Chihuahuan Desert Biodiversity Research Experience for Undergraduates
Experience Information
Employer: University of Texas at El Paso
Job Title: Research Mentee/Assistant
Major: Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Received Credit: No
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a large research university with over 25,000 students. Research experiences are categorized under the Campus Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (COURI), where support is provided for student involvement in research projects. UTEP has eight colleges, and research can come from any one of these schools. The Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) I took part in was under the College of Science. Two faculty in this department were the head of the Chihuahuan Desert Biodiversity REU and coordinated program requirements with COURI, the National Science Foundation, all 10 of the REU participants, and each participant's mentor. Within the College of Science, each REU participant had their own faculty mentor, whom they worked on an individual project related to the Chihuahuan Desert with.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) programs are really about learning how to do research and gaining valuable experience in your field. With my faculty mentor, I was able to create a research question, gather field data, analyze data, and present on our findings. My project was evaluating functional traits differences between plants in a shrub encroached area and plants in a non-encroached area of the Chihuahuan Desert. I used information we had gathered from our field site and data from available literature to answer my research question. Outside of my individual project, the REU had events that I was able to participate in. Some of these events included information about graduate school programs and funding and travel to the Indio Mountains Research Station (IMRS) to help graduate students with research projects. While at IMRS, I also was able to help remove old fencing (from when the station used to be a ranch) to allow for easier animal movement throughout the area. While this is how my REU looked, the experience varies greatly from person to person, depending on your career goals, research interests, and who your mentor is.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
I gained skills in field data collection, data organization in Excel, data analysis in RStudio, microscopy of grass seeds, plant identification of desert species, and science communication through the creation of a presentation and a professional quality poster about my individual project.
Favorite Part of the Experience
Travel was my favorite part of my Research Experiences for Undergraduates! It was very fun to see a new (to me) part of the country that is so very different from Michigan. I enjoyed going out to the Indio Mountains Research Station, where there was no power and the closest town was two hours away! I also liked going to the Jornada Long Term Ecological Research station, where my project was, and seeing wildlife and how the USDA conducts research differently than universities might. On the weekends, I enjoyed visiting local museums (which were all free!), state parks, and national parks!
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
Research Experiences for Undergraduates has taught me a lot about research and graduate school. It was very cool to get a small taste of that while in undergraduate, and this experience helped me make a lot of connections that can lead me down interesting paths in the future. In short, I've been inspired to dream bigger!
Internship Format
In Person