GP-up: immersive connections in geosciences: paleontological field experiences and bridges to robust career training opportunities

The National Science Foundation awarded a $391,582 Project Grant to the University of Lynchburg under the Geosciences federal grant program (CFDA 47.050) to implement the Immersive Connections in Geosciences project from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025. The project aims to increase the number of geoscience majors and minors at the University of Lynchburg, with an emphasis on low-income students and those from historically underrepresented groups in the field. Key products and services include an immersive three-week paleontological field experience in Wyoming for dinosaur excavation, geoscience career preparation through an internship at the Virginia Museum of Natural History, and career training provided by the University's career center. The funding will support a series of complementary fieldwork and career development opportunities to foster greater diversity in the geoscience workforce.

Abstract

Despite relevance to economies and livelihoods, the geosciences remain one of the least diverse disciplines in the united states. Specifically, racial diversity in the environmental science and geoscience fields is staggeringly low. To address this, the university of lynchburg (UL), in partnership with the virginia museum of natural history (vmnh), will implement a project entitled immersive connections in geosciences: paleontological field experiences and bridges to robust career training opportunities (the ICG project). Building on a longstanding partnership between UL?s environmental science program and vmnh, student participants will benefit from a complementary series of geoscience field work and career training experiences, including excavation of dinosaur remains in the field followed by an internship with vmnh, geoscience career exploration, and broadly applicable career training. The target population for the project will be rising sophomores and juniors who are low-income or are members of communities historically excluded in geosciences. The project will increase the overall number and diversity of undergraduate students in geosciences at UL, thus contributing to a more diverse geoscience workforce. The goal of immersive connections in geosciences: paleontological field experiences and bridges to robust career training opportunities (the ICG project) is to increase the number of geoscience majors and minors at the university of lynchburg (UL), with an emphasis on increasing the number of low-income students and students from groups historically excluded in the geosciences. Student participants will benefit from a complementary series of geoscience field work and career training experiences including: 1) an immersive three-week summer paleontological field trip to wyoming for dinosaur excavation; 2) geoscience career preparation through a mentored internship with the virginia museum of natural history (vmnh); and 3) broadly applicable career training and exploration provided by UL?s career and professionalism center. To foster participation, the project will be open to students in any major; there will be no prerequisite classes; and financial barriers to participating in the series of experiences will be eliminated. The project will lead to a more robust, diverse, and inclusive geoscience workforce, and IT will strengthen and formalize an existing partnership between UL and vmnh. More broadly, the project may serve as a model for future academic/non-academic partnerships in the geosciences, and IT may generate new interest in geosciences among k-12 student populations, which could further strengthen the geoscience workforce. 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.