Opportunities for Hawai‘i science majors
National Science Foundation partners with SOEST
Rachel Manuel
Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: News
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Applications are now being accepted for the Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education's (C-MORE) new Scholars Program, which seeks to recruit more local students to science-related majors. The program will pay undergraduates to do hands-on research alongside a mentor on a wide range of projects related to the earth and ocean sciences.
C-MORE is a National Science Foundation-sponsored Science and Technology Center and is a part of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).
"The idea is to bring people in and get their confidence and skills up," Associate Specialist and C-MORE Education Office coordinator Barbara Bruno said.
"If your confidence is up there and you're willing to learn, you could do science,"
The Scholars Program, which begins in Fall 2008, is managed by SOEST Assistant Specialist Barbara Gibson.
The Scholars Program is divided into three tiers that students may do for two to three semesters each. The level of awards depends upon the student's skills and knowledge.
The first level is a traineeship for incoming freshmen or sophomores. Students are matched up with a faculty mentor to learn more about science-related skills and do hands-on exercises in the laboratories.
The next tier is an internship, where students conduct research independently.
The top tier of the program is the fellowship level, during which the students work on a specific research project.
Each level of the Scholars program is a paid experience. While awards for the program are only for a semester, students may reapply to get funded for additional semesters. C-MORE sponsors ten students per semester.
The program is about learning by doing, Bruno said. "A lot of people don't have something outside the classroom that they can do as part of on-the-job training."
Rather than have students learn science by sitting in a lecture, they work on real research problems through this program.
Bruno said the idea is to get more local students involved in majors like ocean and earth sciences. While the program is open to everyone, she said it will specifically target local students and underrepresented minorities in the fields.
"We have such a broad mix of nationalities and ethnic backgrounds of students ... but if you look at science classes at UH Mānoa, they're not as diverse as the community colleges," she said. "We keep on losing diversity as we go up a level so we were thinking what could we do to change that."
When Bruno came to UH Mānoa as a graduate student, she said she was amazed that almost nobody within her program was local.
"I was studying Hawai‘i's volcanoes and you would think that Hawai‘i's kids would be interested in studying them, but they got all these people from the Mainland," she said.
"It's more about giving the students an experience in the sciences and exposing them to what kinds of opportunities are there and creating a cohort of students." Through a cohort, students can rely on and help each other, she said.
"What's nice especially about the fellows," Gibson said, "is that they have to give back to the program." They might be asked to contribute a day a semester to do outreach at a high school or tutor a student.
One benefit Bruno sees is that students may use the program to do an undergraduate senior thesis.
"If they sign up for a class to do a thesis and we're giving them a paid research experience, they're essentially getting paid for going to school," she says.
"We're really hoping to keep the local talent here," Bruno said, adding that many students feel they have to leave for the Mainland because they think there are no jobs in Hawai‘i.
"It's certainly my impression that a lot of people want to stay in Hawai‘i, but they're just not aware of the opportunities."
Bruno also said that some undergraduates major in subjects because they are told that the majors will lead to good careers. Bruno wants to let them know that science is a good career.
Gibson said the biggest satisfaction she would get from the program's first run is if they have a handful of students that get so excited about their science experience that they reapply for the internships and eventually graduate with a degree.
"That would be really amazing for me to have an impact like that on students, even if it's just two students," she said.
Applications for Fall 2008 are due May 9 and are available on C-MORE's website, http://cmore.soest.hawaii.edu/education.htm.
For more information, please contact Barbara Gibson at bgibson@hawaii.edu or at 956-0403.
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