EPA - Environmental Research Apprenticeship Program for College and University Students

Overview

The purpose of this announcement is to request applications to competitively select a technically and administratively qualified recipient to develop and administer a year-round research training program. The Environmental Research Apprenticeship Program for College and University Students will supplement the academic training of the trainees by enabling them to complete mentored training and projects on-site with EPA scientists at GCRD’s federal research laboratories located in Ada, Oklahoma. The training can begin at any time during the calendar year and must be structured to occur in conjunction with the trainees’ academic studies. Training must be conducted on-site at GCRD’s facilities in Ada, Oklahoma, and the applicant must describe its approach for managing any logistics that are necessary to meet this objective. The applicant’s training program must support: (a) undergraduate students who will gain research experience by working with GCRD scientists (mentors) on a part-time or full-time schedule, and (b) graduate students, enrolled in Masters programs, who will receive training in EPA research and will undertake more substantial research training projects in collaboration with EPA and university scientists on a part-time or full-time schedule. Students will gain research experience by working under the mentorship of GCRD scientists throughout the academic year. Students may also continue their training during the summer session. Applications that do not propose the training and mentoring of both undergraduate and graduate students on-site at EPA-GCRD’s facilities in Ada, Oklahoma will not be considered.

Research themes for training opportunities will be identified by GCRD in collaboration with the recipient. These themes will primarily reflect research priorities and funding availability at GCRD and include, but are not limited to: research in pollution prevention and green infrastructure, research to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, research of biological, physical, and chemical remediation, ecosystem research, and environmental research of watersheds, drinking water, and wastewater. Projects that are consistent with GCRD’s research themes and suitable for training students will be coordinated with the EPA mentor and developed by the recipient. Some examples of the desired areas of study for trainees include, but are not limited to, environmental science, water policy, chemistry, engineering, computer science, ecology, and physical and biological sciences. The objective of the training program is not to provide products or services for EPA’s direct use or augment its workforce. EPA will not select trainees or otherwise assume any supervisory responsibilities regarding the trainees selected by the recipient.

It is envisioned that the training program will increase both the effectiveness and number of future environmental scientists. The training received under the mentorship of GCRD scientists will complement the trainees’ academic coursework. The recipient will be responsible for ensuring that the training plans are supportive of the trainees’ academic training. Training in professional scientific ethics and quality assurance will typically be provided both by the recipient and EPA. The on-site cooperative training experience would be conducted with GCRD scientists and include problem and hypothesis formulation, experimental design, sample analysis, experiment set-up, data evaluation, quality assurance, reporting, presenting results and manuscript development and publication.

Outputs and Outcomes

Outputs from the Research Training Program funded under this RFA are expected to include, but are not limited to:
• The training of up to 10+ trainees per year;
• Progress reports that summarize the trainees’ projects, objectives, outputs/outcomes, approaches, learning experiences and budget allocations;
• Scientific and technical publications in the peer-reviewed literature;
• Attendance and presentations of data at national and international scientific meetings;
• Data and information essential to conducting environmental studies.

Examples of expected outcomes include, but are not limited to:
• Increase in the number of environmental scientists and technicians that have the training and experience to immediately enter the workforce upon graduation;
• Increase in the number of environmental scientists who can productively contribute to the understanding of the science needed to manage environmental risks;
• Increase in the overall knowledge and experience of the trainees being mentored and trained.

The EPA anticipates funding one award under this RFA. Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $800,000 per award, including direct and indirect costs, will not be considered. The total project period requested in an application submitted for this RFA may not exceed five years.