Opportunities for Minority Undergraduate and Graduate Students in STEM at the 2015 NOBCChE Annual Conference; Orlando, Florida; September 21-26, 2015

该奖项支持100名本科生、研究生和博士后参加2015年9月21日至26日在佛罗里达州奥兰多举行的第42届全国黑人化学家和化学工程师专业发展组织（NOBCChE）会议。被选中的参与者来自科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域代表性不足的少数群体，他们来自主流机构、传统黑人学院和大学（HBCUs）和西班牙裔服务机构（HSIs）。该奖项为参与者提供了四个主要关注领域的机会：1)技术和专业发展；2)与STEM领域的专业人士交流和指导的机会；3)接触STEM领域备受瞩目的少数族裔榜样；4)职业发展机会。参与者在由工业界、政府和学术同行组成的论坛上展示他们的原创研究，同时与来自其他HBCU、MSI和大多数机构的同事会面，以发展研究合作，并探索攻读化学或化学工程学科研究生学位的机会。这些机会不仅可以影响这些特定的参与者，还可以使STEM领域从业者的更大社区受益，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。这项活动的结果将提交在同行评议的期刊上发表，以便确定的最佳做法能够得到更广泛的采用。

This award supports the participation of 100 undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral students at the 42nd Annual National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) conference, held in Orlando, FL on September 21 - 26, 2015. Selected participants are from underrepresented minority groups in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields who come from majority institutions, Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). This award provides opportunities for participants to engage in four major areas of focus: 1) technical and professional development; 2) networking and mentorship opportunities with professionals working in STEM fields; 3) exposure to high-profile minority role models in STEM; and 4) career advancement opportunities. Participants present their original research to a forum composed of industry, government, and academic peers while meeting colleagues from other HBCU, MSI, and majority institutions to develop research collaborations and to explore opportunities to pursue graduate degrees in the chemistry or chemical engineering disciplines. These opportunities may 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. Results of this activity are submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals so that the indentified best practices can be more widely adopted.