Despite efforts to increase the participation of women in applied mathematics and technology, women are still underrepresented in these areas of study. A conference of those concerned with gender and science and technology (GASAT) was held to allow all those interested a chance to discuss advances in previous efforts and areas of concern. The…

To understand better the factors involved in students' decisions to pursue graduate study in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering (NSME), this study surveyed a stratified sample of 1,651 NSME majors who took the Graduate Record Examination General Test in December 1990, planning to enroll in graduate school. The survey asked for…

This publication consists of colorful data sheets on the National Science Foundation's Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program, a program designed to strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. industries by bringing new approaches and goals to academic engineering research and education. The main elements of the ERC mission are cross-disciplinary…

A study of a continuous quality improvement effort at Auburn University (Alabama) is reported. The study investigated variables predicting which students are at risk of failure. Data were drawn from the records of pre-engineering students enrolling at the university in fall terms of 1991 and 1993-95 (n=2,505). Data sources included achievement…

Compared with other fields of study, engineering at the higher education level has the lowest proportion of women students. A review of the literature concerning models of retention and female identity formation indicates that increased mentorship, curriculum revision, enrichment programs, and career workshops have been tried in efforts to…

This paper presents the report of a University of Maryland focus group evaluating a seminar in teaching designed for undergraduate teaching fellows in engineering. The course's purpose was to provide the fellows the opportunity to apply teaching theory to practice. Focus groups were conducted in order to evaluate the course and the teaching…

Undertaken in conjunction with a larger study that investigated the educational efficacy of students building their own virtual worlds, this study measures the reactions of students in grades 4-12 to the experience of being immersed in virtual reality (VR). The study investigated the sense of "presence" experienced by the students, the…

Employees with mental retardation can lose their jobs because their productivity is low due to an inability to perform their jobs quickly and with a minimum of extraneous movements. This guide presents procedures, borrowed from the business world, that can be used to assist people with mental retardation to improve their work quality and…

This document contains information on summer academic programs offered to American Indian and Alaska Native junior high and high school students. Included are mathematics and science summer programs offered to high school students by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society at universities in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Iowa,…

Because of the daily impact of biotechnology, it is important that students have some knowledge and experience with biotechnology in order to enable them to deal with the issues that arise as a result of its implementation. The purpose of this workbook is to assist in the efforts to expose students to the concepts of biotechnology through hands-on…

In an attempt to determine their role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of skill training programs, existing standards and certification systems in 20 selected occupations were reviewed to identify the following: their common characteristics, barriers to their development and use, benefits of standards and certification to employers…

The under-representation of women and African Americans in engineering spurred the research documented in this study. This document reports the reults of a study investigating middle school (in a southeastern rural community) children's attitudes toward persistence, life goals and sex-stereotypes, as potential barriers to their pursuit of…

The data provided in the statistical tables in this publication are derived from the National Science Foundation's Survey of Scientific and Engineering Personnel Employed at Universities and Colleges, January 1982. The tables present statistics on the characteristics of scientists and engineers employed by institutions of higher education. The…

This report examines and compares early career decisions, initial and 1981 employment, professional activities, and post-graduate education of new, non-traditional engineering graduates (women, Hispanics, Blacks) with their traditional peers. About one-half of the 6,000 surveys mailed to a sample of these engineering graduates (N=1720 men and 1080…

Women have been markedly underrepresented in science and engineering in the United States. Statistical reports have documented this underrepresentation which persists despite the fact that women and minorities are an increasingly important source of talent for maintaining world leadership in these areas. This document reports on a workshop…