Longstanding partnership brings Savannah State REU students to SkIO for 17th year

Savannah State REU students took a two-day research cruise aboard the Research Vessel Savannah. (Photo submitted.)

For undergraduate students interested in research, gaining hands-on experience and building a professional network are two essential components of success. For more than 15 years, faculty members at the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) have helped provide those opportunities through Savannah State University’s (SSU) Bridge to Research in Marine Sciences program.

This SSU program is part of the broader U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) initiative. While most NSF REU programs are geared toward juniors and seniors, the eight-week SSU Bridge program focuses on underclassmen, offering foundational knowledge and skills to jump-start careers in marine science research.

 

SkIO Director Clark Alexander welcomes REU students to SkIO. Faculty members at SkIO regularly mentor students through the SSU REU program. (Photo by Jackson K. Schroeder.)

During the first two weeks, students work with SSU faculty in classrooms, labs and field settings to develop technical, scientific, communication and ethics skills. For the remaining six weeks, they are paired with scientists at institutions across the Savannah area, including SkIO, SSU, and the UGA Shellfish Research Lab and UGA Aquarium, both part of UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant.

Between the classroom and lab sessions is a highlight of the program, a two-day research cruise aboard SkIO’s 104-foot Research Vessel Savannah. While at sea, students learn to operate advanced oceanographic instruments and collect samples as they travel 75 miles out to the Gulf Stream and back.

“The opportunity to go on the R/V Savannah is a unique aspect of our REU. It has been an incredible experience for our students,” said Tara Cox, professor of marine science at SSU and director of the SSU REU program.

 

During their two-day cruise aboard the Savannah, students collect samples as far away as the Gulf Stream. (Photos submitted.)

Since the program’s inception in 2009, 159 students have participated, with 36 of them working with faculty at SkIO.

SkIO faculty member Marc Frischer, whose lab has mentored 20 SSU REU students over the past 16 years, views the program as mutually beneficial, for both the REU undergraduates and his graduate students.

“In our lab, we use the program as a tool for graduate students to learn how to supervise,” Frischer said. “We take a small, achievable piece of a larger project, and the REU student works closely with a graduate student to complete it. It’s an incredible opportunity for our graduate students to develop mentoring skills.”

This year, SkIO is hosting two SSU REU students. Anaia Montaque, an environmental biology major and linguistics minor at Washington University in St. Louis, is working in the lab of SkIO faculty member Adam Greer. Meanwhile, Frischer’s lab is mentoring Andy Mugisha, a biochemistry major and francophone studies minor at Bowdoin College.

To learn more about SSU’s Bridge to Research in Marine Sciences REU program, visit: https://savannahstate.edu/events/bridge-to-research-in-marine-sciences/.

About SkIO

The UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) is a multidisciplinary research and education institution located on Skidaway Island near Savannah, Georgia. The Institute was founded in 1967 with a mission to conduct research in all fields of oceanography. In 2013, SkIO was merged with the University of Georgia. The campus serves as a gateway to coastal and marine environments for programs throughout the University System. The Institute’s primary goals are to further the understanding of marine and environmental processes, conduct leading-edge research on coastal and marine systems, and train tomorrow’s scientists. For more information, visit www.skio.uga.edu.