Julie Trenor, instructional and research assistant professor and director of undergraduate student recruitment and retention at the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering, has won a grant to attend the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference & Exposition. The grant provides reimbursements for up to $2,000 in travel-related expenses to attend the conference, which is scheduled for June 24 to 27 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Trenor was one of only four engineering educators from across the country to be awarded an ASEE-Engineering Research & Methods (ERM) Apprentice Faculty Grant.
The grant is given to faculty at the entry/launch point of their engineering-education career to provide mentoring through apprenticeship. Awards are given based on innovation in teaching and potential to substantially contribute to the field of engineering education research.
Trenor has attended the conference in prior years, and has in fact given three presentations at the annual gathering. She is currently conducting research into the recruitment and retention of female undergraduate engineering students from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
In addition to receiving financial support, as a grant recipient Trenor will be assigned a mentor in the from the ERM division who will serve as her guide throughout the conference and introduce her to established engineering education researchers in the ERM division.
"Receiving this award is a great opportunity to receive mentoring from the Educational Research and Methods division of ASEE,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to expand my professional network and become more integrated into the engineering education community on a national level.”