USDA Announces AISES Research Track Cohort
At the White House Tribal Youth Summit in November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Tribal Relations announced the first students selected in partnership with AISES for the Indigenous Knowledge Research Track. This inaugural cohort in a three-year series will be studying topics at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge and western science, including ethnobotany, mental health, and traditional medicine.
AISES Receives NIH Funding
The All of Us research program of the National Institutes of Health, which benefits Indigenous people and communities, has awarded funds to AISES to design a multimedia outreach campaign. The new AISES initiative — We Are All Scientists — will promote health research with Indigenous students and widen academic and career pathways for students, educators, and research scientists.
WCEC Effort Receives Funding
The Women of Color in Engineering Collaborative, which AISES is part of, has received a nearly $5 million NSF grant. The goal of the collaborative effort is to retain women of color in engineering. Other member organizations are the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Women in Engineering ProActive Network. Serving as co-principal investigator for AISES is Dr. Tiffany Smith.
AISES Sheds Light on Tech Education for Native Students
Although computer skills are needed across Indigenous communities, only 67 percent of Native students attend a school that offers this training. That and other insights about the lack of availability of tech education and its consequences are part of “State of Diversity: The Native Tech Ecosystem,” a report AISES co-authored with the Kapor Center. In turn, the October 2023 report was the subject of an article in the Hechinger Report, an independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.
AISES and IHS Collaboration
The Indian Health Service has signed a memorandum of understanding with AISES to promote STEM opportunities for Indigenous people. The document will be a resource for IHS as it continues to recruit skilled STEM professionals and support staff to implement funding for the Sanitation Facilities Construction Program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
50K Coalition Marks Milestone
In a historic first, 50,000 women and underrepresented students earned undergraduate engineering degrees in 2023. That ambitious target was reached two years ahead of the 2025 goal set by the 50K Coalition, of which AISES is a founding member along with the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers. According to the coalition’s “Impact Report,” as gratifying as this milestone is, many disparities remain and there is much to be done to increase representation, especially in the face of DEI rollbacks.
In Remembrance
The AISES family is saddened by the passing of John L. Brewer in Rapid City, S.D. He served under fire in Vietnam and returned home to become a passionate activist in the struggle for equal rights. Brewer participated in historic events like the occupation of Alcatraz from 1969 to 1971 and was arrested while advocating for fishing rights for the Nisqually and Puyallap Tribes. He also stood with fellow veterans in opposition to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock, S.D. A dedicated high school educator, Brewer extended his work beyond the classroom and was instrumental in bringing AISES to the local school system. For many summers he taught enrichment classes for AISES at the University of Iowa. Our condolences to his wife, Renee, his family, and his many friends.