A Quantitative Look: Statistics of Foreign born Engineers and Scientists and Underrepresented Minori

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Creating Diverse Multicultural Teams to Enhance
The Educational Experience Foreign
Students and Diversity at ERCs
Outline

• A Quantitative Look Statistics of Foreign born
  Engineers and Scientists and Under-represented
  Minorities in the US SE workforce and at ERCs
  Jorge J. Rocca, Extreme Ultraviolet Science
  and Technology ERC and Colorado State University
• A Qualitative Look Foreign Students,
  Under-represented Minorities and Women-
  increasing diversity and improving the experience
  for all. Anthony Johnson, Mid-Infrared
  Technologies for Health and the Environment ERC
  and University of Maryland Baltimore County
• A Personal Look Recent Ph.D graduate
  prospective
• Dr. Elaine Lalanne University of Maryland
  Baltimore County and MIRTHE
• Dr. Lei Siu General Electrics Sensing and Ph.D
  graduate from CENCISS
• Open Forum

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Economic/ labor force statistics argue for the
education of an increased number of high quality
US and foreign born Engineers and Scientists

• Between 1980 and 2000 the total number of SE
  degrees grew at an average annual rate of 1.5
  when SE occupations grew at 4.2 annual rate
• Between the 1990 and 2000 census SE occupations
  grew at an annual rate of 3.6 percent, more than
  triple the rate of growth of other occupations
• Between 2002 and 2012 SE occupations are
  projected to increase at a 70 faster rate than
  other occupations
• 44 of SE doctorate holders in the US labor
  force are age 50 or older

Data from Science and Engineering Indicators
2006. www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c3/c3h.htm
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An under-utilized resource the percentages of
women and under-represented minorities in SE
occupations has grown, but is still significantly
less than their fraction of the population
Participation in US SE labor force
For Hispanics the increase is proportionally
less than their increase in the population (58
increase since 1990)
1 CRS Report for Congress, January 2006, Order
Code 97-746 2 National Academy Press
Fermat.NAP.edu/books/NI000905/html/5.html 3
www.nsf.gov/statistics/inbrief/nsf07301/
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Foreign-born Engineers and Scientists
in the US SE Enterprise

• NSF data reveals that in 2003 foreign students
  earned
• 60.3 of Doctorates in Engineering
• 31.6 of Doctorates in Science
• Retention Rate about 56 remain in the US and
  eventually become citizens
• Physical Sciences 64
• Computer Science 63
• Mathematics 57
• Percentage of foreign born Engineers/Scientists
  Doctorates in US labor force
• 57 of Electrical Engineers
• 54 of Civil Engineers
• 52 of Mechanical Engineers
• 57 of Computer Scientists

27 of Faculty
Data from CRS Report for Congress, January 2006,
Order Code 97-746
32 of ERCs Director/Deputy Directors
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Africa 1.38
Japan 0.99
Middle East 2.04
Russia 0.26
Central/South America 2.76
Canada 0.20
Europe 3.09
Oceania 0.07
Asia Other 4.21
U.S. 51.45
India 5.72
China 10
Unknown 17.83
Source Sheila Daviss ERC survey data
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Central/South America 8.99
Source Sheila Daviss ERC survey data
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Source Sheila Daviss ERC Survey data and NSF
Annual Report
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Under-represented minority student participation
at ERCs is steadily increasing and significantly
exceeds national averages - but more progress is
needed

• UMR are 26 of US Population (2000 Census)
• At current rate of increase, URM ERC
  participation would equal fraction in US
  population in 13-16 years.

Source Sheila Daviss ERC survey data and NSF
ERC Annual Reports
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Correlation Coefficient 0.15
Source Sheila Daviss ERC survey data and NSF
Annual Reports
Source Sheila Daviss ERC survey data and NSF
Annual Reports
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Correlation Coefficient 0.75
Source Latin American data from Sheila Daviss
ERC survey, Native Hispanic data from NSF Annual
Report
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Source Sheila Davis ERC survey data
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Correlation Coefficient 0.95
Source Sheila Daviss ERC survey data
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Correlation Coefficient 0.55
Source Sheila Daviss ERC survey data
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Correlation Coefficient by group
0.71 Correlation Coefficient by Center 0.47
Source Sheila Daviss ERC survey data
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Foreign ERC Graduate Students and Faculty from
Central/South America 2006 (by ERC Group)
Correlation Coefficient by Group 0.88
Correlation Coefficient by Center 0.43
Source Sheila Daviss ERC survey data
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Conclusions

• Past and projected US SE labor force statistics
  suggest a need for an increased number of SE
  graduates
• Between 1990 and 2000 SE occupations growth
  (3.6 annual rate) outpacing by 3X the growth in
  other occupations, and the growth in SE degrees
  (1.5 annual rate for 1980-2000)
• Between 2002 and 2012 SE occupations are
  projected to increase at a 70 faster rate than
  other occupations
• Foreign born Engineers and Scientists are a large
  part of US SE labor force. Women, Blacks,
  Hispanics, and Native Americans are significantly
  represented.
• Foreign students earn 60 of Doctorates in
  Engineering (2003 data)
• Retention rate is 60 in Physical
  Sciences/Computer Science
• Foreign born SE Doctorates constitute 52-57 of
  US Engineering labor force
• Foreign students and diversity at NSF ERCs
• Percentage of ERC foreign students steadily
  decreased between 2002 to 2005 by 10, but
  increased significantly in 2006 to about 50,
  following national trends
• Percentages of URM is steadily increasing and
  exceeds the National average but is still
  significantly below the population fraction
• Percentages of URM and foreign students show
  little correlation
• Percentages of US Hispanics and Latin American
  students show a strong correlation
• Percentages of foreign students and faculty of a
  given origin show moderate/strong correlation

Acknowledgments Sheila Davis and Matilda Wheaton
(EUV ERC) and all ERCs
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Provocative Quotes on Diversity
A colleague once said to me that given a choice
between a graduate applicant from a historically
black institution and an applicant from China
with exactly the same credentials, he would
choose the Chinese student every time. George
Jones, Minorities in the Scientific Workforce,
Science, vol. 296, 12 April 2002.
The time to deal with women as a special
professional group has passed. I do not know if
minorities require any special consideration, but
probably not. The scientific community seems to
embrace all individuals quite fairly as far as I
can tell. quote from a scientist responding to
a recent survey (2005), Roman Czujko, Director,
AIP Statistical Research Center.
I see no reason for a committee on women in
physics. There are only two women in physics and
I know both and they are very happy. CSWP
Gazette, October 1992.
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• Recruitment
• Recruitment of SE foreign students is not an
  issue
• 11.8 US Population (2000)
• 60.3 Engineering Doctorates 31.6 Science
  Doctorates (2004-2005)
• Recruitment of SE under-represented minorities
  requires a focused effort
• African-Americans 12.3 US Population (2000)
• 4.3 Engineering Doctorates 2.7 Physical
  Sciences Doctorates (2004)
• Hispanic Americans 13.5 US Population (2000)
• 3.8 Engineering Doctorates 3.2 Physical
  Sciences Doctorates (2004)
• National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP)
• National Society of Hispanic Physicists (NSHP)
• Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native
  Americans in Science (SACNAS)
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
• National Organization for the Professional
  Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical
  Engineers (NOBCChE)

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Retention The fundamental problem, the panel
notes, is not attracting women into science but
retaining them once they are trained.It is not
the lack of talent but unintentional biases and
our outmoded institutional structures that are
hindering the access and the advancement of
women.Women from minority racial and ethnic
backgrounds are virtually absent from the
nations leading science and engineering
departments National Academies report on the
status of women in academic science and
engineering Science, vol. 313, 22 September
2006. Due to a typically sub-critical mass of
under-represented minority and women students, a
supportive and nurturing environment is usually
very important for retention. I have found that
under-represented minority and women students
gravitate towards research groups led by
under-represented minorities and women. In the
case of foreign students there is typically a
critical mass of students who will create a
supportive environment whether or not the advisor
or department provides one. One rarely hears
about issues of retention in the case of foreign
students. However, there appears to be a
correlation between foreign students and foreign
faculty.
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• 2000 Physics Academic Workforce At PhD Granting
  Departments American Institute of Physics
• 186 PhD Granting Physics Departments
• 5000 Full-Time Equivalent Physics Faculty
• 38 African-American Faculty
• 14 Are At Two Departments Hampton University
  and Howard University
• 81 Hispanic Faculty
• 20 Of HBCU Physics Departments Have No Black
  Faculty At All
• 93 Of Non-HBCU Departments Have No Black Faculty

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Source National Science Foundation Survey of
Earned Doctorates, compiled by AIP Statistical
Research Center
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• Anecdotal Musings
• I have found that within an academic department,
  many students would segregate themselves along
  racial, ethnic and foreign status lines unless
  the department made a concerted effort to provide
  a forum for interaction.
• The ERCs provide a focus across academic
  departments and schools which fosters cooperation
  amongst foreign and domestic students. My group
  is largely Black and Hispanic and Prof. Fow-Sen
  Choas group is largely Chinese. MIRTHE has
  brought our two research groups together to work
  on Quantum Cascade Lasers a collaboration
  between under-represented minorities and foreign
  students that may not have occurred naturally
  without the MIRTHE ERC.
• Though initially I was skeptical of the concept
  of a role model, when I left ATT Bell Labs to
  join academia, I discovered that I attracted
  under-represented minorities to my research group
  in a department that had no such students before
  my arrival. My second PhD student, Dr. Elaine
  Lalanne, who you will hear from shortly, was the
  only African-American woman to receive a PhD in
  Physics in 2003. I now believe that this concept
  of a role model works for both foreign and
  domestic students and of course women. It is
  therefore imperative to increase the number of
  under-represented minority and women faculty to
  have an impact upon the diversity of SE graduate
  students the ERCs can have a significant
  impact!

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Sunday NY Times, June 22, 1997
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My Experience IElaine N. Lalanne, PhD

• I was inspired to obtain my doctorate degree by
  Dr Anthony Johnson who later became my PhD
  advisor
• As the only black PhD student in Applied Physics
  at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), it
  was a struggle for the first two years
• The majority of the students were foreign
  students.
• Many of the difficulties in interacting with
  foreign students are due to cultural and language
  barriers
• There were three American students, myself and
  two white males
• Found it extremely difficult to form study groups
  with most of the students
• NJIT did not have a strong graduate student
  organization and was closely monitored by office
  of the Graduate Studies

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My Experience II

• The Graduate Studies office offer only one
  workshop/program that dealt with academic and
  professional development, dissertation writing
• Did not provide a sense of community or support
  in increasing the retention rate
• An outlet was not available for the student to
  interact with each other
• In the third year of the program, I was a part of
  a study group with two foreign students from
  Africa- -- vital in successfully passing the
  qualifiers exams
• In taking courses in the Math department, the
  experience was differentthe students worked
  together and easily formed study group

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Positive Changes I

• Research group
• My advisor encouraged members of his research
  group to work together.
• It was mandatory to practice our talks in front
  of the group for all conference presentations and
  the dissertation defense
• We were required to present at the major
  technical conferences
• We had students from Columbia, Nigeria, Ivory
  Coast and Dominican Republic

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Positive Changes II

• NJIT Physics Department
• In the latter years of my PhD education, the
  Physics graduate program director made a
  concerted effort to encourage all the students to
  work together and form study groups
• A graduate student office space was made
  available which encouraged the students to
  interact which each other and form friendship.
• The physics graduate students co-hosted the
  holiday party, which enabled the students to
  interact with the faculty and fellow students
• My interaction with other students increased my
  friendships continue to the present day

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At UMBC

• There is a strong commitment from the University
  administrators and faculty in retention of
  students in the various PhD programs.
• There is a successful program entitled PROMISE,
  which is geared towards graduate students which
  provide academic and professional support
• The UMBC has a strong graduate student
  association (GSA) which is student run and is
  very vocal in voicing students concerns
• Students are encouraged to interact with one
  another.
• There are various workshops, such as writing
  technical papers and giving oral and poster
  presentations and writing dissertation
• Professional development workshops such as CV
  samples , teaching portfolios, conferences ,
  finances and lab management
• Students are encouraged to present at
  conferences

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Conclusion

• Advisors can be a major positive force in helping
  to foster interaction between his/her students
• The department can take an active role in
  encouraging the interaction between American and
  foreign students
• Once cultural and language barriers are
  transcended, its a personality issue which can
  either enhance or impede cooperation and
  collaboration with fellow scientists

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My Experience in Interacting in a Multi-cultural
NSF-Funded ERC team CenSSIS
Lei Sui, Ph.D. General Electric--Sensing 1100
Technology Drive Billerica, MA 01812
Presented at National Science Foundation ERC 2006
Meeting, Washington D.C., November 30, 2006.
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A little bit about myself

• Born in a rural area of P.R. China
• B.S. Nanjing University, ECE, Nanjing, P.R.
  China in July, 2000
• M.S. Boston University, ME, Boston, U.S.A., in
  January, 2003
• Ph.D. Boston University, ME, Boston, U.S.A., in
  August, 2005
• Postdoc/Instructor Boston University, Fall, 2005
  while filing my GC application through National
  Interest Waiver
• Currently working at GESensing as a Transducer
  Engineer.

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My experience with CenSSISaha wonderful

• Within CenSSIS, I see that the presence of
  foreign born students creates a competing
  environment.This by itself enhance the quality
  of research.
• Within CenSSIS, I see that foreign born students
  and U.S. born students really help each other
  with communication skills, writing skills and
  technical skills.This is really a win-win case.
• The international composition of CenSSIS helps me
  a great deal to pursue my Ph.D. degree and my
  career goal.

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Multicultural CenSSIS helps to increase diversity!

• I believe that the international composition of
  CenSSIS helps to increase the diversity of U.S.
  born students, through competition and
  collaboration.
• I believe that every CenSSIS member benefits from
  the multicultural background of CenSSIS.
• I believe that the presence of foreign born
  students helps the excellent Science and Engineer
  students to remain in the U.S. after their
  graduations. I dont think I would stay in this
  country if I were the only foreigner here.

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Conclusions

• My experience in interacting in a multi-cultural
  team of CenSSIS has been wonderful
• My interaction with US born students is a
  favorable experience for both
• I believe that a multi-culturural ERC atmosphere
  helps a great deal to increase diversity of US
  born students, and to retain the excellent
  foreign born students after their graduations.

Acknowledgements

• CenSSIS, particularly Kristin Hicks and Michael
  Silevitch for their kind nomination
• NSF for financially support of this trip
• Prof. Jorge J. Rocca and Anthony Johnson for
  organizing this great panel meeting.