The Enrollment Floodgates Are Open - Best Practices in Materials Science and Engineering Undergraduate Education for Rising Enrollments, September 9-11, 2019

Non-Technical Description: The workshop will bring together leaders and students from materials science and engineering programs at academic institutions, materials-based companies, national laboratories and federal and accreditation agencies. The objective of the workshop is to discuss the national trend of rapidly rising undergraduate enrollments in materials science and engineering programs, make projections for expected future impact on the field, establish best practices, and summarize the findings in a report that will be broadly disseminated.

Technical Details: Student enrollment in materials science and engineering (MatSE) programs has been growing dramatically at many universities over the last decade. These increases are taking place across BS, MS, and PhD programs with the most substantial growth taking place at the undergraduate level. These trends are impacting all stakeholders, from academic programs, to industries and government laboratories that hire materials scientists and engineers, through government and other agencies that fund and accredit MatSE programs. The objectives of this workshop are to bring together representative stakeholders to discuss current trends, make projections for expected future impact on the field, and establish best practices. The meeting is structured to include presentations, contributed posters, and panels with ample time for questions and discussion. The findings are summarized in a report that is broadly disseminated through publication in a leading publication aimed at the materials science community to inform and enhance the educational activities in materials science and engineering programs around the country.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.