Engineers at the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering will receive a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to retain and recruit students, Professor Stuart Long, associate dean for education development and outreach, has announced.
The grant is a part of the foundation’s efforts to boost national graduation rates in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Long says.
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| Stuart Long Associate Dean for Education Activities and Principal Investigator for the STEP Project |
The grant will fund “STEP - AHEAD: Access to Higher Education through Academic Retention and Development at the University of Houston,” which will spawn an assortment of programs featuring highly interactive and collaborative learning methods. The grant builds upon previous success within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, which laid the groundwork with its Redshirt Camps and workshops, which encourage students to teach each other while instructors facilitate the learning process. In addition, ‘GRADE’ Camp (Girls Reaching and Demonstrating Excellence in Engineering), which garnered much popularity with its summer 2003 attendees, their teachers and parents, will continue to introduce high school females to the excitement of studying engineering.
Another similar proposal has also received funding from NSF. The “Research Experience for Greater Houston Science and Math Teachers,” housed in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is a $435,000 summer research program designed to infuse 12 bright teachers with enthusiasm toward research that is subsequently shared with their respective high school classes during the school year. Participants will make important contributions to the department's ongoing research efforts.
Long is the principal investigator for the STEP project; professor Fritz Claydon, chair of the department of electrical and computer engineering, is principal investigator for the RET project. Long and Claydon—along with Program Director Jenny Ruchhoeft, who is playing a vital role in managing the day to day activities—are working with a number of faculty members in the college to fully implement these newly funded programs.