It is understood that teachers will pass on their particular views about their subject to their students when engaging in the educative process. In much the same way, the IES approach to science is intricately woven throughout the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, each summer enabling 10 - 12 undergraduate students from throughout the county to become immersed in the kind of ecological science that is unique to IES. The approach that IES scientists take is distinctive in its breadth, its multidisciplinary and community nature and its emphasis on critical analysis of the larger contexts within which research takes place. The Institute's mission of communication and application of scientific knowledge features prominently in the REU program.
The IES REU program has reflected this holistic approach to science since its inception in 1988. During a 12-week summer program, students not only do their own ecological investigations with a mentor scientist, but also participate in active reflection on the nature of scientific knowledge. A Research-in-Context series comprises seminars in theory, ethics, diversity in ecological community, job hunting and more. The series also offers a Forum on Opportunities in Ecology, a "sharing science" activity in which REU students spend the day communicating their research to a diverse group of high school students, and a case study where the students use a local environmental issue to examine the complex interplay between science and society. Institute educators believe this holistic approach helps students be better equipped to make a decision about a career in ecology, and then be better scientists if they enter the field.
Gerod Hall, an alumnus from the 1999 IES REU program, is one of many success stories in the field of ecology. Hall, a biology major at Howard University in Washington D.C., did research on tick density in different mesohabitats (where ticks are localized in forests and old-field communities), working with Drs. Richard Ostfeld and Felicia Keesing. He currently is pursuing a doctoral degree at Cornell University in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, where he studies the ecology and evolution of insect-transmitted viruses with Dr. Alison Power.
When asked to describe his REU experience, Hall explained, "In addition to introducing me to the exceptional IES scientists who continue to support my scientific endeavors by giving me their advice and time, the IES REU program has influenced me in two ways. First, working with the Ostfeld-Keesing group allowed me to explore, in depth, a field of science - disease ecology - that was new to me, and it was this positive intellectual experience that motivated me to pursue this area for my Ph.D. research. Secondly, all that I gained from living and working with the other REU students was invaluable. Learning to cooperate with other people, whether it involved writing a group paper or organizing the dormitory's recycling, was a significant part of the REU experience".
