Conference Session

Research Infrastructure in STEM Disciplines

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Liu, California State University-Los Angeles; Jianyu Dong, California State University-Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

education andmultidisciplinary researches. The main activities of the partnership program have been conductedin the Synergetic Education and Research in Enabling NASA-Centered Academic Developmentof Engineers and Space-scientists (SERENADES) Laboratory 1 sponsored from 2004 to 2007under the NASA’s Minority University and College Education and Research PartnershipInitiative (MUCERPI).One of the primary objectives is to use the excitement of NASA’s mission and the MUCERPIprogram to inspire more minority/underrepresented students to pursue education and research,and ultimately to choose careers in the areas of electrical, computer, or astronomical engineering.During the entire funding period, the SERENADES Laboratory endeavored to the preparation

Conference Session

Special Resources and Activities for Minorities

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Xiaoqing Qian, Alabama A&M University; Zhengtao Deng, Alabama A&M University; George Seweryniak, DoE Computational Science Division

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

training using the high performancecomputing laboratory at AAMU; (2) DOE Computational Science scholarship program atAAMU; and (3) Minority undergraduate summer research interns at the computationalscience division of Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL). The collected data in the past six yearswere analyzed. Challenges and improvement strategies to get average student involvement inthe summer research internship and scholarship programs were presented.BackgroundAccording to the US 1990 census, the total US population was 248,709,873 in 1990. Ofthese, approximately 51% were women, 29,986,060 (or 12%) were African American,22,354,059 (or 9%) Hispanic, and 1,878,285 (or 1%) Native American. In 1995, of the total132 million U.S. civilian labor forces, only

Conference Session

Marketing Engineering to Minority Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rafic Bachnak, Texas A&M International University; jack esparza, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

AC 2008-1614: ATTRACTING MINORITY STUDENTS TO SCIENCE ANDENGINEERINGRafic Bachnak, Texas A&M International University Dr. Bachnak is Professor of Systems Engineering at Texas A&M International University. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Ohio University in 1983, 1984, and 1989, respectively. Prior to joining TAMIU in 2007, Dr. Bachnak was on the faculty of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Northwestern State University, and Franklin University. His experience includes several fellowships with NASA and the US Navy Laboratories and summer employment with Koch Industries. Dr. Bachnak is a registered Professional Engineer in the

Conference Session

Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Salil Desai, North Carolina A&T State University; Leotis Parrish, North Carolina A&T State University; Marcia Williams, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

using customized microfabrication process (shown in Figure 2) 3. US Patent pending, Salil Desai - NCAT Figure 2: Micro capsules and tissue scaffolds using inkjet based microfabrication process 34b. Laboratory component for undergraduates in micro and nano manufacturingStudents were exposed to laboratory experiments at the Integrated Nano/Micro ManufacturingLaboratory at the Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures (CAMSS) at NCA&TSU.This type of a hands-on-experience enabled students to appreciate the use of state-of-the-artequipment (ultra high speed photography, precision micro position stage, customized inkjetsystem as shown in Figure 3) which are involved in the development of micro and

Conference Session

Special Resources and Activities for Minorities

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maria M. Larrondo Petrie, Florida Atlantic University; Ivan Esparragoza, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

American Veterinary Medical Association http://www.avma.org/AWAA American Water Works Association http://www.awwa.org/Biophysical Society http://www.biophysics.org/BFRL Building and Fire Research Laboratory http://www.bfrl.nist.orgESA Ecological Society of America http://www.esa.org/FASEB Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology http://www.faseb.org/FMB Federation of Master Builders http://www.fmb.org.ukFMS Federation of Materials Societies http://www.fms.orgGeochemical Society

Conference Session

Influences on Female Interest in Pursuit of STEM Fields

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diala Gammoh, University of Central FLorida; Ali Mehrabian, University of Central Florida; Alfred Ducharme, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

in different engineering fields is shownin Table.1 6.As shown in the table, it is obvious that the percentage of women engineers alternates from oneengineering track to another, and this is due to the idea that engineering have relatively lowstatus, and there is considerable misunderstanding about what they actually do. There is alsosome confusion between the jobs of professional engineers and other technical personnel such as,for instance, car mechanics and electricians. This is likely to make the profession less attractiveto women 7. It is noticeable that the engineering tracks that involves lot of indoors work (officeor laboratory work) such as the architecture and chemical engineering attracts more women to itrather than other tracks

Conference Session

Marketing Engineering to Minority Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qiang Le, Hampton University; Chetan Sankar, Auburn University; P.K. Raju, Auburn University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

@hamptonu.edu sankacs@auburn.eduAbstractThe nation’s current and projected need for more Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math(STEM) workers, coupled with the chronically lagging participation of students from ethnicallygrowing segments of the population, argue for policies and programs that will increase thepathways into engineering. Past research has indicated that compared to traditional instructionalmethods, student-oriented instructional methods such as multi-media case studies that encouragestudent participation and active involvement in learning are better ways to accomplish theseobjectives. This paper discusses the results of implementing the Laboratory for InnovativeTechnology and Engineering Education (LITEE) case studies

Conference Session

MIND: Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ali Mehrabian, University of Central Florida; Tarig Ali, University of Central Florida; Alireza Rahrooh, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

courses with less available resources for thefaculty.4. “Hands-on” Demonstration of Concept: In some online laboratory environments somefaculty would like to see their students to demonstrate their understanding of the concept. This isnot an easy task for online students that take the course remotely. We recommend utilizingscreen-capturing software in which every movement of the cursor on the computer screen can becaptured and traced back. Our experience with experimenting with screen-capturing software at Page 13.338.4this stage is a work in progress. We should be able to provide more information of ourexperimental approach in the near future.5

Conference Session

NAFP Panel Discussion: NASA Administrator's Fellowship Program (NAFP); Panel Discussion and Fellow Presentations

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mohammad Alim, Alabama A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

absorbing state-of-the-artknowledge.3. Benefits to the StudentsThe faculty associates with the students in the classroom lectures and in thelaboratory sessions. As part of these regular responsibilities research activities areperformed by both the faculty and the students via laboratory operations withstate-of-the-art innovations. Students constantly gain from such activities for theiradvanced degrees. The NASA Administrator’s Fellowship Program allowsopportunity for the students to interact with the NASA Employees. Uponreturning to the home institution the faculty gets opportunity to utilize students inresearch activities related to the NASA’s interest. Thus, students are benefited viaresearch publications and advanced knowledge.Program

Conference Session

Learning Needs and Educational Success

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brenda Hart, University of Louisville; Veronica Hinton-Hudson, University of Louisville; James Lewis, University of Louisville

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

Page 13.751.4industry is scheduled for each week. The selection of the industry primarily depends upon a fewcritical factors such as schedule availability, INSPIRE access to practicing engineers at work,availability of transportation, interdependencies of other sessions, etc.The program participants utilize the classroom and laboratory facilities at University ofLouisville Speed School of Engineering for both engineering as well as non-engineeringsessions. Figure 4 provides a succinct synopsis of seven of the engineering, discipline related,sessions. Over the last decade, several engineering modules have been developed across theengineering discipline that can be used for pre-college students in 9th through 12th grades. Eachdisciplinary

Conference Session

Foster Excellence

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Goang-Shin Liaw, Alabama A&M University; Pabitra Saha, Alabama A&M University; James Foreman, Alabama A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

-mechanical modeling, ground-lining interaction etc. He has been instrumental in the development of the civil engineering laboratories at AAMU using the NSF and Title III grants.James Foreman, Alabama A&M University Page 13.999.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Preparing Minority Engineering Students to Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering ExaminationAbstractThe Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination is the first of two (2) examinationsengineers must pass in order to be certified as a Professional Engineer. Once they pass the FEexam, they are classified as an intern

Conference Session

Marketing Engineering to Minority Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Northern, Prairie View A&M University; Brandon Green, Prairie View A&M University; John Attia, Prairie View A&M University; Teasa Northern, Prairie View A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

for sophomore, junior and senior high schoolstudents. The two-week program highlighted key areas of study necessary for academicsuccess in the areas of Electrical and Computer Engineering, including math, physics,and English. The program also included opportunities for the development of pre- Page 13.1028.2professional skills with the incorporation of LEGO laboratory exercises, company visits,engineering ethics and history sessions.The ExCEL Program recruited most of the participating high school students from schooldistricts within the state of Texas. Efforts were made to expand the recruitment to anational level; however, the results of the

Conference Session

Factors Affecting Minority Engineering Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara Christie, Loyola Marymount University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

roles include being teachers’ aids during classes, projectleaders for each of the group projects, and resident assistants in the dormitories. Parents visit SECOP on two occasions for Family Night Events. The eventsinclude dinner and discussions on important topics including financial aid andscholarships for college and future jobs in science, technology and engineering. Guestspeakers from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, Boeing, Southland Industries and theMetropolitan Water District of Southern California discuss engineering with the studentson Career Day. Different science and engineering-based field trips to the PetersenAutomotive Museum, Disney’s Imagineering, Ballona Wetlands and Northrop Grummangive students a first-hand look at

Conference Session

Influences on Female Interest in Pursuit of STEM Fields

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacquelyn Mobley, Ecology & Environment, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

) financial support for juniors and seniors who participatein up to ten hours a week of research in the laboratory of a faculty mentor; 6) summer stipend support forjuniors and seniors to continue research); 7) juniors and seniors participate in the STARS II Symposiumwhere they present their research to student and faculty STARS program participants.“STARS students enjoy a number of structured enrichment activities during term-time. Special dinnersbring together scientists in various disciplines from Yale and other schools, graduate and medical schoolpanels provide guidance in career development, and scholars are encouraged to attend national and regionalscience conferences”[10].The University of California-Berkeley has a Biology Scholars Program

Conference Session

Research Infrastructure in STEM Disciplines

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacqueline Fairley, Georgia Institute of Tehnology; Jill Auerbach, Georgia Institute of Technology; Adrianne Prysock, Georgia Institute of Technology; Leyla Conrad, Georgia Institute of Technology; Gary May, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

students by combining laboratory experiencewith weekly instructional seminars in an attempt to foster future success in graduateschool. This approach was designed and implemented for a ten-week summer researchexperience program for undergraduate students. The weekly instructional seminar seriesaddressed research skills in three key areas: communication, investigation, anddocumentation. The seminar series began with the “Communications Seminars,” where studentparticipants learned how to concisely explain their research topics through an ‘elevatortalk’ activity, a common exercise utilized in business fields. Followed by “InvestigationSeminars,” that addressed conducting literature reviews and creating annotatedbibliographies. Instructions on