UMaine faculty members take students to Chile
University of Maine Forest Bioproducts Research Institute faculty members Douglas Gardner and David Neivandt, and Doughty Middle School science teacher Tracy Vassiliev will accompany seven undergraduate students from throughout the country on a weeklong trip to Chile.
The trip is the culminating experience of a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REU) program, a 10-week summer research experience based at UMaine and funded by NSF.
The students have been at UMaine this summer doing research with faculty and graduate mentors who are affiliated with FBRI or the University of Concepción-UDT. The undergraduate students conduct research with faculty members for nine weeks, and then travel to Chile for a weeklong tour of research and industrial centers, and final presentations for their peers.
In addition, two UMaine REU students do a nine-week exchange with two students from Concepción during the program.
Gardner has been doing collaborative research with the university in Concepción for more than 15 years. Vassiliev has established a collaboration with a counterpart in Chile as a result of the program.