Research Experience for Undergraduates

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences invites undergraduates to apply for the 2012 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program, Gulf of Maine and the World Ocean.  Funded by the National Science Foundation, this REU Program is designed to give students pursuing degrees in the sciences, mathematics and engineering a laboratory-based research experience with an emphasis on hands-on, state of the art methods and technologies.  

Students are paired with a Bigelow scientist based on mutual research interests and spend ten weeks (June 3 – August 10) working closely with their mentor on an independent research project.  Areas of research include marine microbiology, ocean biogeochemistry, optical oceanography, remote sensing, sensory biology and phytoplankton ecology.  REU students are immersed in the Bigelow community and participate in seminars, field trips, Laboratory outreach programs, and more.  Students receive a $5000 stipend for the ten weeks, free housing and travel assistance.

Undergraduates in their sophomore year or later may apply; applications are due March 15, 2012.  More information and the online application are available at http://www.bigelow.org/education/reu/.  Prospective applicants may also contact Rebecca Fowler with questions, rfowler@bigelow.org. 

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is located in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine and seeks to understand key processes driving global ocean ecosystems, their evolution, and their fundamental relationship to life on Earth.  The Laboratory’s research ranges from microbial oceanography — examining biological productivity and phytoplankton community dynamics in the world’s oceans at the molecular level — to the large-scale biogeochemical processes that drive interactions between ocean ecosystems and global environmental conditions.