Symposium BI1-Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education

A grand total of 1,200 community colleges in the United States are home to the most diverse student body in higher education. Economic development, state and federal agencies, as well as the business and industrial community and numerous professional organizations such as the National Research Council and the National Academy of Engineering have validated this fact. Moreover, recent data notes that over 43% of all undergraduates attend a community college at some stage during their undergraduate education. The diversity character of this student population includes age, gender, veteran status, first generation college students, and students with working parents. Indeed, the community college represents the point of origin in higher education for over 52% of Hispanic students, 44% of African American students and 45% of Pacific Islanders.

Undergraduate students, whether originating from a community college or university, seek studies that both capture their imagination and provide structured academic pathways, which lead to promising career opportunities. Materials science provides such a pathway for community college students. However, a successful pathway requires the establishment of well-defined, sustainable working partnerships that bridge community college to university to workplace. Many MRS members who serve as university administrators, research faculty, or as corporate members often provide the transitional links for these students. These links include academic and professional guidance, as well as the development of innovative programs, which open doors for students to explore theoretical and experimental materials science, complete their academic degrees, and successfully enter the technological workplace.

This symposium provides the opportunity for the materials science community to share their experiences as undergraduate mentors to both community college and university undergraduates, as well as success stories, challenges, and personal and inter-institutional impacts. A panel discussion titled Community College/University/Business Partnership to Prepare Next Generation of Materials Technicians and Technologists Prepared to Enter the Workforce will focus on effective partnerships between community college/ university/ business for seamless transition of students from lower division programs into upper division degree programs and workforce.

The anticipated outcomes of the symposium will include an overview of experiences, impacts and recommendations for establishing practices that contribute to the transformative experiences of community college students. This symposium will describe mechanisms through which partnerships provide pathways for community college students to begin their journey into materials science.

Topics will include:

Strategies and mechanisms to promote interest in theoretical and experimental Materials Science – Exploring the K-16 Continuum
Pedagogical approaches and curricular topics in Materials Science: experiment and theory
What are the best practices and models for developing Materials Science programs in Community Colleges?
What are the current and projected emerging opportunities for Materials Science programs via Community College-University partnerships?
What are the current models and strategies for identifying talented Community College students and enhancing transfer to undergraduate Materials Science and Engineering programs at Universities?

Invited Speakers:

BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_0 (University of Florida, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_1 (Yale University, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_2 (Edmunds Community College, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_3 (Boston University, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_4 (INTEL, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_5 (Pennsylvania State University, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_6 (Harvard University, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_7 (University of Florida, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_8 (National Science Foundation, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_9 (Directorate for Secondary Education of Piraeus, Greece)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_10 (Brandeis University, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_11 (Rice University, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_12 (The Boeing Company, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_13 (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_14 (University of Massachusetts, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_15 (Northwest Vista College, USA)
BI1_Community College and University Partnerships as Catalysts for Promoting Materials Science Education_16 (CT College of Technology, USA)