INSPIRE aims to develop a summer REU site in the newly formed Department of Natural Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M University-San Antonio (A&M-SA) led by Dr. Davida Smyth. A&M-SA is a rapidly growing, majority-minority, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) whose student population is predominantly composed of socioeconomically disadvantaged and underrepresented minorities, who have historically lacked the support required to be successful in STEM programs, located on the south side of San Antonio. Our student composition, diverse and integrated research projects, goals for training and skill development and our location makes us a truly unique REU site. This site, known as the Espada property whose ownership was recently transferred to and A&M-SA, encompasses a 30-acre lake and a diverse landscape and ecosystem mildly disturbed by human activities. This site also has historical and cultural significance as it is adjacent to the UNESCO-designated Mission Espada established by early Spanish Missionaries.

Each student accepted into INSPIRE will choose a collaborative project and a primary faculty research mentor from the project website. Projects will connect to issues of local, regional, and national importance related to ecosystem resilience. The steering committee will match students to each project on a holistic basis. Faculty mentors will support, guide, and oversee the student’s research progress in conjunction with graduate and undergraduate peer mentors working in the lab of the faculty mentor. Our programming will support the development of students' STEM identity, help them grow their network, expose them to the research and cultural ecosystem of San Antonio, and guide them in exploring the multitude of STEM and STEM-related careers. Our mentoring and college-to-career programming will provide the tools and strategies needed to prepare for the job market and/or pursue advanced degrees. Our outreach and community engagement programming will help students recognize the value of science to our communities and the role it plays in modern society. This conglomerate of faculty-led research programs this will bring together the underserved San Antonio’s southside community with the ongoing relevant research being conducted at Espada, A&M-SA, and SARA. Lastly, this REU will enable more students to participate in research and potentially increase the recruitment and transfer of students to the Biology, Chemistry, and Water Resource Science and Technology programs of A&M-SA and increase participant applications and acceptances to graduate programs and STEM-related careers.

INSPIRE will bring students together in San Antonio, where interdisciplinary research, educational experiences, culture, and community combine. It will provide undergraduate students, traditionally underrepresented in STEM, with the opportunity to work together to build a resilient ecosystem that can respond to anthropogenic impacts of five targeted areas, namely: (1) pollution, (2) climate change, (3) invasive species, (4) exploitation of natural resources, and (5) land use change.

INSPIRE aims to

• Build collaborative relations among the faculty members at an aspiring HSI that serves a historically underserved region of the city and state.
  INSPIRE will actively grow collaborations across the faculty at A&M-SA and beyond, targeting issues of local and national relevance in the Espada site where history, culture, and changing dynamic ecosystems meet.
• Establish a set of projects inspired by regional issues with national and global parallels.
  Students will research “through the issues,” making observations, developing questions, carrying out research, working in diverse and interdisciplinary teams, valuing different perspectives and approaches, sharing their findings and effectively engaging with and communicating with local communities.
• Grow and cultivate partnerships that support the robust implementation of the program and sustainable broader impacts.
  INSPIRE will catalyze a network of partnerships that engage with local cultural organizations, research facilities and higher education institutions to enrich the research ecosystem of San Antonio.

INSPIRE will help A&M-SA achieve its long-term goal of effectively serving and supporting underrepresented groups in STEM education, research careers, and community engagement.