research team mentors

Co-Principal Investigator
Susan Flowers, MA (Biology)
Education, Outreach, and DEAI Coordinator
Tyson Research Center
Email: flowers@wustl.edu

 

Co-Principal Investigator
Suzanne Loui, PhD (American Studies)
Senior Lecturer, Environmental Studies
Washington University in St. Louis
Email: sloui@wustl.edu

Research focus for summer 2024

The Tyson Environmental Research Apprenticeship (TERA) and Tyson Undergraduate Fellows programs are designed for authentic environmental research career exploration. Team Humans tackles the many logistical challenges and behind-the-scenes supports necessary for the summer field season to run smoothly for both our program participants and mentoring researchers.

Our team makes sure that a summer spent at Tyson is a positive learning experience for all! We strive to cultivate a sense of belonging, often responding to individual needs and adjusting for accommodations on the fly. Constant attention to inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility is an important part of our work.

During summer 2024, there will be three main foci for Team Humans:

  1. Community support
    Our team plays a large role in the development, coordination, and assessment of community activities. We will facilitate the weekly colloquium and the on-boarding of high school TERAs into their research teams. We will create an overnight experience for the undergraduate fellows, support weekly community events with visiting environmental professionals, and plan the end of field season Tyson Summer Research Symposium (serious fun) and Tyson Olympics (silly fun).

    PLEASE NOTE: The Team Humans fellows are expected to drive Tyson carpool vehicles for daily transportation of undergrads and TERA teens. A Missouri Class E license (or other state equivalent), clean driving record, and years of driving experience is required.

  2. Humans of Tyson
    Our team will continue the annual Humans of Tyson project, interviewing and photographing members of the summer research community. We have found that the interview process provides a unique opportunity for people to articulate important thoughts and feelings about their work in science, humanizing the scientific research endeavor.

  3. History of Tyson
    Continuing the archival recovery work started by Grace O’Connor in summer 2023, we will use historical documents and artifacts to develop a more thorough understanding of how the Tyson Valley tract has been used over time. With guidance from a university archivist and a reparative public historian, we aim to tell the story of Tyson with transparent consciousness of the harm caused to both humans and the land.

Skills
techniques
methods

You will develop a wide variety of transferable skills as part of Team Humans:

  • Planning, management, and execution of transportation logistics

  • Community building, morale management, and peer advocacy

  • Best practices in field safety for diverse identities

  • Lesson planning and educational materials development

  • Planning, coordination, and facilitation of large group events

  • Writing for publicly accessible scientific communication

  • Portrait and action photography in the field

  • Interviewing, recording transcription, and editing for storytelling

  • Archival process for safe storage, organization, and accessibility of historical materials

  • Assessment and evaluation using exit slips, interviews, and observation

Much of the office-based work will be performed using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google products (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Jamboard), GroupMe, and Slack.

research conditions

Over the course of the 10 weeks, our team may spend as much as 70% of the time working indoors, and much of that time working at our computers. The ability to work independently and self motivate is very important. However, supportive social interaction is also crucial and we will eat lunch outside with the Tyson community on a daily basis.

While a lot of our behind-the-scenes work takes place indoors, there are specific program components that take place in the field and spontaneous field excursions may occur. (We keep our field pants, long socks, and hiking boots handy!) Our team needs to understand the work conditions for all of the Tyson research teams and we will visit their field sites. Time spent in the field will include exposure to extreme heat, humidity, sun, and hazards like steep and rocky terrain, ticks, mosquitoes, and poison ivy.

Team structure and opportunities for independent research

The Team Humans fellows work closely with Susan Flowers and Suzanne Loui, usually meeting together as a team on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. There will likely be a lot of going back and forth on document drafts, discussion of participants' ongoing experiences, and also time alone at the computer. Interfacing with Tyson Director Kim Medley and other Tyson staff will be common as we work together to support the summer research community. Weekly one-on-ones will also be scheduled as a check-in on the fellowship experience and mentee/mentor relationship.

There will be time to explore new ideas and develop an independent project if desired. This could take the form of a new educational activity, a publicly accessible science communication piece, a themed series of Instagram posts, etc. Each fellow will present a poster at the Tyson Summer Research Symposium at the end of the field season. Previous fellows have also presented posters of their work at the WashU Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium and the Missouri Environmental Education Association conference, and support for this will be provided.