Inspiring and Including Diverse Students with an Industry Energy Program Embedded into a Summer Research Experience

Denise M. Driscoll; Maeve Drummond Oakes

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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: Mentoring, Case Study of Racial and Ethnic Diversity, Identity Dilemmas, Cultural Homelessness and Intersectionality, and Transfer Students
Tagged Division: Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--43727
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/43727
Download Count: 237

Paper Authors

biography

Denise M. Driscoll Purdue University orcid.org/0000-0002-0973-0144

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Dr. Denise M. Driscoll is currently the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center called CISTAR (Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources) in Purdue’s School of Chemical Engineering and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences in Purdue’s College of Health and Human Sciences. Her experiences as an academic, diversity consultant, and administrator over the last +30 years has helped her integrate broadening participation and inclusion practices across research, workforce development, and community engagement initiatives.

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biography

Maeve Drummond Oakes Purdue University College of Engineering

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Maeve Drummond Oakes is the Associate Director of Education for the NSF Engineering Research Center, CISTAR. She has extensive experience in academic program management at Purdue University, successfully leading programs at undergraduate and graduate education in the School of Civil of Engineering. In Biomedical Engineering she led the creation of new experiential activities for students with industry and through study abroad. As the university coordinator for the Purdue EPICS program she was responsible for the development of a consortium of more than 40 universities, globally. At CISTAR she oversees all of the programming for CISTAR's engineering workforce development pillar.

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Abstract

Early exposure to research and mentoring experiences is critical for all students—but particularly those underrepresented in STEM—to grow their professional identities, feel included in a community, and get excited about the role of engineering in helping to solve big societal problems. Similarly, being a mentor to predominantly underrepresented kids and teaching engineering concepts “gives back” and fosters one’s identity as an engineer. Our NSF Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) combined summer program gives students an opportunity to do both.

Specifically, the Engineering Research Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR) partnered with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) to offer an NSF-funded Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) combined summer program experience where diverse, predominantly Black, STEM undergraduate students are 1st mentees spending six weeks at Purdue university doing research with multiple academic mentors guiding them and then, 2nd mentors spending 4-weeks at a NSBE Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) camp mentoring and getting elementary-aged kids excited about STEM.

The focus of this paper is on how we improved the six-week research experience part of the REM program by adding an Industry Energy Program. The program consisted of students meeting weekly with an industry mentor as well as going on energy-related tours or listening to interactive talks by industry experts on energy. As shown by our findings from surveys and interviews across two cohorts of students, the REM students were inspired by their interactions with industry professionals, many from large energy companies partnered with CISTAR. Further, the students felt included in a wider, supportive community of industry engineers and scientists working in the energy sector, and many reported expecting to have future contact with those industry professionals.

In conclusion as we continue to address the need for diversity in engineering, we have seen that providing more contact with supportive industry professionals is beneficial. CISTAR’s 6-week research experience with an embedded Industry Energy Program helped to reinforce students’ social identity as emerging engineers and scientists who felt inspired about the topic of energy and included in a supportive community of both academic and industry, professionals.

Citation
Format

Driscoll, D. M., & Drummond Oakes, M. (2023, June), Inspiring and Including Diverse Students with an Industry Energy Program Embedded into a Summer Research Experience Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43727

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Early exposure to research and mentoring experiences is critical for all students—but particularly those underrepresented in STEM—to grow their professional identities, feel included in a community, and get excited about the role of engineering in helping to solve big societal problems.  Similarly, being a mentor to predominantly underrepresented kids and teaching engineering concepts “gives back” and fosters one’s identity as an engineer.  Our NSF Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) combined summer program gives students an opportunity to do both.  

Specifically, the Engineering Research Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR) partnered with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) to offer an NSF-funded Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) combined summer program experience where diverse, predominantly Black, STEM undergraduate students are 1st mentees spending six weeks at Purdue university doing research with multiple academic mentors guiding them and then, 2nd mentors spending 4-weeks at a NSBE Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) camp mentoring and getting elementary-aged kids excited about STEM.  

The focus of this paper is on how we improved the six-week research experience part of the REM program by adding an Industry Energy Program.  The program consisted of students meeting weekly with an industry mentor as well as going on energy-related tours or listening to interactive talks by industry experts on energy.  As shown by our findings from surveys and interviews across two cohorts of students, the REM students were inspired by their interactions with industry professionals, many from large energy companies partnered with CISTAR.  Further, the students felt included in a wider, supportive community of industry engineers and scientists working in the energy sector, and many reported expecting to have future contact with those industry professionals. 

In conclusion as we continue to address the need for diversity in engineering, we have seen that providing more contact with supportive industry professionals is beneficial.  CISTAR’s 6-week research experience with an embedded Industry Energy Program helped to reinforce students’ social identity as emerging engineers and scientists who felt inspired about the topic of energy and included in a supportive community of both academic and industry, professionals.   


AU  - Denise M. Driscoll
AU  - Maeve Drummond Oakes
CY  - Baltimore , Maryland
DA  - 2023/06/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Inspiring and Including Diverse Students with an Industry Energy Program Embedded into a Summer Research Experience 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/43727
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--43727
ER  -