This project seeks to organize a national workshop that will address the building of meaningful bridges among diverse institutions of higher education in the United States, in emerging areas of engineering research. This focus is especially relevant in the context of current interest in Washington, D.C., over the state of science and technology education, as evidenced by the recent "Gathering Storm" report from the National Academy of Sciences, which recommended measures for boosting U.S. competitiveness in engineering. Its importance is further heightened by some daunting statistics: While African-Americans represent more than 12 percent of the U.S. population, they constitute fewer than 3 percent of U.S. scientists and engineers, according to the National Science Foundation.
