is a learning scientist and associate professor at the University of New Mexico in the Organization, Information and Learning Sciences program and in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department. She served as Co-PI on an NSF RET Grant and a USDA NIFA grant, and is currently co-PI on three NSF-funded projects in engineering and computer science education, including a Revolutionizing Engineering Departments project. She was selected as a National Academy of Education / Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow and a 2018 NSF CAREER awardee in engineering education research. Dr. Svihla studies learning in authentic, real world conditions; this includes a two-strand research program focused on (1) authentic assessment, often aided by interactive technology, and (2) design learning, in which she studies engineers designing devices, scientists designing investigations, teachers designing learning experiences and students designing to learn.

Mexico. He received a Ph.D. in Human Resource Development from University of Illinois. He has a B.S. degree in Computer Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and an M.B.A. degree from University of Tehran. He has presented his research in past years at multiple conferences including American Society for Engineering Education,

Lower division chemistry and chemical engineering courses commonly emphasize efficient acquisition of core content. While experts perceive the organization of the discipline, students perceive their courses as fragmented. This has a more severe impact on students from groups historically excluded from STEM fields, who may not have a deep understanding of the opportunities that lie on the horizon. In order to make progress on this issue, we first sought to better understand our diverse students’ chemical engineering funds of knowledgethat is, the everyday and cultural experiences salient for chemistry and chemical engineering. We found that minoritized students expressed more funds of knowledge: women expressed STEM interest and past success more than men; students from minoritized racial and ethnic groups and/or who spoke a language other than English at home expressed more community funds of knowledge. We developed design challenges for core chemical engineering courses to build on these varied funds of knowledge. We found no differences between minoritized students and their more privileged peers in terms of their intent to persist. We share implications for both chemistry and chemical engineering courses seeking to support diverse student success.

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