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"Research Link" will create a new kind of learning community for both students and faculty in the biological sciences. It will facilitate collaboration and encourage students to think and communicate science with their peers across the nation." (Jim Hoerter, Ferris State University)

The C-Fern Project is honored to be one of the participants involved in the program - ResearchLink 2000 . Dr. Jim Hoerter (Department of Biological Sciences, Ferris State University) received a three-year $200,000 National Science Foundation grant to establish ResearchLink 2000, a national center for the development and exchange of research-based lab experiments for the undergraduate biology curriculum.

The three-year grant is being administered through the Council on Undergraduate Research Research, a national organization of nearly 4000 members that provides support and networking for faculty at over 850 colleges and universities. Hoerter leads a group of participating faculty from several Universities and Colleges who are developing new research-based approaches to learning. ResearchLink will fund a series of conferences, workshops and institutes to disseminate a group of field-tested, research-based laboratory investigations and experimental systemsdesigned to encourage students think and work like scientists. A wide variety of research-based labs are being developed that employ both plants and animals and deal with genetics, cell biology, physiology, ecology, behavior and evolution.

In addition to encouraging authentic research experiences in the undergraduate curriculum, ResearchLink 2000 will bring a new dimension to undergraduate biology teaching. Students and faculty from participating colleges and universities will be able to collaborate in designing experiments, sharing data, and interpreting results through LabCore and LabLink - a World Wide Web- based network.

August 1998