RaMP: Research opportunities and access for diverse scientists (ROADs) in extreme dryland environments

This project establishes ROADs (Research Opportunities and Access for Diverse Scientists) to STEM careers aimed at postbaccalaureates who had limited opportunity for research experience as undergraduates. It will provide the next generation of global change scientists with transformative research training and professional development, and embed them within a diverse professional network. Postbaccalaureates will engage in cutting-edge science spanning questions focused on dryland environments of the Arctic and deserts. These understudied environments are often identified as being the most sensitive to climate variability, land use change, and other human activities. Many of these changes have a capacity to alter the Earth System within the lifetime of our trainees and can be tackled only by training the next generation of global change biologists in these ecosystems. Participants will become data-savvy global change scientists, strong collaborators, effective communicators, and interdisciplinary leaders of the future. Postbaccalaureates engage in research focusing on identifying biological and biogeochemical responses of dryland environments of the Arctic and deserts to global change at multiple levels of biological organization from genes to macrosystems, while having an extensive support team of mentors and peers. A year-round research project with UTEP and other academic or other professional mentors will be in two focal areas: (1) populations and species [mal]-adaptation to rapidly changing environments, and (2) shifting ranges of dryland species and communities. Other programmatic components include professional development workshops and seminars, and network events to ensure a successful transition of ROADs trainees to graduate school or STEM positions in government or industry. Network partners include representatives from academic institutions, government agencies, industry, and education. Trainees will also benefit from peer mentoring to help them navigate research activities, mentor-mentee relationships and post-program plans, including graduate school or positions in industry, agencies, and non-governmental organizations. The project mentors will serve as a model approach focused on the postbaccalaureate experience for other Minority Serving Institutions to support a diverse next generation of STEM professionals. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.