Engaging Undergraduates in the New York City S-SAFE Internship Program: An Impetus to Raise Geoscience Awareness

ABSTRACT

To engender and raise awareness to the geosciences, a geoscience research project and a corresponding geoscience internship program were designed around plume dispersion dynamics within and above the New York City subway system. Federal, regional, and local agencies partnered with undergraduate students from minority-serving institutions to conduct the largest plume dispersion study ever done in a complex, dense, urban-coastal metropolis. The students were engaged in an array of geoscience activities within the confines of geoscience learning communities. Assessment results indicate that the geoscience exposure and experience helped to stimulate and proliferate geoscience awareness and knowledge among the undergraduates.

Key words::

• geoscience program design
• underrepresented minorities
• STEM
• field campaign
• undergraduate internship

Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation's Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences (Grant No. 1108281). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. We thank our colleagues at the BNL, particularly Paul Kalb, John Heiser, Terry Sullivan, and Ken White. We are also grateful to our colleagues from the ANL, the NYPD, the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority, and the administration of City Tech for hosting the S-SAFE internship. Special thanks go to Neal Philip, Dereck Skeete, Viviana Vladutescu, Cindi Biancarosa, all project team leaders, all S-SAFE undergraduate interns, New York State CSTEP, and both the City Tech Black Male Initiative and the Honors Scholars programs.