@article{fe9dce7138604131a140e5a17f9f8a3b,
title = "Enlightenment strikes! broadening graduate school training through field campaign participation",
abstract = "This article provides an overview of the Advanced Study Institute: Field Studies of Convection in Argentina (ASI-FSCA) program, a 3-week dynamic and collaborative hands-on experience that allowed 16 highly motivated and diverse graduate students from the United States to participate in the 2018–19 Remote Sensing of Electrification, Lightning, and Mesoscale/Microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observations (RELAMPAGO) field campaign. This program is unique as it represents the first effort to integrate an intensive Advanced Study Institute with a field campaign in atmospheric science. ASI-FSCA activities and successful program outcomes for five key elements are described: 1) intensive field research with field campaign instrumentation platforms; 2) recruitment of diverse graduate students who would not otherwise have opportunities to participate in intensive field research; 3) tailored curriculum focused on scientific understanding of cloud and mesoscale processes and professional/academic development topics; 4) outreach to local K–12 schools and the general public; and 5) building a collaborative international research network to promote weather and climate research. These five elements served to increase motivation and improve confidence and self-efficacy of students to participate in scientific research and field work with goals of increasing retention and a sense of belonging in STEM graduate programs and advancing the careers of students from underrepresented groups as evidenced by a formal program evaluation effort. Given the success of the ASI-FSCA program, our team strongly recommends considering this model for expanding the opportunities for a broader and more diverse student community to participate in dynamic and intensive field work in atmospheric science.",
keywords = "Deep convection, Education, Field experiments, Mesoscale systems, Orographic effects, South America",
author = "Rasmussen, {Kristen L.} and Burt, {Melissa A.} and Angela Rowe and Rebecca Haacker and Deanna Hence and Luna, {Lorena Medina} and Nesbitt, {Stephen W.} and Julie Maertens",
note = "Funding Information: Building on this tradition, the leadership of the RELAMPAGO (Remote Sensing of Electrification, Lightning, and Mesoscale/Microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observations) field campaign (Nesbitt et al. 2021) created a robust and unique plan to include students from diverse backgrounds and institutions in a facilitated Advanced Study Institute (ASI)—the first of its kind associated with a field campaign in atmospheric science. Advanced Study Institutes are funded by the National Science Foundation{\textquoteright}s (NSF) International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program and are short 3-week courses intended to “engage advanced graduate students in active learning and research at the frontiers of knowledge” www.nsf.gov/funding /pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505656). The RELAMPAGO field campaign was conducted from 1 November to 15 December 2018 in west central Argentina and, to date, has been the largest land-based international field campaign conducted in atmospheric science (Nesbitt et al. 2021). This region arguably has among the most intense convective systems in the world with respect to the frequency of large hail, high storm tops, and extreme lightning activity (Zipser et al. 2006; Houze et al. 2015; Rasmussen et al. 2014; Rasmussen and Houze 2011, 2016), yet the processes that give rise to such extremes are unclear because of a scarcity of observations. Given the critical role of clouds in Earth{\textquoteright}s climate system in determining a large proportion of water and energy budgets (Allen and Ingram 2002), a greater understanding of cloud and mesoscale processes in remote regions of the globe is important for understanding the global distribution and impacts of convective storms (Zipser et al. 2006; Houze et al. 2015). Funding Information: Acknowledgments. Funding for graduate student participation as part of the ASI-FSCA program during RELAMPAGO was provided by the National Science Foundation International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) Program under grant OISE-1828935. Major funding for RELAMPAGO was provided by the National Science Foundation. Kristen Rasmussen acknowledges support from NSF AGS-1661657 for research and scientific outreach associated with the RELAMPAGO field campaign and NSF HRD-1835055 for supporting the harassment training program for RELAMPAGO. The authors thank the many RELAMPAGO scientists who mentored and trained the graduate students to collect observations and interpret the data. Funding Information: With support from the NSF International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program, the ASI-FSCA program provided an opportunity for 16 graduate students from diverse backgrounds and a wide variety of institutions to participate in the RELAMPAGO field cam- paign in Argentina for 21 days in November 2018 (Fig. 1). The ASI-FSCA program was co- ordinated by U.S.-based atmospheric scien- tists involved in RELAMPAGO (Table 1). The ASI-FSCA program provided a dynamic and highly collaborative international research experience by focusing on five key elements: (i) intensive field research with active field campaign instrumentation platforms under the guidance of the instrument PIs; (ii) re- cruitment of diverse graduate students, in- cluding those from underrepresented groups in the geosciences, first generation, and from MSIs, who would not otherwise have opportunities to participate in intensive field research; (iii) tailored curriculum focused on scientific understanding of cloud and mesoscale processes of the atmosphere and professional/academic development topics; (iv) outreach to the local K–12 schools and organized cultural activities; and (v) building a collaborative international research net- work between the United States, Argentina, and Brazil to promote weather and climate research. One of the primary goals of the ASI-FSCA program was to recruit diverse graduate students, including students from smaller atmospheric science programs and MSIs, including Hispanic-serving institutions Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright}2021 American Meteorological Society",
year = "2021",
month = oct,
doi = "10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0062.1",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "102",
pages = "E1987--E2001",
journal = "Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society",
issn = "0003-0007",
publisher = "American Meteorological Society",
number = "10",
}