Six undergraduates will be mentored in geoscience research through analyzing dust deposits from near- and deep time, and interpreting their origins and significance. The field area is the west-central Balkans (Serbia and Croatia). Student research projects will consist of field work (logging stratigraphic sections), sampling, lab analyses, and presentation of preliminary results.  The time in Serbia and Croatia will include a number of cultural excursions to visit sites that span the history and culture of the region, from the fragmentation of Yugoslavia back to Roman times, and even to archeological sites where Neolithic cultures flourished.