E&EM masters student Bruk Berhane recently was selected to participate in the Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program of the National Academies (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine). This 10-week internship is designed to expose graduate students with backgrounds in physical, life and social science, as well as technology to the process involved in the creation of science policy. Each student is assigned to work in a division located in one of the five main units of the National Academies, but has the opportunity throughout his/her internship to visit the other divisions and attend various NAS-sponsored meetings in Washington, D.C. Bruk’s assignment will last from June 6 until August 12, 2005.
Bruk’s specific unit will be the Diversity in the Engineering Workforce Program, which is part of the National Academy of Engineering. His main concentration this summer will be to explore ways in which girls in middle schools can be better encouraged to pursue careers in science and technology. For instance, he will look at web sites that are designed to encourage young women to pursue these areas, and will work to update the site to reflect more relevant information. Bruk hopes to use the expertise he gains through his internship to assist him in his efforts to motivate inner-city youth in Baltimore to strongly consider these kinds of careers.