Outreach

The OKPVRI promotes interdisciplinary education and research in chemical engineering, chemistry, electrical engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, and physics. Participants are involved in programs that engage the future scientific workforce. Along with increasing public awareness, the institute strives in promoting career advancement and broaden participation of the diverse group of scientists and engineers involved in our groups and all over Oklahoma.

Public Engagement: Members of the institute strive to increase scientific and engineering literacy, and to promote awareness of career opportunities in science and engineering. These activities, which highlight ongoing PV research at Oklahoma, include:

• Public lectures by Mario Borunda and colleagues in Oklahoma libraries and in GrandParents University at OSU
• Talks for science museum audiences
• Participation in NanoDays at the WONDERtorium

Broadening Participation: We are proud of our recruitment and outreach activities on Oklahoma’s large population of Native American students. The 2010 census revealed a Native American population of Oklahoma that is eight-times that of the country at large, with Oklahoma possessing the highest number of Native American students enrolled in public school systems. Oklahoma ranks 3rd in Native American population and leads the nation in the number of Native Americans that graduate from college. Smaller, regional universities in Oklahoma have a student body that contains a higher proportion of Native American students than found elsewhere. Almost all these smaller colleges in Oklahoma are ranked in the top 50 in the nation in the number of Native American students enrolled. Furthermore, the Cherokee Nation and The University of Tulsa have implemented an endowment to increase the number of tribal members enrolled at the University. OSU and OU, through student organizations such as SACNAS and the OK-LSAMP programs, also engage a large number of minority students. These facts give our group a unique credibility within the Native American community for recruiting under-represented groups into science and engineering while providing a high level of education. It is important to provide the students from rural areas and minority groups with the opportunities equal to those enjoyed by the students leaving in densely populated technologically resourceful metro areas. Recent advancements of cyberinfrastructure provide fascinating opportunities to deliver the best learning experience to K-12 and college students in the most remote locations. Our participants are also involved in outreach as members of the National Society of Hispanic Physicists.

• UT-Cherokee Nation Program
• OK-LSAMP REU students (3 undergraduate students have been supported by OK-LSAMP and performed PV research in our labs)
• Participation in SACNAS National Conference Scientific Sessions

Career Development of the PV Research Community: As part of a NASA EPSCoR grant, several participants of the OKPVRI organize an annual research symposium with the purpose of career development, development of personal and professional skills, improvement of technical communication skills, and outreach to students from underrepresented groups. The symposium serves as a mechanism for students to present their researc ans also as an outreach mechanism to encourage these students to attend graduate school and participate in the funded NASA projects as future graduate students or affiliated undergraduate researchers. Graduate school recruitment has been emphasized by members of the institute from all the universities involved: The University of Tulsa, Oklahoma State University and The University of Oklahoma.

There are usually few chances for undergraduates to discover the academic culture of graduate research and education and to experience the excitement of interdisciplinary work. Our undergraduate symposium addresses this problem by providing a recruitment opportunity and it also promotes interdisciplinary research in general. Furthermore, it has been our experience that the smaller, rural colleges in Oklahoma and in this region have many good students who would be excellent candidates for doctoral-level graduate education, but lack the exposure to the research and graduate culture that prompts students to attend graduate school. One goal of the symposium is to provide an opportunity for these students to experience, first hand, the intellectual stimulation and challenges of graduate research. Success will not only be having students come to TU, OU and OSU for graduate school, but having these students attend graduate programs in general. Members of the institute have already organized and funded regional undergraduate symposia in nanotechnology since 2006.