The NSF PRISM Project welcomes Dr. Ileana Vasu to lead professional development for our mentors and scholars during Spring 2023!

LEVERAGING OUR COMMUNITY CULTURAL WEALTH THROUGH PRISM MENTORSHIP

Faculty Workshop

Friday, February 17, 2:30 - 4:00 PM, virtual over Zoom

Scholar Workshops

Friday, February 24, 2023

12:00 - 1:00 PM*, virtual over Zoom

3:00 - 4:00 PM*, virtual over Zoom

*Repeat sessions: choose the time that works best for you

Dr. Ileana Vasu is a professor of mathematics at Holyoke Community College (HCC), Principal Investigator for the NSF HCC STEM Scholars program (2015 - present), and an educational consultant. She is passionate about STEM education, diversity, access, gender, and equity. In these workshops we will learn about the Community Cultural Wealth framework as developed by Tara Yosso (2005) and utilized within the NSF HCC STEM Scholars program.

In these workshops we will be engaged with Yosso’s model of Community Cultural Wealth (2005), a framework which has been helpful both in designing and researching the NSF HCC STEM Scholar Program. Asset-based frameworks and practices such as Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and the Community Cultural Wealth model can foster the development of equity-centered high-impact practices program practices and can be used to explore best mentoring practices. During these workshops, we will also have the opportunity to explore how this framework could be applied to a PRISM mentoring context and engage both scholar and faculty perspectives.

Are you exploring transfer options for Fall 2023 or Spring 2024?

Attention PRISM Scholars at Century College, Minneapolis College, and Normandale Community College: the STEM faculty, staff, and students of Augsburg University invite you to visit!

• Learn about opportunities in STEM at Augsburg
• Continue to receive your NSF Scholarship at Augsburg for up to $10,000 per year, on top of your financial aid package
• Full and part-time paid summer research opportunities
• Tour Hagfors Center classrooms and labs
• Chance to meet current STEM students and faculty

Please feel free to forward to any prospective STEM transfers.

Seminar Title: Mathematics and Data for Social Justice

June 7 - 9, 2023

Augsburg University (campus map)

Participant Interest Form

Description: The Mathematics and Data for Social Justice Summer Seminar (NSF #2303556) is a three-day seminar designed to equip North Central Section math and statistics faculty with skills and practices to meaningfully incorporate social justice themes in their classrooms and curricula. The seminar will include workshops led by national experts Dr. Lily Khadjavi and Dr. Gizem Karaali, as well as panels on facilitating effective classroom discussion with students. Participants are expected to continue collaborating and learning in 2023-2024 via special topics sessions at the North Central Section MAA meetings and on MAA Connect.

The Seminar capacity is 30 instructors. The NSF is heavily funding the seminar, reducing expenses for participants to $100 registration fee, their local housing costs, meals, and their own travel expenses. On-campus housing is available in dorms at Augsburg University at a rate of $70 per night.

The NSF has provided travel support of $250 for 25 participants as well as care funds of $150 (for each of 25 participants) to support seminar participation.

In order to ensure we maximize the impact of our NSF funding, we are asking potential seminar participants to share with us:

• The opportunities (and challenges) of implementing materials in their classrooms during the 2023-2024 academic year

• The ability to continue collaborating and engage a community of practice in the 2023-2024 academic year

• The ability to share their experiences through dissemination at MAA NCS Section meetings or at their own institution

  
  

Selected participants will be notified by email beginning February 28 (approximate) with additional registration information. After February 28, invitations to participate will be made on a rolling basis.

Questions? Contact Julia Walk at jwalk@cord.edu

The undergraduate Mini-Workshop Mathematical Modeling of Malaria will be held at the Minnesota State University, Mankato during June 2-4, 2023.

Vector-borne diseases (VBD) still impose heavy health and economic burdens across the globe, especially in developing countries. The emergence of novel diseases, like the novel 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19), can create sudden shifts in the economic landscape, and disrupt VBD control programs by diverting economic and health resources and changing contact networks. In this workshop we will bring undergraduate students to learn about developing and linking economic models with infectious disease models. The workshop will emphasize hand-on experiments about setting up, simulating, and analyzing these models.

Application

We are excited to announce that we have been able to secure funding for travel reimbursement (up to $800) for undergraduate student participants for this workshop. To receive full consideration, a complete application including:

1) a resume

2) one page addressing your interest

3) unofficial transcript

4) one reference letter from a faculty member, should be submitted to Ruijun Zhao at ruijun.zhao@mnsu.edu (also copied to oprosper@utk.edu and calistusnn@ufl.edu).

The application has been extended to March 1, 2023. A decision will be made as soon as possible.

For more information go to: https://cset.mnsu.edu/departments/mathematics-and-statistics/miniworkshop/.

SCHEDULE

Today, the U.S. National Science Foundation, in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges, has launched its platform to advance student innovation and impact in STEM through the Community College Innovation Challenge. The competition seeks to foster the development of students' innovation, communication and entrepreneurial skills. It also enables students to discover and demonstrate their capacity to use science, technology, engineering and mathematics to make a difference in the world and translate that knowledge into positive action.

In 2015, AACC and NSF funded the initial launch of the challenge. The CCIC is a national competition where community college student teams, working with a supportive faculty or an administrator mentor, use STEM to produce potentially transformative and innovative solutions to real-world problems.

Teams of two to four students are invited to submit proposals, and up to 12 final teams will be selected to develop their proposals during an innovation boot camp. The teams will then create and present an entrepreneurial pitch to a panel of professionals with a chance to win cash awards.

AACC's mission to build a nation of learners by advancing America's community colleges aligns with the goals of the NSF's Advanced Technological Education program to prepare students for meaningful employment in the high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy.

All team submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. PST on March 30, 2023. To learn more and apply, visit: https://www.aaccinnovationchallenge.com/

1) The MnDRIVE Summer Internship application is now open!

Thanks to a collaboration between the North Star STEM Alliance and Minnesota's Discovery, Research, and InnoVation Economy (MnDRIVE), students may participate in paid research internships with MnDRIVE researchers. MnDRIVE is a partnership between the University of Minnesota and the State of Minnesota that aligns areas of research strength with the state’s key and emerging industries to address grand challenges. North Star students may apply for research opportunities within four areas:

• Robotics
• Global Food Ventures
• Environment
• Brain Conditions

Benefits of MnDRIVE awards:

• Great experience in STEM which may lead to a more robust resume and stronger recommendations
• A $4,000 stipend funded through financial aid
• Opportunity to produce a poster and present the research at the Summer Undergraduate Research Expo
• Housing stipend and/or on campus housing will be provided to any scholar who does not live in the Twin Cities metro

Eligibility:

• Be/become an LS-NSSA scholar, apply at northstarstem.org or contact LS-NSSA nssa@umn.edu for additional information.
• PRISM Scholars are also eligible to apply through our partnership with LS-NSSA. Email your PRISM program faculty leader, or feel free to reach out to Rebekah Dupont at dupont@augsburg.edu.

For more information and to apply go to MNDRIVE: https://northstarstem.org/events/mndrive-summer-internship

2) Epidemiological Research

Join the Summer Research Project that is a collaboration between the Louis Stokes North Star STEM Alliance (LS-NSSA), Century College, Minneapolis Technical & Community College (Minneapolis College), National Science Foundation, and the 3M Foundation.

This Summer Research project will engage students in a short-term, introductory research experience. The program gives students a taste of authentic research early in college to prepare them for a traditional research program at a later time, such as a typical 10-week, 40-hour-per-week research program the following summer. Students may participate in the Summer Research and also take classes or work.

The program will potentially be 4 to 6 weeks long, where students are in the virtual lab Monday through Thursday afternoons. Some Friday afternoons may have varied meeting times due to field trip schedules.

Scholars will receive a stipend of up to $925 (contingent on participation and attendance) for 4 weeks; adjusted if 6 weeks.

Virtual Epidemiological Research: A global health crisis has arisen, causing most of the world to modify and adapt much of their lives to aid this fight. We have an opportunity to focus our attention on a real-time biological challenge. Our focus will be to study epidemiology and the spread of infectious diseases. In this research experience, students will take an epidemiological approach to research. Students will look at the incidence, distribution, and control of infectious disease and look for other factors relating to its morbidity and mortality. Students will participate in virtual professional development and site tours, presentations, and designing their own epidemiological study.

Click here to view Summer 2021's Tiny Earth/Epidemiological poster presentations.

Applications are due March 15th, 2023. Summer 2023 applications are here.

Eligibility:

• Be/become an LS-NSSA scholar, apply at northstarstem.org or contact LS-NSSA nssa@umn.edu for additional information.
• PRISM Scholars are also eligible to apply through our partnership with LS-NSSA. Email your PRISM program faculty leader, or feel free to reach out to Rebekah Dupont at dupont@augsburg.edu.

Contact nssa@umn.edu for any questions regarding the application process.

The University of Minnesota offers a 10-week summer REU program for undergraduate students focusing on human-centered computing for social good. Participants will be immersed in a collaborative community of practice at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and mentored by faculty researchers in the areas of virtual reality, social and embodied computing, and human-robot interaction. To frame the societal relevance of their research, students will work on a project that addresses at least one United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. Lab activities will be supplemented with weekly research training seminars, invited talks, and professional development workshops.

Participants will receive a stipend of $6,000 paid in installments throughout the summer, housing in university dorms, meal plan, and reimbursement for travel expenses.

Students that identify as members of underrepresented groups in computer science, first-generation college students, and those at institutions with limited research access (e.g., liberal arts or community colleges) are particularly encouraged to apply.

More information and application instructions can be found at: http://reu.cs.umn.edu/

Review of applications will begin on February 27. However, we will continue to accept new applications and recommendation letters on an ongoing basis until the program is full. Students are therefore encouraged to apply after this date and will be considered until the application website has closed.

UpTurnships works with sophomores, juniors, and seniors of any major who are interested in business.

Sign up at: upturnships.org/info-session

• Tuesdays 10am – 10:30am
• Thursdays 4pm – 4:30pm

Specific backgrounds they're currently looking for:

• Sophomores/ Juniors – interested in Business-to-Business Sales
• Juniors – interested in accounting and finance.

They also have opportunities for students who are studying in Duluth as well:

• IT, HR, and Marketing

Information sessions are an important part of the UpTurnships application process. During the sessions you will learn about their Program Model, application process, and ask questions. Two sessions are held weekly. To learn more, interested students are invited to attend a mandatory information session.

SciTech connects college STEM majors to paid internships at small Minnesota companies -- it's a one-stop shop for finding STEM internships statewide! Gain hands-on experience, network with pros, build your resume, and "earn while you learn."

In order to be eligible for SciTech internships, students must meet the following criteria:

• Minnesota resident OR living in and attending college in Minnesota
• At least 18 years of age
• In good academic standing (2.5+ GPA)
• College junior or senior (at least 60 credits completed) OR
• Technical or community college student (at least 24 credits completed) OR
• Enrolled in a STEM degree at an accredited U.S. college
• Legally eligible to work in the U.S. (international students may participate if they have CPT/OPT work authorization)

Deadline to apply: Varies

For more information on how to apply and to view a list of current internship opportunities, visit https://scitechmn.org/.

Interested in learning more about advocacy, research and how it relates to the human experience? Click below:

• Diversity in Action January/February Issue

• NSF-supported research impacts nearly every field of science and engineering. NSF's influence reaches from the ends of the Earth to the depths of the oceans and to space and beyond. Our Multimedia Gallery has some of the most stunning images from NSF’s research legacy. We have pulled some of the most beautiful gallery images for you to use as a virtual background.

Do you have suggestions for opportunities to include in the upcoming newsletter? Feel free to forward them to stem@augsburg.edu.

Email: stem@augsburg.edu
Website: https://www.augsburg.edu/stem/
Location: 2211 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone: (612) 330-1042