens-Clarke County Agriculture and Natural Resources E-Newsletter, June 2019.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Kamaya Brantley and KeAndre Leaks, Behind the Greens: Our Research and Extension Summer Experiences at UGA, Shades of Green. Athens-Clarke County Agriculture and Natural Resources E-Newsletter, August 2019.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Marin Lonnee and Haley McMillan, A Love Affair for a Better World: The Future of Agriculture. Shades of Green. Athens-Clarke County Agriculture and Natural Resources E-Newsletter, August 2021.
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Progress 03/15/20 to 03/14/21
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:The year 3 program was postponed due to COVID-19 related campus shutdown. We will follow federal, state, local, and University guidance for on-campus activities in summer 2021. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The year 3 program (summer 2020) was canceled due to COVID-19 campus shutdown. We hope to offer the program in 2021.
Publications
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Progress 03/15/19 to 03/14/20
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:The year 3 program has been canceled due to the CONVID-19 pandemic. We will request a no-cost extension to host the third cohort in the summer of 2021. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Career seminars: To learn about potential career options and the different paths taken to obtain a career in the plant sciences, the Fellows participated in seven, 1-hour career seminars organized by Co-PD MacGregor and held on Thursdays throughout the program. The seminars alternated among three networking luncheons with graduate students and four discussion sessions with scientists representing and discussing different careers in the plant sciences. Presenters included a government scientist who is a plant pathologist with the USDA ARS, a research scientist at the University of Georgia, who is a plant breeder, the Associate Dean for Extension for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia and a faculty member at UGA with research experience in Africa. Science communication: On five Wednesday mornings during the program, the fellows participated in 1.5-hour science communication workshops led by Co-PD Brewer where they learned what science communication is and the varied forms it takes, and how to effectively communicate with the public and with other scientists. As part of the workshops, the students developed their own 4-entry blogs where they worked on communicating with the public about topics including their research projects, learning new techniques in the lab, and the breeding practicum. The information from their blogs was incorporated into the articles they prepared as part of their outreach activities (discussed below). In learning to communicate effectively with other scientists, the Fellows learned how to construct an effective scientific research poster, and then received and gave feedback on the written poster format and oral presentation of the poster. The posters were presented by the Fellows on July 19th in the UGA campus-wide Summer Research Poster Forum. The Fellows also participated in Research Ethics Workshops, including "Non-discrimination and anti-harassment training" on May 23, and "How to Keep a Lab Notebook" on May 24th. They also attended "Lab Safety Training" on May 21st and an "Applying to Graduate School" advice panel on June 7th. Field-based learning, service-learning, and extension and outreach activities. On July 9th in Watkinsville, Georgia, the research fellows participated in a one-day, hands-on Plant Breeding Practicum taught by faculty of the UGA Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics at the University of Georgia Hort Farm. The students learned about crop breeding and improvement using plant genetic and genomic research. To observe, participate in, and communicate about the farm-to-table concept, the Fellows had an on-farm organic farm visit with Co-PD van der Knaap on June 17th with a farmer who sells produce at the Athens Farmer's Market. This was followed by a service-learning activity at the Athens Farmers Market with co-PD Smith and the Athens-Clarke County Extension Agent on June 22nd. The Fellows worked with local growers, including the organic farmer whose farm they visited, to sell products and communicate with the consumers. The Fellows worked in groups to write an article on their research and extension summer experiences. The first-place article, as selected by Smith, was published in the August 2019 issue of the UGA Extension newsletter Shades of Green. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The first-place article of Fellows' extension experience has been published in the August 2019 issue of the UGA Extension newsletter Shades of Green. All fellows presented at the campus-wide REU/REEU poster forum at the end of the program to share their research findings and extension experience. Several Fellows have presented their research posters at their home institutions or at the UGA Plant Center Fall Retreat with ~200 attendees. One fellow won a Plant Center Undergraduate Research Award in Oct 2019. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The program will support another 10 Fellows in Year 3. Feedback from previous program assessments will be incorporated to improve the overall operation of the program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This past year, the program supported 10 Undergraduate Research Fellows, including seven from STEM-underrepresented groups. Four students were from HBCU, HIS, or minority-majority institutions and five from the host university (UGA). The students were paired with 10 faculty and 10 junior mentors (postdoctoral associates and graduate students) to conduct research in areas ranging from switchgrass leaf chlorophyll QTL identification to high throughput phenotyping of dogwood powdery mildew resistance, to common bean root hair adaptation to nutrient deficiencies, to hydraulic efficiency of Georgia pines. Both formative and summative evaluation was conducted throughout the program to identify strengths as well as areas for improvements from the perspectives of both the undergraduate researchers and their mentors. Fellows have continued to engage in research and extension activities after returning to their home institutions. One fellow received the UGA Plant Center Undergraduate Research Award, and three fellows presented their research at the UGA Fall Retreat in October 2019. Formative program assessment indicated that the fellows particularly appreciated the field trips because they were diverse in topic and venue but all related to the general theme of the program. They appreciated the mentors who struck a valued balance between providing guidance and avoiding dictating what students should do. The students also reported that the mentors were familiar with mentoring undergraduate researchers, which was a strength. They felt that mentors had good projects planned and were able to offer helpful guidance. Lab placements were universally noted as a strength. All of the students found their labmates to be friendly and the focus of their research was interesting. They felt that their lab placements were well suited to their interests. They also appreciated having a choice of labs rather than being assigned to labs. Fellows also appreciate the research experience, because they felt they had enough time to get something out of the program. They particularly appreciated opportunities to do their own projects and to gain extra and more diverse research experience, such as by contributing to a mentor's project or working on other projects in their host lab. Faculty mentors noted several strengths of the program, including the fit of students with their lab, the potential to recruit high quality undergraduate researchers and future doctoral students, and the poster presentations. Multiple faculty and junior mentors were impressed with the motivation and work ethic of their students and how the students grew in their skills and confidence over the summer. The faculty also thought the involvement of graduate/postdoctoral junior mentors was critical, both for helping the undergraduate researchers learn and make research progress and for helping the mentors developmentoring skills. The variety of activities included in the program were thought to add real value to the research experience. The sample size of a single cohort is too small to make inference about causation or statistical significance of the summative evaluation, but several observations were noted. Fellows reported the largest gains in expectations regarding the outcomes of an agriscience career. Both faculty and junior mentors indicated that the fellows developed their research skills during the program (comparing pre to post-program surveys). In general, the program appears to increase undergraduates' awareness of agriscience careers, with what appear to be the largest gains in their awareness of careers in extension,consulting, and science communication and outreach. Students also reported noteworthy gains in theirinterest in two of these careers: extension agent and science communication and outreach specialist.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Kamaya Brantley and Keandre Leaks (2019) Behind the Greens: Our Research and Extension Summer Experiences at UGA. UGA Extension Newsletter Shades of Green, August 2019
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Progress 03/15/18 to 03/14/19
Outputs
Target Audience:STEM-under-represented undergraduate students, scientific research and extension communities, and educators. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Seminars and Workshops. Career seminars: To learn about potential career options and the different paths taken to obtain a career in the plant sciences, the Fellows participated in eight, 1-hour career seminars organized by Co-PD MacGregor and held on Thursdays throughout the program. The seminars alternated among four networking luncheons with graduate students and four discussion sessions with scientists representing and discussing different careers in the plant sciences. Presenters included a government scientist who is a plant pathologist with the USDA ARS, the Associate Dean for Extension for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia, a USDA NIFA postdoctoral research fellow, and a plant scientist/CEO in industry. Science communication: On five Wednesday mornings during the program, the fellows participated in 1.5-hour science communication workshops led by Co-PD Brewer where they learned what science communication is and the varied forms it takes, and how to effectively communicate with the public and with other scientists. As part of the workshops, the students developed their own 6-entry blogs where they worked on communicating with the public about topics including their research projects, learning new techniques in the lab, and the breeding practicum. In learning to communicate effectively with other scientists, the Fellows learned how to construct an effective scientific research poster, and then received and gave feedback on the written poster format and oral presentation of the poster. The posters were presented by the Fellows on July 20th in the UGA campus-wide Summer Research Poster Forum. The Fellows also participated in Research Ethics Workshops, including "How to Keep a Lab Notebook" on May 24th and "Responsible Conduct in Research" on June 20th. They also attended an "Applying to Graduate School" advice panel on May 31. Field-based learning, service-learning, and extension and outreach activities. The fellows participated in a two-day hands-on plant breeding course -- Plant Breeding Practicum -- in Griffin, Georgia taught by faculty of the UGA Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics. The students learned about crop breeding and improvement using plant genetic and genomic research. To observe, participate in, and communicate about the farm-to-table concept, the Fellows had an on-farm organic farm visit with Co-PD van der Knaap on June 25th with a farmer who sells produce at the Athens Farmer's Market. This was followed by a service-learning activity at the Athens Farmers Market with co-PD Smith and Athens-Clarke County Extension Agent Amanda Tedrow on June 30th. The Fellows worked with local growers, including the organic farmer whose farm they visited, to sell products and communicate with the consumers. The Fellows worked in groups to write an article on their research and extension summer experiences. The first-place article, as selected by Smith and Tedrow, was submitted to the UGA Extension newsletter Shades of Green. Formative program assessment indicated that hands-on experience in the lab and career seminars were valued the most of the program activities. Students appreciated learning about the diversity of careers and they liked seeing different parts of the campus as part of this weekly activity. They also viewed the hands-on components of the field trips, especially the service learning project at the Farmers Market. Science communication seminars were a real strength. Fellows didn't realize how much jargon is natural to the way scientists talk and they thought that writing the newsletter gave them good practice developing their communication skills. The Fellows felt like they were a cohort because of all of the opportunities to meet together as a group, which was important for their positive views of the program. They also appreciated opportunities to get hands-on experience, work independently, and see the work of agriscience at several levels, from research to policy to practice. The sample size (of one cohort) is too small to make inference about causation or statistical significance of the summative evaluation, but several observations are noted. Fellows reported the largest gains in research self-efficacy, which is similar to national and published reports of undergraduate researchers. Fellows reported similar levels of identity and values pre and post program, which is also similar to reports of other undergraduate researchers in summer REU programs, which are highly selective for students who identify as scientists and espouse scientific values. In general, the program appears to increase undergraduates' awareness of agriscience careers, with what appear to be the largest gains in their awareness of careers in extension, consulting, and science communication and outreach. Students also reported noteworthy gains in their interest in two of these careers: extension agent and science communication and outreach specialist. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The first-place article of Fellows' extension experience has been submitted to the UGA Extension newsletter Shades of Green for publication. Several Fellows have presented their research posters at home their institutions or regional conferences. One fellow won first place award at the Annual Mid-Atlantic Food Day Summit in Oct 2018. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The program will support another 10 Fellows in Year 2. Feedback from first year program assessment has been incorporated to improve the overall operation of the program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In its first year, the program supported 10 Undergraduate Research Fellows, including 5 from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and 4 from the host institution (UGA). Eight of the students are from STEM-underrepresented groups. The students were paired with 10 faculty mentors and 10 junior mentors (postdoctoral associates and graduate students) to conduct mentored research in areas ranging from soybean insect resistant QTLs, and structural variants underlying tomato fruit shape, to identification of bacterial endophytes in maize and characterization of bacterial effector for plant immunity response. Both formative and summative evaluation was conducted throughout the program to identify strengths as well as areas for improvements from the perspectives of both the undergraduate researchers and their mentors. Fellows have continued to engage in research and extension activities both during the school year and in the subsequent summer (2019). One fellow, for example, was selected as one of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Congressional Agricultural Fellows to intern in the summer of 2019 on Capitol Hill in the offices of Georgia Senators and State Representatives
Publications
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