MIT MRSEC partners with visiting North Carolina A& T professor to encourage

1. MIT MRSEC partners with visiting North Carolina A&T professor to encourage underrepresented undergraduates to pursue graduate studies Michael F. Rubner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, DMR 0819762 During the summer of 2011, the Center for Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE) at MIT hosted Professor Ellie Fini, an assistant professor of civil engineering at North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T). As a participant in the Leadership Development Institute conducted by the Quality Education for Minorities Network (QEM) to enhance the leadership and research capabilities of STEM faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Prof. Fini collaborated with Prof. Markus Buehler at MIT. She also participated in portions of the CMSE Research Experience for Teachers program, including introductions to the research equipment in the Center’s Shared Experimental Facilities and presentation of her summer research at CMSE’s annual REU/RET poster session in August. Profs. Fini and Buehler continued their research collaboration through the academic year. In the fall, Prof. Fini worked with MIT’s CMSE, Office of the Dean for Graduate Education, and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering to arrange for thirteen of her NCA&T students to spend a full day at MIT on October 24, 2011. The day’s agenda included presentations about exciting research programs, a graduate school clinic, and meetings with faculty and graduate students. As a direct result of this event, Anthony Kinslow, an NCA&T student, will participate in CMSE’s 2012 REU program. Prof. Fini presented her summer research at the CMSE REU/RET poster session Prof. Fini brought her students from North Carolina A&T State University to MIT to learn about graduate studies at a large research-intensive university