Date:
Monday, March 11, 2019
Time:
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Organizers:
Megan J. Cordill, Erich Schmid Institute; Matthew Korey, Purdue University; Jessica A. Krogstad, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Panthea Sepehrband, Santa Clara University
Location:
Henry B. González Convention Center, Room 301B
Building and sustaining a diverse working group is a proven pathway to success, often resulting in increased product output, implementation of more efficient solutions, and development of more creative, innovative, and profitable ideas. In this full-day symposium, experts from the front lines of the professional community will share strategies, experiences, and insights into developing a more inclusive work and educational environment that leverages the strengths of all a diverse workforce can potentially offer.
Featured Speakers
Angus Wilkinson, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Presentation Title: "An Approach to Promote Equality and Diversity in a University Materials Department"
About the Presentation
The Department of Materials at the University of Oxford is clear that if its workforce is not diverse, then, by definition, talent is being missed, and diversity in the workplace leads to greater vibrancy and creativity. In order to promote diversity, the department formed an Equality and Diversity Committee in 2012 as one of the standing committees of the department. The department is not as diverse as it wishes to be. For example, the gender balance in the department shows the “leaky pipeline” effect often seen in STEM departments. The work of the Equality and Diversity Committee has been to use various methods to explore the origins of deficiencies in diversity and to put in place an action plan to address these. This presentation will explain what has been learnt from the investigations by the committee and describe what diversity-promoting actions these have led to.
About the Speaker
Angus Wilkinson is a professor at Oxford University whose research has centered on mechanics at the microscopic scale and includes both experiment and modelling. He is an expert on SEM-based diffraction methods and has developed methods to image and characterize lattice defects and to map variations in strain tensor at nanometre length scale. He has applied these techniques to a wide range of materials problems, including fracture and fatigue of metals and alloys and local internal stress distributions in both metallic structural materials and semiconductor structures and devices.
Andrea Hodge, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Presentation Title: "Diversity in STEM: Retention, Graduation and Beyond"
About the Presentation
The University of Southern California (USC) is located in downtown Los Angeles. The diversity of Los Angeles County is reflected in the student body of USC. In the 2017 academic year, 20% of the undergraduate class was from historically underrepresented minority backgrounds and roughly 20% were first-generation college students (note that the overlap between these two groups is about 8%). Overall, about 30% of all undergraduates and 66% of all Ph.D. students at USC are in STEM fields. In this talk, several programs will be discussed regarding STEM retention and graduation at the undergraduate level. Furthermore, programs that focus on increasing the overall the number of underrepresented students pursuing and achieving a graduate degree will also be presented. In addition, this presentation will focus on identifying key factors that can lead to a successful transition of students from high school to undergraduate to graduate programs.
About the Speaker
Andrea Hodge is vice provost for undergraduate programs at USC. Her responsibilities include oversight of the Renaissance Scholars, Discovery Scholars, McNair Scholars, and Undergraduate Research Programs. In addition, she works with the vice president for academic planning and budget to develop new curricular strategies that address USC’s commitment to education centered on the diverse needs of undergraduate learners. Hodge holds the Arthur B. Freeman Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering title. She received her Ph.D. in Materials Science from Northwestern University, in 2002, and became a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that same year. In 2007, she joined USC as an Assistant Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. Hodge has co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed publications and two book chapters. Her research interests range from processing of nanocrystalline and nanoporous materials to nanomechanics of metals and biomaterials. Hodge is the recipient of a 2008 NSF BRIGE Award, a 2010 NSF CAREER Award, a 2011 Alexander von Humboldt Senior Research Fellow, a 2012 ONR Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award, a 2012 DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA), and a 2013 National Diverse Education Emerging Scholar Honor.
Jessica Krogstad, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Presentation Title: "Best Practices for Promoting Diversity in STEM through Outreach"
About the Presentation
Outreach camps have been shown to be effective tools in promoting STEM fields to underrepresented groups. However, it remains unclear which aspects of such camps lead to favorable student outcomes. This is due in large part to the wide variety in content, structure and delivery of material across camps, even within the same discipline. We have, therefore, undertaken a qualitative multi-case study investigation comparing the structure of four high school outreach camps developed for young women. Specifically, we have focused on how different approaches to incorporating design thinking or design projects into a camp structure may influence student perspectives of STEM and self-efficacy. Here we present an early assessment of best practices for outreach development and implementation that positively impact diversity in STEM disciplines.
About the Speaker
Jessica A. Krogstad is an assistant professor in the Department of Material Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She received her Ph.D. in Materials at the University of California, Santa Barbara, working with Carlos G. Levi in 2012. Her doctoral work explored phase evolution and structural stability in zirconia-based thermal barrier coatings. Between 2012 and 2014, she held a postdoctoral appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University with Kevin J. Hemker. There she focused on the exploration of high-temperature metallic systems for MEMS applications and high temperature micro-mechanical testing for experimental validation of multi-scale damage models of superalloy and composite materials in the spirit of integrated computational materials engineering (ICME). Her current research focuses on understanding materials in nonequilibrium configurations and the evolution thereof, so as to generate and optimize unique functionality for operation in dynamic and extreme environments. As the faculty coordinator for the Girls Learning about Materials (GLAM) summer camp for high school women, she is also interested in evidence-based engineering education and outreach practices that promote the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in STEM. She is the recipient of a DOE Early Career Award, an NSF CAREER Award, and the TMS Young Leaders Award.
Carolyn Hansson, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Presentation Title: "Half a Century of Diversifying TMS"
About the Presentation
This presentation will describe the lessons learned over five decades as a woman in what was very predominantly a (white) man’s world of metallurgical engineering. How to extend those lessons to diversity issues beyond gender will then be discussed.
Isabella Van Rooyen, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID, USA
Presentation Title: "Navigate an Exciting STEM Career Journey through Diversity"
About the Presentation
Women's STEM careers inspire both excitement and fear. My own career spans multiple industries, companies, and countries, and I realize how lucky I have been to be exposed to diverse environments. In reviewing the origins of my interest in STEM careers and, more specifically, influencers in my private and professional life, I realize that navigating a course through cultural and industry biases—together with my own perceptions—provided successes and less amusing experiences. Examples include the time a customer asked me, the lead material scientist of the project, to make tea while they continued with the technical discussion, but I also fielded more offensive questions during interviews. Positive experiences include being specifically chosen for my diverse thinking, resulting in excellent project-team successes. Although I worked in manufacturing, research and development and in academic industries, certain behaviors preventing inclusion are similar. We can overcome challenges and can make it work.
About the Speaker
Isabella van Rooyen is a distinguished staff scientist in the Fuel Design and Development Department at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where she has led advanced electron microscopy and micro analysis examinations for the Advanced Gas Reactor TRISO Fuel Development Program since 2011. In addition to this role, she is also the principal investigator (PI) of an additive manufacturing U3Si2 fuel research project; the PI or co-PI of research projects funded by the National Scientific Users Facilities; and a co-PI of three Nuclear Energy University Program research projects and a Nuclear Energy Enabling Technology research project, focusing on SiC-oxide-dispersion-strengthened alloy gradient nanocomposite cladding, fission-product transport in TRISO coated particles, advanced manufacturing and developing high-temperature in pile temperature sensors, respectively. Prior to joining INL, van Rooyen held various technical leadership roles in the nuclear, aerospace, and automotive industries in South Africa, with the most notable research conducted over 12 years in the nuclear arena, which included the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Company and South African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC Limited. She has authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed journal publications, more than 40 conference papers and presentations, over 100 company-specific technical/scientific reports, five invention disclosures, and three patents filed on additive nuclear fuel manufacturing processes (2017, 2018). In addition, van Rooyen has affiliate faculty member and graduate faculty member status in the Material Science and Engineering Department and Nuclear Engineering Department of the University of Florida. She holds a Ph.D. in physics, MSc in metallurgy and an MBA and was recognized with an INL Laboratory Director’s Award for her outstanding scientific paper published during financial year 2014.
Asheley Blackford, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, USA
Presentation Title: "The Minority Leaders Research Collaboration Program at the Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate: Overview, Experiences, and Lessons Learned"
About the Presentation
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Minority Leaders Research Collaboration Program (ML-RCP) provides an opportunity for students to work with government scientists and engineers to gain research skills and experience while directly impacting AFRL programs. A key objective of the program is to increase the diversity of the workforce in the aerospace materials community by increasing the diversity of the pool of candidates for positions at AFRL and in the aerospace materials supply chain. As part of the program, students spend summers working at the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, embedded within research teams, working directly with government scientists and engineers. We will present our experiences with the program, both from the program management and technical interaction perspectives, highlight some lessons learned and challenges faced, and discuss additional paths for exploration toward the goal of increasing diversity in the aerospace materials community.
About the Speaker
Asheley Blackford is the program manager of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Minority Leaders – Research Collaboration (ML-RCP) program. The ML-RCP is a research collaborative partnership between AFRL and the Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority Institutions (MI) along with other mentoring institutions. This program brings together science and engineering undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty members from a broad network of academic institutions with excellent research capabilities to work with AFRL in addressing critical research issues. Asheley has an MBA with a concentration in Mathematics. She started her career with the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (RX) as the assistant program manager for the RX Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. She has worked within AFRL for the last 9 years.
Jonathan Madison, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Presentation Title: "TMS Summits on Diversity: What Have We Learned and Where Do We Go From Here?"
About the Presentation
The biennial TMS Summit on Diversity in the Minerals, Metals and Materials Professions (DMMM) has provided voice, context and tools for those desiring to positively impact diversity within our field whether in government, industrial, or academic sectors. Having concluded its third iteration last summer, the cross-cutting themes for this most recent summit were race & ethnicity, LGBTQ+ populations, and measurement strategies for most effectively assessing status and progress. In this talk, key observations gleaned from all past TMS diversity summits will be offered and chief learnings from social scientists and past featured speakers will be provided. Demographics for TMS membership as compared to overall STEM trends will also be shown to highlight our current standings. Finally, recommendations based on the aforementioned, will be proposed to assist in developing effective means to grow diversity in STEM and offer tractable ways to improve it.
About the Speaker
Jonathan D. Madison, Ph.D., is a research scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, in Albuquerque, New Mexico within the Material, Physical and Chemical Sciences Center. Madison received his Bachelors degree from Clark Atlanta University in Engineering Science with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering in 2003, and received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2007 and 2010, respectively. Throughout his academic matriculation, Madison has supported basic and applied research at Washington State University, Pullman WA; the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The department he currently serves provides multi-scale, experimental characterization that enables materials-based insight and solutions. Madison’s accolades include: Sandia National Laboratories – Early Career LDRD Award (2010); Lead Guest Editor, Special Issue on 3D Materials Science, Integrating Materials and Manufacturing Innovation, Springer (2014); Albuquerque Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” (2015); Black Engineer of the Year Awards – “Most Promising Scientist in Industry” (2015); and Lead Organizer, 3rd TMS Summit on Diversity in the Minerals, Metals & Materials Professions (2018). Madison’s research interests focus on the intersection of experimental and computational techniques for 3D reconstruction of microstructure, quantitative characterization and models of microstructural evolution. He has seven D.O.E. published technical reports, over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, and over 240 citations.
Roberta Beal, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
Presentation Title: "The Complexities of Being LGBTQ+ In the Workplace"
About the Presentation
There are 15 states in the United States with no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and five more that only prohibit discrimination against public employees based on sexual orientation. There are many more countries scattered over Africa and the Middle East that carry imprisonment and death sentences for homosexuality. With the repeal of Don’t ask, Don’t tell, individuals were no longer turned away from military service due to their sexual orientation and the military has had no major negative repercussions from its repeal. Workplace climates are directly linked to openness about one’s orientation, and less peer discrimination, which has direct psychological effects on individual workers. This benefits employers with improved health outcomes, increased job satisfaction, improved relationships with co-workers and supervisors, greater commitment, and other positive workplace behaviors and attitudes of employees. This has a strong link to greater job commitment and retention.
About the Speaker
Roberta Beal (pronouns: she/her/they/them) received a Bachelor of Arts in Earth and Planetary Science from the University of New Mexico, where she studied meteorite impact craters and the effects of the size to energy ratio. She served in the United States Navy as a Quartermaster Second Class Petty Officer (surface warfare) and completed two deployments to the Middle East. She currently works at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a research technician in the Materials Science and Technology division where she works on characterization of additively manufactured metals. She was a member of GetEqual New Mexico where she helped organize and participated in marches and actions to win marriage equality in New Mexico. She currently serves as the co-chair of Prism, Los Alamos National Laboratory’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group and is also a board member of Friends of Los Alamos Pride where she is helping to plan the town’s first pride week.
K. Cunningham, ATI Specialty Alloys & Components, Albany, OR, USA
Presentation Title: "T Time: How to Welcome and Support People of All Genders"
About the Presentation
I'm a metallurgist, and I'm nonbinary. This talk will be a broad overview of how gender influences both the personal and professional experiences of our trans and gender-nonconforming colleagues, with recommendations for best practices in creating and sustaining a professional culture that welcomes all gender identities and expressions. Specific topics will include being an effective mentor and ally, building an inclusive workplace, and using intersectional analysis to establish a culture of radical caring.
About the Speaker
K. Cunningham is an early-career R&D engineer at ATI Specialty Alloys & Components in Albany, Oregon. They received their B.S. in chemical engineering as a Jack Welch Scholar at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where they researched polymer thin films. They received their M.S. in Materials from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2015, with a thesis on ductile-phase toughening in tungsten composites for nuclear fusion applications. As a research metallurgist for a primary metals company, Cunningham focuses on applying materials science fundamentals to develop new processes and next-generation reactive and refractory alloys for a wide range of applications, including those in the energy, medical, and aerospace industries. As a nonbinary person, Cunningham is personally invested in promoting allyship and championing policies to support transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Cunningham independently funds research in harmonic analysis – as a competitive amateur barbershop quartet singer, they have received several awards from performing with various groups.
Thomas Reeve, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA
Presentation Title: "Coming Out in STEM"
About the Presentation
There is a present need for an improved understanding and awareness of diversity beyond the deluge of data commonly recited during the discussion of diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Diversity, at its core, is about people, and further, the recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce ultimately rests on how people feel, are supported, and are included within their work environments. An awareness and understanding of such feelings by all members of the STEM community is vital to the growth of diversity in STEM. This talk will provide a personal look into one such story, with the goal of communicating the feelings, interactions, and challenges of coming out and being openly out in the STEM community. The presentation will focus on the author’s personal story of coming out as transgender at work and the process of navigating the workplace and future employment opportunities as a transgender individual.
About the Speaker
Thomas Cole Reeve (pronouns: he/him/his) was born and raised in Chillicothe, MO, USA. Reeve attended Iowa State University for his undergraduate in materials engineering. During his time at Iowa State, he was involved in materials research with a number of faculty members, served as a department peer mentor, and a member, fundraising co-chair, and president of the departmental undergraduate materials society, Materials Advantage. Reeve also held multiple summer engineering internships during his undergraduate career for three recurring summers with Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technology. He graduated from Iowa State in May 2013 with a B.S. in materials engineering and two minor degrees, in nuclear engineering and in economics. After graduation, he immediately joined the Ph.D. program in the materials engineering department at Purdue University, where he performed research through the collaborative advisement of Carol Handwerker (Purdue University) and Iver Anderson (Ames Laboratory) on Pb-free solder alloy design. During his time at Purdue, Reeve served the department through his service to the graduate student association as a member, professional development chair, and treasurer, and through his involvement with the National Science Foundation-funded IGERT program. He volunteered through professional societies, including ASM, TMS, and ACerS, particularly through his involvement as a member of the TMS Electronics Packaging and Interconnects Materials Committee and the TMS Diversity Committee. During his graduate studies, Reeve received several awards, including: the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship, the College of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student Service Award, the Journal of Phase Equilibria and Diffusion Editor’s Choice Award, the ACerS Basic Science Divisions Graduate Excellence in Materials Science “Diamond” Award, the Surface Mount Technology Association Charles Hutchins Education Grant, and the Purdue University Ross Fellowship.