农夫导航

Ten 农夫导航 students will receive funding to support their undergraduate research in the physical sciences over a two year period, thanks to a $105,000  grant to increase the participation of women in the sciences.

Juniors or seniors majoring in , , , or  are eligible for the research grants, which cover the cost of two academic years of work in a lab with a faculty mentor, along with summer research.

Although women make up nearly half of the active U.S. workforce, they hold only 24 percent of jobs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) according to . Women who pursue careers in STEM fields can expect an average pay boost of 33 percent over non-STEM work, according to the report.

鈥淎s admission to graduate school is becoming increasingly competitive, the need for research experience as an undergraduate has become a requirement,鈥� said Dr. Amanda Krzysiak, assistant professor of chemistry at Bellarmine. 鈥淭he first year of a research student鈥檚 experience is training. Typically, we spend hours training these students during their sole year of senior research only to see them leave for graduate school. The Clare Boothe Luce grant will allow the students to be trained as sophomores and provide them two full years of solid research. The potential for publishing the research findings benefits the students, the faculty and the university.鈥�

鈥淥ne of the best ways to prepare for work in the sciences is to conduct research, beginning as an undergraduate student,鈥� said Dr. Katherine Bulinski, associate professor of geoscience in Bellarmine鈥檚 School of Environmental Studies  鈥淭his grant will allow Bellarmine to strengthen our ongoing efforts in promoting and supporting student research, focusing on women who are historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines, by giving them financial resources to obtain the supplies needed to formulate meaningful, cutting-edge projects that we hope can advance the field of environmental science.鈥�

Since its first grants in 1989, the Clare Boothe Luce Program has become the single most significant source of private support for women in science, mathematics and engineering. Clare Boothe Luce was a playwright, journalist, U.S. Ambassador to Italy and the first woman elected to Congress from Connecticut. In her bequest establishing this program, she sought 鈥渢o encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach鈥� in science, mathematics and engineering. To date, the program has supported more than 1900 women.