Collaborative Research: GEOPAths:GO: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Student Experiences Aboard Ships (STEMSEAS)

The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce is crucial to the U.S. health and economy, yet retention rates in STEM fields are poor, and the geoscience community in particular is faced with a looming workforce shortage. Moreover, the geoscience community continues to lack the diversity of the population at large. The STEM Student Experiences Aboard Ships (STEMSEAS) project is a partnership between the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University of California Berkeley, Morgan State University and the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) aimed at addressing three priorities: (1) increasing the number and diversity of students pursuing degrees and careers in geosciences; (2) preparing students for many career trajectories in the geosciences and beyond; and, (3) contributing to the evidence base for effective student engagement, learning and retention in STEM. The STEMSEAS project will achieve these goals by taking advantage of unused berthing capacity available on UNOLS and other oceanographic research vessels as they transit between ports in preparation for their next scientific expedition. These short (~6-10 day) transits offer a unique mobile classroom setting where undergraduate students can be exposed to geoscience professional practice and career exploration. While at sea, students engage in a variety of hands-on activities that incorporate science content, lab exercises, data collection/analysis, and career exploration. The project will organize four expeditions per year for students selected from across the US and for faculty at US two-year colleges (2YC) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).STEMSEAS has demonstrated that it is a robust mechanism for geoscience discovery and STEM ecosystem development. This project aims to expand this progress while improving its reach and effectiveness through a combination of diversified leadership team, integrated professional development for HBCU and 2YC faculty, research in transformative learning, and leadership opportunities for student alumni. STEMSEAS will add to the knowledge base on the effectiveness of immersive at-sea experiences to students’ inspiration and retention in the geosciences, their comfort level with geoscience knowledge, and their familiarity with geoscience career pathways. It will also contribute to the body of knowledge about the components of real transformative learning experiences. The project assists the academic fleet in its mission to cultivate the next generation of geoscience researchers and workforce. By taking students from communities that have historically been poorly represented in geoscience on mentored transits aboard these state-of-the-art vessels, the project stands to have profound impact on individual students. By establishing the partnerships and process by which students have access to ship time, this project sets the stage for increasing numbers of students and universities over time. Moreover, by carefully designing programming that includes post-transit reflection and in-class reporting, the project is poised to transform the way STEMSEAS students conceptualize their futures – i.e., what is possible for them. In addition, STEMSEAS has established several channels for broader impacts in the science research and 2YC community through inviting “pocket” science projects at targets of opportunity along ship tracks and increasing research capacity at smaller institutions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.