In our efforts to sustain U.S. productivity and economic strength, underrepresented minorities (URM) (for the purpose of this paper defined as persons of African American, Hispanic American, and Native American racial/ethnic descent), provide an untapped reservoir of talent that could be used to fill technical jobs. Over the past 25 years, educational diversity programs have encouraged and supported URM pursuing STEM degrees. Yet, their representation in STEM still lags far behind that of White, non-Hispanic men.
To understand the reasons why this is occurring, the American Association for
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Yolanda S. GeorgeVirginia Van HorneShirley M. Malcom
This project will develop standardized, exportable and comparable assessment instruments and models for Women In Engineering (WIE) programs nationwide, thus allowing them to assess their program's activities and ultimately provide data for making well-informed evaluations.
To accomplish this goal, the principal investigators at the University of Missouri and Penn State University will work over a three-year period with their institutions' WIE programs and three cooperating programs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Georgia Tech, and University of Texas at Austin. With these five programs that collectively represent a variety of private and public, years of experience for WIE directors and student body characteristics, the investigators will pilot, revise, implement, conduct preliminary data analysis and disseminate easy-to-access, reliable and valid assessment instruments. The principles of formative evaluation will be applied to all instruments and products. All institutions will use the same set of instruments, thus allowing them to have access to powerful benchmarking data in addition to the data from each of their respective institutions.
A prior project, the Women's Experience in College Engineering Project (WECE) sought to characterize the factors that influence women students' experiences and decisions by studying college environments, events and support programs that affect women's satisfaction with their engineering major, and their decisions to persist or leave these majors. In contrast to WECE's macro-level and student focus, this proposal's target audience is WIE directors, with a focus on WIE programs, not students.
Women in Engineering programs around the United States are a crucial part of our country's response to the need for more women in engineering professions. There are about 50 WIE programs nationwide. Half have expressed interest in this effort. WIE directors will benefit by having ready-made assessment tools that will allow them to collect data on programs, evaluate these programs, and make decisions on how to revise programs and / or redistribute limited resources to maximize overall program effectiveness. Data from these instruments will also provide substantiated evidence for administrators, advisory boards and potential funding agencies. Finally, because these instruments will be available nationwide, programs will have the opportunity to take advantage of powerful benchmarking data for their decision-making processes.
This project provides the next logical step in the national movement to recruit and retain women in engineering.
To provide feedback during the development of a second series for “Journey to Planet Earth,” an evaluation of one finished program in the first series was carried out with two different samples: an adult PBS-viewer sample and a upper middle school sample. The former sample represents the traditional audience for an environmental series. The latter sample was included to explore how the video series appeals to and is understood by the age group for which the outreach efforts are planned. The general goals for the research were as follows:
• reaction to the program overall with respect to
With support from the National Science Foundation, MacGillivray Freeman Films has produced an IMAX® film titled, Journey into Amazing Caves. The 40-minute film follows two women cavers on an expedition as they explore limestone caverns of the Grand Can-yon, underwater caves of the Yucatan and ice caves of Greenland. Multimedia Research implemented a summative evaluation focused on the following major outcomes: To what extent and in what ways did the film appeal to viewers? To what extent did the film achieve its intended viewing goals? What did viewers perceive that they learned from the
With funding from the National Science Foundation, MacGillivray Freeman Films has produced an IMAX® film titled, Journey into Amazing Caves. The 40-minute film follows two women cavers on an expedition as they explore limestone caverns of the Grand Canyon, underwater caves of the Yucatan and ice caves of Greenland. Multimedia Research implemented a summative evaluation focused on the following major outcomes: To what extent and in what ways did the film appeal to eighth grade viewers? To what extent did the film achieve its intended viewing goals? Did exposure to a web-based school activity
Dr. Barbara Flagg, Director, Multimedia Research, will conduct exploratory research to assess the feasibility and viability of presenting to the public an on-going review of new findings or issues in major fields of research. This research on the untested idea of providing the public with information about research on a regular, on-going basis through multiple media will provide information about the American public's current science media habits, their awareness of and interest in broad areas of research, and the presentation formats most likely to appeal to and reach the public on a regular basis.
As part of a focus group exploratory study into the feasibility of presenting to the public an on-going review of new findings or issues in major fields of science research, 128 adult participants noted which two of ten contemporary science research areas they were most interested in. Of note is the fact that all classification variables (except gender) were unrelated to topic appeal. Interest in each research topic was not influenced by age; educational level; minority/majority grouping; total household income; occupational status; and perceived need for science knowledge in one's employment
Using focus group methodology, exploratory research was carried out to assess the feasibility and viability of presenting to the public an on-going review of new findings or issues in major fields of science research. This study examines (1) the American public's current habits in receiving science information from media; (2) the public's awareness of and interest in broad areas of contemporary science research; and (3) the presentation formats and features most likely to appeal to and reach the public. A total of 128 adults participated in focus groups with 6-8 members per group in 6
This award is for a Science and Technology Center devoted to the emerging area of nanobiotechnology that involves a close synthesis of nano-microfabrication and biological systems. The Nanobiotechnology Center (NBTC) features a highly interdisciplinary, close collaboration between life scientists, physical scientists, and engineers from Cornell University, Princeton University, Oregon Health Sciences University, and Wadsworth Center of the New York State Health Department. The integrating vision of the NBTC is that nanobiotechnology will be the genesis of new insights into the function of biological systems, and lead to the design of new classes of nano- and microfabricated devices and systems. Biological systems present a particular challenge in that the diversity of materials and chemical systems for biological applications far exceeds those for silicon-based technology in the integrated-circuit industry. New fabrication processes appropriate for biological materials will require a substantial expansion in knowledge about the interface between organic and inorganic systems. The ability to structure materials and pattern surface chemistry at small dimensions ranging from the molecular to cellular scale are the fundamental technologies on which the research of the NBTC is based. Nanofabrication can also be used to form new analytical probes for interrogating biological systems with unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity. Three unifying technology platforms that foster advances in materials, processes, and tools underlie and support the research programs of the NBTC: Molecules of nanobiotechnology; Novel methods of patterning surfaces for attachment of molecules and cells to substrates; and Sensors and devices for nanobiotechnology. Newly developed fabrication capabilities will also be available through the extensive resources of the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility, a site of the NSF National Nanofabrication Users Network. The NBTC will be an integrated part of the educational missions of the participating institutions. NBTC faculty will develop a new cornerstone graduate course in nanobiotechnology featuring nanofabrication with an emphasis on biological applications. Graduate students who enter the NBTC from a background in engineering or biology will cross-train in the other field by engaging in a significant level of complementary course work. Participation in the NBTC will prepare them with the disciplinary depth and cross-disciplinary understanding to become next generation leaders in this emerging field. An undergraduate research experience program with a strong mentoring structure will be established, with emphasis on recruiting women and underrepresented minorities into the program. Educational outreach activities are planned to stimulate the interest of students of all ages. One such activity partnered with the Science center in Ithaca is a traveling exhibition for museum showings on the subject of nano scale size. National and federal laboratories and industrial and other partners will participate in various aspects of the NBTC such as by hosting interns, attendance at symposia and scientist exchanges. Partnering with the industrial affiliates will be emphasized to enhance knowledge transfer and student and postdoctoral training. This specific STC award is managed by the Directorate for Engineering in coordination with the Directorates for Biological Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Education and Human Resources.
This research was commissioned to explore visitors’ experiences in When the Dinosaurs Were Gone (later titled "When Crocodiles Ruled", a temporary exhibition at the Science Museum of Minnesota. As a summative evaluation, the research sought to address several issues and objectives: 1. overall impressions of the exhibition — visitors’ ratings of enjoyment, interest in the information, what they liked most, and what changes they would suggest (or not want) for a traveling version of this exhibit; 2. extent of use of the exhibition — amount of time spent in the exhibition and the extent to which
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TEAM MEMBERS:
People Places & Design ResearchScience Museum of MinnesotaJolene Hart
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Phylogenetic groupings of organisms are the basis for predictive classifications and biological information systems. Organizing biological knowledge and their parallel hierarchies according to phylogenetic relationships has become increasingly important for many segments of science and society (i.e., genetic databases such as GenBank). Yet, our understanding of the tree of life is still very incomplete at all taxonomic levels because phylogenetic hypotheses are typically characterized by inadequate taxon samples, and the data themselves are often variable across the included taxa with respect to kind, quantity, and quality. In addition, methods of analysis vary in their appropriateness and applicability, thus making comparison of phylogenetic trees difficult. These impediments need to be addressed if we are to have a tree of life for the major groups of organisms within a reasonable time frame. Equally important will be to ensure that phylogenetic knowledge is accessible and useful to researchers, institutions, and the government agencies who need it. This proposal seeks to bring together approximately 25-30 leading systematic biologists and nonsystematists interested in phylogenetic research and informatics (phyloinformatics). The workshop will attempt to identify the research needed to assemble the tree of life and make that information available to the global user community within a reasonable time frame. The workshop will formulate recommendations designed to promote institutional changes within the systematic research community to accelerate phylogenetic understanding, identify research efforts that will result in large-scale increases in phylogenetically informative data and improve data analysis, and specify research, technological advances, and infrastructural needs to store, retrieve, and manipulate large amounts of phylogenetic information and make it widely available.
The Milwaukee Public Museum will develop Adventures in Science: An Interactive Exhibit Gallery. This will be a 7250 sq. ft. interactive exhibit with associated public programs and materials that link the exhibit with formal education. The goal of Adventures in Science is to promote understanding of biological diversity, the forces that have change it over time, and how scientists study and affect change. The exhibit will consist of three areas. "Our Ever-Changing World" will feature "dual scene" habitat dioramas that will convey at-a-glance how environments change over time. "The Natural History Museum" will be a reconstruction of a museum laboratory and collections area to protray behind-the-scenes scientific and curatorial activities that further the study of biological diversity, ecology and systematics. An "Exploration Center: will bridge these two areas and will be designed to accommodate live presentations, group activities and additional multimedia stations for Internet and intranet access. Using interactive devices, visitors will be encouraged to make hypothesis, examine evidence, compare specimens, construction histories of biological and geological changes, and develop conclusions about the science behind biodiversity and extinction issues. Visitors should also come away with an increased understanding of the role of systematic collections in understanding biological diversity. Information on MPM research programs will be highlighted in "The Natural History Museum" section and will be updated frequently. Annual Teacher Training Institutes for pre-service and in-service teachers will present strategies for using the gallery's multimedia stations, lab areas, and Web site links. Special attention will be given to reaching new audiences including those in the inner city and people with disabilities.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Allen YoungJames KellyPeter SheehanSusan-Sullivan BorkinRolf JohnsonMary Korenic