Collaborative Research: Louis Stokes Regional Center of Excellence: Broadening Participation of Underrepresented Students in STEM Education Using Nanotechnology

路易斯·斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）计划通过显著增加历史上代表性不足的少数民族学生人数的努力，帮助大学和学院实现科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）劳动力的多样化（非裔美国人、西班牙裔美国人、美洲印第安人或阿拉斯加原住民，夏威夷原住民或其他太平洋岛民）成功完成高质量的STEM学位课程。 路易斯·斯托克斯扩大参与区域卓越中心（LSRCEs）旨在作为外联，知识生成和传播活动或其他有助于STEM教育成功实践的活动的区域试验台。 LSRCE的活动也可能集中在学科研究机构的发展上。诺福克州立大学、泰德沃特社区学院和宾夕法尼亚州立大学（主要合作者）和其他合作伙伴组织，包括美国国家航空航天局兰利研究中心杰斐逊国家研究实验室应用研究中心（Jefferson National Research Laboratory Applied Research Center）（JLab-ARC）和东弗吉尼亚医学院（EVMS），更广泛的纳米科学和工程研究社区的所有活跃成员，将合作作为东南联盟的参与和交流纳米技术教育（SCENE）的一部分，一个区域性的路易斯·斯托克斯扩大参与卓越中心。SCENE利用纳米技术及其许多应用作为吸引和激励传统上代表性不足的少数民族学生的渠道。 通过指导和研究和实践培训经验的机会，学生将（1）将学生参与者与有成就的研究专业人员配对，以播种和激励持续的研究活动;（2）赞助以学生为中心的研究和培训活动，以实现学生群体谁是准备和竞争的机会，在先进的STEM环境;以及（3）利用其独特的资源和已建立的协作连接，向用户交付和传播一套数字化准备的产品和服务。 该计划的设计增加了广泛的暑期培训和实习组成部分，积极的战略，以准备和指导有才华的学生，因为他们产生投资组合，并在国家实验室和联邦研究机构（例如NSF GRFP和NASA研究生奖学金计划（GSFP）应用程序）的研究机会产生竞争力的配置文件。该中心将由多个机构类型，包括一个历史悠久的黑人大学，社区学院，和一个研究I机构，除了联邦和私营部门的组织，房子纳米技术教育和利用中心领导。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority populations (African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders) to successfully complete high quality degree programs in STEM. Louis Stokes Regional Centers of Excellence in Broadening Participation (LSRCEs) are designed to serve as regional testbeds for outreach, knowledge-generating and diffusion activities or other activities that contribute to successful practices in STEM education. LSRCE activities may also be concentrated in the development of disciplinary research institutes.Norfolk State University, Tidewater Community College and Pennsylvania State University (lead collaborators) and other partner organizations that include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Langley Research Center (NASA-LaRC), Jefferson National Research Laboratory Applied Research Center (JLab-ARC), and Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), all active members of the broader nanoscience and engineering research community, will collaborate as part of the Southeastern Coalition for Engagement and Exchange in Nanotechnology Education (SCENE), a regional Louis Stokes Center for Excellence in Broadening Participation. SCENE utilizes nanotechnology and its many applications as a conduit for engaging and inspiring talented students from traditionally underrepresented minority populations. Through guided mentoring and opportunities for research and hands-on training experiences, students will (1) pair student participants with accomplished research professionals to seed and motivate continuing research activities; (2) sponsor student-centered research and training activities to achieve cohorts of students who are prepared and competitive for opportunities in advanced STEM environments; and, (3) utilize its unique resources and established collaborative connections to deliver and disseminate a suite of digitally prepared products and services to users. The program design augments an extensive summer training and internship component, with an aggressive strategy to prepare and mentor talented students as they generate portfolios and generate competitive profiles for research opportunities at national labs and federal research agencies (e.g. NSF GRFP and NASA Graduate Student Fellowship Program (GSFP) applications). The center will be led by multiple institution types including a historically black university, a community college, and a research I institution that houses the Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization in addition to federal and private sector organizations.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.