The Engineering Education Collaborative has received two new grants from the National Science Foundation. “The In/authentic Experiences of Black Engineers” will examine the computer and information technology industry. Attrition in these companies is high due to perceptions of unfairness, resulting in a significant loss in creativity and productivity. In addition, by one estimate it costs these companies $16 billion annually to replace workers who leave. In this study Black and White engineers will be interviewed about their experiences. The data will be examined through theories of identity. The grant is for $399,907 over three years, and is a collaboration between E2C director Elliot P. Douglas and UF College of Education professor Erica McCray. E2C graduate student Gretchen Dietz is also working on this project. For more information see the NSF public abstract.

The second NSF grant is for the project “Research: Understanding Ambiguity in Engineering Problem Solving”. Problem solving is considered the primary activity of engineering, with most real world problems being open-ended and ill-structured. In contrast, most of the problems students solve are closed-ended and well-structured. There is a need to understand how various factors, such as content knowledge and working memory, effect students’ abilities to solve ambiguous problems. Before that can be done, however, we need a better understanding of what ambiguity is during engineering problem solving. This project will examine the different types of ambiguity experienced by both students and engineering practitioners. The goal is to create a taxonomy of ambiguity. The grant is for $249,385 over two years, and is a collaboration between E2C director Elliot P. Douglas and UF College of Education professor David Therriault. E2C undergraduate student Nicole Goetz is also working on this project. For more information see this NSF public abstract.