Hello friends! Many of you have asked if I would start a blog so that you can "follow" me to my REU internship in Anacortes, WA this summer, so here it is!
Let's start with some background info.
What is an REU?
REU stands for Research Experience for Undergraduates. This is a national program established and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to encourage undergraduate research, mostly for under-represented groups in the STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics) fields - i.e. minorities and women. As part of the program, the NSF provides stipends to participating students so that they don't have to give up a summer of working. Most REU grants also allow for funds for transportation and room and board for the students.
Where is my REU?
My REU site is in Anacortes, Washington. From what I have heard, this is a beautiful town, located right on the coast. On an island. In the Pacific Northwest :) Anyways, now that you are all jealous of me, lets talk about the marine lab. The marine lab is a campus of Western Washington University. It's called Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC - yes, that is yet another acronym). SPMC has several marine labs and lots of equipment for the various research projects that are conducted there. I will stay in a dorm room on the campus.
Google maps view of the marine center if you want to feel REALLY jealous!
What will I be studying?
The answer to that question is "I'm not exactly sure yet." The research project will be decided on when I arrive at the SPMC. However, my advisor is Dr. Stephen Sulkin. From the information I have received from him and some of my own research, I found out that he studies crabs. Particularly, he seems to be interested in how nutrition affects the development of larval crabs (yes, crabs have a larval stage), so I will most likely have a project centered on that topic.
So there's the background info on my internship. I leave on June 19 and return on August 17. I'm really excited for this experience - mostly for the research but also for being "on my own" for the first time (since I live at home).
It's only 49 days away! Yes, I have several countdowns. ;)
Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll update again sometime soon.
-Alannah
