Are you interested in the fields of Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Sustainability, Conservation, and/or Global Change?

Do you have little to no prior research experience?

Are you thinking of pursuing graduate school or a professional career in STEM, and want to know more about what your options are?

Are you interested in learning about data analysis, sampling methods, and how to conduct field work?

Are you from a community college/tribal college/small to medium-size liberal arts college with limited research opportunities?

Are you interested in becoming part of a close-knit community of diverse researchers and building your academic network?

If you answered yes to any of these questions… the KBS REU experience is probably right for you! Our program is designed to give you an introduction to developing and executing your first research project as an undergraduate student. No prior field work experience, lab experience, or stats courses are required to apply. The KBS REU goal is to help you understand what “doing research” really means, and to help give you the knowledge, resources, and support to achieve your STEM career goals (and maybe even help you identify what those goals might be!

KBS REU Program – Expectations and Weekly Timeline

KBS Code of Conduct

If you need an accommodation of any kind that is not supported in what we have provided, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Dates:

This program is 10 weeks long and will run from May 18 – July 26, 2025 (students are expected to arrive on-site by 5 p.m. Sunday, May 18 and depart Saturday, July 26).

Hours:

This is a full-time (40+hrs/week) research experience.  Specific hours will be arranged with your research mentor.

COVID Policies:

All program participants will be required to comply with the most current Michigan State University COVID-19 policies.

Financial Support:

• $7000 stipend + room & board at KBS- note that our dining hall will not be open for regular service. We provide a weekly grocery stipend and all apartments are equipped with kitchens
• Up to $600 to cover transportation to and from KBS (note MSU can only reimburse drivers up to $500 in mileage)
• Up to $250 for research expenses

Learning Plan and Professional Development:

REUs will work with their mentor to create a custom learning plan and work to develop an independent research project, collaborate to write a research proposal, attend weekly professional development seminars, develop an “elevator speech” about your research, write a research abstract and present a professional research poster at the KBS Summer Undergraduate Symposium, plus write a professional blog post about your research experience.

Our weekly professional development seminars cover topics like science communication, crafting a CV/Resume, and more. We also host grad panels and career panels to help students learn about a variety of STEM career options.

Field Trips and Activities:

Weekends at KBS are all about exploring. Students will take field trips to the John Ball Zoo, museums in Ann Arbor, the Saugatuck Dunes on Lake Michigan, and more! Activities closer to KBS include browsing the Farmer’s Market in Kalamazoo, bowling, birding, and kayaking on Gull Lake. Our resident mentors organize weekly activities that will appeal to a variety of interests.

The KBS REU application allows you to apply to work with specific labs and projects at KBS. General lab descriptions are below.

***For a more detailed summary of the 2025 KBS mentors and available research projects, please click here.***

You will have the opportunity to select your top three KBS research projects in the application.

Conner Lab – KBS & MSU Dept. of Plant Biology: We study the mechanisms by which natural selection on weeds and native plants produces (sometimes very rapid) adaptation to a variable environment, and constraints on this adaptation. Our approach is to combine laboratory, greenhouse, and field studies integrating evolution, genetics, genomics, and ecology to address questions at the interface of these areas. Students working in our lab will be involved in research that focuses on floral adaptations to pollinators, floral trait loss after the evolution of selfing, fitness effects of gene knockouts, and rapid adaptation of weeds to agricultural environments.

Docherty Lab – Western Michigan University: The Docherty lab is broadly interested in understanding how human activities influence microbial community diversity and functioning.  Their work integrates field and laboratory approaches to examine anthropogenic effects — including altered land uses and climate change — on microorganisms in soil, air and water. Research themes include: 1. How can microbial metabolic capabilities be harnessed to correct, or proactively prevent, harm to natural ecosystems? 2. As the Anthropocene progresses, how are we changing the ecology of microbial communities and microbial processes, particularly through altered land use and climate change? Interested applicants for the Docherty lab must have a valid Driver’s License.

Gilbert Lab – KBS & Dept of Plant Biology: The Gilbert lab studies how plants mediate their interactions with other organisms, including insects and microbes. We utilize ecological, evolutionary, molecular, and physiological perspectives to examine the symbiotic communities associated with plants and how plant traits influence those communities. We are particularly interested in examining how leaves alter abiotic conditions on their surfaces, which then influence biotic interactions. Students working in the lab will measure leaf traits (e.g., leaf surface pH) that influence biotic interactions, and explore how those traits vary across plant species and/or relate to features of the broader external environment. Additionally, the Gilbert lab studies the biology of carnivorous plants, and students working in the lab will have the opportunity to investigate various aspects of the ecology and physiology of the native purple pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) growing in KBS wetlands.

Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) – Created in 2007 by the U.S. Department of Energy, the KBS GLBRC focuses on sustainable cropping systems and creating biofuels that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable. Researchers examine the performance of potential bioenergy cropping systems, including assessments of crop yield and quality, microbial-plant interactions, biogeochemical responses, greenhouse gas fluxes, water needs, nutrient leaching to groundwater, and biodiversity responses. Ultimate goals are to model the production efficiencies of different bioenergy crops.

Haddad Lab – KBS & Dept of Integrative Biology: We study how landscape diversity in the Midwestern USA affects the diversity of species, primarily insects including butterflies, bees, ants, and beetles. Our work focuses on managed ecosystems from conventional agriculture to restored prairies and focuses on how landscape diversity, including planting prairie strips – small areas of restored prairie adjacent to agricultural fields – affects the diversity and abundance of insects in the agricultural fields and how theses ecosystems work. Students working in our lab will be involved in field research that addresses questions such as: How do different bees and butterflies affect pollination success? Do ants affect predation of pest species? How do beetles affect decomposition and nutrient cycling?

Janzen Lab – KBS and Dept. Fisheries & Wildlife: Research in our lab focuses on determining the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying adaptation to environmental variation in reptiles, particularly turtles. We are particularly interested in how environmental variation associated with climate change affects the ecology and evolution of these species and can be applied to support the conservation of these species. Students working in our lab, will learn how to integrate molecular and quantitative genetic techniques with experimental studies in the lab and field.

Klausmeier & Litchman Lab – KBS & MSU Depts. of Plant Biology & Integrative Biology: We study freshwater and marine phytoplankton ecology, using a combination of theoretical and empirical approaches such as analytical and simulation modeling, laboratory experiments, field sampling, and long-term and large-scale data analysis to answer fundamental questions about what determines community composition and species diversity and how ecological communities would re-organize under anthropogenic global change. Students working in our labs will have the opportunity to conduct laboratory and field studies of community composition in algae and/or to learn how modeling can be an important tool in this process. Potential projects include investigating harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Great Lakes and the role of rising temperature and ecological interactions in changing community composition and diversity.

Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) – The KBS LTER Program studies the ecology of intensive field crop ecosystems and its environmental consequences as part of a National Network of LTER Sites established by the National Science Foundation in 1980. The KBS LTER joined the network in 1988. Learn more about our project history. LTER research at KBS is designed to answer the broader question of how agronomic management can better utilize biological resources in cropping systems to control pests, provide nitrogen, and build soil fertility: In short, how to make agriculture more profitable and provide environmental benefits. Our main research areas include agronomy, microbial ecology, plant dynamics, insect dynamics, biogeochemistry, regionalization, ecosystem services, and biofuels.

Shah Lab – KBS & MSU Dept. of Integrative Biology: Our research focuses on understanding ecological patterns (e.g. species distributions) by learning about the physiology and genomic architecture of organisms. We then use this understanding to make predictions about how animals will respond to a warming planet. We primarily use aquatic and terrestrial insects (and sometimes frogs) as model systems to answer these questions. Such research requires a combination of fieldwork and field observations as well as detailed experiments in the lab. Students will have the opportunity to work in the field and design physiological experiments. Because of the integrative nature of our work, students will also learn about ectotherm ecology, evolutionary processes, as well as physiology.

Applications for Summer 2025 are closed. Check back this Fall for our Summer 2026 REU opportunities.

What will you need?

• Ability to participate in the entire 10-week program (May 18- July 26, 2025)
• A PDF of your transcripts (unofficial is fine)
• A PDF of your current resume
• Contact information for one reference- no formal letter of reference is required!
• A Statement of Research Interest (300 words max) that describes your interest in research at KBS
• A Personal Statement (300 words max) that describes your goals, background, and

Applications will close on February 15, 2025. All applicants will be notified of final decisions by March 14th, 2025.

We strongly encourage applications from underrepresented groups in the sciences, first-generation college students, students that attend colleges with limited research opportunities (e.g., community colleges and small colleges without graduate programs), and US military veterans currently enrolled as undergraduates.

You must be a U.S. citizen, or permanent U.S. resident, currently enrolled with undergraduate status to participate in the NSF REU program.

Our program generally does not accept undergraduate students from R1 institutions, with exceptions. These are “Doctoral Universities- Very high research activity.” A full list of R1 institutions can be found here. Please contact KBSsummer@msu.edu if you have any questions about our program eligibility.

Summer 2022

Beans and best friends: A KBS summer in the Evans lab

Summer 2019

Growing among the black-eyed susans: A one-of-a-kind summer – Brandon D’Souza (Ohio State University – Robertson Lab)

Research is reflection: A summer of firsts at KBS – Jabarius “Jaba” Jones (North Carolina A&T – Robertson Lab & Roley Lab)

A hard lesson to learn: It’s OK not knowing everything in science – Karina Cortijo-Robles (University of Puerto Rico – Gross Lab & Lau Lab)

Conducting summer research? Turns out, it’s pretty rad-ish – Rachel Richardson (California State, Channel Islands – Conner Lab)

The sand dune of research: A steep but lovely learning curve – Sydney Hall (John Carroll University – Litchman Lab)

Learning to become a thorough scientist and nurturing a lifelong love of the natural world – Colin McHugh (Kalamazoo Valley Community College – Robertson Lab)

Summer 2018

A mathematical summer: My experience at KBS – Akshata Rudrapatna (Case Western Reserve University – Klausmeier Lab)

An unexpected Experience: A summer at KBS – Beth Ann Hansen (Grinnell College; Wetzel Lab)

Working as a team in the Klausmeier Lab – Brian Lerch (Case Western Reserve University; Klausmeier Lab)

Learning to step out of my comfort zone at KBS – Selassie Lijelu (University of Saint Francis; Haddad Lab)

Poco a poco: The little nopalito in a cornfield – Nicholas Vega Anguiano (Humbolt State University; LTER/Robertson Lab)

My time as a REU: Learning the research process – Audrey Hogenkamp (Augustana College; Evans Lab)

Try something new:  A home away from home – Cassie Stark (James Madison University; Conner Lab)

SLAM: Scientists Love Acronyms, Man – Emily Lindback (Franklin and Marshall College; LTER/Robertson Lab)

Summer 2017

Hot water and faster species – Tyler Treakle (College of William & Mary; Zarnetske Lab)

Uncovering a love for diatoms: A paleontologist’s nightmare – Sophia Beery (Ohio Northern U.; Litchman/Kalusmeier Lab)

The one that got away (a darter love affair) – Daniel Olivera (Clark U.; Fitzpatrick Lab)

My KBS summer research experience – Francisca Donkor (Harris-Stowe State U.; Evans Lab)

A summer I will never forget – Chris Williamson (Clemson U.; Lau Lab)

Almost failing a semester to learn about climate change – Daimer Castro Vega (U. of Puerto Rico; Robertson Lab)

Before and after – Harry Ervin (Calvin College; Evans Lab)

My amazing experience at KBS – Lauren Davis (Alcorn State U.; Lau Lab)

Summer 2016

The forest, animals, and my missing bottles – Aleah Dungee (Norfolk State U.; Robertson Lab)

Painting with phytoplankton cultures and Michigan sunsets – Clare Harper (Beloit College; Litchman/Klausmeier Lab)

Gaining a Sense of Oneness – Ivori Schley (North Carolina A&T; GLBRC)

Clouds of Confidence – Carlneshia Johnson (Alcorn State U.; Hamilton Lab)

My Summer of Science (Fiction) – Tori Niewohner (Western Washington U.; Zarnetske Lab)

Jack of All Trades – Andrew Konieczny (Augsburg College; LTER)

Learning to be a Scientist – Julie Barrios (U. of California – San Diego; Robertson Lab)

Observing Life from the Perspective of Aquatic Insects – Bana Kabalan (Wayne State U.; Steiner Lab)

Summer 2015

My recipe for becoming a scientist – Gabriela Sinclair (U. of Charleston; Robertson Lab)

Full immersion – Matthew Carey (Norfolk State U.; Gross Lab)

Expectations – Rick Moyer (Albright College; Robertson Lab)