Engineers gather, try to diversify profession

Feb 9, 2010 — El Paso Times

Adriana Gomez Licon

Feb. 9, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- EL PASO -- A conference at UTEP this week is looking for ways to help minorities become engineers.

UTEP is hosting the "Building Partnerships and Pathways to Address Engineering Grand Challenges Conference," where students from at least 60 universities and officials from more than a dozen local and federal institutions will participate.

The conference began Monday with a reception, and it will continue today and Wednesday.

"This is a very unusual conference," said Richard T. Schoephoerster, UTEP's dean of the College of Engineering. "The reason why UTEP is hosting it is that one of the grand challenges that is very critical for the nation is the full diversification of the work force."

At the deans' meeting Monday night, Schoephoerster said leaders of universities such as Columbia, Notre Dame and Cornell, among others, discussed strategies to attract more Hispanics to engineering programs.

"As the Hispanic population grows, we need to attract those students," he said. "We need to be able to draw from all different demographics."

For the conference, the National Academy of Engineering identified challenges in areas that include renewable energy, biomedical technology, urban infrastructure and clean water. Students and officials will participate in panel discussions, sharing solutions to problems around the world.

The keynote speakers are Victor Mendez, a UTEP graduate who works with the Federal Highway Administration; Ray Orbach, director of the

Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin; and Semahat S. Demir from the National Science Foundation.

University leaders will also discuss ways to establish research partnerships among universities and industries.

"Having a work force that comes from a variety of different backgrounds is going to help solve these engineering grand challenges," Schoephoerster said.

In a recent study by the University of Southern California, UTEP ranked second among 25 Hispanic-serving institutions in awarding bachelor's degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM. The study measured degrees awarded in 2006.

School year 2008-09 saw a decline in the number of total degrees and those awarded to Hispanics in these fields at the undergraduate, graduate and doctorate level. The number of degrees awarded to Hispanics fell from 454 to 359. In total, the number fell from 722 to 583. No Hispanics graduated with a doctorate degree in STEM fields in the 2008-09 academic year.

UTEP is also looking for high school students who express interest in STEM fields.

For instance, Ben Flores, professor of electrical and computer engineering, plans to create a program for undergraduates at UTEP to help teachers within the Canutillo Independent School District work on projects to spark interest in science. In January, Flores received an award from President Barack Obama for his work as a mentor.

Adriana Gomez Licon may be reached at agomez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6129.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0478-41901157