The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has announced a collaboration with Drexel University to increase the numbers of Hispanics in the STEM workforce, especially engineers, and enhance Hispanic student experiences in STEM-based academia.
The effort is being funded by a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program.
According to the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), the partnership is geared toward providing minority students, specifically Hispanics, with a path for completing degrees and certificate programs in industrial and manufacturing engineering, systems engineering, and green engineering.
At UTEP, the College of Engineering will establish an improved curriculum with a Minority INnovation Engineering Research for Student Success Center.
The center will create a hub for project-based learning experiences and online communication for problem-solving across institutions.
“This project will help reduce the gap between demand and supply of qualified technologists specializing in renewable energy,” said Bill Tseng, Ph.D., professor, and chair of UTEP’s Department of Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering and the grant’s principal investigator.
“The unique focus of this project is on technologies for green materials, green manufacturing and renewable energy and their innovative delivery approach that integrates experiential and research-based learning for undergraduates and graduates through the use of virtual labs tied to actual hardware and current research facilities,” Tseng said.
The Center will be composed of a studio for students to explore green and systems engineering-related concepts and ideas, virtual world implementation experiences, and an Educational Fabrication Studio outfitted with desktop 3D-printing facilities so students can see their ideas and projects.
In addition to the proposed Center, the Department of Industrial Manufacturing and Systems Engineering in UTEP’s College of Engineering will be bolstered through the incorporation of Internet-based and virtual reality technologies.
The collaborative effort in developing cyber-based engineering curriculum between UTEP and Drexel hopes to broaden the impact to a national level.
“The experiences gained through this project will greatly enhance student interest to enroll, persist, pursue and complete STEM-based engineering undergraduate degrees,” said Norman D. Love, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering and grant co-principal investigator.
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