Broadening Participation in Engineering

Broadening Participation in Engineering Dr. Omnia El-Hakim, Ph.D. Director of Diversity and Outreach NSF Directorate for Engineering U.S. Department of Agriculture-HSI Nov. 18, 2009

What does the NSF do? As described in our strategic plan, NSF is the only federal agency whose mission includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences. We are tasked with keeping the United States at the leading edge of discovery in areas from astronomy to geology to zoology. Directorate for Engineering

NSF Mission and ENG Mission • NSF Mission: To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity and welfare; and to secure the national defense. • ENG Mission: To enable the engineering and scientific communities to advance the frontiers of engineering research, innovation and education, in service to society and the nation. Directorate for Engineering 3

ENG Leadership Office of the Assistant Director Thomas Peterson, Assistant Director Michael Reischman, Deputy Diversity and Outreach Omnia El-Hakim Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) Sohi Rastegar Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology Mihail Roco Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) Allen Soyster Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) John McGrath Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Steve McKnight Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Robert Trew Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) Kesh Narayanan Directorate for Engineering

Broadening Participation at NSF NSF committed to B.P. strategic plan via: 1. Prepared a diverse globally engaged STEM workforce. 2. Expanding efforts to B.P. from underrepresented groups and diverse institutions in all NSF activities. 3. Integrating research with education, and building capacity. 4. Improving processes to recruit and select highly qualified panels’ reviewers. Directorate for Engineering

What Do Underrepresented Groups Bring? Talents and skills Unique experiences Invaluable research approaches Creativity and innovation Excellence in diversity Directorate for Engineering

Challenges Awareness Confidence and trust Cultural understanding Environment Facilities Opportunities Support Directorate for Engineering

U.S. Demographic DataENG BS Degrees Granted 1997-2007 Data: NSF Science & Engineering Indicators; DoEd National Center for Education Statistics Directorate for Engineering

Degrees Granted (Gender) Directorate for Engineering

Opportunities: Broadening Participation in Engineering Broadening Participation Research Initiation Grants in Engineering (BRIGE) Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities (RAPD) CAREER and REU ERC Diversity Plan ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers Graduate Research Fellowships for Women Graduate Research Supplements (GRS) Diversity Workshops Programs for Native Americans Directorate for Engineering 10 10

Broadening Participation Research Initiation Grants in Engineering (BRIGE) Opportunity to increase the diversity of researchers through research support early in their careers Encourages support of under-represented groups, engineers at minority-serving institutions, and persons with disabilities BRIGE awardee Stephanie Luster-Teasley (L) and NC A&T students Desiree Gordon and Patrick Onochie discuss preliminary research for the development of controlled-release polymers for environmental remediation. Directorate for Engineering Directorate for Engineering Directorate for Engineering 11 11 Credit: North Carolina A&T State University.

BRIGE PROGRAM GOALS: • ENG Directorate-wide activity that offers funding opportunities for “new” faculty to initiate preliminary research and data acquisition that leads to future NSF supported research activities. • To promote participation of engineers from under-represented groups, engineers at minority serving institutions; and persons with disabilities. • To support innovative plans for recruiting and retaining a broad representation of researchers. Directorate for Engineering

BRIGE Program (continued) Directorate for Engineering Directorate for Engineering • For undertaking exploratory investigations, acquiring preliminary data, and/or developing collaborations. • Include a Broadening participation plan showing how the proposed activities will increase: • Participation of engineers from underrepresented groups, and • The number of such individuals that serve as role models for the scientific workforce • Funding for two years up to $175K • Success rate is 25% for 2008, and 31% for 2009 13

BRIGE Eligibility Requirements • Must be U.S. citizen or permanent resident • Hold a doctoral degree in an ENG supported discipline • Do not currently hold a post-doctoral appointment • Have held an active full time tenure-track faculty position or equivalent research appointment for less than three years • Have not previously served as PI or co-PI on research grants totaling more than $50K Directorate for Engineering

BRIGE: Letter from Chair or Dean • Certifies that proposer has not previously served as PI or CO-PI on research grants exceeding $50,000 • Attest that the proposer has served in her/his position less than three years from date of proposal submission • Describe availability of facilities and support for the research Directorate for Engineering

BRIGE: Proposal Review • Evaluated using NSF’s two merit review criteria: 1. What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? 2. What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? Directorate for Engineering

NSF Evaluation Criteria • Intellectual Merit: • How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? • How well qualified is the proposer to conduct the project? • To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts? • How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? • Is there sufficient access to resources? Directorate for Engineering

NSF Evaluation Criteria • Broader Impact: • How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning? • How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g. gender, ethnicity, disability, and geographic)? • To what extend will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? • Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? • What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society? Directorate for Engineering

Additional BRIGE Review Criteria: • Is there a specific explanation of how the BRIGE award would broaden participation of individuals from underrepresented groups (women, minorities, persons with disabilities, etc.) in the engineering disciplines? • Is the relationship of the proposed activities projected long term research goals (described in sufficient details for evaluation)? • Is there sufficient discussion of how those activities will facilitate development of a subsequent research proposal? • Can sufficient preliminary data be produced from the proposed activity to serve as the basis for a competitive proposal to ENG? Directorate for Engineering

FY 2008 BRIGE Awards WA ME ND MT OR MN WI ID SD NY MI WY IA PA NV NE OH IN IL UT WV CO CA VA KS MO KY NC TN AZ OK NM AR SC Awardees 5 4 2 1 None AL GA MS TX LA FL AK HI PR NSF Directorate for Engineering Directorate for Engineering

FY 2009 BRIGE Awards WA ME ND MT OR MN WI ID SD NY MI WY IA PA NV NE OH IN IL UT WV CO CA VA KS MO KY NC TN AZ OK NM AR SC Awardees 8 4 2 1 None AL GA MS TX LA FL AK HI PR NSF Directorate for Engineering Directorate for Engineering

Graduate Research Supplement (GRS) Supplement to ENG ongoing awards. Submitted by PI of an existing ENG award. Only one new Ph.D. student to be supported under each grant. Funding for 2009 $1,950,000 for up to 50 students ($40K per year up to 3 years). Dear Colleague Letter and FAQs available on web site for the following submission (May 2010) Directorate for Engineering

Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) • Stable awards for faculty beginning their independent careers. • Integrate teaching, learning, and discovery • Encourage increased participation of underrepresented groups, women, and persons with disabilities in engineering and science • $400K/5 Yr (except Biology $500K/5 Yr) Directorate for Engineering Directorate for Engineering 23

CAREER is NSF-wide • More than 200 programs across these Directorates review CAREER proposals • More than 5,000 CAREER awards have been made since it began 14 years ago • ~ 220 NSF Presidential Early-Career Awards in Science and Engineering (PECASE) have been awarded out of the pool of CAREER awardees Directorate for Engineering

What is Integration of Education and Research? • Involving others (graduate, undergraduates, K-12, high school teachers, public) in your research using new tools, laboratory methods, field components, web outreach, cyber networks, etc... • Partnering with those in other communities, especially those traditionally underrepresented in Sciences and Engineering • Bringing the excitement of your research topics to help in the education of others • Searching for new methods to deliver your research results to a broader audience than those in the immediate research community. Directorate for Engineering

Industry Opportunities • Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry • Small Business Innovation Research/Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) • Centers (Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers, Engineering Research Centers, Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers, etc.) Directorate for Engineering

Communicate with your program director Pay attention to intellectual merit and broader impacts Be a reviewer Don’t be afraid of research teams Be innovative and think outside the box Deliver on your promises Seek feedback Trust in yourself—don’t ever give up Free Advice for Success… Directorate for Engineering 27

Resources • Directorate of Engineering: http://www.nsf.gov/eng • Funding Opportunities: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/ • NSF Email Update: www.nsf.gov Directorate for Engineering 28

Directorate for Engineering

CAREER Eligibility Criteria • Hold a doctoral degree in a field supported by NSF by proposal deadline • Be untenured by Oct 1st following proposal deadline • Be employed in a tenure-track (or equivalent) position at an eligible institution as an Assistant Professor (by Oct 1st following deadline) • Have not previously received a CAREER award • Have not had more than two CAREER proposals reviewed • Untenured associate professors are NOT eligible Directorate for Engineering

What should be in a CAREER proposal? • A compelling research plan • Innovative but doable education plan • May include curriculum, pedagogy, outreach, mentoring at any level, majors and non-majors, teacher preparation or enhancement, K-12 students, and/or the general public. • A plan for the effective integration of both sets of activities (evaluation plan is a plus) Directorate for Engineering

Tribal College Initiative Goal: To expand the engineering and pre-engineering capacities of tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) through curriculum development and partnerships. Approach: Develop a 3-year pre-engineering curriculum based on success-oriented student cohorts, distance education, relevant coursework and projects, and mainstream university participation. Directorate for Engineering

Programs for Native AmericansTCUP and PEEC • Tribal Colleges and Universities Programs (TCUP) aims to enhance the quality of STEM instructional and outreach programs at Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions. • Pre-engineering Education Collaboratives (PEEC) – new Implementation track supported by EHR/ENG • PEEC supports pilot efforts in TCUP institutions to: • Develop and/or enhance pre-engineering curricula • Provide pathways from 2-yr colleges to 4-yr universities • Provide internships, research experiences, and extramural learning opportunities; and faculty development • 2–3 awards for up to $1M per year ($250K/institution) for up to five years Directorate for Engineering

Faculty Partnership in Small Businesses • Faculty members can own small firms • Faculty members can be “Senior Personnel” on a grant budget • Faculty members can consult • Faculty members can be Principal Investigators (with official leave from the university ) • Faculty members can be part of a university subcontract • Universities laboratories can do analytical and other service support Directorate for Engineering

Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) • Effectively promotes the transfer of knowledge between academe and industry, student education, and the exchange of culture • Supports: • Faculty and students in industry (≤ 1 year) • Industry engineers/scientists in academe (≤ 1 year) • Industry-university collaborative projects (≤ 3 years) • $5M available for co-funding with all NSF Directorates; 3-year awards for ~$300K • Proposals accepted anytime; ~70 awards each year Directorate for Engineering

Broadening Participation in Engineering