University of Wisconsin–Madison

MRSEC initiatives that broaden participation in STEM

Research Experience for Teachers

The Research Experience for Teachers (RET) is an intensive professional development program where we place middle and high school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers in Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) laboratories for seven weeks. During this program, teachers get hands-on experience doing cutting-edge research and use the tools, language, and practices of science while designing hands-on learning activities for the classroom. Participants work under the direction of a principal investigator (PI) along with postdoctoral and graduate student mentors from the PI’s lab. Please see this page to learn more!

Free Science Activity Kits

Beginning in 2020, in response to the COVID pandemic, the Wisconsin MRSEC Education team began building free, take-home science kits for families. The kits include all materials needed for the activity as well as instructions in both Spanish and English. Kits are distributed through multiple venues and events and to a wide range of audiences. To date, we have distributed over 5,000 kits to community centers, libraries, shelters, rural communities, classrooms, food pantries and at several public outreach events.

St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry

In 2015, the Wisconsin MRSEC began regularly presenting outreach activities to K-12 students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds at the local St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. Through a collaborative effort with St. Vincent de Paul, MRSEC staff members lead outreach activities with children while their parents or guardians wait to receive service at the pantry. This program recently expanded to include other UW science outreach groups to expose underserved young people to a broad range of STEM topics. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced pantry staff to change their food distribution model, MRSEC members adapted to the new model by distributing free, at-home science activity kits to food pantry clients.

Research Experience for Undergraduates

The MRSEC runs a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program that gives undergraduate students an opportunity to participate in authentic research in MRSEC laboratories for 10 weeks during the summer. The program is run in collaboration with other summer research programs including the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) through the UW College of Engineering’s minority-serving program, Graduate Engineering Research Scholars (GERS) program and the REU in Nanotechnology program. Combining the programs gives the students additional professional development opportunities, a larger cohort of peers, and exposure to a wider breadth of UW research. Over 75% of students who participate in these programs have gone on to pursue graduate or professional degrees in science or engineering.

Creating Accessible Outreach Resources and Learning Spaces for Blind and Visually Impaired Learners

In a new partnership with the Wisconsin Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired (WICBVI), the MRSEC Education team is creating better accessibility to our outreach materials. Learning about the needs of the blind or visually impaired, we collaborate across the MRSEC with WICBVI to modify how we develop and present our programming. In addition, MRSEC research groups participate in learning sessions with audience experts from the organization to build more accessible and inclusive lab and learning spaces for those that are blind and visually impaired.

Partnerships with University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez

The Wisconsin MRSEC and the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez (UPRM) partner to positively impact the participation of people in materials science and engineering at all levels of the pipeline, from K-12 through faculty. The partnership is grounded in research collaborations between faculty members at both universities, and includes several UPRM faculty members who have received PhDs in engineering at UW–Madison. Research and education focused interactions between UW and UPRM participants are supported through initiatives of the MRSEC. For example, UPRM students participate in the AMIC annual meeting, weekly research group discussions, monthly professional development seminars, and REU program.

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