Title : NSF 94-12 - 2nd National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce (Part 1) Type : Report NSF Org: EHR Date : June 8, 1994 File : nsf9412a 2nd NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DIVERSITY IN THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL WORKFORCE October 28-30, 1993 Omni Shoreham Hotel Washington, D.C. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce National Advisory Committee Frederick M. Bernthal Deputy Director National Science Foundation Luther S. Williams Assistant Director Directorate for Education and Human Resources National Science Foundation Bruce M. Alberts President National Academy of Sciences Constance E. Clayton Former Superintendent Philadelphia Public Schools Eugene H. Cota-Robles Former Special Assistant for Human Resource Development and Affirmative Action Officer National Science Foundation Virginia R. Ferris Executive Committee Phi Beta Kappa and Professor of Entomology Purdue University Diana Garcia Prichard Research Scientist Eastman Kodak Company John Gibbons Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy Jane Butler Kahle Chair Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering National Science Foundation and Condit Professor of Science Education, Miami University J. Robert Kerrey United States Senator Gerry Madrazo President National Science Teachers Association Barbara A. Mikulski United States Senator Jaime Oaxaca National Science Board Member and Vice Chairman Coronado Communications Corporation Kenneth Olden Director National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program National Institutes of Health Major Owens United States Congressman Clifton A. Poodry Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Affairs and Professor of Biology University of California at Santa Cruz James L. Powell National Science Board Member and Chief Executive Officer, The Franklin Institute James M. Rosser President California State University at Los Angeles John Ruffin Associate Director, Office of Research on Minority Health, National Institutes of Health Franklin Smith Superintendent District of Columbia Public Schools Marshal Smith Under Secretary U.S. Department of Education Louis Stokes United States Congressman Esteban E. Torres United States Congressman National Science Foundation Conference Program Committee Ex-Officio Members Luther S. Williams Assistant Director Education and Human Resources Directorate, NSF Roosevelt Calbert Division Director Human Resource Development Education and Human Resources Directorate, NSF Program Committee Elmima C. Johnson Chair and Conference Coordinator Staff Associate, Division of Human Resource Development Education and Human Resources Directorate, NSF Bill G. Aldridge Executive Director National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Henry N. Blount Program Director Analytical & Surface Chemistry Mathematical & Physical Sciences Directorate, NSF Arturo Bronson Program Director Research Improvement in Minority Institutions Education and Human Resources Directorate, NSF Christine Jackson Education Program Specialist School Improvement Programs U.S. Department of Education Eugene DeLoatch Dean, School of Engineering Morgan State University Joan Donahue Director of State Coalitions Mathematical Sciences Education Board National Research Council Carolyn Girardeau Program Director, Dissemination Activities Division of Research, Evaluation and Dissemination Education and Human Resources Directorate, NSF Mary Golladay Program Director Science and Engineering Education & Human Resources Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate, NSF Robyne Gordon Education Program Officer Office of University and Science Education U.S. Department of Energy Mary Hanson Public Affairs Specialist Media & Public Information Section Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, NSF Sue Kemnitzer Deputy Division Director (Education) Division of Engineering Education and Centers Engineering Directorate, NSF Charles A. Miller Director, Cellular & Molecular Basis of Disease (CMBD) Program National Institute of General Medical Science National Institutes of Health Nathaniel G. Pitts Director Office of Science and Technology Infrastructure, NSF Thomas Ubois Deputy Director Office of Systemic Reform Education and Human Resources Directorate, NSF Bruce L. Umminger Division Director Division of Integrative Biology & Neuroscience Biological Sciences Directorate, NSF Acknowledgments We wish to acknowledge the assistance of the staff of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources in the production of this document, and the work of Dr. Elmima C. Johnson, Staff Associate, and Dr. Roosevelt Calbert, Director, Division of Human Resource Development, who served as the editors of this publication. Cover Design: Rizalino Jacob 2nd NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DIVERSITY IN THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL WORKFORCE October 28-30, 1993 Omni Shoreham Hotel Washington, D.C. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources DON'T FORGET 3rd National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 1994 Omni Shoreham Hotel Washington, D.C. For Information call 1-800-428-2189 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 PLENARY SESSIONS 2 Opening Session 4 Plenary Session II 10 LUNCHEON SESSIONS 13 Luncheon Forum 14 Awards Luncheon 18 AWARD PRESENTATIONS 22 HEARINGS 35 Hearing I: The State of Science and Mathematics Education 39 Hearing II: Minority Precollege Student Academic Achievement 47 Hearing III: The Preparation of K-12 Teachers 49 Hearing IV: The Transition from Two- to Four-Year Colleges 53 Hearing V: Science and Engineering Bachelor Degree Attainment 57 Hearing VI: Science and Engineering Doctorate Degree Attainment 61 Hearing VII: Systemic and Comprehensive Programs for Addressing Equity Issues 63 Hearing VIII: Establishment of Effective Partnerships 68 Hearing IX: Assessment and Evaluation of SEM Reform Efforts 72 CLOSING SESSION--Report Card on Actions to Date 76 STUDENT RESEARCH COMPETITION--AWARD-WINNING PAPERS 90 Precollege 94 Undergraduate 97 Graduate 112 RESEARCH SYMPOSIA 120 Symposium A--Alliances for Minority Participation Program 122 Symposium B--Research Careers for Minority Scholars Program 124 Symposium C--Research Improvement in Minority Institutions Program 126 Symposium D--Minority Research Centers of Excellence Program (Multidisciplinary Research) 129 Symposium E--Minority Research Centers of Excellence Program (Advanced Materials Research) 132 APPENDICES 136 Appendix A--Conference Program 140 Appendix B--List of Conference Participants 148 Appendix C--List of Conference Exhibitors 178 NOTE: All presentations have been edited. The views expressed by conference participants do not necessarily represent NSF policy. INTRODUCTION The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) sponsored the Second National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce on October 28-30, 1993, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. The conference, attended by more than 1,300 persons from the academic, corporate, and government sectors, was dedicated to identifying strategies to promote a substantial increase in the participation of minorities in the scientific and technological workforce. The conference agenda included a review of current issues surrounding the science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM) education of minorities. Progress since the first National Diversity Conference was outlined by SEM experts and discussed by participants in a series of nine hearings co-chaired by NSF senior staff members. During the three days, more than 300 precollege and college students who participated in NSF-sponsored research activities presented their research in panel or poster settings. (Abstracts of these presentations are available in a separate document.) There was also a student research paper competition, and the winning papers in each category (precollege, undergraduate, and graduate) are presented in these proceedings. The Division of Human Resource Development sponsored a series of research symposia that highlighted research findings of division grantees. Abstracts of these presentations can be found elsewhere in this publication. This conference report summarizes the major addresses, hearings, research symposia, and award presentations. The appendixes include the conference program, a list of conference attendees, and a list of exhibitors. The NSF/EHR Action Plan for the SEM education of minority groups who are underrepresented in science and technology will be published later this year. The plan will build on the discussions at this conference, as well as on suggestions culled from future meetings with representatives from groups that have major responsibility for the implementation of educational reform nationwide. We welcome your feedback on conference activities, on the action plan, and on the content of next year's meeting. Please address your written comments to: Elmima C. Johnson National Conference Coordinator Directorate for Education and Human Resources National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 805 Arlington, VA 22230 OPENING SESSION PRESIDING Neal Lane Director National Science Foundation (NSF) It is an honor and a great pleasure for me to be here with you today and to welcome you to this, the Second National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce. I have been in Washington for only a few weeks and still consider myself new, not only to the job of NSF Director, but also to many of the issues facing the Foundation. The issues we will be discussing here for the next two days, however, are not at all new to me. They have been a primary concern of mine for many years. I have always believed that diversity is an asset for any institution. And the institution of science and engineering stands to benefit tremendously from being more inclusive and breaking down all barriers to participation. Indeed, its very survival may depend on that. I hope to ensure that this personal belief is something of a guiding philosophy for all of NSF. It already is reflected in one form or another in many existing programs: Programs like our research centers aim to overcome the cultural barriers that have arisen between our various communities, between universities and industry, between different disciplines of science and engineering, and between research and education. NSF's international programs transcend the barriers and the borders that have been erected by politics and geography. We also have programs that attempt to bridge the communication gap that exists between the research community and the greater community. Over the course of the two days of this conference, we are going to discuss and examine a host of other programs and policies that are dedicated to this guiding philosophy of inclusion and breaking down barriers. That is why we are here today, and that is why you will be hearing from so many of our society's leaders who share this commitment--members of the National Science Board, members of Congress, heads of national associations, state and local officials, and many others. We will also be hearing from the people who know these programs best of all--the students who participate in them. I expect that they will be able to tell us the most about the Foundation's commitment to increasing the scope and quality of minority participation in science, mathematics, and engineering--what we are doing right, and what we can do better. I am pleased that so many of you are able to be here and be part of these proceedings. Luther Williams and I hope to hear from as many of you as possible in the upcoming debates and deliberations. And now let me turn the podium over to Dr. Williams who will tell you more about what's in store for us. Once again, welcome. We're very happy you're with us. KEYNOTE ADDRESS Luther S. Williams Assistant Director Education and Human Resources, NSF I join Director Lane in welcoming you to this conference. Dr. Lane has effectively stated the issues and challenges--at least, from the vantage point of NSF. To place this Second National Conference in context and to give a preface to the many excellent presentations to follow, I offer some comments bearing on the challenge, opportunities, and strategies. I begin with a statement of the unitary framework for all our deliberations over the next several days. In agreement with William Raspberry's recent editorial in the Washington Post entitled "Stop Blaming and Start Solving," in this conference we make the distinction between having the problem and solving it. Therefore, this conference is not called as a forum for unabridged recitations of generalities and vague possibilities of promised achievements. We also do not seek to accommodate all-encompassing laments of the cumulative results of organizational or structural inequities. Rather, this conference is designed to collectively instruct the next in a growing series of efforts to enhance the specificity of our programming and the predictability of student outcomes. The task is to identify areas of commonality, as well as differences, to strategically address an even more successful enterprise as it bears on mathematics and science K-12, undergraduate, and graduate education of ethnic/racial minorities underrepresented in the scientific and technical affairs of the Nation and the international community. A continued slew of studies and reports presents a clear picture of underrepresentation in science, engineering, and mathematics. In the recently released survey "Adult Literacy in America," by the National Center for Education Statistics (September 1993), the average literacy levels for African Americans and Hispanics ranged from 80 to 90 percent less than that of whites for the prose, document, and quantitative components of the survey. An accurate description of the K-12 math and science education enterprise is "a nation divided, unequal." This is the picture that results from the aggregate consequences of the paucity of ethnic minority mathematics and science K-12 teachers; the minimum educational resources available to schools in which substantial numbers of African-American and Hispanic students are enrolled; and the approximate twofold difference in performance of these minority students compared to whites, as reported in the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment of basic level of achievement in eighth-grade mathematics ("State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education 1993," Council of Chief State School Officers). Several years ago, NSF elected a comprehensive, systemic, and collaborative strategy for its programs for minorities. Further, this strategy required the enumeration of specific quantitative goals framed in a milestone context. Specifically, we dared to publicly state the following goals: o To increase the number of minority undergraduate science and engineering degree recipients from approximately 14,000 to 50,000 annually by the year 2000 o To occasion a corresponding increase in minorities receiving science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM) doctorate degrees from less than 400 to 2,000 annually by the same year Under this paradigm, primacy was assigned to o Programming to accommodate each level of the education continuum o Resource acquisition or programming that permits the transitions from programs, per se, to results--an accommodation that acknowledges the shift from inadequate, ill-defined, highly fragmented objectives and programs to emphasis on documentable measures of progress toward achieving specific goals and milestones o Setting the program domain to equal the requisite scale and scope of the problem o Increased emphasis on accountability--that is, acknowledging that the students are the customers; that program monitoring and evaluation are mandatory; that extant program designs must be elastic enough to permit alternative efforts in response to new knowledge, understanding, outcomes, or productivity gains o Nonredundancy as regards program investment costs as the hallmark to all programming What we have accomplished through 203 projects is shown in the following impact data from the 1992-93 academic year: Students Base Goal Increment Precollege 86,000 170,000 78,658 Undergraduate 40,000 82,000 45,385 Through our programming, we seek to disallow less purposeful, less connected, and "entrepreneurial at the margin" activities that serve to reinvent the status quo. Rather, we seek to contribute to the production of contemporary, agile, and competitive participants (problem solvers) throughout the kindergarten through undergraduate continuum--consistent with demands for greater yields, program monitoring, and evaluation to occasion greater accountability. Let me close with the words of one of our great educators, Benjamin Mays, the President of Morehouse College in Atlanta for several decades: "The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals, but having no goals to reach. Not failure, but low aim is sin." We elect a new paradigm for setting goals and reaching goals together. When the media focus so much on the pathology and not the progress of minority communities, it is often difficult for minority youths to transform despair into hope--but they must, and our collective efforts must serve as an effective vehicle. We must break rank with modest goals designed to yield, at best, partial solutions to complex problems and effectively challenge that assorted collection of anthropological, sociological, and psychological academic paraphernalia that bespeaks something other than excellence for ethnic and racial minorities in science, engineering, mathematics, and technology. REMARKS Esteban E. Torres United States House of Representatives Good evening. It is a privilege and a pleasure to appear before you today. I would like to thank NSF for the opportunity to speak on a subject as important as the one we have come together for today. Belief in the value of education is as old as our Nation itself. We have always believed that by improving our minds, we could in turn improve our Nation. In fact, it was over 150 years ago that Alexis de Tocqueville remarked that Americans "have all a lively faith in the perfectibility of man, they judge that the diffusion of knowledge must necessarily be advantageous, and the consequences of ignorance fatal." Today we continue to believe in the value of improving our minds and that an education is essential for every American. Yet we are failing in this endeavor. Too many Americans are being left out and too many are being left behind. African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos are underrepresented in all areas of education, and especially in science and technology--both in higher education and in the scientific and technological workforce. I would like to underscore, ladies and gentlemen, the importance of science in the daily lives of every American. Behind every flight of an airplane, every fax and every phone call, behind every microwaved dinner, and every beep of your personal computer, lie years of research and hard work by scientists and engineers. And science is important, not only to the present, but to the future of our Nation as well. Let me give you just a few examples of the dire situation facing minorities today. Only 55 percent of 18- to 24-year-old Latinos in our Nation have completed high school. That means that almost half the Latinos in that age group lack a simple high school diploma. Yet 77 percent of African Americans and 83 percent of whites in that same age group are high school graduates. But even more startling is that only 16 percent, less than one-fifth, of all Latino 18- to 24-year-olds in the Nation attended college in 1990, while 25 percent of African Americans and 33 percent of whites in the same age group were enrolled in some form of higher education. Even though the 1990 census tells us that Latinos and African Americans make up 20.9 percent of the U.S. population, and that African Americans and Latinos make up 25.3 percent of public elementary and secondary school enrollments, African Americans and Latinos made up a mere 15.1 percent of fall 1988 higher education enrollment. An even smaller number actually earned their degrees. Only 12.9 percent of the associate degrees and 8.9 percent of the bachelor degrees that year were awarded to African American or Latino students. The more advanced the degree, the more severe the underrepresentation. Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, these are heartbreaking statistics. But what we must remember is that there are faces behind these statistics. They are the faces of our children. Many of these are children like the ones in the community I represent. Many of these children live in single-parent homes. Many live in poor or working-class families. Their parents do not have the money to buy them books, or the transportation to take them to museums, or the time to expose them to all the things that might broaden their minds and open their eyes to the wonders of science and mathematics. These children lack many precious resources that affluent communities take for granted. These children do not have the role models that other students have. Nor do these children have the quality of education that other students receive. I understand the obstacles these children face, for I faced them once myself. As a boy, I dreamed of being a scientist. Yet I received no encouragement and no support to pursue this dream of mine. And like many dreams, it fell by the wayside. It saddens me to think of all the dreams that have been lost along the way, of all the great scientists and engineers our Nation could have had. But we can never know the full extent of our loss. I do not want America's children to give up on their dreams any longer. I do not want our Nation to miss out on one more could-have-been. So the most obvious and most important question remains: What can we do to change things, to permit these children to realize their dreams? You as members of NSF, I as a member of Congress, and all of you out there who work for our Nation's government have a role to play. As servants of the public trust, we are all responsible for the education of our children. As John Ruskin once stated: "The first duty of government is to see that people have food, fuel, and clothes. The second, that they have means of moral and intellectual education." But despite the grimness of these statistics, I am happy to tell you that efforts are being made. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge NSF for its tremendous efforts on behalf of this cause, and especially for holding this conference today to draw special attention to the problem. Last year's First National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce was the first such event in our Nation's history: an event specifically designed to focus on the underrepresentation of minorities in science and technology, and to develop and design methods to increase the representation of minorities in these areas. I would like to point out that the Foundation has five separate programs that are specifically aimed at increasing the participation of minorities in the fields of science and technology: Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities, Alliances for Minority Participation, Research Careers for Minority Scholars, Research Improvement in Minority Institutions, and Minority Research Centers of Excellence. Again, I pay tribute to their endeavors. But I would be remiss if I did not register my concern about the participation of Latinos in NSF programs. It is not enough to say that programs have been developed to increase minority participation in math and science. We must go beyond broad categories and make sure that all minorities are being served, not merely one or two groups. We must make sure that all institutions, including two-year colleges and colleges that Latinos have historically attended, are being served. The Foundation's programs should bring together all racial and ethnic groups. And you can count on me, as a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with direct jurisdiction over NSF, to do all I can do to provide the tools needed to achieve this goal. But we all must do our share. And I am happy to report that under the excellent leadership of President Clinton, our Nation's government is responding to the educational crisis that we face today in America. Only a few weeks ago, I voted for and the House passed a new education bill for America. This bill, entitled "Goals 2000: Educate America Act," codifies six educational goals for our Nation. The goals are important ones: school readiness, school completion, student achievement and citizenship, teacher education and professional development, and adult literacy and lifelong learning. But the goal that most concerns us here today is goal 5: "First in Mathematics and Science." The bill states: "By the year 2000, United States students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement. To achieve these goals, the bill establishes in the executive branch a National Education Goals Panel that will advise the President, the Secretary of Education, and the Congress. This panel will be a bipartisan mechanism to build a national consensus for education improvement, to report on the progress that America's students are making towards our National Education Goals, and to suggest new actions that our government on all levels can take to ensure that we reach these goals." Ladies and gentlemen, I do not know and I cannot promise that this new bill will solve or come close to solving all of the educational problems that our Nation faces today. We have a long way before us on the road to equality. Yet I do feel that with this new administration, we have the best shot we have had in over a decade toward making some broad strides down that road. President Clinton is wholeheartedly dedicated to improving American education and to meeting the standards that this new bill lays out. He said, "The challenge we face demands that we set and keep focused on our goals, (one of which is) world leadership in basic science, mathematics, and education." The survival of our Nation depends on it. In fact, our very freedom is at stake. As John F. Kennedy once said, "Liberty without learning is always in peril, and learning without liberty is always in vain." Edolphus Towns United States House of Representatives Good evening. I am honored to speak to you tonight, as an African American and as chairman of the Human Resources Subcommittee that oversees NSF. I applaud NSF for organizing this conference and putting the spotlight on promoting the participation of minorities in science and engineering. Why is diversity so important? Diversity leads to creativity, innovation, and change. The ability of this country to retain and improve its position as a world leader depends not only on its ability to recruit, train, and retain talented scientists, but on its full use of our Nation's greatest asset: its diversity. The potential arising from our melting pot is enormous. We have in this country an amalgam of cultures--each one having contributed its own share to the universe of science and engineering. Right in our backyard, all these cultures have come together, synergized their creative forces, their history, their culture, their heritage: from Percy Julian, the scientist; to Rosalyn Yalow, the 1977 Nobel Prize winner for physiology and medicine; to Lloyd Augustus Hall, the black chemist who discovered curing salts for preserving and processing meats; to Luis W. Alvarez, the 1968 Nobel Prize winner for physics. The melting pot is where we must look to retain our greatness as a nation and as a leader in science and technology. But it requires more than just a conference on diversity to ensure that the field of science in this country will be diversified. Let us begin with the National Science Board, responsible for policy decisions of NSF and a symbol of leadership in the science community. The Board is now occupied by 24 people prominent in science. Of those 24, there are only two minorities and one woman. There are no African Americans and no disabled members. In May 1994, eight of these positions will become vacant. The month of May will be a prime opportunity to diversify science by filling these seats with more minorities and women. I urge NSF to have minority and women candidates recommended for the Board. Let NSF take the lead in diversifying science by making diversity an equal factor in the allocation of grants to research institutions. The reality of science research is that money talks, and NSF funding--and the fear of being rejected for funding because of a poor record on diversity--is the most forceful way to nudge senior researchers out of their established ways. It will be difficult to move them otherwise. Take the case of the University of Virginia's biology department, which continuously receives nine NSF grants totaling $1.8 million despite its shockingly poor record of minority recruitment and retention. The department had one tenured female professor and no minorities. And while half the biology graduate students were female, there was only one minority student. When asked about the lack of minorities and women in tenured positions, the representatives responded that the university's geographical isolation, the demands of child care and two-career families, and the school's competitiveness prevented successful recruitment. The sexism and arrogance in this response is overwhelming--as if only minority and female scientists cannot handle the competition, two-career families, and the demands of child care. This is the attitude that must change for science to truly become diverse. The fact is that we cannot continue to use taxpayer money to fund arrogance and sexism. I hope this conference will recommend that NSF reevaluate its support of research institutions that have poor records of recruitment and retention of minorities and women. If not out of this conference, I hope NSF will carry out its commitment to diversity and reevaluate its grant-making process to exclude research departments that continue to build walls against diversity. When women constitute only 16 percent of scientists and engineers, blacks only 3 percent, Hispanics 2 percent--and hardly any data exist on Native Americans--diversity becomes not just a trend for the moment, but a compelling force for science. Let us reach in and pull from the pot our greatest asset: Diversity is our future. Thank you. J. Robert Kerrey United States Senate The NSF report Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education 1992, which addresses the progress made toward the goal of making U.S. students first in the world in math and science by the year 2000, sets the stage. In 1990, total elementary and secondary school enrollment was somewhat lower than in 1970, with a 19 percent decline in white students, a 1 percent decrease in African American students, a50 percent increase in Hispanic students, and a 200 percent increase in "other races"--Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. Demographics are changing. African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are underrepresented among those earning science and engineering degrees at the undergraduate and doctoral levels. They are underrepresented on the instructional faculties at U.S. colleges and universities. But that report also says something else. It says, "Federal programs are initiated with the belief that every school student can learn scientific principles." That is the human side. That is the side we must not lose sight of in a mass of statistics. And it is the side that NSF has proven that it understands, appreciates, and will address. NSF has, I believe, pursued that human dimension well for two reasons. One is a man named Luther Williams, who is of course responsible for this conference. Five years ago, when I came to the Senate, I expressed an interest--which as a college chemistry major I continue to maintain--in science and math education and in technology. Coincidentally, I was also assigned to the VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees NSF's budget and which I assume made NSF at least mildly interested in me. At any rate, I was fortunate enough to meet Luther to explore areas of mutual interest and even entice him to Nebraska in the middle of winter out of friendship, dedication, or something. For my part, it has been a wonderful opportunity to work with a man who has the intellectual capacity and the human values that we want to impart to our Nation's students. The second reason for NSF's success, I believe, is the programs that NSF, under Luther's guidance, has advanced. Two of the systemic reform programs--the State Systemic Initiative (SSI) and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)--are particularly close to my heart, at least in part because my state, Nebraska, participates in both. I know firsthand the value of these programs, the opportunity that they offer for genuine change. I also know of the time and effort--and even the frustrations--that go into developing and implementing these programs. And I know that without them, Nebraska would not have the opportunities it has today. NSF, at Luther's behest, is also initiating this year a new program, the Urban Systemic Initiative, which will focus on the 25 cities with the largest numbers of students living in poverty. This program is a new opportunity to have a lasting effect on communities from which an increasing number of the scientists, mathematicians, and engineers of the next century will come. The Urban Systemic Initiative joins two other pivotal programs to enhance minority participation: Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities and Alliances for Minority Participation. In 1989, there was a report on the future of mathematics education entitled Everybody Counts. This conference furthers that simple but powerful idea--everybody does count. This conference reflects commitment to change. Everybody says we can't do business as usual--we can't. We need different organizational structure; we need people who can be the agents of change. We need a commitment of leadership. We need a mechanism for action. That is all present here: people who chose to come; project directors and teachers who are developing the talent pool of tomorrow--who are already making the investment in our Nation's most valuable resource, our young people; and especially the 300 minority students, from middle school to graduate programs, who represent the future leaders in science, math, and engineering. Everybody must count; scientific literacy is important to all Americans. As the 1989 report noted, "Communication has created a world economy in which working smarter is more important than just working harder." If you look at Fortune's 500 fastest-growing companies, you see concentrations in communications and information services and health care--areas that require expertise and technical competency. If the United States is to remain competitive, we need the skilled workforce that will create and sustain the value-added jobs that are necessary to guarantee our standard of living. You here can make a difference. Again, I want to thank Luther Williams for inviting me to participate. You are fortunate to have him at NSF as an advocate. PLENARY SESSION II PRESIDING Roosevelt Calbert Division Director, Human Resource Development Directorate for Education and Human Resources National Science Foundation (NSF) Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome to the second plenary session of the conference. You were involved this afternoon in hearings that focused on several important topics to address the issue of increasing minority participation by the year 2000. From the feedback I have received, the hearing sessions were both lively and informative. Joining us on the platform this evening are Dr. James Rosser, President of California State University at Los Angeles, and Dr. Frank Dukepoo, Research Geneticist from Northern Arizona University. Dr. Rosser is also a member of the Advisory Committee of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. Dr. Dukepoo made a presentation this afternoon on how to increase the attainment of baccalaureate degrees in science and engineering by Native Americans. He will say more about that later in this session. We are very happy that Dr. Diana Garcia Prichard accepted our invitation to speak to us tonight. In my earlier meeting with her today at the luncheon, I was impressed with her commitment to encouraging more minorities and women to select careers in science and engineering. She related to me how she left a career in nursing to accept a more challenging career in the sciences. Dr. Garcia Prichard received her baccalaureate training at California State University at Hayward in chemistry and physics and her master's and doctoral degrees in chemical physics at the University of Rochester. Her graduate work emphasized optics, electronics, automation, vacuum technology, and signal processing with data acquisition and analysis. She is now a researcher at the Eastman Kodak Company, where she conducts investigations to produce materials that are both effective and environmentally safe. As a research scientist, she also manages manufacturing projects as well as writing technical papers and publications. Dr. Garcia Prichard was a member of the Clinton-Gore transition cluster for space, science, and technology. She is a member of several professional and civic societies. In this area, she is the co-founder of two organizations, the Hispanic Organization of Leadership and Advancement of Partnerships in Education. She has received several awards from organizations and community groups for promoting education for underrepresented youth. She is the mother of two adult children and has successfully managed her professional career while being a caring mother. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present our speaker for the evening, Dr. Diana Garcia Prichard. KEYNOTE ADDRESS Diana Garcia Prichard Research Scientist Eastman Kodak Company Thank you for that introduction, Dr. Calbert. And thank you to the organizers of this conference and to NSF for asking me to speak today. I will talk about industry responsibility for science, engineering, and mathematics education. There is no question that technology needs are rapidly increasing. One way to determine future needs is to look at the current expenditure of research and development dollars. U.S. firms will spend $81.3 billion of their own funds on research and development in 1993. Some of the largest industry spending will be in the areas of aircraft and engine parts, chemicals, computers, electronics, telecommunications, farm machinery, food, pharmaceuticals, and plastics. For the first time, the telecommunications industry will become the biggest spender, according to the 1993 R&D Ratios and Budgets. When I started with Kodak, I heard the many comments about the glass ceiling and the old-boy network having all the control and decision making. From my point of view, it was a national pipeline issue: not having enough women and minorities graduating from college with the required degrees to fill the gap. The way to reach parity in the workforce is to reach parity in the education pipeline first. Diversity is rapidly emerging as a force that will dramatically shape American business' social and economic roles. This new understanding acknowledges the importance of diversity and drives the reality of diversity as good business practice. It is well documented that diversity stimulates better ideas that promote invention, innovation, and progress in technology. The scientific demands of business in a world of technology will make science, engineering, mathematics, and a diverse background indispensable. It is disturbing that some colleges and universities do not make the changes required to educate the underrepresented. Girls and women are not encouraged to pursue careers in math and science. The dropout rate for African Americans and Hispanics remains high, and the recruitment and retention rates for the underrepresented remain low in many colleges and universities. What can corporations do to meet their future workforce needs? Let me mention some available programs in the K-12 area: o Hands-on volunteers in science programs to create excitement o Mentoring/shadow programs to let students see how mathematics and science are useful in the real world o Speakers/Career Day programs o Community-based programs, to include such organizations as the Society for Engineers and Scientists and the National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers to serve as role models On the college level, programs include o More programs in community colleges o Jobs co-ops targeting underrepresented groups o Summer intern programs o Support for undergraduate research experience o Increased recruitment efforts At the graduate level, there are increased fellowships and support for research. Corporate America must learn to manage diversity as a strategic capability to ensure a long-term competitive advantage. Corporations are now beginning to o Require higher productivity from technical staff o Need a more mobile workforce o Recognize increasing numbers of women and minorities in the workforce o Consider a workforce that recognizes lifestyle as important Corporations recognize that to manage diversity is to manage difference to achieve improved results and to utilize differences to optimize performance. Four elements that link diversity to competitiveness are o Recognizing that the scope is global o Recognizing that success depends on the ability to maximize the creative talents of all individuals o Encouraging behaviors consistent with understanding, valuing, and managing diversity o Recognizing that increasing diversity will also be consistent with business objectives Many corporations do not have champions for change. Thank goodness, some of you will be their future leaders. I truly believe that diversity must become a reality, and the term "minority" will soon have only a historical meaning. Thank you. REMARKS Frank Dukepoo Assistant to the Vice President for Academic Affairs Northern Arizona University I see some parallels in what Dr. Prichard said. I see parallels between the corporate structure, the university structure, and the faculty. As I see it, there is a lot of money out there. Everyone is committed and very concerned as long as there is a lot of money. Take away the money, and I wonder about the commitment. Many students would like to get good grades without the required study. There is a big party going on, but there is a price of admission. It's easy to point fingers at everyone else without taking responsibility. We need to look at quality versus quantity. For my own people, I think a handful of superbly qualified Indians can do more for our people than scores of undereducated professionals. The quality of leadership is worth examining for our people. Ethics and values are very important. We need to dare to be different, to really look at programs. We have national goals, but do we have national curricula to support these goals? Each day I check our library to see whether there are any textbooks written in our native language. Are programs written in anything but English? There are realities we need to look at--the realities of hard work. Let me tell you about the National Native American Honor Society. I am excited about it. Nothing is free. It is based on belief in decency and respect. To belong to the honor society requires a 4.0 grade point average. With that comes a certificate and a gold eagle pin. Two years ago, we had a national conference in Flagstaff, Arizona, with nearly 1,000 Indian kids attending--Indian kids with perfect grades. High expectations were made tough because that is the Indian way. We started more than two years ago with 20 schools; we now have more than 180--and more than 1,200 kids with straight A's and perfect attendance. The kids are now starting to encourage their parents to set higher goals. Parents are now going back to school. There are some straight-A families. There is nothing fancy, and we are getting results. I am finding that youngsters want direction. Kids have great ideas. We are telling our kids that we failed with the things we did in the 1960s, that we didn't know what we were doing but they can take over from here. The kids are responding that maybe some things needed changing. The Indian kids have developed a pledge that provides direction and challenge. It is a time of change. What is happening in the Indian communities parallels what we find at the corporate level, the university level. It has to do with family, caring and sharing, hard work. No excuses. We look for results. We don't expect excellence, we demand it. Can this be done for all kids? You bet. We are preparing for 1999. I am looking for a place that will hold 30,000 so that I can fill it with straight-A Indian scholars as a model for the rest of the Nation. It will show how Indian people are preparing to meet the 21st century with the finest minds, the finest talent. This would be the greatest gathering of intellectual Indians, the best talent in the history of mankind. I would like to make a special presentation to Dr. Luther Williams. Dr. Williams, I would like to make you an honorary member of the National Native American Honor Society. LUNCHEON FORUM PRESIDING Jaime Oaxaca National Science Board Member and Vice Chairman Coronado Communications Corporation It is an absolute delight for me to address a crowd like this today. I'm delighted to see such large numbers of the future of America--the students at all levels who will be running this great country as we move into the 21st century. Everything we are doing here is on behalf of them, the best and the brightest young people, because without them America has a serious problem. We owe it to our young people to provide them with the best tools to compete in a world of profound changes. So I take my hat off to all the students who are here. I would like all of them to stand, and I would like to personally lead the applause. And to you young people who just stood up, a bit of advice from us older folks: We're leaving you a perfect world--don't screw it up. Our keynote speaker is now the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and National Toxicology Program. Let me tell you what that means. NIEHS, located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, began in 1966 as a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and acquired institute status in 1969. It is the principal federal agency for biomedical research and training on the health effects of environmental agents and on the prevention, intervention, and treatment of diseases and dysfunctions associated with the environment. For more than a quarter of a century, it has served as a world focal point for environmental health services, hosting scores of international scientific conferences on virtually every major environmental health issue. These issues include biodegradation of hazardous waste, benzene toxicity, and mechanisms of pollutant actions in aquatic organisms, to name a few. Now, in my mind, the Director of this institute is facing a tough assignment. His organization has to set the tone for the rest of the world, and some countries have not recognized that no one country can solve the problems of the environment alone. So he faces the daunting challenge of getting all countries to think alike. Dr. Kenneth Olden was named the third Director of NIEHS and the second Director of the National Toxicology Program on June 18, 1991. He was appointed to that position by Dr. Louis Sullivan, then Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. His appointment marked several firsts for NIH. He is the first Director named by then-NIH Director Dr. Bernadine Healy, and he is the first African American to become Director of one of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Olden is a cell biologist and a biochemist by training and has been active in research on the properties of cell surface molecules and their possible roles in cancer for more than a decade. He was Director of the Howard University Cancer Center and professor and Chairman of the department of oncology at Howard University Medical School before coming to NIEHS. He joined Howard University in 1979 after a stint at NIH, first as a Senior Staff Fellow, then Expert, then Research Biologist at the National Cancer Institute. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Knoxville College, his master's degree from the University of Michigan, and his doctorate from Temple University. He was a Macy Fellow as an instructor at Harvard Medical School before joining NIH. Let us give a warm welcome to the very distinguished Dr. Kenneth Olden. KEYNOTE ADDRESS Kenneth Olden Director NIEHS and National Toxicology Program It is indeed a great honor to be here today. I remember almost 20 years ago when Luther Williams, myself, and another colleague in the audience, Jim Townsel, were interested in going back to a predominantly black institution and creating what we thought could serve as a role model for medical research. We wanted to demonstrate that the ethnicity of an institution should have very little to do with the quality of science that could be performed at that institution. Luther and I never realized that 23 years later Luther would be at the National Science Foundation, I would be at NIH, and Jim would be a former department head and acting dean at a major medical center. I hope that Jim and Luther are committed to the same things we were talking about in those days, and I hope that my remarks will convince you that I am also. When Dr. Bernadine Healy called on me to discuss the possibility of being named Director of NIEHS, we chatted for 25 or 30 minutes. Dr. Healy then got up and said, "Dr. Olden, if I selected you to be Director of this institute, what would you make as your top priority?" Since we had only chatted for about 25 minutes, I knew the answer to this question was going to be it. If I gave the wrong answer, I wouldn't get the position, but with the right answer I would get it. I thought a minute and finally I decided to give an honest answer. I had spent five years at the National Cancer Institute in NIH. Previously, I had been a grant recipient. I had been on advisory boards and councils at NIH for 11 years after leaving, and the possibility of returning to NIH excited me. I gave the answer that, in fact, I feel today. I said, "Dr. Healy, if I were selected to be Director of this institute I would make it relevant to the needs of the American people." That's what I have set about doing, and I hope that my remarks today will convince you that we are well on our way to accomplishing that objective. When I took over this institute, for eight years we had been consistently last among the 17 NIH institutes in funding from the Congress. When I arrived in 1991, it took a while to turn that around because the budget is out of cycle. In other words, the 1995 budget is almost locked in. That trend has continued for two additional years, and I've been there just over two years. I set as my first priority to raise the budget. To raise the budget, you have to have a product to market to the American people, because Congress votes the will of the American people. The fact that we came in dead last year after year simply says that what we did at the institute was not particularly relevant to the needs of those who pay taxes. Now I don't know how that could happen, because human diseases and dysfunctions are caused by two things: genes or the environment (or the interaction between the two). As you know, we launched the Human Genome Project a number of years ago, and probably by the year 2000 we will have cloned the human genome. We will be well on our way to assigning specific functions to various genes, but we will have made almost no headway in determining the role of the environment in human diseases and dysfunctions. Now that's a tragedy for the following reason: Diseases and dysfunctions caused by the environment can be absolutely, unequivocally prevented. There is no need for any of us to die from diseases and dysfunctions caused by environmental exposure. According to the Office of Technology Assessment, about $600 billion is spent each year on risk assessment research in this country. Our institute is responsible for a little over half that research. Risk assessment research drives regulatory policy, so when you hear about the levels of exposure to dioxin, aflatoxin, or Agent Orange, in most cases that research has been done at our institute. Research on carcinogens and cigarette smoke is also performed at our institute. Obviously, we do something that is important to you. We are spending in 1993, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates, $280 billion a year. That's why it is often you, the taxpayer, who regulates risk regulations. Most of you might have heard about the Delaney Amendment, which controls carcinogenic exposure in foods. Well, we play a major role in collecting that information and data. We spend $280 billion a year on regulating human exposure to substances, and, in most cases, the scientific foundation on which risk assessment is based is pretty shallow. In fact, in most cases it is based on one observation, and that is that these agents in animals--usually rodents--cause cancer, birth defects, or respiratory immune suppressive disorders. We were supposed to have two other pieces to that research paradigm. We were supposed to have epidemiological associations using people exposed occupationally or environmentally. Additionally, we were supposed to have basic research on mechanisms of action. Because you can extrapolate better from rodents to humans if you know something about mechanisms. If you know that the enzyme system in a rodent that metabolizes substrates to an active ingredient is the same enzyme that exists in humans, then it is quite likely that humans will also contract the disease or dysfunction. Rodents and humans are similar, and that is the basis on which rodent tests are made. But they are not identical. We have not brought the very best cutting-edge technologies in science to bear on human risk assessment. And that is exactly what we need to do. I was asked by the Competitiveness Council to talk with them about environmental health science research. Now that is an unusual organization to be interested in environmental science research. But they were interested because they had heard that I was very concerned about the cost of regulation. According to the EPA, we are going to spend $100 billion by the turn of the century. Now our institute spends just over $300 million. So it is very clear to me that they could double our budget tomorrow, and we could have a tremendous impact on the quality of risk assessment. If you are concerned about bringing down health care costs, as everyone is now, if you want to contain and control health care costs, you have to address the problems of prevention. In other words, rehabilitation and treatment are expensive. Many people cannot afford it, and those of us who may be able to afford it believe it costs too much. If you want to reduce health care costs, then prevent human diseases and dysfunctions. The papers all would have you believe that cancer is the only disease that the environment causes. Nothing could be further from the truth. For example, there is asthma, and environmental chemicals with estrogen-like activity probably play a major role in breast cancer. In fact, tomorrow I go to New York to testify at a congressional hearing organized by Congressman Towns. They want me to discuss the role of chemicals with estrogen-like activity in cancers such as breast cancer. While chemicals in the environment may play a role in prostate cancer, endometriosis, and ovarian cancer, let's not forget asthma, birth defects, infant mortality, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, immune suppressive disorder, and lupus. The environment also plays a role in these disorders and dysfunctions. We can identify the agents that cause these diseases and dysfunctions, and we can move forward. Why has the environment not received the attention it deserves over the years? I said earlier that we have not brought state-of-the-art science to bear on these issues. Well, with the recent revolution in cell and molecular biology, we can now construct transgenic animals, and you can knock out specific genes. These are the things we can do at NIH. We need to bring the cutting edge of molecular biology to bear on human risk assessment. For example, we can study and mark you in terms of predisposition to human diseases. As a matter of fact, I don't know whether you saw it in the major newspapers on Sunday, but there were two pages devoted to the isolation and identification of the gene that renders people more susceptible to breast cancer. I was very pleased; I have been telling Congress for years that the gene is going to be isolated and cloned in our institute by one of my colleagues. We are out front on it; we are collaborating with the group at the University of Utah. So what we do is relevant to human health. We just initiated a multicenter clinical trial to develop a better treatment for lead poisoning. Lead poisoning is a serious problem, particularly for minorities and those who are economically disadvantaged. In inner cities, as many as 35 to 50 percent of the kids have blood lead levels in excess of 25 micrograms per deciliter of blood. That was the old Centers for Disease Control (CDC) standard. The new standard is 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood, with the caveat that there is no blood lead level that is safe. We supported the studies for many, many years, and the standard changed because our institute made an investment in mechanistic basic science, just laboratory basic science, and we found out that lead has serious health effects. For example, it decreases neural behavioral function; it decreases cognition, and IQs are lowered by as much as 4 to 5 percent. That may not be important to a kid who is going to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or MIT, but for an entire population, that is a disaster. Then there is asthma. African Americans have asthma four times more frequently than Caucasians. Hispanic Americans have it seven times more often, and asthma is deadly. But it is also preventable. We created a clinical center to get at this issue. We didn't have a medical program because part of the problem is that there is no animal model for asthma in humans. How can you study asthma in a rodent? You have to have the appropriate model. Our present clinical program will allow us to see diseases like asthma, breast cancer, and endometriosis. So we are important to you. When I was at Howard University, I concluded that I didn't want to be a college president because college presidents are away from the action. They spend most of their time raising money. It never occurred to me when I said yes to Dr. Healy that was exactly the position I had just accepted. As I mentioned before, for years the NIEHS budget ranked last among all the NIH institutes in terms of funding. In 1994 we ranked third--from last place to number three. And this was under the old administration. We didn't accomplish this under the new administration, which is likely to be more sensitive to environmental issues. We need to double our budget and we will do it, because we deliver a product. I would like to close with one issue--environmental equity. It is clear that there is a relationship between disproportionate disease incidence and socioeconomic status. This issue has been raised by Ben Chavas and others as early as 1982. Now that Dr. Chavas is president of the NAACP, the issue has been elevated. This administration has taken it on as a major issue. I'm pleased to say that NIEHS was out in front on this issue two years ago. The EPA admits that the poor and ethnic minorities are disproportionately exposed. That is, they live and work in the most hazardous environments. What we don't know is whether the exposure caused the diseases and dysfunction that they encounter disproportionately. There is only one clear example--lead poisoning. I believe that we will not get the Nation to reallocate resources or to rethink policy about health prevention unless we provide additional evidence to convince the American people that the poor have these diseases and conditions--more infant mortality, more premature births, more birth defects, more cancer--because they live and work in environments with pollutants that cause these diseases and conditions. I further realize that if the institute is going to be relevant, I have to get out and talk to you. So we go out as often as possible. We visited Cancer Alley--between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. We visited waste sites in Alabama. We visited lead treatment centers in Baltimore, where we talked to mothers of lead-poisoned babies and played with little children who were lead-poisoned and whose IQs have been stunted. The impact is unparalleled. This is why I and other institute directors, and others in the federal government have to leave our offices and talk with you. My job is to come back and translate the needs and concerns of the American people into public policy. AWARDS LUNCHEON PRESIDING Eugene H. Cota-Robles Former Special Assistant for Human Resource Development and Affirmative Action Officer National Science Foundation It's an honor for me to introduce Colonel Guion S. Bluford, Jr., well known to you as an astronaut. Dr. Bluford, a native of Philadelphia, earned his baccalaureate degree in aerospace engineering at Pennsylvania State University and his masters and Ph.D., also in aerospace engineering, at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Between his baccalaureate and doctoral degrees, he spent time in Vietnam, where he flew 144 combat missions in the Vietnam War, earning numerous awards for his heroic service. In 1979, Dr. Bluford became an astronaut for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), specializing in space station operations. He is a veteran of four spaceflights. His first spaceflight was in 1983; his most recent was in December 1992. In these flights, Dr. Bluford has orbited the Earth 458 times for a total of almost 700 hours of spaceflight. Recently, Dr. Bluford left NASA to become vice president and general manager of NYMA, Inc., in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he heads their engineering efforts. KEYNOTE ADDRESS Guion S. Bluford, Jr. Former NASA Astronaut and Vice President NYMA, Inc. I feel honored to be a part of this Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce. I think that the work you are doing is great, and I think we need to continue it into the future. I wandered around yesterday, as well as this morning, looking at some of the student research, and I have to admit I was impressed. Some of these students had topics that blew my mind, and I will have to have them explain it to me in detail. I was very impressed with the quality of the work and the effort and enthusiasm of the students. So I want to congratulate all the students. All of you are what I call our best and our brightest. When I think about the students, I say to myself, These people are our future engineers, our future scientists, our future doctors, and our future astronauts. You are also our future leaders. I read an article not too long ago in Fortune magazine about the top 500 companies and their chief executive officers (CEOs). In the discussion of these CEOs, it was pointed out that many of them are scientists and engineers. As a matter of fact, the largest percentage of CEOs come out of science and engineering. So when I look at the students out there, I know that not only will many become teachers and astronauts and doctors, but many will be the future leaders and CEOs of our major corporations. I also want to congratulate the teachers, the college administrators, the industry people, and the mentors out there. We need your help and support to continue the work being done to bring more minorities into science and engineering. I know that it is rough sometimes, but I think it is very important that we continue to support and encourage these kids to pursue degrees in science and engineering. So I want to thank all of you for your support and urge all of you to continue that support, because we as a nation are going to need these scientists and engineers if we are going to be competitive in the 21st century. I do a lot of public speaking. Primarily, I like to go to colleges and high schools and talk about flying in space. That is a fun topic for me. I walk around with my set of slides and tell kids what it is like to rocket downrange and all the good work we can do in orbit. I do that to encourage these kids to dream and to realize that they can be astronauts. These students all have lots of questions. One question they ask is, "When you were a kid, did you want to be an astronaut?" Well, I hate to say it, but when I was a kid, we still had horses on the streets, and TV did not exist. The closest thing to being an astronaut was that I would get up on Saturday morning and walk down the street to the local theater and pay a dime to watch episode 6 of Flash Gordon and Ming. Then the kids respond, "Well, how did you get into the astronaut program?" I tell them that I was very fortunate growing up in Philadelphia. I developed an interest in airplanes and was fascinated with flying machines. If you wandered around my room as a kid, you would see all these books on airplanes and models of airplanes. I also had an interest in science and math, although I found that those subjects were not the easiest. I really had to struggle to get through algebra and trig and calculus. But I enjoyed the challenges of science and math and the challenges associated with problem solving. In junior high school, I made a decision that when I became an adult, I would have people pay me to do something that I really wanted to do. So I asked myself, What are the things that I enjoy doing? I liked science and math and airplanes. So for me, it was obvious. What I really wanted to be was an aerospace engineer. I made that decision in junior high school, and I chased after that dream throughout high school and college and in my Air Force career, and eventually became the aerospace engineer I had always dreamed of. I set my goals early. I did many of the same things that the students in the audience did. I took all those math and science courses, I attended all those science fairs, and I dreamed of being an aerospace engineer. And I achieved it. And for those students out there who have the same types of dreams, hang in there. You can achieve your goals. I owe my success to three factors, and I want to acknowledge those factors today. I owe my success to my parents, my teachers, and my community. I feel very fortunate that I had great parents and great teachers and grew up in a great community. As a kid, I felt a bit fortunate and unfortunate with parents because I had three of them. You know, as a kid, you want to have as few parents as possible. But I had three: I had not only a mother and father, but a grandfather as well. So I really couldn't get away with anything. My father was a mechanical engineer and worked for the Franklin Arsenal in Philadelphia, and the thing I remember most about my father was how much he enjoyed being a mechanical engineer. My father also encouraged my interest in science and math and aeronautics, and that is why I got into the aerospace business. My mother was a schoolteacher who taught in the Philadelphia public school system for 25 years. She stressed the importance of education, of being my best, of setting high goals and not quitting. I also swore there was a conspiracy between my mother and my teachers because I could never get away with anything. My mother knew my teachers, and I was always under the gun. I couldn't say, "Well, I don't have homework tonight." I also had a grandfather who was a retired farmer, educator, and minister, who came to live with us when I was about six. His wit and wisdom and insight really encouraged my curiosity. He was the type of person you could ask dumb questions, and this was important because you reach a point as you are growing up where you can't talk to your parents anymore. They just don't see things the way you see them. So it was nice to have a grandfather around that you could talk to, who would give you sage advice without being critical of your questions. People ask me about mentors. Who were my mentors? My mentors were my parents. And I think, if anything, they were the strongest people in my life. I want to emphasize that as parents, you are the primary mentors for your children. Many times people say, "We would like to have Guy Bluford here because he is a mentor." I don't mind serving in that role, but realize that I am like the Lone Ranger; I ride in and do my mentorship, and then I ride out. It is important to realize that the chief mentors in your children's lives are yourselves, as parents and as teachers, and to make sure that you set the standards you want your kids to maintain. I had great teachers. I went through the Philadelphia public school system and had some great teachers along the way. The teachers that were the best were the ones I hated the most. They were the ones that had me sweating at night worrying about tomorrow's exam, staying up half the night working on projects, spending my weekend in the library working on these projects. They prevented me from watching some of my favorite TV programs and working on my basketball shots. I think that without those teachers, I would have been a better basketball player. Unfortunately, I don't think I am tall enough or fast enough. I don't think I would have made it. Because of those teachers, I did not become a basketball star; I ended up being an astronaut. I am very pleased and very thankful for those teachers. To the teachers out there, I want to emphasize the importance of setting high standards. It is very easy to set standards to make your students feel comfortable. But the reason I am here today is that I had teachers who set high standards for me and forced me to stretch. So I think it is important to set high goals, high standards, for your students. Make those students sweat it. They will not appreciate it at the time, but they will bless you in the future. I also was raised in a great community. I lived in a community that was safe and supportive, a community where if my parents weren't there, my teachers and my neighbors were there and you could count on your neighbors to help you. I lived in a community where scouting and church activities flourished. I lived in a neighborhood where drugs and guns and crimes were very uncommon; a neighborhood where order, peace, and courtesy were encouraged and rewarded. The biggest obstacles I faced in growing up were prejudice, ignorance, and fear. I felt very fortunate to have parents who pointed out to me that to overcome those obstacles, all you need is hard work, perseverance, and education. I also grew up in a neighborhood where it was easy to get a job. I felt very fortunate to have all sorts of oddball jobs. I was a paperboy. I was a camp counselor. I was a lifeguard. I worked for a doctor. I hauled groceries from the supermarket for customers. I generally had more money than my parents. There were several times growing up when my mother would come in and say, "Could I borrow a little money from you?" I would have charged her interest, but she was always bigger than I was, so I didn't think I could get away with it. Working in various jobs along the way, I learned a great deal about working, and that helped me in my adult life. So I am very thankful for the community where I grew up. Today, the world is a bit different. We live in a global economy. Our country is competing with the Japanese, the Europeans, and the South Americans for various markets. Competition is stiffer, and that means more challenges as well as more opportunities. The barriers of prejudice, ignorance, and fear are down, but the challenges are still there--but different. The challenges include drugs, crime, a weaker school system, reduced parental support, and degradation of our moral standards. To fight those obstacles, we need to stand together. We need to work harder, and smarter, as well as together. And I think it is important that parents, teachers, and community leaders join together to tackle those obstacles to encourage our kids to dream and to achieve, and to make them realize that with hard work and perseverance, you can be anything you want to be. One group that has helped us tremendously is the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Without them, statistics on the participation of African Americans and Hispanics in science and engineering would be worse. If you look out there, you realize that over half the black engineers in this country come from HBCUs. Most of the blacks in graduate school do their undergraduate work at HBCUs. HBCUs are really carrying the brunt of the load, and they're doing an excellent job. We need to continue to support their activities as well as the activities of other universities. Let's look at the workforce in general. The workforce in this country includes about three million scientists and engineers. Of those three million, about 3 percent are African American and Hispanic engineers. Before I entered the astronaut program, I worked at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, in the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory. This is the primary Air Force laboratory for aeronautical research. The laboratory had 3,000 to 4,000 engineers on staff, but there were only 24 black engineers in the whole laboratory. And of those 24 black engineers, there were only two black engineering supervisors, including me. So we still have a long way to go to reach parity in science and engineering. What can we do? How can we solve this problem? First, I think, we need to start early. We need to encourage a strong interest in math and science in elementary school, in junior high school, and definitely in high school. We need to make math and science fun. It will require some effort, some homework, some struggle, but we must make them fun courses. It is particularly important in junior high school because in elementary school, kids are excited about everything. By the time kids get into fifth grade, courses start to get a little tougher, and it is very easy to lean toward the easier courses, which are sometimes not math and science. It is important--particularly in fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades--to encourage and promote interest in math and science. Because if kids lose their interest there, then when they reach high school, they will not touch math and science, and that resource is gone. We need to provide more role models for kids. In fact, I am going to try to continue my work in schools, even though I am no longer in the astronaut program. I am going to continue speaking engagements at local colleges and universities, as well as elementary schools. But I can't do it by myself. There are lots of people who can do the same thing, lots of scientists, engineers, role models. They can come to our schools; serve as tutors, as teachers, as counselors to encourage kids to pursue degrees in science and engineering. I think it is very important that you do that. One of the things that bothers me is the tendency to think that those who are economically deprived must be educationally handicapped. That's an interesting comment, isn't it? Kids who come out of poor neighborhoods are just as smart as kids who come out of rich neighborhoods. We need to make sure that the education system in the poor neighborhoods is just as strong and just as stimulating as the education system in the wealthy neighborhoods. When I go back to Philadelphia, people ask, "Where did you come from in Philadelphia?" and I say, "West Philadelphia, Overbrook High." They stand back in amazement and ask, "How did you graduate from Overbrook High and become an astronaut!" That should be the natural thing to do. A kid should be able to go all the way through the school system, graduate from high school, and go on to Harvard or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. You should not have to worry about which school a kid is going to attend. All the schools should provide quality educations. People are surprised that I went to Overbrook High, but I point out that when I went there, I had mean teachers. They did not let me work on my basketball shot. And my high school was a basketball high school because Wilt Chamberlain and company went to that high school. I was very unpopular in high school because I could never work on my basketball shot. There are some exciting precollege programs out there that I'd like to mention. Some of you may be familiar with them. There's a program called PRIME in Philadelphia. There's a program called SMART in Washington, D.C., with George Caruthers, and there's a similar program out in Los Angeles called SMART that Rockwell Corp. works with. I worked with a program called SPACE in Houston, and we're just beginning to get that off the ground. And there's a program called SEMA in Atlanta. The purpose of all these programs is to provide supplemental support to kids, minority kids in particular, in science and math to help them make it through the system. Let me talk a little bit about the program I'm most familiar with, PRIME. PRIME is an acronym that stands for Philadelphia Regional Introduction for Minorities to Engineering. It is run by Dr. Alex Tobin. It operates with kids from 8th to 12th grade, and it provides tutoring after school. It provides mentors from industry and government who come to the schools and mentor the kids. It has summer workshops and study groups where kids can get together and work on their science and math. The program is funded by local industry. It is also supported by local universities: Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, and the University of Pittsburgh. In the summertime, the students study on college campuses; in their junior to senior years, they spend some time on college campuses and get familiar with what college is like. I think this is a great program. We need to make sure we are encouraging minorities to go on to graduate school. There are two programs that I am somewhat familiar with that support graduate school programs. One is GEM, and the other is Project 100 at the University of Maryland. So there is a lot of effort being made, but a lot of work still needs to be done, and I hope that in the years to come we continue to work on this problem. We have to produce more scientists and engineers, especially minority scientists and engineers, if we as a country are going to survive and prosper in the next century. I am pleased to see that this organization is working very hard to achieve that goal. Once again, I want to congratulate the students. You all do great work. I am impressed. I am looking forward to seeing you as our future scientists, engineers, and astronauts. I am looking forward to lying out on the beach one day and looking up and seeing a space station go by and saying, "Yeah, there goes Joe Blow. He went to Morgan State or Tuskegee or Prairie View. He's really doing a great job as an astronaut in orbit, and we pushed him through the system. We need more of those." I also want to congratulate the teachers, sponsors, and mentors of this program because all of you realize the importance of these future scientists and engineers, but you are also providing the impetus to help them get through the program. Once again, it's my pleasure. Thank you very much. AWARD PRESENTATIONS PRESIDING Eugene H. Cota-Robles Former Special Assistant for Human Resource Development and Affirmative Action Officer National Science Foundation (NSF) Last year, as part of the First National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce, awards were presented to outstanding student researchers and to leaders in science, engineering, and mathematics education for underrepresented minorities. This year we continue that activity, which is now a tradition. More than 300 student participants in NSF-sponsored research activities are presenting their findings in panel and poster settings. Disciplines represented include chemistry, physics, engineering, biology, and the social sciences. Students entered the competition by submitting a formal research paper based on their conference presentation. Papers were reviewed by NSF research scientists and science educators, and finalists were selected in each category: precollege, undergraduate, and graduate. NSF staff judges attended the presentations of all finalists, and winners have been selected. Before we present the awards, I would like to formally recognize the many NSF scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and science educators who volunteered their time to review the research papers and to judge the presentations. Will you all please stand. Plaques and monetary prizes will be presented to the winners. The award categories, sponsors, presenters, awardees, and titles of papers are summarized below. (The winning papers are published elsewhere in this document.) STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS PRECOLLEGE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS Sponsor: National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Presenter: Joan Barber, Director for Student Life, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Awardee: Stephanie Kindle, Beaumont High School, Junior, Missouri Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities (CRCM) program Title of Paper: "A Study of Pi Using Buffon's Experiment" Awardee: Ralph Osif, Powell Junior High School, Freshman, Arizona CRCM Title of Paper: "The Effect of Cedar Smoke on Radish Seedlings" PHOTO From left to right: Eugene Cota-Robles, Ralph Osif, Stephanie Kindle, Joan Barber NSTA is the world's largest organization committed to the improvement of science education in all areas, from preschool to college. It provides many scientific activities and services to science educators, including awards to outstanding teachers. On behalf of the NSTA, I am proud to recognize that more than 30 presentations at this conference were made by high school students who are participants in the CRCM program. I attended all these presentations, and I thought they were outstanding. We know that our future scientists and mathematicians will come from this group. In today's society, scholastic endeavors often must take second place to athletics and social activities. Many of our children face additional problems of drugs, poverty, and crime. It is therefore a definite pleasure for me to identify high school students who are involved in scientific research. The joy and excitement of doing research can motivate students to choose careers in science, as well as provide an additional incentive for students to improve their overall academic performance. The NSF CRCM program, which served more than 27,000 precollege students in 1992, encourages and supports a wide range of hands-on activities in mathematics and science, beginning as early as elementary school. It results in many science fair projects, as well as more advanced research projects, as demonstrated by the outstanding papers presented at this conference. --Joan Barber UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS Sponsor: Phi Beta Kappa Presenter: Joan Ferrante, President, Phi Beta Kappa, and Professor of Comparative Literature, Columbia University Awardee: Peter Cabauy, Florida International University, Sophomore, Physics, Alliances for Minority Participation (AMP) program Title of Paper: "A Straightforward Inexpensive Method for Determining Critical Micelle Concentrations" Awardee: Lennard Perez, St. Mary's University, Senior, Computer Engineering, Research Improvement in Minority Institutions (RIMI) program Title of Paper: "Calculation of Electron-N;i2 Cross Sections Using Rigid-Rotor Approximations" PHOTO From left to right: Peter Cabauy, Lennard Perez, Joan Ferrante UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS Awardee: Jonathan Hill, Iowa State University, Junior, Civil Engineering, AMP program Title of Paper: "Design Methodology for Corrugated Metal Pipe Tiedowns" PHOTO Presenting the award to Jonathan Hill is Luther S. Williams, Assistant Director, EHR, National Science Foundation The Phi Beta Kappa Society is honored to participate in this ceremony and to recognize the achievements of undergraduate students. The purpose of our society is to encourage and further liberal arts education, and we recognize the undervalued role of science in that education and the importance for the country of encouraging undergraduates, particularly minority students, in scientific study and research. Phi Beta Kappa also recognizes the important role undergraduate student research plays in strengthening the interactions between faculty members and students and how much such research encourages students not only to complete their undergraduate work, but also to pursue advanced degrees. The Foundation's leadership role in providing opportunities for minority students to participate in undergraduate research is amply illustrated by the number of undergraduate research papers in science, engineering, and mathematics presented at this conference. Of the more than 300 presentations, approximately 45 percent were from the Foundation's premier undergraduate programs, the AMP program, and the Research Careers for Minority Scholars program. These programs have an outstanding record of providing the support needed for minority students, enabling them to pursue degrees in science, engineering, and mathematics at the undergraduate level. These two programs are currently supporting thousands of the next generation of minority scientists, engineers, and mathematicians--and, let us also hope, astronauts. Because of the number of high-quality papers submitted to the competition, NSF has joined with Phi Beta Kappa to present three awards. --Joan Ferrante GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD Sponsor: Council of Graduate Schools Presenter: Michael L. Mark, Member, Board of Directors, Council of Graduate Schools, and Dean of the Graduate School, Towson State University Awardee: Karen L. Butler, Howard University, Graduate Student, Electrical Engineering, RIMI program Title of Paper: "Neural Network-Based Detection and Identification of Arcing Faults in Delta-Delta Connected Power Distribution Systems" PHOTO The Council of Graduate Schools is honored to sponsor the award for the outstanding graduate student research paper and presentation at this conference. We present the award in recognition of NSF's leadership role in providing quality education for minority students who are underrepresented in science, mathematics, and engineering and as a reflection of our strong support of the Foundation's efforts. The graduate students who participated in this competition represent two programs of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources that focus on graduate education for minority students. One program is Minority Research Centers of Excellence, which seeks to update the capabilities of the most research-productive minority institutions and to provide increased opportunities for minority faculty and students to engage in competitive research. The second program is RIMI, which provides grants to strengthen the research capabilities and infrastructures of institutions with substantial minority enrollments that have graduate programs in science or engineering or both. More than 2,000 minority students participated in these two programs in fiscal year 1992. --Michael L. Mark SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS LEADERSHIP AWARDS The science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM) education of minority students requires a comprehensive effort involving all segments of the community, including administrators, teachers, parents, and private-sector corporations. Some persons, institutions, and corporations have a history of involvement in this effort and stand out as leaders in the field of science and education equity; a few persons have devoted their entire professional careers to the effort. NSF has created several awards to recognize and honor these persons, institutions, and corporations for their creativity, dedication, and long-term efforts to expand educational options for minority students in science and technology. Their efforts have resulted directly in increased participation by minority students in the science and technology enterprise. The award categories, the award presentations, and the award recipients are summarized below. In addition to a hand-lettered certificate, the winners will receive a framed, signed copy of the commemorative poster for the 1993 Diversity Conference. EDUCATOR ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Sponsor: NSF, Directorate for Education and Human Resources Presenter: Diana S. Natalicio, President, University of Texas at El Paso Awardee: Alfredo de los Santos, Vice Chancellor for Educational Development, Maricopa County Community College, Phoenix, Arizona PHOTO Dr. Alfredo de los Santos is Vice Chancellor for Educational Development at Maricopa County College in Phoenix, Arizona, a position he has held since 1978. His academic training includes a baccalaureate degree in English, a master of library science degree, and a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He completed postdoctoral studies at the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University. Dr. de los Santos is the founder of El Paso Community College and served as its first president from 1971 to 1976, and we wish he were still there. He has also worked extensively to improve precollege education for minority students as the principal investigator of the NSF Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities at Maricopa County Community College. He is a nationally recognized authority on higher education for minority students and the role of community colleges in this endeavor. This award is presented in recognition of his pioneering efforts on behalf of minority community college students over several decades and for his leadership in fostering a positive environment for precollege education for minority students in science, engineering, and mathematics. --Diana S. Natalicio INSTITUTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Sponsor: NSF, Directorate for Education and Human Resources Presenter: James M. Rosser, President, California State University at Los Angeles Awardee: Prairie View A&M University PHOTO Accepting the award, (right), Julius W. Becton, Jr, President, Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University, the second-oldest public institution in Texas, is nationally recognized for serving African American students. Prairie View is one of four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in Texas and is one of three "institutions of the first class." During the fall semester of 1993, its enrollment surpassed 5,900 students, the largest in the history of the university. The university's African American student enrollment is over 85 percent, and it has attained the second-highest cumulative production of African American engineers of any engineering program in the Nation. Engineering-related research has increased more than fourfold over the past three fiscal years. The graduate student enrollment in engineering has tripled over the same time frame, and the college has established three research centers: the Center for Thermal Science; the Center for Materials, Microdesign, and Microdevices; and the Center for Manufacturing Technologies. This award is presented in acknowledgment of Prairie View A&M's substantial enhancement of institutional resources and its extraordinary achievements in science and engineering education for minority students. --James M. Rosser INSTITUTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Sponsor: NSF, Directorate for Education and Human Resources Presenter: James M. Rosser, President, California State University at Los Angeles Awardee: St. Mary's University PHOTO Accepting the award, (left), Dr. Merhan Abdolsalami, Department of Engineering, St. Mary's University St. Mary's University has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students. The university has an undergraduate student population that is 70 percent minority, and it has a long history of educating Hispanic students. Community service is a vital part of the mission of St. Mary's University, which offers a wide variety of activities for the Hispanic community. Programs include tutorial programs for high-risk high school students, a high school-college joint enrollment transition program, and a special program for disabled students. St. Mary's ranked second in the country in 1992 in the number of graduating Hispanic students accepted into health career programs. This award is presented in recognition of the leadership that this university has shown in the undergraduate education of minority students, and for its community-based involvement and concern for the education of minority precollege students. --James M. Rosser CORPORATE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Sponsor: NSF, Directorate for Education and Human Resources Presenter: Patricia B. Mitchell, Executive Director, Center for Excellence in Education, National Alliance of Business Awardee: AT&T PHOTO Accepting the award, (right), Ann Alexander, Vice President, Education Programs It's a particular honor to present this Corporate Achievement Award. Further, I want to thank NSF and Dr. Williams for giving the award. Sometimes people forget that the corporate community has a vital interest in this area, contributing money, people, and influence. Thank you on behalf of our board of directors for your recognition of the corporate community and its contributions. AT&T is an outstanding corporate citizen. Their contributions to education are legendary. Their contributions in every community where they reside are legendary. AT&T has supported education since the turn of the century. In 1984, in the midst of the largest corporate reorganization in history, the AT&T Foundation was created, reflecting the company's long-term commitment to education. Today, the AT&T Foundation donates over $30 million a year in cash grants, half of it designated for education. In addition, the company donates network computing equipment and encourages its managers to become involved as school board members, volunteers, and visiting professors and lecturers. Last year AT&T Bell Laboratories celebrated the 20th anniversary of its cooperative research Ph.D. fellowship program. This fellowship program has produced 70 fellows with Ph.D.s in mathematics, science, and engineering. With a primary emphasis on science and engineering, AT&T has a deep commitment to supporting minority achievement in these fields. Since 1984, AT&T has provided $45 million in cash, equipment, and in-kind support to HBCUs. Also, the AT&T Foundation made its largest single grant to the United Negro College Fund: $3.7 million for support of libraries at member schools. At the precollege level, AT&T focuses its concern on teacher education in urban areas and on math and science education. AT&T Teachers and Technology Institute brings 50 math and science teachers to Bell Labs in the summer to learn about technology development and current management practices. AT&T also supported the early research that led to the development of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics teaching and curriculum standards. This award is presented in recognition of AT&T's continuing outstanding commitment to improving science, engineering, and mathematics education. --Patricia B. Mitchell LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Sponsor: NSF, Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Presenter: Luther S. Williams, Assistant Director, EHR Awardee: Lafayette Frederick (left) Professor, Department of Biological Sciences Howard University PHOTO This award was initiated at the very first conference last year. Its purpose is to honor individuals who over a sustained period have been exemplars of the very finest in their individual careers and in their mentorship activities. In that regard, the Foundation has another goal in that the individuals honored for lifetime achievement by NSF will constitute a senior mentoring group ("senior" in status, not age) and will participate in a roving mentorship program for students served by our efforts, particularly in the K-12 sector. Lafayette Frederick earned his bachelor's degree in science at Tuskegee Institute (now University) and his master's and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Rhode Island and Washington State University, respectively. His distinguished academic career has covered more than 40 years. It included a stint as professor at Southern University in Baton Rouge, where he rose to full professor, and more than a decade as professor of biology and chairman of the biology department at Atlanta University. Since 1976 he has been at Howard University, where initially he chaired the department of botany and microbiology; he is currently a professor in the department of biological sciences. He also served for several years as the acting dean of arts and sciences. We honor Dr. Frederick for three reasons. One is mentorship. Without exaggeration, at least 60 percent of African Americans with doctorate degrees in botany and mycology were once students of Dr. Frederick. He also influenced many students who were not assigned to him, but who he decided were his students; my younger brother and I are included in that group of several hundred. Somehow he managed to do that under very difficult conditions. He did something else that Guy Bluford was speaking about. He spent his entire career in the HBCU sector, while remaining a first-rate scholar. He has earned international acclaim for his work on slime mold, neurospora, and Dutch elm disease. He is also the author of numerous publications. In fact, his anatomical studies on Dutch elm disease helped lay the foundation for our understanding of the progress of the disease and how we might preserve historic American elms in urban landscapes. In recognition of his work, a Hawaiian shrub has been named in his honor, Cyrtandra frederickii. He has been honored by a variety of organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Sponsor: NSF, Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Presenter: Luther S. Williams, Assistant Director, EHR Awardee: Eugene H. Cota-Robles (left) Former Special Assistant for Human Resources and Affirmative Action Officer, NSF PHOTO Eugene Cota-Robles was born into a family of educators. Both of his parents were elementary school teachers. He earned a bachelor's degree in bacteriology from the University of Arizona, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in microbiology from the University of California at Davis. He began his academic career at the University of California at Riverside where he rose to full professor. In 1970, he moved to Pennsylvania State University at University Park as head of the department of microbiology. In 1973, Dr. Cota-Robles joined the faculty of the University of California at Santa Cruz as professor of biology and vice chancellor for academic affairs. He later served as assistant vice president for academic affairs in the University of California Office of the President, where he led the nine-campus system in its efforts to improve K-12 education in California. He served a six-year term on the National Science Board and on the Board of Directors of the AAAS. Dr. Cota-Robles has also had a distinguished research career, receiving extensive grant support from the National Institutes of Health for his work on the functional organization of microbial cells and the replication and maturation of bacterial viruses. In 1991, he retired from the University of California system after 32 years of service. Soon after, he accepted an appointment as Special Assistant to the Director of the NSF and Affirmative Action Officer. He currently serves as Consultant to the Director, NSF. During his career, Dr. Cota-Robles has been a leader in efforts to improve the education of underrepresented minorities. While at the University of California at Riverside, he initiated and directed an Equal Opportunity Program, an Upward Bound Program, and a High School Honors Program. In 1969, he founded and served as chair of the university's Mexican American Studies Program. He was a founding member and the second president of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science and has served as chair of the board of directors of the Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement program. He was a founding member of the National Chicano Council of Higher Education. In 1992, in recognition of his role in the development of minority graduate and postdoctoral programs, the regents of the University of California designated a $2 million minority graduate fellowship program as the Eugene Cota-Robles Graduate Scholarship Program. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Sponsor: NSF, Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Presenter: Luther S. Williams, Assistant Director, EHR Awardee: Jewel Plummer Cobb President Emeritus, California State University at Fullerton PHOTO Jewel Plummer Cobb, a graduate of Talladega College, received master's and Ph.D. degrees in cell physiology at New York University. She established herself as a distinguished scholar in cell physiology, focusing on morphological and genetic expression of both normal and cancerous pigment cells. Combining administration with her research, she served as the dean of Connecticut College and then moved to the deanship of Douglas College of Rutgers University. In the fall of 1989, Douglas College dedicated its Bunting-Cobb Mathematics and Science Hall in honor of two former deans, one of whom was Dr. Cobb. She has served on the National Science Board and has always been a major supporter of science and mathematics education for minorities and women. In 1981, Dr. Cobb became the third president of the California State University at Fullerton, a position from which she retired after 10 years of service. She is currently president emeritus at California State University at Fullerton and a trustee professor at California State University at Los Angeles. "Retirement" is a misnomer because she's assumed a leadership role in the CRCM program in Los Angeles. This award is presented to Jewel Plummer Cobb for her outstanding, persistent, and continuing work on the status of minorities in science and engineering, as well as her many other scholarly and administrative achievements. SPECIAL PRESENTATION Presenter: Roosevelt Calbert, Division Director, Human Resource Development Awardee: Luther S. Williams (extreme right) Assistant Director, Education & Human Resources, NSF PHOTO Dr. Williams, when we talk about the educational system in this country, we think about two classes of people: stakeholders and risk takers. Stakeholders are those who are quite satisfied with the status quo, with things as they are; they do not desire any particular change. Then there are the risk takers, who put their entire careers on the line to make a difference in this country, to say to all that every student in this Nation will have access to first-quality education. In honor of your work as a risk taker, I would like to present you with the original painting for this year's Diversity Conference commemorative poster. --Roosevelt Calbert