Monday, August 28, 2006
Robots created by a scientific group at the University of Kansas will hopefully travel to both the North and South Poles someday to monitor seismic activity at the poles. The purpose of the robots is to sense vibrations in the ground in areas that humans cannot go.
As of now, the designing stages are complete. This fall, the designs will be submitted in an academic paper for a competition in San Francisco.
The Undergraduate Research Experience, REU, with the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, CReSIS, was joined by Cheniece Arthur and Bryce Carmichael who visited Kansas this summer from Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina for a 10-week immersion program in the sciences.
The University partnered with the predominantly African-American university in one of many efforts to increase the number of interested multicultural students in the sciences. The School of Engineering has also incorporated a diversity program to reach minority students.
Arvin Agah, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, worked with both Arthur and Carmichael to design robots to monitor seismic activity at the poles. Agah said the program aimed to recruit minority students to work in the sciences following their undergraduate work.
The ultimate goal is to get the students interested to pursue graduate degrees, whether it is at KU or somewhere else.
-Arvin Agah, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science
“The ultimate goal is to get the students interested to pursue graduate degrees, whether it is at KU or somewhere else,” Agah said. “Even if they pursue graduate degrees somewhere else, we’ve succeeded.”
Through his years in engineering and computer science, Agah said he has noticed few minority students and even less female minority students. A report from the Office of University Relations and the National Science Foundation stated that 2.8 percent of scientist and engineer doctoral degrees were African American in 2003, 2.5 percent were Hispanic and 15.8 percent were Asian.
Kelly Mason, project coordinator for CReSIS, said CReSIS and REU students were selected according to their promise of long-term commitment to research in the sciences, such as electrical engineering, geography, geology and computer science.
Photo by Ryan McGeeney
Vionette Dechoudens, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico graduate student, prepares a calcium carbonate sample for stable isotopic analysis. The process seperates carbon, oxygen, and other atoms by weight, and measures them to determine the ration between their masses.
Florence E. Boldridge, director of Diversity Programs for the School of Engineering, worked to recruit committed students into the sciences. Boldridge oversees many organizations at the University to encourage minority engineers to succeed, such as the National Society of Black Engineers and the American Indian Science Engineers Society. Boldridge said the University incorporated the diversity programs after realizing low enrollment from minorities.
The School of Engineering employs a full-time recruiter with a special emphasis in recruiting multicultural students. Dawnelle Prince attends college fairs geared toward minority students as part of her work as director of recruitment for the School of Engineering. Prince also assists in a Celebration of Excellence and Diversity program. Potential multicultural engineering students receive $2,000 toward their education just for attending the event pending they meet the School of Engineering admission requirements.
Prince said programs like these are important to academic success on campus for all students, whether they are a minority or not.
“It provides current students with a well-rounded education,” Prince said. “It provides students from all backgrounds with experience and improves the level of education.”
Kansan staff writer Courtney Hagen can be contacted at chagen@kansan.com.
— Edited by Kristen Jarboe
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