Preparing Interdisciplinary Minority Material Scientists and Engineers of the Future

Faculty #48
Discipline: Mathematics & Statistics
Subcategory: STEM Research
- Tuskegee University
Co-Author(s): Willard Collier, Michael Curry, Mahesh Hosur, Mohammed Qaz, Vijaya Rangari, Alfred Tcherbi-Narte and Shaik Zainuddin, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL; Martha Escobar and Melissa McDonald, Oakland University, Rochester, MI

Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) is devoted to the discovery, design, and development of advanced engineering materials, which are crucial to new developments in Science and Engineering and impact our day-to-day lives. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are not at the forefront of education in MSE, and HBCU students do not have many options to engage in this emerging multidisciplinary field, resulting in a dramatic underrepresentation of African Americans in the MSE workforce. This poster describes a ground breaking model to develop, implement, study and evaluate a unique HBCU-UP Implementation program for STEM underrepresented minority (URM) undergraduate students at Tuskegee University (TU), designed to provide them with a rigorous preparation for graduate studies and careers in MSE related fields.

The poster provides details of the MSE HBCU-UP program’s interventions which include: (1) A minor in MSE consisting of multidisciplinary course-work; (2) Use of ‘Learning through Making’ techniques whereby students will use knowledge from their major and the proposed MSE minor to design, develop and test in a Makers Space a STEM-based product from a MSE perspective; (3) Research internships at National laboratories, MSE-focused industry, and national REU sites; (4) Workshops to build literature search, technical writing and proposal development skills; (5) Submission of Graduate Fellowship proposals (e.g. GRFP of the NSF); (6) A Young Material Scientists Research Conference at TU; and, (7) The creation of virtual learning communities as a means for students to engage in scientific dialogue. Over the 5 year grant period, 80 undergraduates will be recruited and prepared for careers in MSE through this novel program.
The poster also describes the study of the effectiveness of the proposed interventions through an extensive Social Science research investigation focused on the development of students’ personal self-efficacy, professional efficacy and goal-directed behaviors (agency).

Funder Acknowledgement(s): This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Grants No. HRD -1719433 and HRD - 1719423

Faculty Advisor: None Listed,