The University of Puerto Rico Bridge-to-the-Doctorate Initiative: Feeding the Pipeline in STEM Disciplines at the PhD Level - University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras

?波多黎各大学（里约彼德拉斯）桥梁到博士倡议：喂养管道在干博士学位水平？将使代表性不足的学生从STEM学士学位无缝过渡到研究生学习，以获得博士学位并进入STEM劳动力市场。 这将是第八批学生参加路易斯·斯托克斯港少数民族参与联盟？自2003年以来一直是博士学位（BD）活动的桥梁。 该奖项在2010-2012学年期间支持12名STEM研究生，自NSF Bridge to the Doctorate Activity开始以来，该联盟支持的BD研究员总数增加到94人。在波多黎各大学（UPR）在纳米科学和环境科学领域发展的优势基础上，将优先考虑在这些跨学科领域进行研究的STEM学生。要有资格参加该计划，学生必须被录取到以下UPR博士课程之一：生物学，化学，化学工程或化学物理。BD研究员将参加BD支持计划，该计划已成功实施，以提高他们的学术准备，并将被鼓励在PR EPSCoR和热带生态研究所（ITES）的国家和国际战略合作伙伴研究中心完成夏季研究实习。 普遍定期审议BD倡议将继续与其他NSF资助的项目协调其活动，这些项目由科学与工程资源中心（RCSE）和相关的普遍定期审议研究生课程管理。 学生将与正在进行的GK-12计划明确的连接：？从百纳米到纳米：功能纳米科学和热带生态系统的多学科探索？由RCSE管理。在完成BD计划的前两年后，BD研究员将能够申请以下RCSE/UPR计划的奖学金：GK-12，NSF-EPSCoR IFN，NASA EPSCoR，NASA太空赠款，DoE EPSCoR，CREST-CATEC和RISE。这一系列的研究和教育计划将受益于招募的BD研究员，而他们促进完成他们的博士学位。由PR-LSAMP设计的跟踪系统将记录参与者的进展，包括完成学位，直到他们进入劳动力市场。普遍定期审议BD活动的实施将有助于：1）发展一个具有高度竞争力的STEM教育和研究企业，以推进波多黎各？的经济发展，和2）以满足不同的STEM专业人才的国家需求。通过增加STEM专业人员的数量，更多的大学生，特别是第一代大学生最多的四年制大学的学生，将由博士水平的教授/研究人员授课。此外，前BD研究员将成为来自全国代表性不足的群体的其他学生的榜样，他们将对追求STEM职业感兴趣。

?The University of Puerto Rico (Rio Piedras) Bridge-to-the-Doctorate Initiative: Feeding the Pipeline in STEM Disciplines at the PhD Level? will enable the seamless transition of underrepresented students from the STEM baccalaureate to graduate studies in order to obtain a doctoral degree and enter the STEM workforce. This will be the 8th cohort of students participating in the Puerto Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation?s Bridge-to the-Doctorate (BD) Activity since 2003. The award supports twelve STEM graduate students during the 2010-2012 academic years, increasing to 94 the total number of BD fellows supported by this alliance since the start of the NSF Bridge to the Doctorate Activity. Building on the strengths developed by the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) in the fields of nanoscience and environmental sciences, priority will be given to STEM students who will do research in these interdisciplinary fields. To be eligible for the program, students must be admitted to one of the following UPR PhD programs: Biology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or Chemical Physics. BD fellows will participate in the BD Support Program that was successfully implemented with the seven previous cohorts in order to enhance their academic preparation, and will be encouraged to complete a summer research internship at national and international strategic partner research centers of PR EPSCoR and the Institute of Tropical Ecology (ITES). The UPR BD Initiative will continue to coordinate its activities with other NSF-funded projects that are managed by the Resource Center for Science and Engineering (RCSE) and by pertinent UPR graduate programs. Students will make explicit connections with the ongoing GK-12 program: ?From Hectares to Nanometers: Multidisciplinary Explorations of Functional Nanosciences and Tropical Ecosystems?, managed by the RCSE. After completing their first two years in the BD program, BD fellows will be able to apply for fellowships in the following RCSE/UPR programs: GK-12, NSF-EPSCoR IFN, NASA EPSCoR, NASA Space Grant, DoE EPSCoR, CREST-CATEC, and RISE. This large array of research and educational programs will benefit from the recruited BD fellows while they facilitate completion of their doctoral degree. A tracking system, designed by PR-LSAMP, will document participant progress, including completion of degree until they enter the workforce, and beyond. The implementation of the UPR BD Activity will help: 1) to develop a highly competitive STEM education and research enterprise required to advance Puerto Rico?s economic development, and 2) to meet the national need for diverse STEM professionals. By increasing the number of STEM professionals, more college students, in particular those at 4-year colleges, where the largest population of first-generation college students reside, will be taught by PhD level professors/researchers. Moreover, the ex-BD fellows will become role models for other students from underrepresented groups across the Nation, who will become interested in pursuing STEM careers.