Diversity matters. Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF Award Number:2221728 and Award Number:2246853) and the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering (ADSE) the Gutierrez group has established several initiatives aimed at broadening in STEM fields by integrating education, research, and outreach in collaboration with local community colleges and ADSE.
ADSE
The mission of ADSE is " to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in academia, industry, and government. ADSE supports, organizes, and oversees local, graduate student-run organizations that reach out to students and scientists of all ages and backgrounds." For more information, see: https://www.allianceinscience.org/
Osvaldo, current President and Board member of ADSE, has been involved in ADSE since his time as postdoc and founded the chapter at the University of Maryland College Park (ADSE @UMD) in Spring 2017. During this time, efforts were geared towards:
1) Hosting a research-diversity speaker series
2) Involved in educational outreach activities in surrounding Prince George's Community College
3) Creating professional development workshops via hosting and organizing the Young Researchers Conference.
At Texas A&M, Osvaldo has continued ADSE's efforts and has co-organized, along with Prof. Andy Thomas, Prof. Daniel Tabor, and Prof. Emily Pentzer, the second Young Researchers Conference at TAMU in the Spring 2023 (See below for details of current and past conferences). If you are interested in participating, please email directly with subject line "YRC TAMU".
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Partnerships with local Community College
Partnerships with local Community College
Osvaldo has spearheaded efforts to establish a new partnership with the local community colleges with the overall goals to:
1) increase research opportunities to community college (CC) students,
2) provide professional development to CC faculty, and
3) modernize organic chemistry education by implementing computational modules in undergraduate education.
Our goal is to forge collaborations with local Community Colleges and organic chemistry faculty to :
(a) implement new computational modules into introductory organic chemistry courses at both 4-year universities and local community colleges
(b) organize a 2-day workshop for surrounding community college instructors designed to introduce principles of computational organic chemistry, provide basic training in computational software, and distribute and implement free-of-charge computational software for the undergraduate organic curriculum; and
(c) make all modules and tutorials available on-line for distribution to other community colleges (check website for updates).
Organizing New Conferences
In collaboration with Dr. Jesus Armando Lujan Montelongo (CINVESTAV-Mexico City), Dr. Liliana Quintanar Vera (CINVESTAV-Mexico City), and Dr. Jose Oscar Carlos Jimenez Halla (Universidad de Guanajuato), Osvaldo co-organized the inaugural "Breaking Barriers Through Chemistry" conference. The goal of this annual event is to bring together professors from all areas of chemistry to establish, strengthen, and promote research collaborations between institutions in Mexico, United States, and Europe.
Unique to this inaugural webinar/conference is a major focus on :
1) Showcasing the academic journey of leading scientists from Latin America;
2) Providing advice and highlight research opportunities to the next generation of chemists; and
3) Establish new research collaborations among teams of scientists from diverse expertise
Overall, we expect that students from all levels will hear learn about existing programs/fellowships that supported international research opportunities and help pave the way for leading scientists to establish unique research programs.
The first event took place (virtually) from August 2-6 2021 hosted by Texas A&M University (link to event and details can be found here: LINK). Stat tuned for more details about the in-person event in Mexico during the summer of 2022.