Education Archives - Page 7 of 12

December 1, 2014December 1, 2014

African-American Women Paving The Way In Engineering Fields

Not only are African-Americans in engineering notably under-represented, but their graduation rates have in fact gone down in recent years. Rates for African-American women in engineering, though, present some intriguing questions. Could it be that, relative to other demographic groups of women, they are overachieving in engineering?

Looking at women by race and ethnicity, African-Americans are the most likely to get an engineering degree. And white women are the least likely. Earning 26.8% of all African-American engineering bachelor’s degrees in 2012, African-American women exceed the rate of women in all other demographics in their share of degrees, as broken out by sex.

African-American, 26.8%
Asian or Pacific Islander, 23.0%
Hispanic, 22.5%
American Indian, 22.3%
White, 17.4%

Degree Ratios, Women:Men

Percentages, of course, can indicate many things. For example, these graduation rates also point up how many more African-American women than men attend college. Indeed, another list that African-American women top is the ratio of women getting undergraduate degrees to men getting them.

African-American, 1.92:1 (113,601/59,267)
American Indian, 1.57:1 (6,561/4,182)
Hispanic, 1.56:1 (107,568/69,131)
White, 1.28:1 (635,766/496,923)
Asian or Pacific Islander, 1.19:1 (64,348/53,913)

In other words, African-American women earn about two of every three African-American undergraduate degrees, about 65%. White women earn about 11 of every 20 white degrees, or 56%. Because there are so many more of them to start with, relative to men, African-American women would be expected to get a higher portion of all degrees within their cohort than women in demographics more evenly divided by sex.

How Things Might Look with Full Representation

The question, then, is, how much higher a portion would they be expected to get? (Note: Please excuse the math to follow, but, hey, this is engineering we’re talking about—math is part of the deal.) Using the first set of percentages in combination with the ratios of women to men can help us understand what African-American and white women’s engineering degree rates would be if they earned degrees in engineering at the same rate as they do overall.

Suppose “full” representation in engineering meant African-American women earned 65% of engineering degrees, just as they do overall. Their real 26.8% share, then, is 41% of their theoretical, “full” share (26.8/65).
For white women, 56% of engineering degrees would be “full” representation. Their real 17.4% share is 31% of their “full” share (17.4/56).

To be sure, none of this is cause for celebration. Women remain, on all fronts, significantly under-represented in engineering. But seen from this angle, at least, African-American women seem to be completing engineering degrees at a higher rate than white women. (As it happens, only Asian or Pacific Islander women exceed African-American women’s 41%, with 23.0% registering as 42.6% of their full representation rate of 54% of all degrees.)

Read More from Eric Iverson at start-engineering.com

November 26, 2014November 26, 2014

ManyMentors: Providing Invaluable Resources to Minorities in STEM

On this episode of the Blacks In Technology #BITTechTalk podcast “Founders Hour” Greg speaks with Tiffany St. Bernard and Keshia Ashe of ManyMentors as they answer questions about their startup, mentoring and running a nonprofit company.

Ashe is the co-founder and CEO of ManyMentors. She is a University of Virginia alumnus and current Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering at the University of Connecticut.

St. Bernard is the co-founder and COO of ManyMentors. She is a University of Connecticut alumnus and current biomedical engineering Ph.D. student at Cornell University.

ManyMentors is an innovative 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that connects minority and female students interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with invaluable mentors, networking opportunities and access to STEM-related resources.

Listen here:

November 25, 2014November 25, 2014

More Than Neil deGrasse Tyson: 10 Equally Awesome Black Astrophysicists You Should Know

Neil deGrasse Tyson has brought Black scientists of all fields to the forefront. Many young people interested in science can learn from his example and he should get credit for that. However, there are many people working and researching that are not in the spotlight. Here are just a few:

Dr. Beth A. Brown

She holds a B.S. degree in Astrophysics obtained in 1991 from Howard University, a M.S. in Astronomy obtained in 1994 from the University of Michigan. She obtained her Ph. D. in Astronomy in 1998 from the University of Michigan as well.

Most of her work is currently in the area of the hot interstellar medium in elliptical galaxies, and the mechanisms for X-ray emission from faint elliptical galaxies. Other interests include galaxy observations in multi-wavelengths.

She was an astrophysicist working for the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC), NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and Astrophysics Data Facility of NSSDC. Sadly, she died in 2008.

Dr. Jarita C. Holbrook

She received her B.S. in Physics in 1987 at the California Institute of Technology and her M.S. in Astronomy in 1992 from San Diego State University.

She obtained her Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics in 1997 from University of California, Santa Cruz.

She has been an Assistant Research Scientist at The Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology at The University of Arizona. Now she works in South Africa.

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November 24, 2014November 24, 2014

Project Focuses on Delivering Digital Books to Underserved African Communities

The invention of the printing press in 1436 increased access to books and facilitated the spread of knowledge unlike anything before it in human history. Today, however, many useful books sit idly on shelves largely out of reach of the world’s poor. In rural Africa, the problem is particularly severe. Great distances make the transport of heavy books expensive. The storage of large quantities of books becomes problematic when enclosed spaces are better used for housing or as classrooms. The harsh climate means that, over time, many books eventually become delicate and unusable. The Nzega Digital Library Initiative (NDLI), however, is seeking to change this using technology. The NDLI is being carried out in the town of Nzega in Tanzania where there are few schools and even fewer teachers. The largest libraries there contain less than a hundred books.

The NDLI has its roots in the Books for Nzega Project started in 2004 by Dr. Hamisi Kigwangalla, a local medical doctor turned politician. The original Books for Nzega Project focused on delivering donated physical books to local schools. However, the transportation and storage of these books proved to be costly for donors and recipients. The NDLI, by contrast, will focus on distributing books in digital formats, which can be done at minimal cost. With the increasing ubiquity of inexpensive smartphones and tablet-like devices in Tanzania, the opportunity exists to exploit these tools for book distribution.

Read more at: www.blacksintechnology.net

November 19, 2014November 19, 2014

CODE2040: Helping Minority Coders Find Their Way to Silicon Valley

Blacks in Technology recently sat down with Laura Weidman Powers (founding executive director of CODE2040) for a one-on-one interview about the CODE2040 program.

In case you aren’t aware, CODE2040 is an organization that matches high-performing Black and Latino undergraduate and graduate coders and software engineering students with Silicon Valley startups for summer internships, and also provides them with the insight, networks and support to ensure their successful participation in the high-tech innovation economy

When was the organization founded?
CODE2040 was founded in February 2012. We’re a startup, too!

Who is CODE2040 (employees and roles)?

Tristan Walker is the founder and chair of the board of CODE2040 and I (Laura Weidman Powers) am the organization’s founding executive director.
Amy Schapiro is CODE2040’s program manager, running point on all recruiting and summer programming.
Jonathan Brack leads program evaluation and alumni programming, ensuring we’re maximizing our effectiveness and supporting our alums.
Jocelyn Jarrett manages accounting and HR operations, using her expertise in helping set up nonprofits to ensure we’re making efficient use of our resources.
The rest of the board (beyond Tristan) is Ben Horowitz, Amber Saloner Tennant, Marc Hedlund and Bea Perez, and we’re fortunate to have an awesome group of advisers and volunteers as well.

What is the goal of CODE2040?

The latest census projections show that people of color will be the majority in the United States in the year 2040. And yet there is no indication that the substantial minority achievement gap will be closed by that same year. We launched CODE2040 to make a direct impact on the achievement gap by increasing the numbers of underrepresented minorities participating in the high-value innovation economy – an economy centered in Silicon Valley.

How many students participate in the program?

We ran a pilot of the program with five students at five startups the first summer, 2012, and we’ll have around 20 students participating this coming summer. We’ll be continuing to scale from there!

In talking with the students, what seems to be the biggest thing they take away from the program?

My favorite thing is something one fellow said to me: Before participating in CODE2040 and hearing from all the speakers and meeting with her executive coach, she thought there was a mythical “entrepreneur” personality type that meant that you were destined to be a founder. After hearing firsthand from dozens of entrepreneurs, she realized that they were ordinary people with great ideas, great passion and great work ethic, and she could be a founder, too.

8 Books Every Intelligent Person Should Read According to Neil deGrasse Tyson

The Bible

“To learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it,” stated Tyson in a 2011 Reddit chat.

The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine

Tyson encourages individuals to read this book in order to “learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.”

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November 19, 2014November 19, 2014

‘Nigeria’s Mark Zuckerberg’ Has a Big Idea That Could Disrupt the Educational System in Nigeria

Source: CNN/BeniAmerican – “Beni American University founder – Gossy Ukanwoke, featured on the CNN African Start-up, where he tells his amazing story, detailing the journey so far on starting Nigeria’s first online university and the vision to build a physical campus.”

November 7, 2014November 7, 2014

Mathematician Dr. Ron Eglash Tells the Amazing Story of the Origins of Fractals in Africa

Source: Black History Walks

November 7, 2014November 7, 2014

Want to Be an App Developer? This Milwaukee High School Preps Next Generation

One Milwaukee high school is ready to foster the next generation of tech entrepreneurs and skilled developers thanks to a unique, rigorous new program that will be available to 10 schools nationwide.

The Washington High School of Information Technology will be one of the few lucky schools that will offer the new mobile app development and entrepreneurship curriculum, the Milwaukee Community Journal (MCJ) reported.

Students at the school will be teaming up with major technology firm Lenovo and the nonprofit education group National Academy Foundation (NAF) to participate in the program of a lifetime.

This won’t be any average course either.

While tech students at other schools will be flipping through textbooks or penning essays, these students will be working on developing their very own mobile app.

According to the MCJ, students will also be working alongside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology “App Inventor” developers and will create a business plan for bringing their app to the market.

It’s the kind of program that has the potential to make every single student the face of true innovation in the technology industry.

“We’re honored to be one of 10 schools in the nation to be able to provide our students with this exciting, hands-on opportunity to broaden their knowledge of information technology and strengthen their preparation for college and careers,” Washington Principal Tonya Adair told the paper. “This is another important piece in the strong information technology programming our students can access.”

The school has already been adamant about allowing its students to garner real world experience that will help them make an easy transition into the science, technology, engineering or math career of their choice.

The school partners with local businesses that in turn offer job shadowing opportunities to students.

Then there is also the twice-annual Information Technology and Engineering Career Fair that allows students to network with each other as well as the figures behind major companies in the technology and engineering field.

Local firms such as Direct Supply and Northwestern Mutual have already offered internships to many of the students and helped prep them for their college years and future career goals.

With the school having a predominantly Black student body, the revolutionary program will be yet another step at closing the diversity gap in Silicon Valley.

Time after time, tech experts have mentioned education and access to major tech companies as reasons Black children are at a major disadvantage when it comes to getting jobs in the technology space.

For these students, however, that certainly won’t be an issue.

“Our collaboration with companies like Lenovo supports our goal of graduating more students college and career ready, particularly in growing STEM industries,” NAF President JD Hoye told the MCJ. “The Lenovo Scholar Network is a prime example of how businesses and education can work together to provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today’s fast-paced world.”

Assumption Busting

Brainstorming