Discipline: Mathematics & Statistics
Subcategory: STEM Research
Shaik Jeelani - Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL
Co-Author(s): Willard Collier, Michael Curry, Mohammed Qazi, Vijaya Rangari, Alfred Tcherbi-Narteh, and Shaik Zainuddin, Tuskege University; Martha Escobar and Melissa McDonald, Oakland University
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 proposed by Tuskegee University (TU) to develop, implement, study and evaluate a unique HBCU-UP Implementation program for STEM underrepresented minority (URM) undergraduate students at 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); and, (6) A Young Material Scientists Research Conference at TU. Currently, 34 students are enrolled in the program, which is expected to graduate its first cohort consisting of 8 students in May 2019. Over the 5 year grant period, an impressive 80 URM students will have been prepared for careers in MSE through the 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 Grant Nos. HRD -1719433 HRD - 1719423
Faculty Advisor: None Listed,