Forging STEM’S next generation

From adapting to climate change to finding new therapies for difficult-to-treat diseases, addressing the challenges facing society requires a workforce that's adequately trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Not only has the demand for jobs that require STEM expertise grown in recent years, there's also been an increased awareness of the importance of that workforce being diverse so that the world of tomorrow is more just and equitable. But recent data suggests that many underrepresented minorities still only represent a small portion of the entire U.S. STEM workforce.

To provide underrepresented students with a unique opportunity to learn first-hand what being a scientist and engineer is all about, the University of Delaware's Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials (CHARM) hosted its inaugural summer outreach program. Known as Foundations for Outreach and Recruitment of Great Engineers & Scientists (FORGES), the seven-week summer program provides students from underrepresented populations with exposure to a variety of STEM fields and career paths. The program also welcomed high school science teachers to participate, enabling them to take unique teaching strategies back to the classroom.

At the center of innovation, education and diversity

CHARM, one of 20 National Science Foundation-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC), is not only a hub of materials science research, it is also a research center that's committed to training the next generation of innovators with its focus on diversity and educational programming.

CHARM executive director Gwen Gregory explained that while the center has hosted outreach events and high school internships in the past, the FORGES program came about as a way to reach more high school students and their teachers while also bolstering UD and CHARM's connections with the local community.

"The goal of FORGES is to provide an opportunity for high school students to gain experience in a lab setting and exposure to a variety of pathways in STEM research-especially students who are from underrepresented populations in STEM who may not have gotten the experience or exposure otherwise," added Allie Landry, CHARM's new education director who is responsible for developing and coordinating education and outreach opportunities for K-12 and undergraduate students.

While developing this new program, Gregory connected with John Jungck, Professor of Biological Sciences and Mathematical Sciences, and retired professor Jon Manon, both of whom had experience with leading teacher-facing outreach events.

"We proposed a methodology for recruiting students by reaching out to STEM teachers with whom we have worked in the past," explained Jungck and Manon. "It was important that the small cohort of students from local high schools attend the FORGES sessions together with their teachers so that the teacher could act as both a discipline-specific mentor during the summer sessions but then also maintain a generative connection to the students upon returning to their high schools in the fall."