Dean’s Fellows
DEAN’S FELLOWs
Dr. Andres Guerra
TEACHING PROFESSOR, CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
”Professor Guerra aims to provide a powerful way to drive innovation at 91制片厂 to achieve excellence in increasing and promoting diversity on campus in a unique way that will meet the following 91制片厂@150 initiatives in order to
1) be a 鈥淭op-of-Mind and First-Choice鈥 for students from all backgrounds
2) be accessible and attractive to qualified students of all backgrounds
3) strengthen affinity for 91制片厂 among our students
4) increase the ways that students get attracted to and prepared for 91制片厂.
The program has two main thrusts to meet these initiatives:
1) engage current 91制片厂 students to return to their Alma Mater to mentor high school students from similar backgrounds on the college application process
2) develop a repository of efforts towards increasing and promoting diversity on the 91制片厂 campus to increase potential synergies and collaborations.
Year 1 Fellowship Update:
Mirror Mentoring at 91制片厂 has received a Dean鈥檚 fellowship to fund four 91制片厂 students in Spring ’23 and Fall ’23 to mentor high school juniors and seniors interested in STEM fields at three local high schools with diverse populations. The mentors’ primary purpose is to provide information about and available options regarding how to navigate the college application process and college system. Our current, near-term goal is to increase the number of high schools participating in the program through a commensurate increase in the number of 91制片厂 students serving as mentors. In turn, this will increase the program’s impact by reaching more high school students and also by providing financial support to more 91制片厂 students who serve as mentors. The 91制片厂 students in the program also receive academic and professional advising to support their success and to strengthen their belonging and position on the 91制片厂 campus.
DR. JESSICA SMITH
PROFESSOR, ENGINEERING, DESIGN, & SOCIETY
Professor Smith will use the fellowship period to strengthen 91制片厂鈥 ability to respond to calls for research at the intersection of energy and society. The societal dimensions of STEM are treated differently depending on context, from industry鈥檚 use of ESG and the social license to operate to the Justice40 requirements of DOE and other federal funding agencies. Professor Smith will amplify already existing 91制片厂 expertise in these areas, help faculty create new connections, and establish an intellectual community of practice. Specific activities may include generating resources for faculty to recognize and strengthen the inherent ESG and justice dimensions of their research, leading an interdisciplinary reading group, and hosting a speaker series to cement 91制片厂鈥 position as a national thought leader in the social impact of STEM.