Million dollar NSF

grant to support

undergraduates

in math and science
By ASU News Service

Appalachian State University’s College of Arts and Sciences has received a $1 million grant to help increase the number of students majoring in astronomy, chemistry, computer science, mathematics and physics. A team of faculty members from these disciplines will lead the project at Appalachian.

The five-year National Science Foundation, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) grant will enable the college to establish the Appalachian Undergraduate Academy of Science, designed to attract and retain freshmen and sophomore students interested in science and mathematics.

Appalachian was one of 22 institutions receiving a STEP grant from a total of 168 submissions.

“The academy will be comprised of math and science research clusters that will include a faculty member, four undergraduate students, and a student from Watauga High School,” said Rahman Tashakkori, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Sciences and the lead director of the project. Students will receive a stipend for each semester they are in the program. Faculty will receive an honorarium as well as seed money to purchase equipment or software used in the clusters.

The academy will begin this fall. It is designed to build a learning community of students in science and math who will take similar classes and collaborate on their coursework, and make faculty more accessible to the students.

“Appalachian prides itself in the approachability of its faculty, but not all the students recognize that we are that way,” said Tony Calamai, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “These students will be partnered with a faculty member who is in a discipline in which the student has interest.”

The students will work on research ranging from forensic science and nanotechnology to computational physics and image processing.

The grant also will fully fund a three-week summer “bridge” program designed to support incoming freshmen who may be underprepared in mathematics.

“Some high school students aren’t prepared to take calculus at the university pace,” Calamai said. “This summer institute will help them make sure they have a good grip on the fundamentals as this is crucial for success in science and mathematics.”

The first two years are the most critical for students interested in math and science majors, Tashakkori said. “Nationally, the retention rate in computer science is about 50 percent,” he said. The retention rate for students in other sciences is higher, but not by much. “We strongly believe that if we prepare students for the calculus requirements in these academic disciplines and provide mentoring and tutoring support in the first two years of their study, they should succeed in the degree program.”

Forty students will be selected to participate in the academy this fall. Enrollment is expected to grow to 80 students a year as the program develops. Twenty students will be enrolled in the summer bridge program.
Students interested in applying to the program can visit http://www.cs.appstate.edu/step/ for more information.