The integration of engineering and the liberal arts offers unique opportunities for students at the college. To encourage and foster academically-talented students in the intersections of disciplines, the project is initiating a scholarship program in Converging Technologies (CT). CT Scholars include students selected from all science and engineering disciplines, with scholarship support for two cohorts of ten students over four years. There are a number of opportunities in CT with courses, programs and research opportunities in intersectional fields including: bioengineering, digital art, entrepreneurship, environmental science and engineering, nanotechnology, neuroscience, energy studies, and science and technology policy.
Intellectual Merit: The project goals are to: 1) improve recruitment and retention of academically-talented students in STEM fields; 2) increase the number of women in engineering, physics, and computer science, and underrepresented groups in all disciplines; 3) provide students with opportunities to further enhance their education through summer research, internships, study aboard, and leadership training; 4) enable these students to make connections between their major and other disciplines through pursuit of a dual major, minor or interdisciplinary major.
Broader Impact: The impact of these efforts should result in increased numbers of students with the education and skills necessary to enter the workforce or professional and graduate programs in emerging multidisciplinary fields. CT Scholars are being trained in their respective disciplines, but provided opportunities to participate in multi-disciplinary projects. These students are being mentored for leadership roles and have the interdisciplinary team experience needed in today's science and engineering workplace
To achieve these goals, the project has several objectives to reflect the academic promise of the CT Scholars, including: 1) enrollment in a scholar's section of the first-year preceptorial; 2) a CT Scholars Research Seminar; 3) workshops for "Tomorrow's Leaders;" 4) funding for earlier involvement in research laboratories; and 5) educational outreach activities.
