NSSL scientists
mentor students for the summer

by Susan Cobb, Daphne Zaras, and Ron Holle

The REU program is important because...

"Too few students have a chance to work closely with real scientists doing real scientific projects before they graduate. This is important for at least two quite different reasons. (1) If they become scientists, this experience can be a good beginning, (2) even if they don't become scientists, at least they gain some insight into what scientists do. In a society increasingly ignorant about science, #2 is quite significant!"

- Chuck Doswell, NSSL scientist/mentor

What do YOU get out of it (as a mentor)?

"Satisfaction of seeing the student carry out a project and feel good about it."

- Carl Hane, NSSL scientist/mentor

I wanted them to learn:

"Not every road you take during research is a profitable one."

- Harold Brooks, NSSL scientist/mentor

"I want them to understand the care and hard work that go into collecting and analyzing data. When they read some 'fact' in their classes, they need to understand that the data on which the fact is based typically have shortcomings that require ingenuity and care to overcome."

- Don MacGorman, NSSL scientist/mentor

I chose to be a mentor because:

"It is a way to try to sustain good science for years to come by fostering someone's excitement for the field."

- J.T. Johnson, NSSL scientist/mentor

Ten undergraduate students from around the country spent 10 weeks of their
summer in Norman, working under the supervision of an Oklahoma Weather Center scientist. Research projects, writing scientific papers, and giving presentations filled their days. Some of these students were even able to fly on the P-3 during MEaPRS and go out with the field program Sub-VORTEX. Most of them say it has been the experience of a lifetime.
The students were here through the NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. The REU program is designed to attract talented undergraduates to careers in mathematics, science, and engineering through an active research program and the mentorship of those who work in these fields. Most of the students came from small colleges where their exposure to meteorological research is minimal.

This year's effort was lead by OU/CAPS's Mark Palmer and Shannon Shropshire with a coordinating committee including Andrea Melvin (OCS),

Randy Peppler (CIMMS), and NSSL's Ron Holle and Daphne Zaras, also NSSL/CIMMS. Two of the ten students were mentored by scientists at OU, and the remaining eight were under the supervision of NSSL/SPC scientists.

In casual interviews conducted towards the end of their term, we discovered what some of this summer's REU students valued most about the program.