Program Features.  The REU Site Program at Kansas State University has been structured to include activities that will contribute to the professional development of the participants as young scientists.  Features of the program in Summer 2008 will include:

• Opportunities to conduct independent ecological research projects under the guidance of experienced researchers working in conservation biology and grassland ecology.
• Field trips to ecological sites in Kansas, including major wildlife refuges (Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge), important geological sites (Kanopolis State Park), and a behind the scenes tour of the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas.
• Credit for a 3-credit college course: Research Seminar in Grassland Ecology.  Tuition and book costs will be covered by the REU program.
• Opportunities to present research results at the Student Research Symposium.
• A summer stipend of $4000 for the duration of the 10-week program.
• Accommodation for the duration of the 10-week program in furnished housing.
• Access to resources of Kansas State University, including the library, student health center, and recreation center.
• Access to a university van for the duration of the program for commuting to Konza Prairie and personal errands.
• Extended dates if students want to start early or continue sampling outside of the scheduled 10-week program.
• The Konza Prairie REU does not cover travel expenses to Manhattan, Kansas.

Research Seminar in Grassland Ecology.  The instructional component of the REU program will consist of a seminar series in grassland ecology. The students will meet once a week, usually late in the afternoon when high temperatures on the prairie hamper field work. Each week, a different faculty member will present an informal seminar on a research topic in grassland ecology or conservation biology that is their area of expertise. Faculty members will structure their seminar as a discussion of their research interests or as a field demonstration of their particular study system. The seminar will benefit REU students by giving them an understanding of ecological research in a variety of subdisciplines and of the conservation issues facing native grasslands. 

Student Research Symposium.  At the conclusion of the summer program, REU students will be required to give formal presentations of their research results. The format of the research symposium will be modeled after a national scientific meeting: it will be held in a large lecture hall and moderated by one of the program coordinators. Using multimedia facilities, each student will give a 10 minute presentation, followed by a 5 minute question period. Preparation of formal research results is a valuable experience which will contribute to the professional development of the REU students as young scientists. The symposium will also serve to disseminate the research results of the REU projects to the Division of Biology, to the university community and to the general public. The research symposium will be widely advertised on campus and to local conservation groups, including Friends of Konza Prairie, the Northern Flint Hills chapter of the Audubon Society and the Kansas Ornithological Society. In the past, the symposium has been well attended with an audience of 40-60 people.

Financial support.  Participants in the REU program will receive a stipend of at least $4000 for the 10-week program (includes funds for purchase of individual health care insurance), and an allowance for research supplies. The REU program will pay all expenses for registration, travel, and accommodation for participants to attend a scientific meeting. During their stay at KSU, REU students will be housed in the graduate student housing complex adjacent to campus. Apartments are fully furnished and contain kitchen facilities, bedding and towels. The complex also contains low-cost laundry facilities. Registration for the seminar in grassland ecology as a 3-credit summer course will give the REU students access to the on-campus resources of KSU, including a recreational complex, computer center, library, campus health facility and a range of university-sponsored social programs. If an REU student works on their project for additional weeks outside of the regular 10-week period, their housing costs will be covered by the REU program and, where possible, their research stipend will be supplemented by their mentor.  Please note that participants are expected to pay for their own travel expenses to and from Manhattan, Kansas at the start and end of the summer program. 

Program schedule.  The 10-week REU program is designed to accommodate the different academic schedules of institutions on semester and quarter systems, but this format can be somewhat restrictive. To give the program more flexibility, incoming students can be offered earlier starting or later end dates if they are available outside of the regular 10-week period during June to August.  Flexible program dates assist REU students by giving them more time for their research projects and by allowing them to work with study systems that are constrained by the seasonal phenology of events on the tallgrass prairie. For example, seasonal peaks in reproductive activity among amphibians and grassland birds usually occur in late May, and flowering of some grassland plants does not occur until late August and early September. 

Last updated: January 2008