course in the spring of 2020: the Being Human in STEM course (SCI 3900/HONOR 3990). The goal of this course is to create a space for dialogue between STEM students and STEM faculty to investigate together the theme of diversity and climate within STEM. As part of the course, students develop and implement their own projects with the goal of improving the experience of STEM students at the university. One student said of the course, “This class gave me the tools I needed to be more inclusive and bring more
humanity into STEM and the world. It has really just opened the door for me to realize I have so much more to learn and experience. This class has given me the tools to question and re-examine my perceptions.” The course satisfies the University General Education Diversity requirement and also counts as an Honors College elective. De Grandi has co-taught this course for the past three years in collaboration with other faculty in the College of Science, College of Engineering, and College of Mines and Earth Sciences.
POSTDOC AWARD
Miguel Rodriguez awarded Fulbright Scholarship Miguel Rodriguez, Postdoc Research Associate
in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, is ready to pack his bags for travel. Rodriguez has received a Fulbright Scholarship to do research for a year at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. “Being awarded a Fulbright means getting the opportunity to absorb another culture’s way of thinking, including how science is thought about and practiced,” said Rodriguez. “I will also get the chance to represent and share my Black Puerto Rican American culture with the people around me. I hope that my work abroad will lead to future postFulbright collaborations with the colleagues I’ll meet at the Weizmann.” The Fulbright Program is one of several U.S. cultural exchange programs between the United States and other countries. The program was founded by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946 and is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world. The Weizmann Institute is a public research university, established in 1934. It differs from other Israeli universities in that it offers only postgraduate degrees in the natural and exact sciences. Continued on page 16
Miguel Rodriguez
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