Building STEM Capacity for the Nation: A National Student Research Conference

American Association For The Advancement Of Science, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will organize the student conference for selected programs of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Human Resources Development (HRD) division in 2011 and 2012. The conference will include undergraduate and graduate students from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities -Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), Tribal Colleges and Universities Programs (TCUP), Research in Disabilities Education (RDE), the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP), and the Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) Program. Each of the conferences will be planned with the NSF HRD Program Officers and awardees of the NSF HRD Programs. The final theme and title for each of the conferences will be decided with an advisory committee and will provide undergraduate and graduate students from the NSF HRD programs with the knowledge and skills needed to smoothly transition into graduate programs and/or the STEM workforce. The general conference format for the 2-1/2 day conference will include: - Undergraduate poster and oral presentations; - Graduate students oral and poster presentations; - Workshops focused on strategies for applying for and succeeding in graduate programs and finding funding for graduate school; - Career preparation workshops focused on employment searches and retention, and; - Workshops that highlight STEM in a global context and international research and education opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and faculty. A networking session will be designed to connect undergraduate students with graduate students and graduate students with postdoctoral fellows. The conference will include plenary sessions, including one with policymakers on the importance of broadening participation in the STEM workforce.