2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Our HBCU has a well-established record of providing quality college and pre-college programs in most academic disciplines in the state and the nation. We present our on-going experiences in the development and implementation activities that are designed to increase the number of underserved minority students interested in STEAM programs in nuclear science and technology. The impact of our activities in addressing the challenges and providing skills developed and utilized in the implementation of our project frameworks of SUpporting Strategic Training of Adaptable and Integrated Nuclear (SUSTAIN) Workforce funded by Department Of Energy (DOE), Experiment-Centric Pedagogy (ECP), funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) and Homefront Factors Study funded by our school, has led us to some innovative and practical solutions that need to be enhanced and supported. Our initial activities include experiential learning and research; collaborating and making use of advanced nuclear technologies from our SUSTAIN team member resources; interaction with professionals working in the nuclear energy industry and our students field visit to our Majority Institution collaborators; provision of skills to K-12 teachers, parents and adult family members who work with and encourage and motivate their scholars in STEAM activities and nuclear science programs. These activities have resulted in our deeper, sustained student engagements and understanding of some mitigating factors that our scholars face and need to be addressed to enhance a nuclear workforce pipeline at an HBCU. We report on our initial activities of Homefront Factor studies, local institution community a mile linkages, out of state community outreach and our preparation of in-person Saturday academy that includes a series of weekly hands-on activities. Students have been engaged in a variety of "hands-on, minds-on" STEAM activities that are aligned to the National Math, Science, and Technology standards and learn about different Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) careers in STEAM as they delve into each grade level project.
Key Words: Supporting Strategic Training of Adaptable and Integrated Nuclear Workforce (SUSTAIN); Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP); Local Institution Community Linkages and Outreach; Pipeline Development; Family Forum Café; Historically Black College University (HBCU); Experiment-Centric Pedagogy (ECP); Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM).