Florida International University has a new resource for students interested in pursuing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers in national security.
The Miami university's College of Engineering and Computing won a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration to train Black, Hispanic and other minority students for electrical and nuclear engineering, cybersecurity, and information security roles. The three-year grant will create the Consortium for Research and Education in Power and Energy Systems (CREPES) for Sustainable STEM Workforce and will be overseen by the department's Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program.
The training program is open to undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students enrolled at FIU. John L. Volakis, dean of the College of Engineering and Computing, said the university is a prime institution to lead the consortium because of its minority-led student body.
"With almost 80% of its student body formed of minority students, FIU is also uniquely positioned to recruit and train a diverse student population for the future workforce [the Department of Energy] seeks," he said.
In addition to FIU, Alabama A&M University and the University of Texas in El Paso are participating in the CREPES program. Students, faculty and researchers at the three universities will work in collaboration with the Sandia National Lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the Lawrence Livermore National Lab in Livermore, California to research the electric power infrastructure, which is key in safeguarding U.S. domestic and economic security.
People of color are still underrepresented in the STEM workforce. Black employees make up just 9% of STEM workers, with no change in that representation since 2016, according to the Pew Research Center. Hispanic adults comprise 8% of the STEM workforce (up 1% since 2016) while Native Americans and people who identify as two or more racial groups account for 3%. Asians are overrepresented, holding 13% of all STEM jobs despite only making up 6% of total employment across all occupations.
While a growing number of women are graduating with STEM degrees, they are still underrepresented in the engineering and computer sciences fields, Pew reports. And a gender pay gap persists: The median earnings of women in STEM occupations is about $66,200, versus $90,000 for men.
Sumit Paudyal, an associate professor at FIU and CREPES principal investigator, said the program will take steps towards boosting minority representation in computer engineering.
“NNSA recognizes FIU as an international leader and a top producer of Hispanic and African American engineers in the U.S.," he said.
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