2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Early exposure to research and mentoring experiences is critical for all students—but particularly those underrepresented in STEM—to grow their professional identities, feel included in a community, and get excited about the role of engineering in helping to solve big societal problems. Similarly, being a mentor to predominantly underrepresented kids and teaching engineering concepts “gives back” and fosters one’s identity as an engineer. Our NSF Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) combined summer program gives students an opportunity to do both.

Specifically, the Engineering Research Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR) partnered with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) to offer an NSF-funded Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) combined summer program experience where diverse, predominantly Black, STEM undergraduate students are 1st mentees spending six weeks at Purdue university doing research with multiple academic mentors guiding them and then, 2nd mentors spending 4-weeks at a NSBE Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) camp mentoring and getting elementary-aged kids excited about STEM.

The focus of this paper is on how we improved the six-week research experience part of the REM program by adding an Industry Energy Program. The program consisted of students meeting weekly with an industry mentor as well as going on energy-related tours or listening to interactive talks by industry experts on energy. As shown by our findings from surveys and interviews across two cohorts of students, the REM students were inspired by their interactions with industry professionals, many from large energy companies partnered with CISTAR. Further, the students felt included in a wider, supportive community of industry engineers and scientists working in the energy sector, and many reported expecting to have future contact with those industry professionals.

In conclusion as we continue to address the need for diversity in engineering, we have seen that providing more contact with supportive industry professionals is beneficial. CISTAR’s 6-week research experience with an embedded Industry Energy Program helped to reinforce students’ social identity as emerging engineers and scientists who felt inspired about the topic of energy and included in a supportive community of both academic and industry, professionals.