Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, La Crosse, WI, USA.
River Studies Center, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, La Crosse, WI, USA.
Bull Math Biol. 2018 Apr;80(4):926-944. doi: 10.1007/s11538-018-0405-7. Epub 2018 Mar 1.
Understanding the complexities of environmental issues requires individuals to bring together ideas and data from different disciplines, including ecology and mathematics. With funding from the national science foundation (NSF), scientists from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the US geological survey held a research experience for undergraduates (REU) program in the summer of 2016. The goals of the program were to expose students to open problems in the area of mathematical ecology, motivate students to pursue STEM-related positions, and to prepare students for research within interdisciplinary, collaborative settings. Based on backgrounds and interests, eight students were selected to participate in one of two research projects: wind energy and wildlife conservation or the establishment and spread of waterfowl diseases. Each research program was overseen by a mathematician and a biologist. Regardless of the research focus, the program first began with formal lectures to provide students with foundational knowledge followed by student-driven research projects. Throughout this period, student teams worked in close association with their mentors to create, parameterize and evaluate ecological models to better understand their systems of interest. Students then disseminated their results at local, regional, and international meetings and through publications (one in press and one in progress). Direct and indirect measures of student development revealed that our REU program fostered a deep appreciation for and understanding of mathematical ecology. Finally, the program allowed students to gain experiences working with individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives. Taken together, this REU program allowed us to successfully excite, motivate and prepare students for future positions in the area of mathematical biology, and because of this it can be used as a model for interdisciplinary programs at other institutions.
理解环境问题的复杂性需要个人将来自不同学科的思想和数据汇集在一起，包括生态学和数学。在国家科学基金会（NSF）的资助下，威斯康星大学拉克罗斯分校和美国地质调查局的科学家于 2016 年夏天举办了大学生研究经验（REU）计划。该计划的目标是让学生接触数学生态学领域的开放性问题，激励学生追求 STEM 相关职位，并为学生在跨学科、合作的环境中进行研究做好准备。根据背景和兴趣，有 8 名学生被选入两个研究项目之一：风能和野生动物保护，或水禽疾病的建立和传播。每个研究项目都由一名数学家和一名生物学家监督。无论研究重点是什么，该计划首先从正式讲座开始，为学生提供基础知识，然后是学生主导的研究项目。在此期间，学生团队与导师密切合作，创建、参数化和评估生态模型，以更好地了解他们感兴趣的系统。然后，学生在当地、地区和国际会议上以及通过出版物（一篇即将出版，一篇正在进行）传播他们的成果。学生发展的直接和间接衡量指标表明，我们的 REU 计划培养了对数学生态学的深刻理解和欣赏。最后，该计划让学生有机会与具有不同背景和观点的人合作。总的来说，这个 REU 计划成功地激发了学生的兴趣、激励了他们，并为他们在数学生物学领域的未来职位做好了准备，因此可以作为其他机构跨学科计划的典范。
