Graduate and
undergraduate mentoring and training are a high priority and highly
visible product for the Coweeta LTER program. The precedent of including
students in all aspects of the field and laboratory research and
publication of results has been established since 1937 when the first
Coweeta graduate student produced their graduate thesis. The collaborative
environment for student involvement at Coweeta long precedes the
establishment of the Coweeta LTER Program in 1980. Nonetheless, the
funding and resources developed for both undergraduate and graduate
students have and continue to be developed partly with LTER resources
thereby facilitating an environment where student involvement is
stimulated and encouraged.
Graduate Students
The Coweeta LTER program
emphasizes the foundation of graduate student mentoring and research that
was established by the USDA Forest Service and others at Coweeta. As of
March 2005, more than 225 students have earned M.S. or Ph.D. degrees while
conducting their own research related to the Coweeta LTER program. A
listing of student Theses and Dissertations, as well as the
peer
reviewed publications, resulting from projects demonstrate the highly
visible products from these students and their mentors.
In addition, tools have been developed and organized to facilitate
graduate student involvement and to generate a sense of community with
other graduate students in the Coweeta LTER program:
Tools for Graduate Students.
Undergraduate Students
Involvement by undergraduate students at Coweeta has
primarily resulted from three programs:
Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Program
Students have been able to take advantage of the
stipend and resources made available to them by
Research Experience for Undergraduate Program (REU) positions created
directly by the Coweeta LTER program or by other NSF-funded grants with
research sites at or near Coweeta. These positions stimulate students to
focus on a topic that can be studied in a summer and often relate to and
provide more in depth knowledge for a larger ongoing project. As part of
their REU experience, these students often assist with other research
projects and are therefore exposed to multiple field and laboratory
techniques that help to broaden their ecological background. At the end of
the summer, REU and all undergraduate students prepare and present a
powerpoint presentation in a symposium setting to the scientists and staff
at Coweeta and are often co- or lead authors on resulting publications.
Carolina Environmental Program (CEP)
Since 2001, Coweeta scientists have participated in the
Carolina Environmental
Program (CEP) site at Highlands
Biological Station (HBS). Each fall, undergraduate students in
residence at HBS in Highlands, NC are matched with mentors for an
internship experience to explore a topic in depth during the fall
semester. Students assist with field and laboratory research and produce a
written report of their findings that is presented to both the scientists
and staff at Coweeta as well as the public and other CEP students and
their mentors at Highlands Biological Station.
Student Research Assistants
Numerous undergraduate students assist Coweeta LTER Co-PIs and staff with
field and laboratory research and summary of research results. This
experience stimulates numerous students to pursue their own projects as
part of their graduate programs. Undergraduate students who are employed
by Coweeta scientists and staff stationed at Coweeta prepare and present a
powerpoint presentation in a symposium setting and are often co-authors on
resulting publications.
