This project is awarding scholarships to academically talented but financially needy students and is supporting the scholars to ensure their success and eventual graduation. Recruitment efforts are targeting community college students who are transferring to the university and seeking baccalaureate degrees in mechanical engineering. Support structures for participants include mentoring of scholars by research faculty, interdisciplinary engineering research seminars, and summer research opportunities. The goals of the program are to recruit, mentor and graduate increased numbers of students in mechanical engineering, with special emphasis on underrepresented minority students; to incorporate research in the undergraduate education experience; to provide students with opportunities to identify paths to employment and to graduate school; and to formalize a relationship between University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and Montgomery Community College of Maryland to increase the number of community college students transferring to the mechanical engineering program at UMBC.
