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Board 381: REU-PATHWAYS: Pathways for Community College Students to Enrich Their Education and Careers

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Tagged Topics

Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session

Page Count

3

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43074

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43074

Download Count

120

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Paper Authors

biography

Ibrahim F. Zeid Northeastern University

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Ibrahim Zaid is a professor of mechanical, industrial, and manufacturing engineering at Northeastern University. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Akron. Zeid has an international background. He received his B.S. (with highest honor) and

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biography

Claire Duggan Northeastern University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-0676-9406

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Claire Duggan is currently Executive Director of The Center for STEM Education at Northeastern Univeristy. She is the Co-Principal Investigator for several National Science Foundation grant efforts including S-STEM, REU, and Includes Alliance grant efforts.

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biography

Jennifer Ocif Love Northeastern University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0009-0009-0308-1014

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Jennifer Love is a full-time faculty member of Northeastern University's College of Engineering, most recently in the First Year Engineering program. She is currently the Associate Director for the Center for STEM Education. She has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1993), a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from The University of Iowa (1997) and a Doctorate in Education from Northeastern University (2022) where she recently completed her dissertation in elementary STEAM education. She also worked as a professional engineer in the athletic footwear and medical device industries for 10 years before joining the faculty at Northeastern University in 2006.

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Abstract

Northeastern University has received funding from the division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) to establish a three-year REU site focusing on smart engineering for community college (CC) students. The REU Site hosts 10 CC students each year, during the summer session, to participate in research projects focusing on the field of Smart Engineering. The REU site is guided by two of the grand challenges of the National Academy of Engineering: personalized learning and scientific discovery. Specifically, this project trains students on how to conduct cutting-edge research and communicate their research findings to the broader community. The project focuses on recruiting URM and students who are currently underrepresented in the STEM workforce. The outcome will be a better-trained, diverse scientific workforce, which will help deliver solutions that both benefit society and maintain the competitive edge of the United States in the global economy. In addition to gaining research experience, REUs also receive training on teamwork and communication best practices through a suite of professional development opportunities. Field trips to local industry will provide students with first-hand exposure to the STEM workforce in action. These efforts are expected to yield a cohort of CC young researchers, many from underrepresented groups, who have a strong understanding of interdisciplinary team-based research. The first year of operation of the REU site has concluded. The site team and the grant external evaluator have conducted their first formative evaluations to inform the program of what worked well and what needs adjustments and improvements. The paper discusses the activities of the REU program in the first year. The paper also discusses the observations of students during the 10 weeks summer research program. The paper also discusses the various evaluation instruments that are used. These evaluations will improve and enhance the program in years 2 and 3 of the site operations.

Zeid, I. F., & Duggan, C., & Love, J. O. (2023, June), Board 381: REU-PATHWAYS: Pathways for Community College Students to Enrich Their Education and Careers Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43074

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