NEWS

December 03, 2015

Diversity Team Updates: A Busy Fall and Natives in STEM!

By Chelsea Chee

Fall 2015, what a season it's been! NM EPSCoR made its mark at several national events thanks to STEM Advancement Program students and two collaboration efforts. You may have seen our students, our partners, or me at:

  • Algae Biomass Summit in Washington, DC
  • New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation Conference in Las Cruces, NM
  • Society for the Advancement of Native Americans and Chicanos in Science National Conference in Washington, DC
  • Geological Society of America Conference in Baltimore, MD
  • New Mexico Academy of Science Research Symposium in Albuquerque, NM
  • McNair Graduate School Fair in Newark, DE
  • National Indian Education Association Convention in Portland, OR
  • American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) National Conference in Phoenix, AZ

Our STEM Advancement Program students presented their summer research and shared their knowledge at five conferences. And, our EPSCoR-wide Education, Outreach, and Diversity collaboration was present and recruited at three conferences.

Lastly, I was very excited to unveil the Natives in STEM project. Natives in STEM is a project by NM EPSCoR and AISES designed to increase the visibility and representation of Native STEM professionals through posters and a website with the hope of encouraging and supporting young Natives to enter STEM college programs and STEM careers. Our first poster (see image below) and project were presented at the AISES National Conference and were welcomed with excitement.

The Natives in STEM website is currently being created with hopes to launch at the beginning of next year. In the meantime, we have plenty of posters to distribute!