The face of STEM should reflect the faces of our diverse world. Our future depends on it.

The physical sciences and engineering are facing a crisis. We need increasingly more  innovators trained in these discipliines. Yet even as US demographics continue to shift, the ranks of physics, chemistry, and engineering remain remarkably non-diverse:

• Underrepresented minority (URM) students earn less than 15% of all bachelor’s degrees in physics (Source: APS).
• Less than 10% of doctoral degrees in science and engineering are earned by students from URMs (Source: NCSES).
• Very few underrepresented scientists maintain membership in the Materials Research Society (Source: MRS).
• Early studies already report that women scientists, especially mothers, are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (Source: Nature Human Behavior).

We believe we can do better. As one step towards enabling students of all backgrounds to succeed in STEM, we are compiling resources here for instructors of classes in materials-related disciplines who wish to increase the representation of URM innovators in curricular materials. Below you will find (1) Scientist Spotlights: short 1-slide highlights of researchers from underrepresented backgrounds who are making significant contributions to their field and (2) Resources highlighting barriers to STEM for underrepresented groups. By ensuring that URM scientists get equal visibility in our lectures and course materials, we can help avoid perpetuating harmful stereotypes about who is and is not a scientist.

***This site is under construction. If you have suggestions, we welcome feedback.***

Scientist spotlights

Material Science and Engineering

• Professor LaShanda Korley
• Professor Sarah Heilshorn
• Professor Shyni Varghese
• Dr. Bettye Washington Greene
• Stephanie Kwolek

Biomedical / Bioengineering Engineering

• Professor Audrey Bowden
• Professor Shyni Varghese
• Professor Samira Musah
• Professor Girgis Obaid

Chemistry and Biomolecular / Biochemical Engineering

• Professor Sarah Heilshorn
• Professor Davita Watkins
• Professor LaShanda Korley
• Professor Rodney D. Priestley
• Professor Sheila Jaswal
• Professor Thomas H. Epps, III
• Professor Markita P. Landry

Electrical / Computer Engineering

• Professor Audrey Bowden

Mechanical Engineering

• Professor Marina Vance
• Professor Shyni Varghese

See the ACS ChemDiversity list of role models here.
See the APS profiles of URM physicists here.

Barriers to STEM
Demographics in STEM

The Diversity Innovation Paradox in STEM
This PNAS article presents a quantitative analysis showing that underrepresented PhD students are more likely to take innovative new directions in their research, but these innovations are less likely to receive recognition in their field and to earn them academic positions.

What Comes Next? Simple Practices to Improve Diversity in Science

Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math

Resources from the Yang group

These resources are a joint effort between the Copp lab and the Hochbaum lab.