1. Output: The proposed program is expected to have the following outputs:
a. Intensive training for six undergraduates per year in remote sensing techniques.
b. Practical research experience for six undergraduates per summer. Students would use their expertise in remote sensing to address real research needs relating to NOAA’s mission and will have an opportunity to see what the life of a scientist is like.
c. Exposure of up to 40 students per year to the concepts of entrepreneurship and creative thinking.
d. Exposure of up to 40 students per year to researchers using remote sensing techniques to address scientific questions relevant to NOAA’s mission.
e. Experience for six students per year in writing scientific reports.
f. Experience for six students per year in public speaking and presentation of scientific research.
g. Experience for up to six students per year in writing grant proposals (to attain another year of funded research).
h. Additional research experience in years two and three for up to six students per year. This opportunity will encourage students who really want to work with remote sensing techniques or with the scientific questions that the techniques address to continue to explore this career option.
i. Research reports by summer interns generated by six students per year.
j. Experience for 6 students per year to attend national or regional scientific meetings to meet other scientists and to become acquainted with the culture of scientific meetings.

2. Evaluation of the program would be made by compiling:
a. Supervisor reports of student activities, including an evaluation of student preparedness.
b. Student evaluations of their intern research experience, including report of research activities and self-assessment of preparedness.
c. Student evaluations of the quality and relevance of their training in remote sensing and GIS.
d. The number of students who apply for internships each year of the program.
e. The number of first year interns who apply for a second year of work with the same agency.
f. The number of researchers who request or inquire about interns each year.

The reports and evaluations listed above (a. through c.) would be compiled and summarized in a qualitative review of the program. For the last four measures (d., e., and f.), increasing numbers would be considered an indication of success.

3. The proposed project would have the following benefits:
a. It would provide high quality training in remote sensing techniques to students from a minority-serving institution. Students would receive a strong background in the theory of interpreting satellite imagery, would have individualized training and would gain practical experience in applying these techniques.
b. It would encourage students with diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in remote sensing technology or to pursue careers in scientific fields using these tools. The project would not only provide the students with the knowledge needed to work with remote sensing, but will develop the personal relationships (with summer supervisors and the program manager) that are vital to helping students envisage continuing to work in this field.
c. It would introduce undergraduate students to the process of doing science and of communicating to other scientists through report writing, grant writing, and attendance at scientific meetings.
d. It would expose students from a Historically Black College to scientists working in NOAA laboratories and would provide a stepping stone for the students to careers in NOAA.
e. It would encourage the students to approach their career choices in an entrepreneurial spirit, whether or not the students actually go into business using the skills they develop in the program.
f. It would greatly enhance the ability of ECSU’s Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research to teach remote sensing techniques.
g. It would provide trained, psychologically prepared interns who can actively contribute to the research at NOAA laboratories during the summer. Student interns would have skills needed by NOAA researchers and who would be able to contribute directly to NOAA’s mission.