The University of Illinois at Chicago is looking for a few good students who want to change the world for the good — as engineers.
UIC’s chemical engineering department has received a $600,000 National Science Foundation grant to attract new students, primarily freshmen. Most of the funds will be used to provide need-based scholarships. Some of the grant will be used to target high school females as they look toward careers and college programs.
“We don’t have an issue with retaining women — our problem is attracting them to the program,” said Sohail Murad, professor and head of chemical engineering and a principal investigator in the NSF scholarship program.
The goal of the program is to attract more students to earn science and engineering degrees, where enrollment nationally has been falling in recent years.
Murad said only about a quarter of his undergraduate students are female. He hopes to increase that substantially, and says that chemical engineering is a field where women can, and do, make an impact.
“Some of society’s most important problems over the next 50 years are ones where chemical engineers play a big role — issues like water treatment technologies, ways to treat contaminated soils, develop biofuels and new pharmaceuticals,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities to do a lot of good while making a comfortable living.” Average starting salaries for chemical engineering graduates are about $65,000, he said.
A large part of the program’s effort will be getting the message out about chemical engineering as a career, and how UIC offers both a nurturing environment and excellent program.
Program co-investigator Lewis Wedgewood, associate professor of chemical engineering, said America is graduating fewer engineers than in recent decades, with women in particular being lured into other careers.
“Many young women don’t automatically think of engineering as a way to serve society or present a career that they’d find fulfilling,” he said. “We need to let them know.”
Females in UIC’s chemical engineering program have a substantially higher graduation rate than males, Murad said. While the program is demanding and requires a special aptitude to succeed, the effort leads to satisfying careers.
“I’ve never had a former student call me and say I’m unhappy with my life as a chemical engineer,” he said.
Students who are admitted and demonstrate a need for financial aid will be offered the NSF scholarship, the amount based on need. The program begins next fall and will run for three years.
The program’s lead principal investigator is Ludwig Carlos Nitsche, associate professor of chemical engineering and director of undergraduate studies. Other investigators include Peter Nelson, College of Engineering dean and professor of computer science, and Gerald Smith, College of Engineering director of minority affairs.
For more information about UIC, visit www.uic.edu