Michigan Tech 1 of 5 Universities Chosen To Work on NSF EngineeringEducation Diversity

Michigan Technological University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics is one of five mechanical engineering departments nationwide selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to participate in a new diversity training program. The others are Purdue, Oregon State, Texas Tech and the University of Oklahoma.

The NSF program is called Transforming Engineering Culture to Advance Inclusion and Diversity (TECAID).   The program’s goal is to diversify mechanical engineering education, making it more inclusive of women and under-represented minorities.

Michigan Tech’s mechanical engineering department applied for the program because it wants to increase the diversity of its undergraduate students. Yet despite the department’s best efforts, it has had little success increasing undergraduate diversity, going from 3.9 percent under-represented minorities and 8.7 percent women in fall 2009 to 5.1percent under-represented minorities and 11.8 percent women in fall 2014.

“Cultural differences on teams can lead to miscommunication and feelings of frustration and resentment,” ssid Greg Odegard, who is heading the project at Tech. Odegard is associate chair of mechanical engineering and director of undergraduate studies. “We want our students to learn the importance of actively forming teams that are diverse in terms of ethnic background, gender and perspective.  By valuing diversity and inclusiveness, they will be better mechanical engineers.”