Increasing Underrepresented Minorities in STEM: The 47th NOBCChE Annual Conference (Virtual)

该奖项支持本科生、研究生和博士后参加2020年9月24日至25日举行的全国黑人化学家和化学工程师专业进步组织（NOBCChE）会议。受新冠肺炎疫情影响，2020年NOBCChE会议将以虚拟形式举行。入选的参与者来自科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域代表性不足的少数群体。除了为学生提供注册支持外，该奖项还为参与者参与开发了一个强大的在线平台。该项目由数学和物理科学理事会的化学和材料研究部、生物科学理事会的分子和细胞生物科学部、工程理事会的化学、生物工程和运输系统部以及工业创新和伙伴关系部资助。首席研究员是密西西比大学的Godfrey Murrell。该奖项为参与者提供了四个主要关注领域的机会：1)STEM技术和专业发展；2)与STEM专业人士交流和指导的机会；3)接触STEM领域著名的少数族裔榜样；4) STEM职业发展机会。学生参与者与来自工业界、政府和学术界的同行和专业人士互动，发展合作，并探索攻读化学、化学工程和相关学科研究生学位的机会。这是通过虚拟会议完成的。这些机会不仅影响到这些特定的参与者，也有利于STEM领域从业者的更大社区，因为这些活动有助于从代表性不足的人才库中招募和留住个人。NOBCChE旨在增加STEM劳动力中少数族裔的数量。将典型的为期一周的NOBCChE会议压缩为两天，可以在会后访问各种材料。评估计划可以将之前的现场NOBCChE事件与首次虚拟事件进行比较。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports the participation of undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral students at the Annual National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) conference, held Sept. 24-25, 2020. The 2020 NOBCChE conference is in a virtual format in 2020 due to disruptions from COVID-19. Selected participants are from underrepresented minority groups in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. In addition to providing registration support for students, this award enables the development of a robust online platform for participant engagement. This is funded by Divisions of Chemistry and Materials Research, both of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences in the Biological Science Directorate, and the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, and Transport Systems as well as the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships, both of the Engineering Directorate. The Principle Investigator is Godfrey Murrell of the University of Mississippi. This award provides opportunities for participants to engage in four major areas of focus: 1) STEM technical and professional development; 2) networking and mentorship opportunities with STEM professionals; 3) exposure to prestigious minority role models in STEM; and 4) STEM career advancement opportunities. Student participants interact with peers and professionals from industry, government, and academia to develop collaborations and to explore opportunities to pursue graduate degrees in the chemistry, chemical engineering and related disciplines. This is accomplished through a virtual conference. These opportunities not only impact these specific participating individuals, but also benefit the larger community of STEM field practitioners as these activities are useful in recruiting and retaining individuals from underrepresented talent pools. NOBCChE seeks to increase the number of minorities in the STEM workforce. The compression of the typical weeklong NOBCChE conference to two days is augmented by post conference access to various materials. Assessment plans enable the comparison of prior in person NOBCChE events to this first ever virtual event.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.