Supporting Scholars in Science and Engineering
The National Science Foundation
Division of Undergraduate Education
Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) Program
Award Amount: $600,000 | Effective Dates: 09/01-2009 – 08/31/2015 | Award ID: DUE-0850242
Project Personnel: Principal Investigator Bradford Bruno (Mechanical Engineering); co-PIs Joanne Kehlbeck (Chemistry), J. Douglass Klein (Economics), Cherrice Traver (Electrical & Computer Engineering)
Project Summary: The integration of engineering and the liberal arts offers unique opportunities for students. To encourage and foster academically-talented students in the intersections of disciplines, a scholarship program in Converging Technologies (CT) was initiated. Union has 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. 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. 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.