Our National Science Foundation REU Fiji Program website is up!

NSF REU Student Fellows and faculty preparing seaweed salad and fishing with Fijians, Salia village, Nayau (Photos by S.Jones).

Check-out our new NSF REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) Fiji Program website at:

http://hulamo.com/2009_NSF_REU_Fieldschool_in_Fiji/Home.html

The Fiji REU program engages students in interdisciplinary problem based research, exploring long-term dynamics in human interaction with the environment. Project participants learn about anthropology (the study of humans and culture) as well as historical ecology, a discipline focused on the relationships between people and both physical and biological environments. In the context of various study areas in Fiji’s Lau Island Group, students and faculty engage in meaningful scientific research incorporating the methods of anthropology and ecology.

Mallory Messersmith filming a fishing expedition on Nayau (Photo by S.Jones)

Students’ activities and projects include: archaeological surveys, mapping, and excavations; collecting and analyzing ethnographic data on resource exploitation and foodways; conducting lab analysis of archaeological materials; working with database systems and computer software; and interpreting data in written, digital, and oral presentations for the academic and general public.

Checkout the new website for more information on this interdisciplinary fieldschool and research program (plus more photos!):
http://hulamo.com/2009_NSF_REU_Fieldschool_in_Fiji/Home.html