2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 420: Urban STEM Collaboratory: 5 Years of Lessons Learned

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

The Urban STEM Collaboratory is an NSF-funded S-STEM project featuring partnership across three urban universities to develop effective interventions, in combination with financial support, for improving academic outcomes for engineering students. The Urban STEM project was designed to address challenges faced at the three urban institutions collaborating for the project, and in particular the need for many of the engineering students to work a significant number of hours each week, resulting in them taking fewer course hours each semester and being disconnected from their peers, faculty, and campus. These factors are especially concerning for students who are underrepresented in engineering majors, as they already leave engineering majors and careers at higher rates. Thus, the Urban STEM Collaboratory was designed to support students both financially and in the development of a stronger STEM identity and sense of ‘fit’ and connection to their academic program and career pathway. This paper outlines the Urban STEM Collaboratory model, describes the student cohorts, and highlights findings from student engagement in the project.

Authors

Dr. Stephanie S Ivey The University of Memphis [biography]

Dr. Stephanie Ivey is a Professor with the Department of Civil Engineering in the Herff College of Engineering at the University of Memphis. She directs the Southeast Transportation Workforce Center and the West TN STEM Hub at the UofM.
Craig O. Stewart http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-6843-795X University of Memphis [biography]

Dr. Craig O. Stewart is a professor of Communication at the University of Memphis.
Dr. Aaron Robinson The University of Memphis [biography]

Dr. Aaron L. Robinson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Memphis. He is also a member of the CAESAR DTL and DRONES Research Cluster. His research foci include signal processing, sensor system analysis and design (with a focus on infrared wavelengths), turbulence mitigation, light propagation, and incorporation of electrical engineering concepts to transportation issues such as intelligent transportation system development, freight logistics, pre-emptive malfunction detection, workforce development, and student retention. He serves as faculty advisor for the University of Memphis student chapters of National Society of Black Engineers and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Stefano Alessandro Blasoni The University of Memphis
Prof. Maryam Darbeheshti http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7988-0906 University of Colorado Denver [biography]

Dr. Maryam Darbeheshti is Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado, Denver. She is the PI of a recent NSF award that focuses on STEM identity at Urban Universities.
Darbeheshti's primary research is in the area of multi-phase flow and Engineering Education.
Michael Jacobson Pennsylvania State University [biography]

Dr. Mike Jacobson received his B.S. in Mathematics in 1975 and completed his M.S. and Ph.D. In Mathematics at Emory University in 1977 and 1980, respectively. He has been actively involved in training pre-service and in-service teachers. He joined CU Denver in 2003 as Professor and Chair. Of the Department of Mathematical Sciences. He has published over 180 journal, conference, and technical papers and has been a recipient, as PI or co-PI, of numerous research awards, including awards from the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation.
William Taylor Schupbach University of Colorado Denver [biography]

William is working towards a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver and is a research assistant and a part time instructor.
Dr. Tom Altman University of Colorado Denver [biography]

Tom Altman is a Professor of Computer Science at CU Denver since 1990. His research interests include Theory of Computation and Optimization Algorithms. Recently, his focus has expanded to include STEM and Engineering Education.
Dr. Karen D Alfrey Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis [biography]

Karen Alfrey is a Clinical Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs and Programs in the School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI. She has been a member of ASEE since 2003.
Dr. Mengyuan (Alice) Zhao Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis [biography]

Mengyuan (Alice) Zhao is the Associate Director of Research and Development at IUPUI CyberLab. Her team works on designing, developing, and implementing innovative educational technology tools. Their current project is CourseNetworking (or CN), an academic social networking and learning platform, which has been used by the NSF Urban STEM Collaboratory project to connect student scholars from three urban universities and facilitate their STEM identity development through ePortfolio building and digital badges. Mengyuan has an EdD in Instructional Systems Technology with a research focus on social learning and innovative learning technology.
Tony Chase Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

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