Support Framework for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Research and Education

该项目向在莱斯大学生物化学和细胞生物学、化学、化学工程和物理系从事跨学科研究的有学术天赋但经济困难的研究生颁发奖学金。该奖学金将支持26名学生完成前两年的学习，在此期间，学生将过渡到学院的研究资金。招聘工作的目标是女性和代表性不足的少数族裔。招收学生的会议由奇卡诺人和美国原住民科学促进协会、全国黑人工程师协会、美国印第安人科学与工程协会、西班牙裔专业工程师协会以及少数民族学生年度生物医学研究会议主办。支持结构包括在研究生学习的头两年为学生提供强有力的教师指导，使用高级研究生大使指导新生，以及为每组8至9名学生提供交流和跨学科研究的研讨会课程。该项目的目标包括增加少数族裔和女性在四个研究生系的入学比例，支持学生完成前两年的研究生学习，并建立学生对自己研究能力的信心。

This project is awarding scholarships to academically talented but financially-disadvantaged graduate students pursuing interdisciplinary research in the Departments of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Physics at Rice University. The scholarships are supporting 26 students through the first two years of study, at which point students are transitioning to faculty research funding. Recruiting efforts are targeting women and underrepresented minorities. Students are recruited at conferences sponsored by the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, the National Society of Black Engineers, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, as well as at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. Support structures include strong faculty mentoring for students in their first two years of graduate study, the use of senior graduate student ambassadors to mentor entering students, and seminar courses on communication and on interdisciplinary research for each cohort of eight to nine students. The goals of the program include increasing the proportion of minorities and women enrolled in the four graduate departments, supporting students through their first two years of graduate study, and building students' confidence in their research abilities.