Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 16

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary J Combs, Quality Measures, LLC; Codjo AC Akpovo, Quality Measures, LLC; Gwen Lee-Thomas, Quality Measures LLC

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

majors. Student services included peer mentoring, career development, anda science communication learning community. The project emphasized community engagementthrough first-year courses and faculty and alumni mentoring. Evaluation findings indicated thatself-reported survey data showed that 75% of the initial program participants stayed with theprogram the second year. Additionally, scholars demonstrated a strong commitment tocompleting undergraduate and graduate STEM degrees, with likelihood ratings ranging from 3.0to 3.5/4.0.At Tennessee State University (TSU), a public R2 land-grant HBCU in the southern UnitedStates, the 5-year S-STEM project — Scholars to Attract and Retain Students (STARS) inGraduate Engineering and Computer Science

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 12

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sehba Midhat Hasan, Tufts University

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

, course expectations, and selecting a major. They alsoreceive tutoring for two core STEM courses in both fall and spring semesters. These sessionsreinforce classroom learning, offer a space for questions, and foster a collaborative learningenvironment among peers. Tutoring helps students understand lecture material, preventprocrastination, and prepare for exams (Louie, Knight, & Sullivan, 2011). Academic coaching ismandatory for first-year scholars and available to upperclassmen on an as-needed basis.Academic coaching covers topics such as time management, note-taking strategies, andacademic goal setting.Each first-year BEST scholar is paired with an upperclassman peer mentor based on theirintended major and interests. Mentors and mentees

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 13

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fahad Khan, Springfield Technical Community College

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

. ● Flexible Attendance: The attendance policy was revised to allow students to make up quizzes or assignments with prior arrangement, providing flexibility while maintaining accountability. ● Collaborative Homework: Students were permitted to complete homework assignments in groups of two or three. Student performance on subsequent homework- based quizzes was monitored to assess the impact on SLOs. This practice also fostered increased student interaction. ● Peer Support: Extra credit was offered for students who assisted classmates with assignments. The STEM center also offered in-person and remote peer tutoring. ● Group Projects: Semester-long, in-class group projects and accompanying papers were

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 1

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joel Alejandro Mejia, University of Cincinnati; M. Sidury Christiansen, The University of Texas at San Antonio; Karla Mariana Escobar, The University of Texas at San Antonio

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

students to explore and critically examine topics rarely addressed in traditionalcoursework. By engaging with readings about the history of engineering, students areempowered to re-evaluate their own positions within the field, recognize the diverse experiencesof others, and gain a broader understanding of the historical and societal contexts that shape theirwork. These discussions, combined with reflective writing and opportunities for personal andpeer-to-peer connections, facilitate deeper processing of the material. Without these interactiveelements, the impact of reading alone would be significantly diminished. Pláticas are

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 8

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hilda Cecilia Contreras Aguirre, New Mexico State University; Stephanie Zackery, New Mexico State University; Luis Rodolfo Garcia Carrillo, New Mexico State University

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

apply the knowledge acquiredin the first semester, for example, to replicate in a controlled laboratory environment, real-worldmissions like flight surveillance operations. Students’ schedules in the laboratory overlap toincrease peer interaction, collaboration, and mutual support. This study’s goals were to explore the high-impact research-oriented learning experiencesfor the Latinx undergraduate participants of the ROLE program and how they built strongtechnical skills while sharing space and knowledge with their fellow peers and mentors. Tworesearch questions framed this study. The first research question addresses the qualitative data,and the second research question informs the quantitative section of the study: 1.​ How did Latinx

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 4

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Rodriguez, The University of Texas at Austin; Andrea Lidia Castillo, Arizona State University; Ashish D Borgaonkar, New Jersey Institute of Technology

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

outexternal means of support. Without the proper support systems within the institution, studentscan become isolated and unable to build the necessary support networks to persist [13]. It iscrucial to gain a better understanding of the current challenges that first-generation graduatestudents are facing as a result of current anti-DEI legislation. The present pilot study aims toexplore the range of experiences first-generation graduate students undergo at three HSI’slocated in three different states and are undergoing different outcomes since the Supreme Court’sdecision. At the time of writing, the current political climate is volatile and still evolving, whichcould influence our overall study and findings. For example, University C residing in a

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 2

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Royce A Francis, The George Washington University; Jerrod A Henderson, William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering; David Horton Jr, University of Houston

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

on studentteams in engineering education into contact with the research on Black male experiences inengineering education. For example, while a key asset to Black men is their ability to draw onsame-gender support networks and friendships, Cross and Paretti (2020) observed that theirexperiences on student teams involved limited opportunities to develop friendships amongtheir peers. Additionally, while the positive expectations of mentors and professors could serveas a “self-fulfilling prophecy” (Burrell et al., 2015) students in Cross and Paretti’s study usedproactive efforts to dispel stereotypes among their peers in order to prevent negative self-fulfilling prophecies.To situate our proposed research among the broader scholarship on Black

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 12

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hua Li, Texas A&M University - Kingsville; Kai Jin, Texas A&M University - Kingsville; Larry Peel PE, Texas A&M University - Kingsville; Michael Preuss, Exquiri Consulting, LLC; Selinda Martinez, Laredo College; Yan Xu, Del Mar College; Yi Ren, Texas A&M University - Kingsville; Antonio Guadalupe Carranza III, Laredo College

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

and fewer of those who complete are women or minorities [5]. Studies [6] [7] observedthat the URMs are disadvantaged in STEM. On average, these URMs are 16 times less likely tobe ready for credit-bearing STEM coursework in college than their majority peers. TheCommittee on STEM Education of the National Science and Technology Council in its 2018report [8] identified goals to “increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM”, and “preparethe STEM workforce for the future” for the US to be the global leader in STEM literacy,innovation, and employment. Rendón et al. [10] reported several perceived challenges thatprecluded the success of Latinx (gender neutral term) STEM students, which are the same asobserved by several other social scientists

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 15

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Azadeh Bolhari, University of Colorado Boulder; Angela R Bielefeldt, University of Colorado Boulder; Caroline Steely, University of Colorado Boulder

Tagged Topics

Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

students to illustrate a concept from waterchemistry. Details of the project have been published; see [10]. At the beginning of the semester,students were randomly grouped into teams of 4-5 (in one case a student dropped the courseresulting in a team of 3 students). Teams and/or individuals were assigned to write shortReflective Memos (RMs) throughout the semester in order to scaffold their learning throughtypes of innovative behaviors and cognitive skills (under Dyer’s innovator’s model [2-3]). Asdepicted in Table 1 below, two RMs were given as individual assignments (RM2 Observing andRM4 Networking), and three were assigned to be completed as a team (RM1 Questioning, RM3Experimenting, RM5 Associational Thinking).Table 1- Reflective Memo (RM

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 1

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cameron Robert Rusnak, Lincoln University - Missouri; David Heise, Lincoln University

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

services that are crucial for their development and persistence in higher education [4]. These hurdles not only affect their confidence but can also lead to difficulties in managing coursework, ultimately influencing their overall academic performance. The challenges faced by first-generation college students are compounded by a lack of academic preparation. An underprepared student is generally defined as one who lacks the requisite academic skills, knowledge, or resources essential for success in postsecondary education. These deficiencies commonly manifest in foundational areas such as reading comprehension, technical writing, and mathematics, often stemming from prior educational experiences marked by academic

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 10

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Abhijit Nagchaudhuri, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Madhumi Mitra Ph.D, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Aaron H. Persad, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Yan Waguespack, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Mary L Bowden, University of Maryland, College Park; Gilbert Lee Pinkett, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

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Diversity

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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

) courses at both junior and senior levels.She has also expressed her intention to broaden the inclusion of Artemis-related content acrossother chemistry courses she teaches.The second mini-grant enabled the creation of a simulated lunar yard within the "High Bay" areaof the engineering building, which continues to be utilized by the faculty lead for demonstrationsto K-12 students and other visitors. Additionally, the faculty lead is engaging UMES students inthe ongoing development of the EVA Smart Tool throughout 2025. He has outlined specific plansfor 2026, which include an additional peer-reviewed publication as well as expanding the studentparticipant pool to collaborate on the design and construction of a high-fidelity "Grabber Tool" foruse on

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 7

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela R Bielefeldt, University of Colorado Boulder; Sheila Davis, University of Colorado Boulder

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

and identifying as people of color. This paper attempts to shedlight in this area.Conceptual FrameworksOur conceptual framework is underpinned by the hidden curriculum and funds of knowledgetheories with intersectionality to elevate systems-driven implications.Hidden curriculum. Villanueva et al. write “Within educational and professional environmentsand settings, individuals don’t just learn ‘what is formally being presented . . . but alsoaccumulate other hidden lessons in the process’ [27, p. 1550]. The hidden curriculum inengineering is likely a significant factor in enculturating and socializing people into themeritocratic, hegemonic, and masculine norms of engineering [27]. Hidden curriculum duringgraduate education is receiving

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND) Technical Session 15

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Syed Ali Kamal, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; Matilde Luz Sanchez-Pena, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; Nichole Ramirez, University of Texas at El Paso; Douglas B Samuel

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

higher rates have been noted among women, students of color,LGBTQ individuals, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds [11]. Moreover, studentsfrom these marginalized groups are often prevented from seeking professional help due tocultural and systemic barriers [12]. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, students withmarginalized identities faced additional burdens due to the intersection of systemic racism andpandemic-related challenges [13]. These disparities highlight the need for targeted and inclusivemental health interventions in higher education.Within engineering, the prevalence of mental health conditions among undergraduate students iscomparable to that of their peers in other disciplines, with nearly 30% potentially experiencing