LSAMP BD: University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation

University Of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, San Juan PR

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) this Bridge to Doctorate Activity will offer 12 talented students from multiple LSAMP alliances the opportunity to pursue doctoral degrees in STEM fields at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, Puerto Rico (UPRRP). Puerto Rico LSAMP (PR-LSAMP) Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) fellows will receive multidisciplinary training in high-impact research practices while enrolled in one of the following graduate programs at UPRRP: Biology, Chemistry, Chemical Physics, Physics, Environmental Sciences, Computer Science, Engineering, Geology and Mathematics. The work produced by BD Scholars will advance a plethora of research efforts that address many complex scientific issues with high societal impact, including understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change, developing novel technologies, and leveraging computational tools to understand the natural world. The implementation of the 14th cohort of BD scholars will help to further develop and maintain a highly competitive STEM research enterprise required to advance Puerto Rico's economic development, and to meet the national need for diverse STEM professionals. Specifically, the PR-LSAMP BD Program aims to increase enrollment and retention of students in STEM from the LSAMP population with a focus on Afro-Caribbean students who are US citizens or nationals. Upon completion of the program, BD fellows will become role models for other students from underrepresented groups across the Nation, to become the next generation of STEM professionals. BD fellows will become STEM ambassadors by presenting their research at local conferences such as the Puerto Rico Interdisciplinary Scientific Meeting (PRISM), at national conferences of their disciplines, and will undertake outreach activities by visiting public high schools to offer their experience and knowledge on STEM fields and careers. As the recruitment pool of LSAMP baccalaureate recipients includes a high proportion of individuals from underrepresented minority populations, the project anticipates that LSAMP Bridge to Doctorate Fellows will be students from these groups. Therefore, the project will contribute significantly to broadening participation in academe and science research. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.