Undergraduate Research Fellows Program at Florida International

University, NSF CREST Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment

Summer 2017 Mangrove Field and Lab Experience

The CREST CAChE undergraduate research fellows (CAChE Fellows) program provides
an opportunity for undergraduate students to gain first-hand research experience working
with faculty and graduate students associated with the CAChE project. In addition,
CAChE Fellows will be enrolled in the CREST Research Internship (for zero credit at no
cost) so they can list their research experience on their resume. During the Summer
program, CAChE Fellows will participate in 10-week paid research fellowship (May 22nd
to July 29th), with 3 weeks in Puerto Rico and the last 5 weeks at either the MMC or BBC
campuses of FIU.

The program will cover techniques to estimate above and belowground carbon stocks in
mangrove habitats in a variety of physiographic settings in both Puerto Rico and south
Florida. In addition to assisting in the collection and processing of sediment cores and
sampling vegetation composition and structure, fellows will pursue a project related to the
role that mangrove ecosystems play in buffering marine ecosystems from contaminants
and pollutants or assessing the ability of mangrove forests to keep pace with sea level
rise.

The summer stipend will be $5,000 for successful completion of the 10-week program.
CAChE Fellows will be housed on campus, and are expected to spend up to 40 hours per
week pursuing their assigned project. In addition, CAChE Fellows will attend cohort
sessions with other undergraduate researchers where they will learn professional skills,
practice poster and oral presentations, and engage with panels of STEM professionals
from a number of different career paths. CAChE Fellows will present their results in a
poster session at the annual CREST CAChE Symposium at the end of the summer and
are encouraged to also present at a relevant national scientific conference.

Interested students should currently be enrolled in an undergraduate or masters program.

Please send an email to crestcache@fiu.edu with Summer 2017 Mangrove FLE in the
subject heading. Include a brief paragraph describing previous research experience,
current GPA, major and year of program, potential research interests, and availability to
participate in each segment (PR and Florida). For any questions about the program,
please email Dr. Danielle Ogurcak dogurcak@fiu.edu. For additional information about
CREST CAChE, visit the website http://crestcache.fiu.edu.

Important Dates:
Application Deadline: April 27th
Notification of Acceptance: May 1st
Remote meeting of PR Fellows with FIU mentors: May 22nd June 4th
Puerto Rico: June 5th - June 24th
South Florida: June 25th July 29th