Integrative Graduate
Education and
Research Traineeship

Highlight

Michael Dunaway - From Haskell Undergrad to KU Grad

Michael Dunaway, University of Kansas Geography Graduate Student

Projects:

IGERT: C-CHANGE: Climate Change, Humans, and Nature in...

Institution:

University of Kansas Center for Research Inc

Primary Strategic Goal:

Learning: Build the Nation's research capability through critical investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyber infrastructure, and experimental tools.

Secondary Strategic Goal:

Discovery: Foster research that will advance the frontiers of knowledge, emphasizing areas of greatest opportunity and potential benefit and establishing the Nation as a global leader in fundamental transformational science and engineering.

Achievement/Results

C-CHANGE IGERT Trainees complete a teaching internship working with tribal college undergraduates at Haskell Indian Nations University during each summer’s Haskell Environmental Research Studies (HERS) Institute. The HERS Institute focuses on Climate Change in Indigenous Communities. IGERT Trainees partner with Haskell undergrads on research projects designed to teach Interns basic climate science, research methods, and presentation skills in preparation for Interns’ graduate study in STEM disciplines. HERS Institute graduate, Michael Dunaway, a member of the Choctaw Nation, has received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to study climate change and alternative energies in Indian Country.

Address Goals

As a Haskell undergraduate, Michael Dunaway was not considering graduate school, but through his participation in the Haskell Summer Institute, his work with IGERT trainees and his attendance at IGERT Colloquia, he made connections with graduate students and faculty who encouraged him to consider pursuing a graduate degree. His application for graduate study in Geography at KU was a direct result of his participation in IGERT-supported Haskell Institute and a subsequent REU Internship with the NSF Kansas EPSCoR program. He continues to participate in IGERT activities and stays in touch with IGERT faculty and trainees during his graduate studies at KU.