Influence of NSF-Funded Undergraduate Research Assistantships on Underrepresented Minority Students
- Conference
- Location
-
Indianapolis, Indiana
- Publication Date
-
June 15, 2014
- Start Date
-
June 15, 2014
- End Date
-
June 18, 2014
- ISSN
-
2153-5965
- Conference Session
-
Preparing Minority Students for Undergraduate and Graduate Research
- Tagged Division
-
Minorities in Engineering
- Page Count
-
12
- Page Numbers
-
24.744.1 - 24.744.12
- DOI
-
10.18260/1-2--20636
- Permanent URL
-
https://peer.asee.org/20636
- Download Count
-
453
Paper Authors
Nadir Yilmaz P.E. New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology
Nadir Yilmaz is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University (1999), Bradley University (2001) and New Mexico State University (2005), respectively. His work is in the areas of combustion and CFD. He has been a noted author of about 60 technical papers and reports in these fields. Dr. Yilmaz is an active member of SAE, ASME, ASEE, NSPE, and currently is serving as the editor-in-chief for the SAE International Journal of Fuels and Lubricants, along with being a committee member on the SAE ABET Board. He has received New Mexico “Young Engineer of the Year” Award (2013), NMT University Distinguished Teaching Award (2013), ASEE Section Outstanding Teaching Award (2013), SAE Faculty Advisor Award (2013) and SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award (2011).
Francisco Martin Vigil New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology
Francisco Vigil is from Española, NM. He graduated from NMT in December 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and is planning to pursue a graduate education at the University of New Mexico. Throughout his undergraduate degree, Francisco was the President of the NMT Society of Automotive Engineers Student Chapter. During his time as president, the chapter grew to become one of the largest chapters in the world. He also volunteered at the NM State Science and Engineering Fair and NM State Science Olympiad. Francisco was awarded the NMT Student Appreciation Award (2013), the DOE Summer Visiting Faculty-Student Fellowship at Sandia National Laboratories (2013) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Outstanding Scholarship Award (2012).
Miquela Trujillo New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Miquela Trujillo is an engineering student from Española, NM, where she graduated from McCurdy High School. She recently graduated (May 2013) with highest honors from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. During her senior year, Miquela was awarded the National Society of Professional Engineers - NMT Engineering Student of the Year Award. Along with her academics, Miquela is an active volunteer for the NM State Science and Engineering Fair and the NM State Science Olympiad. Miquela also participates in discussions and presentations that promote science and engineering at elementary schools in the Española area. Miquela is planning to pursue graduate studies at the University of New Mexico.
Isabella Acevedo-Rodriguez New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Isabella Acevedo-Rodriguez, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Isabella Acevedo-Rodriguez is a second year student at New Mexico
Institute of Mining and Technology. She received her high school diploma
from Alamogordo High School. She is a member of AIAA, the NMT Student
Government Association, Alpha Sigma Kappa: Women in Technical Studies, and
a volunteer for the AIAA Design Build Fly Junior Design Team. She won the
first place presentation award at the New Mexico AMP Conference in 2013.
Ricardo B. Jacquez New Mexico State University
Ricardo B. Jacquez is Dean of Engineering and Regents Professor at New Mexico State University. He received BS and MS degrees in civil engineering from New Mexico State University and the Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. Over the past 37 years he has served as a faculty member at the University of Missouri-Rolla and New Mexico State University, at the latter for 32 years. He is currently the project director (PD) for the New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation program and he has served in the role of PI or PD for the Alliance over the past 20 years.
Abstract
Influence of NSF Funded Undergraduate Research Assistantships on Minority StudentsNadir Yilmaz*, Francisco M. Vigil, Miquela Trujillo, Kyle Benalil, Isabella Acevedo-RodriguezDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, NM, USA *Tel: 575-835-5304 E-Mail: nadir@nmt.eduABSTRACTIn the last 15 years, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT) made major stridesto increase enrollment of minority students. As a result of these efforts to achieve the status ofbeing a Hispanic Serving Institution, changes were made to the curriculum that would teachunder privileged students the skills necessary to be successful in a STEM field. Programs such asthe New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) were brought to NMT to encouragecollaboration between minority students and faculty on research projects in an effort toencourage the pursuit of a graduate education. This paper will discuss the experiences of fourminority students (three Hispanic and one African-American) while working in the CombustionEngines & Fuels Research Laboratory at NMT. This post-secondary STEM program aimed torecruit students early in their undergraduate careers and integrate them into a working researchlab. Participating students learned fundamentals of combustion, diagnostic methods, and theirapplications. Research conducted by the students in this lab focused on the investigation of theperformance of various biofuels in compression ignition engines and a jet engine. Studentsparticipated in the research process as a team, from the design of experiments to the presentationof their results. Upon completion of the experiments, students presented their work in peerreviewed journals and as oral presentations. Involvement in this research helped students in theircoursework and provided them with skills that will prepare them for a graduate education.Engaging minority students in research early their academic careers proved to be an effectivemethod for retaining interest in Mechanical Engineering and preparing them better for theirfuture careers.
Yilmaz, N., & Vigil, F. M., & Trujillo, M., & Acevedo-Rodriguez, I., & Jacquez, R. B. (2014, June), Influence of NSF-Funded Undergraduate Research Assistantships on Underrepresented Minority Students Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--20636
ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2014 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015