Program will target women, underserved communities, and underrepresented minorities to encourage them to pursue geoscience experiences and education
The three lead principal investigators exemplify the diversity in geoscience that this program strives to promote. From left: Akua Asa-Awuku, chemical engineering; Candice Duncan, environmental science and chemistry; Ebony Terrell-Shockley, education.
A University of Maryland (UMD) research team received a $385K award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for their study entitled, “GP-GO: Providing Early Access to Research & Learning in geoscienceS (PEARLS)."
Given that geoscience is one of the least diverse disciplines in STEM, the goal of the team is to engage students from non-traditional geoscience fields, such as chemical engineering, and steer them into geoscience research and field work. The team is led by three principal investigators across UMD, including Akua Asa-Awuku, chemical engineering professor with the A. James Clark School of Engineering, Candice Duncan, lecturer with the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Ebony Terrell Shockley, a clinical professor with the College of Education.
The PEARLS program (Provide Educational Access to Research & Learning in geoscienceS) targets women, underserved populations, and underrepresented minorities and encourages them to access geoscience disciplines via extracurricular experiences and training.
