UA Hosts Workshop to Introduce Minority Faculty to Engineering

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Science faculty members from historically black colleges and universities nationwide are visiting The University of Alabama campus to attend a three-week engineering workshop.

Hosted by Drs. Viola Acoff and Mark Weaver, both professors of metallurgical and materials engineering in the UA College of Engineering, the summer workshop is funded with a National Science Foundation grant. It introduces the field of materials science and engineering to faculty and educators from historically black colleges and universities.

The workshop is scheduled for June 10-29 and is at no cost to attendees.

This year, participants will be attending from:

• Coppin State University in Baltimore, Md.
• Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Fla.
• Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, Fla.
• Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga.
• Hampton University in Hampton, Va.
• Howard University in Washington, D.C.
• Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss.
• Lane College in Jackson, Tenn.
• North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C.
• Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas
• Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas
• Savannah State University in Savannah, Ga.
• Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C.
• Texas College in Tyler, Texas
• University of District of Columbia in Washington, D.C.
• Wiley College in Marshall, Texas
• Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The format of the workshops is patterned after an introductory course in metallurgical and materials engineering, taught to students in UA’s College of Engineering. Workshop attendees study materials science through lectures, laboratory projects and tours of local industries.

“We try to expose them to ideas and examples of the field of materials science that they can then take back and integrate into the coursework for their students,” said Weaver.

The seminar’s goal is to heighten interest in the field of materials science. “We want to make the faculty at these institutions aware of the possibilities that are available, particularly to their students,” Acoff said.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has about 1,900 students and nearly 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.