BESST Research Experience for Undergraduates:

Year 1 Experiences

Soils play a fundamental role in many global processes. The

need to understand the flow of elements, energy, and water

through soils is immense and widely accepted across the

geosciences community. Yet, the number of scientists trained

with specific soils expertise is rapidly declining.

Working through the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for

Undergraduates (REU) Program, we developed a new REU Site focused on

attracting undergraduates toward a career in Soil Science. Hosted at NCSU,

the Basic and Environmental Soil Science Training (BESST) REU utilizes a

diverse, multi-disciplinary team of scientists to deliver individualized student

research experiences in state-of-the art soil science topics, connected through

unifying team training opportunities.

J.L. Heitman* and O.W. Duckworth

Soil Science Department, NC State University, Raleigh 27695

Program Overview

reu.soil.ncsu.edu

besst-nsf-reu@ncsu.edu

Support provided by NSF Award 1358938.

Integrative Activities

Integrative activities within the program broaden experience in soil science

and provide professional development opportunities. Highlights included:

• Sea to Mountain Tour – students visit 20 sites throughout NC during a

week-long field camp

• Science-Policy Interface Workshop – led by EPA research scientists at

the U.S. EPA National Risk Management Laboratory

• Grand Challenges Workshop – led by participating scientists at the

Calhoun NSF Critical Zone Observatory

Program objectives are to:

i) Recruit outstanding students with or without extensive previous experience

in soil science, with an emphasis on those from under-represented groups

ii) Train students by providing a substantive research experience and

exposure to broad opportunities in basic and environmental soil science

iii) Develop a pool of future professionals empowered to advance

understanding of soils in the geoscience community

Mentored Research

Year 1 of the program included 13 students from 11 institutions

throughout the U.S. and one international institution. Projects covered a

wide range of topics from fundamental research to applications in

contemporary environmental issues. Students were matched with mentors

and worked to develop their own research.

Project presentations from national meetings are listed on the right.

Student Application and Participation

We are actively recruiting students for summer 2016.

• Candidates are rising sophomore, junior, or senior undergraduates.

• Application materials are available at reu.soil.ncsu.edu, due February 15.

• Program dates are May 26 to August 3, 2016 (similar timeline in 2017).

• Participating students receive a $5K stipend; housing; travel and meal

allowances; and travel support for participation in a post-summer

national scientific conference.

Student Home Institution 2015 Project Title

Presenting at the SSSA Meeting, Minneapolis, MN

N. Almaraz CO Sch. Mines Assessing Biomineral Formation by Iron-oxidizing

Bacteria (FeOB) in a Circumneutral Creek

E. Andujar City Coll. NY Investigating the Impact of Dissolved Organic Carbon

Sources on Arsenic Mobilization

R. Diaz NC State U. Probing the Redox Reactivity of Mycogenic Manganese

Oxides with Substituted Quinones

K. Floro George Mason U. Specific Surface Area of Soils Across Geomorphic

Regions of North Carolina

S. Lee U. Redlands Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Fractions Under Biofuel

Cropping in the Piedmont of North Carolina

A. Meredith Coll. William & Mary Use of Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation to Reduce

Trace Element Leaching from Fly Ash

K. Purnell Barnard Coll. Morphology and Phylogenetic Characterization of Mn(II)-

Oxidizing Superfund Site Fungal Assemblages

R. Schroeder Purdue U. Characterizing and Mapping Field Scale Spatial

Variability of Surface Properties with EM38

Presenting at the American Geophysical Union Meeting, San Francisco, CA

I. Holzer Scripps Coll. Uptake of Cadmium by Flue-cured Tobacco Plants:

Exploring Bioavailability

A. Zare U. TX Austin Controlling Erosion on Construction Sites with

Polyacrylamide: Optimal Mixing Time and Dose

Presented at the Phytotechnologies 12th Int’l Conference, Manhattan, KS

N. Harbordt SUNY ESF Presence and Transport of PPCPs in Soil Irrigated with

Municipal Wastewater

Biosphere Hydrosphere

Atmosphere

Lithosphere

Soils