URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Winter_2015_Melissa-McCarthy

Gordon Ober, URI Ph.D. candidate, biological and environmental sciences, and former RI NSF EPSCoR graduate fellow, engages students during a Hands-on Science Experience in the waters off Fort Getty, Jamestown.

Tim Pelletier, RI NSF EPSCoR’s education, outreach and diversity coordinator, based at CCRI, steers the effort with a comprehensive network of relationships, linking public and charter schoolchildren with research labs and graduate and undergraduate student outreach. One particular program, the Hands-on Science Experiences, brings students to partner campuses for active, authentic and project-based learning that follows Rhode Island Next Generation Science Standards and aligns with classroom curriculum. “We have students running filter feeder experiments, and conducting biopharmaceutical labs,” Pelletier says. “They learn about the food web and the fragility of the ecosystem. We take them to the salt marsh and rocky shoreline at Jamestown’s Fort Getty, where they can explore firsthand and learn about life in Narragansett Bay.” Many of the campus trips involve tours and admissions information, which is crucial for students who have never visited a college or university. “A big part of what we do is showcase what Rhode Island offers in terms of research infrastructure and higher education,” explains Pelletier. “Not only do students learn about the STEM fields, but they also see what is possible, that they can go anywhere they want with effort and direction.”

Both Lemire and Pelletier have seen RI NSF EPSCoR evolve from the beginning and attest to the program’s impact on the advancement of science in the state. Lemire says he views the program mostly from the network of faculty members, students, and administrators from all partner institutions who work together to improve not just their individual institutions, but also the level of scientific knowledge coming out of Rhode Island. “EPSCoR has helped create an environment of collaboration and collegiality, which allows for the sharing of ideas and expertise that can lead to novel research endeavors and discoveries,” Lemire says. “For me, the strength of the EPSCoR program in Rhode Island resides in the individuals involved and the professional relationships that have been built.” The synergy between science and design research cont inues to be s trengthened.

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