Faculty Mentor: Dr. Hsiang-te Kung

Faculty Mentor's Department: Department of Earth Sciences, Confucius Institute, Asian Studies and International Trade Program

Telephone Number and/or E-mail: 678-4538; hkung@memphis.edu

Project Description: Environmental Hazards and Justice; Water Resources (Flood and Drought, Water Supply); Chinese Culture/ Economic Growth and Environmental Impact.

Requirements for Student Applicants: Any honors students who have interest in these areas

Starting Date: At Student's Conveniece

Method of Compensation ( Volunteer, Academic Credit, or Stipend): Open

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrew Mickelson

Faculty Mentor's Department: Dept. of Earth Sciences

Telephone/E-mail: 678-4505/amicklsn@memphis.edu

Project Description: Students can participate in archaeological fieldwork and/or laboratory research and processing of archaeological samples and artifacts.  Research is currently being conducted at several prehistoric Indian sites within western Tennessee.  Transport to sites is provided and we return to Memphis at the end of each day.  Fieldwork requires the physical ability to walk long distances and carry heavy loads at times.  Sorry, special needs students cannot be accommodated in the field, but options exist in the lab on a case by case basis.

Requirements: Students must have taken at least one introductory course in Anthropology (preferably ANTH1100) or in Earth Sciences (ESCI 1103 or ESCI 2301 or ESCI 4352 or ESCI 4325)

Starting Date – open, dependent on level of degree of participation by student

Method of Compensation:  Volunteer, Academic Credit, or Stipend – volunteer or Academic Credit through honors projects or independent study on a case by case basis

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Esra Ozdenerol

Faculty Mentor's Department: Earth Sciences

E-mail: eozdenrl@memphis.edu

Phone: 678-2787

Project Description: 1) West Nile Virus in Shelby County: I use GIS and Remote sensing techniques to explore the mosquito habitats and clustering analysis where the infected mosquitoes are and the effected human cases. I am working with the Shelby County Health Department on developing a model to lower the amount of cases in our county and explore ways how to do better intervention. 2) Low birth weight and infant mortality: Birth and death records from the Tennessee Department of Health are obtained. I am applying clustering analysis techniques to find out where the most vulnerable places are in Shelby County.

Requirements: Computer knowledge. GIS techniques a plus, but not required. I also prefer web and programming skills, if any.

Starting Date: At student's convenience.

Compensation: Right now, I do not have funding, but it is on its way. So I can say voluntary—soon to be funded.

Faculty Mentor: Robert Smalley

Faculty Mentor’s Department: CERI

Telephone/ Email: 678-4929/ rsmalley@memphis.edu

Project Description: The current NSF award “Collaborative Research: Great Earthquakes, Megathrust Phenomenology and Continental Dynamics in the Southern Andes”, EAR-1118241, is investigating the processes that created and now drive evolution of the modern Andes mountains. The project seeks to improve our understanding of the contributions to orgeny of the post-seismic phase. Our GPS-based geodetic network provided excellent coverage of the co-seismic signal associated with the recent 2010, Mw=8.8 Maule, Chile, earthquake and the underlying NSF grant continues to provide GPS based geodetic measurements of the immediate (first few years) post-seismic deformation in the region of the 2010 earthquake, and the ongoing mid-term (60+ years) post-seismic deformation in the region of the 1960 Mw=9.5 Valdivia, Chile, earthquake (the largest earthquake recorded instrumentally) that was located immediately to the south. The student will begin their research experience in Memphis with training in the use of GPS equipment, fieldwork metadata documentation, and simple processing to control the quality of the data collected in the field. The student will then travel to Argentina with the PI where they will join the fieldwork team consisting of the PI, Graduate Students, and international collaborators. After two to three weeks of fieldwork supervised by the PI, the student will be teamed with a local collaborator for independent fieldwork during the remainder of the campaign. Fieldwork consists of locating the geodetic benchmarks, installing, programming and removing the GPS equipment. After returning to the home undergraduate institution, the student will participate in processing, modeling and interpreting the GPS data. The student will prepare an abstract for a professional scientific meeting and participate in the preparation of journal articles. Data collection, whether in the field or the lab, is a very important part of research in the Earth Sciences. During fieldwork students learn both scientific data collection techniques and how to work independently in an often-challenging environment. Earth Science fieldwork is very different from just going to the office or lab and returning home for the night. It requires significant self-reliance; scientific, professional and safety decision-making capabilities; problem-solving, organizational and teamwork skills. Participation in  fieldwork typically provides a concentrated experience that is saturated with opportunities for both academic and personal growth, oftentimes resulting in an increased interest and desire to continue with advanced studies in Earth Sciences. Moreover, because Earth Sciences is a multidisciplinary field, including Geology, Geophysics, Geodesy, Geochemistry, etc., fieldwork is a great “hook” to attract excellent students from disciplines such as Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering, etc. to apply their skills to the study of the Earth.

Requirements for Student Applicants: NSF rules - Undergraduate student participants in either REU Sites or REU Supplements must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents of the United States. Must be undergraduates, not graduates between undergraduate and graduate school, so current Seniors are ineligible.

Additional requirements - must have US Passport (or a Passport from a country that does not need a visa to travel to Argentina and Chile) and be able to spend 10 weeks doing fieldwork in Argentina (and possibly Chile) during the northern hemisphere summer (southern hemisphere winter). Ability to carry 50# over rugged terrain for up to several hundred meters, in inclement weather and high altitude (3,000 m). Speak Spanish. (They will spend some time traveling with locals and will have to deal with the help in hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc. that don't speak English. This can be a very rudimentary level of Spanish - they should be taking Spanish, one semester is sufficient, more is better.) Background in Geology/Earth Sciences, Physics, Engineering, etc.

The supplement supports one position for two years. The ideal candidate would be between sophomore and junior years and be able to participate for two years. The candidate could also do it between junior and senior years.

Starting Date: May 2013, duration 10 weeks, for summer stipend. They can obtain training before that on a volunteer basis.