UToledo Lake Erie Center

REU Program Description

The University of toledo is proud to announce our National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program

This REU Site award to the University of Toledo (UToledo), located in Toledo, OH, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2019-2022. Research is conducted at UToledo’s Lake Erie Center, Main Campus, Health Sciences Campus and adjacent field sites in Toledo, OH. Students will address complex challenges at the land-lake interface to understand how natural resource use impacts biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and public health, with the goal of advancing environmental sustainability. Students will be paired with faculty and graduate student mentors from the Departments of Environmental Sciences, Geography and Planning, Public Health, Medicine or Engineering, and will conduct independent research in ecology, limnology, remote sensing, medicine or engineering. Field trips will introduce students to the diverse habitats and ecological challenges facing Lake Erie, and students will receive training in research ethics, experimental design, data analysis, writing scientific papers and applying to graduate school. Students will write a final report and present their research at a public poster gala. Housing, a stipend, meal and travel allowances will be provided. Students from underrepresented minority groups, women, veterans and first-generation college students are especially encouraged to apply. Students will be selected based on academic excellence, a letter of reference and a demonstrated interest in environmental issues, and will be matched with a mentor based on indicated preference for research areas.

It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. 

A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting utoledo.edu/nsm/lec/REU/ or by contacting the Principal Investigator (PI) for the NSF grant, Dr. Jeanine Refsnider, (jeanine.refsnider@utoledo.edu) or the co-PI, Dr. Kevin Czajkowski (kevin.czajkowski@utoledo.edu).

Last Updated: 6/27/22