Summer Undergraduate Research in Biology and Environmental Sciences

Looking for something a little different this summer?

Perhaps you'd like to help discover a new drug, or learn how to use microbes to clean up contaminated sediments? Maybe you want to help figure out why coral reefs are one of the most diverse places on Earth, or how aquatic animals communicate? What about working at the Mall? If the first four choices sound much more interesting than the last, then ACE at GaTech may be for you. Aquatic Chemical Ecology (ACE) at Georgia Tech is a summer research program supported from the Department of Defense ASSURE (Awards to Stimulate and Support Undergraduate Research Experiences) in conjunction with the National Science Foundation REU program. ACE at Georgia Tech gives you the opportunity to perform exciting research with our faculty in the Schools of Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Engineering and Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. You'll participate in research with one or more of our faculty, learn about careers in science and engineering, and see how scientists blend knowledge and skills from physics, chemistry and biology to investigate some of the most challenging problems in environmental sciences. If you want to see what research is like, get skills and training that will benefit you for the rest of your life, and spend the summer in a great place, then read on. We'll answer some basic questions below.

What is ACE at GaTech?

Aquatic Chemical Ecology (ACE) at Georgia Tech is our new NSF-sponsored summer research program for undergraduates that places you with a faculty mentor for a 10 week summer period from May 26 - July 31. (The dates are somewhat flexible, so if these times don't exactly fit your school's academic calender, apply anyway. We sometimes can work with you to design a period that suits your schedule.) While at Georgia Tech you'll design a research project, carry it out and present the results to the professors and students here at Georgia Tech in a final symposium. You'll go through this experience with others in this program as well as others here in Biology, so there'll be plenty of opportunity to swap tales, learn about how other groups do science, and explore Atlanta.

What will I do in the ACE program?

You'll work closely with a faculty mentor to design a realistic research project, and get the training you need to perform your study from the faculty and graduate students in the lab you've chosen. Most of your time will be spent in the lab or in the field doing research. We'll also spend time discussing some of the basic "tools of the trade" that are essential for success in science and engineering, such as how generate and test a hypothesis, and how to construct and evaluate a scientific presentation. Along the way there will be a variety of activities and field trips (social and educational) to give you a chance to talk to many different scientists and students at Tech and elsewhere.

What sort of research will I do?

That depends on you. We have three basic research areas that faculty are involved in, and you may work on any one of those topics. Students can even combine research in several areas, since one of the unique aspects of our faculty is that we commonly join forces to investigate questions more challenging than those any one of us could answer alone. This sort of interdisciplinary activity is the next wave, and students in the ACE program will get a great opportunity to participate in interdisciplinary research approaches. Our areas of expertise and links to individual faculty members in the program are at the bottom of the page.

What'll it cost me?

Amazingly, almost nothing. In fact, we'll pay you a stipend, and arrange for your room and board here at Tech. All you have to do is get to Atlanta and the rest is on us.

I'm interested. What do I do now?

Please complete your application by the extended deadline of March 3, 2008 . You'll need to make sure that all of your materials (including a transcript and letters of recommendation) are in by the due date. BEFORE you fill out the application, you ought to take some time to figure out what sort of research you are interested in, and identify a couple of faculty members you'd like to perform research with. This is one of the most important aspects of the process. You don't have to have a project outlined-you and your faculty mentor will do this together-but if you are accepted, the first thing we'll do is match you up with a particular faculty member so you can start discussing things even before you arrive. That's a good way to get a head start so that your time at Tech will be interesting and productive

Notification of acceptance will begin on March 17. All students who are offered a position at this REU Site have until March 20th to accept or reject the offer. Any student who is asked to accept or reject an offer prior to March 17th should contact the Division of Ocean Science's REU Program Director, Lisa Rom at elrom@NSF.gov or 703-292-7709.

If you have any questions about the program or the application process, please email the REU Coordinator at reu.coordinator@biology.gatech.edu

Download The Application Now (REU.pdf)

The following three areas comprise the research activities covered by faculty in the ACE program. There is a brief introduction to each area, and a list (not exhaustive) of typical research questions. Potential faculty mentors in this area are listed below the research questions, and clicking on each individual's name will take you to a web page that describes their research in more detail.

Area 1. Biological and physical transformations of chemicals in aquatic ecosystems.

Nutrients, alleopathic or toxic chemicals, metabolic byproducts etc. affect organisms in a variety of ways, from inhibiting or stimulating growth, to inducing aggregations or mediating habitat choice. The production and fate of these chemicals is often influenced by geochemical and biological events in water columns, in sediments or in the guts of animals. Many of these transformations are mediated by microbes. This research area includes determining the mechanisms, rates and impacts of these processes on specific microbial components of the biota involved in transformations, as well as developing analytical or other methods to study these transformations (e.g., in situ analysis of microbial populations, analytical chemical methods, etc). Typical research questions include:

1) How do animal activities (burrowing, feeding, etc), or state (healthy, senescent, dead) affect the rate of microbial processes and the nature of the resulting microbial community

2) What is the role of microbial endosymbionts in allowing organisms to digest harmful secondary metabolites?

3) What is the role of syntrophic associations of microbes in material and energy cycling?

4) What analytical or molecular techniques are useful for studying material and energy cycling?

5) What are the enzymatic and catalytic processes used by bacteria to ytansform chemicals and how can they be applied to human problems?

Faculty mentors in this area: Cobb (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences), Ingall (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences), Loeffler (Civil Engineering) , Montoya (Biology), Sobecky (Biology), Taillefert (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences), Spain (CEE)

Area 2. Sensory physiology, biology and ecology of chemical communication across animal taxa (unicells to vertebrates).

Chemical signals are used by organisms to find prey, escape predators, locate/choose mates, and determine suitable habitats. This capability is present in virtually all animal taxa from the simplest unicells to higher vertebrates, and thus, chemosensory abilities determine the fate of many different organisms, and the rates of critical ecological interactions. This area includes determining the identity of these compounds, how they are transmitted in aquatic habitats, and analyzing behavioral and sensory mechanisms by which animals detect and respond to these signals. Typical questions include:

1) What types of algal or animal exudates regulate prey location, predator detection?

2) What is the structure of chemical signals in various aquatic environments and how does this affect olfactory-mediated navigation to prey or mates?

3) What are the cellular mechanisms that allow organisms to respond to chemical cues? (This includes processes within unicelluar organisms, or in sensory neurons of multicellular animals)

4) What olfactory or gustatory receptors are responsible for mediating rejection of noxious or unpalatable food by consumers?

5) What is the role of chemicals in locating, identifying and choosing mates, and promoting or maintaining reproductive isolation?

Faculty mentors in this area: Kubanek (Chemistry/Biology), Lu (Chemical and Biomolecular Engr), Snell (Biology), Streelman (Biology), Webster (Civil Engineering), Weissburg (Biology), Yen (Biology)

Area 3. Ecological roles of chemicals in aquatic environments.

Chemical signals influence the behavior of individuals and their ecological interactions with predators, prey and mates. Thus, chemical signals have significant impacts on population and community structure when their effects are extrapolated over a large number of individual interactions. This area includes examining the role of defensive compounds and signal molecules in population regulation and community structure. Typical questions include:

1) Do environmentally induced changes in the transport of chemical signals influence patterns of predation or mating observed in nature?

2) What is the role of chemical signals in initiating, maintaining or terminating phytoplankton blooms?

3) What are the consequences of variation in deterrent compounds (across individuals, through time) for population structure of consumers and their prey?

4) How can knowledge of chemically mediated interactions aid in managing/restoring threatened habitats (e.g., coral reefs)

Faculty mentors in this area: Hay (Biology), Lin Jiang (Biology), Kubanek (Chemistry/Biology), Montoya (Biology), Snell (Biology), Weissburg (Biology)