ESC Fosters Culture of Inclusion Through New Postdoctoral Researcher Program
A new postdoctoral researcher program at the University of Texas at Austin’s Nanomanufacturing Systems Center (NASCENT), an NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC), aims to attract more participation from diverse groups. Women are particularly underrepresented in the engineering field, and the program hired two women postdoctoral researchers in its first year.
One of the Center’s primary goals is to substantially surpass national averages of women and other underrepresented groups at all levels of participation, including postdoctoral fellows. It is expected that this and similar programs will increase diverse representation at the Center and within the engineering field more broadly.
Falling under the NSF-funded Center’s broader diversity and culture of inclusion mandate, the creation of the postdoctoral researcher program is expected to increase representation in the field of engineering. The program will also offer participants mentoring to help secure faculty positions at major research institutions or leadership positions in private industry.
This postdoctoral researcher initiative led to the hiring of two women postdoctoral researchers, Dr. Blanca Quiñones Díaz and Dr. Gabriella Coloyan Fleming, in its first year.
