Strengthening US scientific industries and technologies, by increasing US citizens in the scientific workforce, in particular women and minorities, has become a prime concern and major national goal. Underrepresented groups must pass through educational institutions in order to join the scientific workforce. Creating suitable environments, attitudes, and behavior in academic departments is key to diversifying science professions. Female and minority students need to see and interact with faculty mentors and role models who have had similar life experiences. This research will focus on quantifying and retaining such faculty.
This project will also develop a data-driven, entertaining technique to generate discussion of topics which may be difficult and threatening to some. Developing programs based on data and making them as entertaining and non-threatening as possible will be of interest to majority populations who need them the most.
Proposed activities to address the presence of and barriers for underrepresented groups in research universities, particularly in science and engineering departments are to:
Establish the current representation of women, minorities, and disabled among the tenured and tenure track faculty, Establish the rate of change in these groups, Establish national origin of current chemistry faculty and chemical engineering faculty, Analyze and compare chemistry data by division (analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, etc.), and Construct seminars based on data and narratives, which could be used in workshops to enable attendees to understand and avoid contributing to barriers facing underrepresented groups.
