Career Prospects and Resources of Domestic Engineering Doctoral Students

Career prospects are a motivating factor for entry and retention of doctoral students, especially in the discipline of engineering. While doctoral student training provides them with highly specialized skills to be an independent researcher, they may not have the requisite skills or guidance to secure the job position of their choice. Therefore, it is important to provide doctoral students with opportunities, training, and information (i.e., resources) about different types of careers to not only ensure they are productive contributors of teaching and research, but also equip them for future career prospects. Research techniques based upon in-depth narrative interviews and combining research with action were used to explain how doctoral students develop and fit in with their intended careers and was used to explore what supports and challenges contribute to their intended career paths. Analysis of the data revealed three themes: (1) Engineering Doctoral Identity; (2) Engineering Doctoral Skill Development; and (3) Time. Research emerged as central to engineering doctoral identity and was reinforced by ‘Insiders’, or people who had a Ph.D. in engineering. Insiders’ and doctoral students’ value of research came at the cost of relatively devaluing other skills (e.g., teaching) and associated career resources. These students had to consider and compromise how they fit within an engineering doctoral identity that is premised on research. This negotiation influenced the skills they developed and how they crafted tactics to acquire necessary skills for future careers. At the same time, participants were struggling to cope with immediate demands of their study while also working towards future career goals. Participants struggled to optimize their time, and in response utilized “Time Adaptive Tactics” such as flexibility, networking, and leveraging career resources. Engineering doctoral student and university staff perceptions of career resources were compared against each other which revealed that students utilize resources based upon a hierarchy that considers how specific and close in time and location those resources are. Whereas staff believed their resources were beneficial regardless of these factors. Additionally, the career resources that participants used were influenced by Insiders and how they implicitly showed they valued those resources

Geochemical Modeling Of Electron Donors For Denitrification In The Oruanui Ignimbrite Near Lake Taupo, Nz

Lake Taupo, a lake in New Zealand valued for its clear blue waters, is increasingly under the threat of degraded water clarity. Understanding the fate of nitrate entering the lake from surrounding pastoral lands is critical to maintaining the water quality. Electron donor contributions to denitrification in the Oruanui ignimbrite were estimated using an in situ mesocosm, water quality data, and the geochemical modeling software PHREEQC. The geochemical results were modeled using denitrification reactions for electron donors and compared to measured water quality data. A successful model was defined as the best match of measured and modeled values of major water quality parameters, especially those involved in denitrification reactions. The evolved water quality was best modeled by a combination of OC and Fe(II) as both amorphous volcanic glass and a hypothetical pyroxene. OC and total Fe(II) contributed an average of 29.4% and 70.2% to denitrification, respectively. Amorphous Fe(II) made up an average of 60% of total Fe(II) and pyroxene Fe(II) made up about 40%. Ion exchange was incorporated into the model to explain cation behavior, but it failed to elucidate losses of potassium (K+) and increases in sodium (Na+). Na+ was best modeled by incorporating it into the hypothetical pyroxene Na0.11Fe+2Fe+30.63Si2O6. The behavior of K+ could not be fully explained by dilution and ion exchange, and it was possibly taken up in the interlayer space of halloysite or other clay minerals. The apparent rate of denitrification by Fe(II) at the Spydia site was the fastest estimated rate compared to those reported in literature. Fe(II) acted as a major electron donor at the Spydia site, and should be considered in future research in the Oruanui ignimbrite and volcanic regions worldwide

Hidden Players of Ethical Mentoring for Women Graduate Students in Science and Engineering

The relationship a graduate student and their research advisor have while they work together in academia is pivotal to the development and success of the research and involved parties (Polson, 2003). Students rely on their advisor to guide them through the academic and research process while also being a role model of professional and ethical behavior (Johnson, 2016; King, 2003). In essence, a research advisor must accept the trust and confidence of the graduate student to act in their best interest by following ethical mentoring principles. However, if the advisor is unaware of the best interest of their students or how to be an ‘ethical mentor’, they may overlook a student’s unique needs and risk relationship dysfunction. This work aims to explore the hidden players of ethical research mentoring perspectives, principles, norms, and issues of inclusivity for women graduate students in science and engineering. Particularly, we are interested in understanding six ethical mentoring principles: (1) Beneficence, (2) Nonmaleficence, (3) Autonomy, (4) Fidelity, (5) Fairness, and (6) Privacy, all which require an in-depth understanding for a productive research relationship. Preliminary qualitative analysis has revealed the importance of effective communication; how power imbalances are reinforced between the research advisor and graduate student; and how awareness of hidden norms and expectations within the research culture can shape research relationships

Mentoring is Ethical, Right? : Women Graduate Students and Faculty in Science and Engineering Speak Out

The relationship between graduate students and their research advisors within academia is pivotal to the development and success of the research enterprise. Graduate students rely on their faculty advisor to be a source of information, a departmental negotiator, and a role model to guide their professional and ethical behavior. However, if an advisor does not fully recognize a student’s best interest or they are unaware of how to be an “ethical mentor”, they may overlook the unique social capital of the graduate student (e.g., background, culture) and jeopardize the research relationship. This work aims to explore how women graduate students and faculties in science and engineering understand ethical mentoring within research relationships. Particularly, we are interested in understanding the six ethical mentoring principles suggested by Johnson (2016)—beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, fidelity, fairness, and privacy—all of which require an in-depth understanding for a productive research relationship. Qualitative analysis revealed that participants emphasized the principles of beneficence and fidelity, while principles of privacy and fairness were mentioned the least. Three key themes emerged from this analysis: (a) communication; (b) relative power between mentor and mentee; and (c) awareness (or a lack thereof) around implicit expectations within the research culture

Hidden Curriculum Awareness: A Comparison of Engineering Faculty, Graduate Students, and Undergraduates

In order for an engineering academic body (e.g., facultyand students) to navigate their surroundings, they must first become aware of the hidden curriculum around them. Hidden curriculum represents how particular assumptions, values, attitudes, and beliefs about schooling manifests in practice. When understood, these types of lessons or messages allow students, faculty, and staff to more easily navigate the academic and socio-political customs needed for success. As part of a larger study, a total of 224 participants across 57 engineering programs in the United States and Latin America were asked to comment on a survey that asked respondents about the expectations they perceived are placed on engineering students or faculty at their institution and from what source they believed these expectations came from. Preliminary findings pointed to concerns from participants that standardization (e.g., ABET) may not consider the unique resources needed among a diverse group of students as well as impinge contradictory influences on competency development in engineering. Also, the notions of elitism in engineering was seen among underrepresented participants as potentially harmful, in terms of mental and emotional health, in engineering. Results from this work can guide administrators, educators, and policy makers in engineering to consider the context and unique challenges of engineering students and faculty alike in meeting the expectations of this field

A Race Re-Imaged, Intersectional Approach to Academic Mentoring: Exploring the Perspectives and Responses of Womxn in Science and Engineering Research

In academic mentoring research, there is a need to include empirical designs that consider more sociocultural perspectives. The purpose of this exploratory study was to race re-image academic mentoring by considering its sociocultural perspectives (i.e., intersectionality, tokenism, and awareness). For this, a qualitative-dominant, convergent mixed-methods approach was used to explore the perspectives and responses of twelve womxn graduate students and faculty involved in science and engineering research. Using multi-modal approaches that included two structured interviews and electrodermal activity (EDA) sensors, participants were asked to respond to case studies of achievement-, race-, and gender-equity through an academic mentoring lens. Our qualitative findings suggested that across the interviews, issues of power, communication strategies, and awareness are predominant themes and needs of academic mentoring in theri respective disciplines. Furthermore, our quantitative findings supported the notion that throughout the interviews, varying forms of identities (e.g., social, institutional, discourse) appeared to predominate or interact throughout the cases explored. Together, the data points to the complex racial- and gender- influenced sociocultural perspectives of academic mentoring in science and engineering

Hidden Curriculum Advocacy and Resources for Graduate Students in Engineering

This study is a small part of a much larger mixed-methods study involving participants across the United States and Latin America. Larger goal: Explain the need for and rationale of the approaches that can more effectively help the engineering education research community to characterize the mechanisms behind hidden curriculum (HC) in engineering

Perceptions of Ethical Behavior in Ethical Mentoring Relationships Between Women Graduate Students and Faculty in Science and Engineering

The purpose of this Work In Progress (WIP) qualitative study was to explore how underrepresented women graduate students and faculty in Science and Engineering understand and perceive what constitutes ethical behavior in a mentoring research relationship centered around the six ethical principles of Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, Fidelity, Fairness, and Privacy. This WIP paper focuses on the responses of eight graduate students and four faculty to six case studies that targeted a specific ethical mentoring principle, and it represents an expansion of a larger study currently under review. The goals of this WIP paper are to: (a) explore participant understanding of each ethical mentoring principle; (b) elucidate participant perceptions of ethical issues in six case studies; and (c) reveal what ethical behaviors participants expect from their respective mentor/mentee if they placed themselves in the situation of the case studies

Sparking Action: How Emotions Fuel or Inhibit Advocacy around Hidden Curriculum in Engineering

Emotions are not typically addressed or valued in engineering. However, emotions may play a pivotal role as individuals within the field navigate the complexities of the hidden curriculum (HC) or the unofficial guidelines and rules that characterize a learning or working environments. These emotions may be especially relevant for underrepresent students and faculty who may feel isolated, alienated or overwhelmed by negative and unacknowledged HC. As part of the larger mixed methods study, 174 undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and administration in engineering programs across the U.S. were asked to reflect on the role of emotions in advocating for themselves or others to reveal HC in engineering programs. Participant responses were analyzed using a combination of thematic, process, pattern, and co-occurrence coding. Findings revealed that HC advocacy requires: (1) awareness of the issue; (2) ignition (i.e., emotion); and (3) a sustaining force (e.g., confidence). The most prevalent emotions to fuel advocacy were anger, frustration, and passion; hope was present only after an ignition occurred. On the other hand, inhibited advocacy was a result of one of three factors: (1) disbelief; (2) lack of value; and (3) perpetuating the status quo. Apathy and contentment were associated with participants who thought that action was unnecessary (i.e., disbelief, lack of value) while fear, exhaustion, and hopelessness corresponded to participants who felt prevented from taking action (i.e., perpetuating status quo). Findings from this work highlight how emotions are critical in advocating for issues of inequity in engineering