The Sustainable Research Pathways (SRP) program is honored to be recognized by the Berkeley Lab Workforce Development & Education (WD&E) organization. WD&E will be honoring Dr. David Brown, Director of Berkeley Lab’s Computational Science Research Division and Dr. Mary Ann Leung, Founder and President, Sustainable Horizons Institute for partnership with WD&E in support of the SRPs program – a pipeline for WD&E Visiting Faculty Program (VFP) and Berkeley Lab Undergraduate Faculty Fellowship (BLUFF). Drs. Brown and Leung will receive an award on September 26, 2019, during the Mentor Appreciation Event on the Berkeley Lab campus.
Faculty from more than 400 predominantly minority-serving academic institutions and women’s, liberal arts, community, and other small colleges have applied for funding to learn about the rich DOE Laboratory research environment and to support their students’ academic growth. Nearly 100 faculty benefited from interactions and engaging scientific discussions at Berkeley Lab and increased their understanding of the DOE Laboratory system. Nearly 50 faculty and more than 80 students collaborated with Laboratory staff in innovative and challenging research projects. Students experienced “life-changing” effects, developed an increased sense of confidence in their scientific futures, and changed their plans in favor of more research-intensive academic and career pathways. Many teams continue their collaboration over multiple years, co-publish their work, and write joint research proposals for extended funding.
Going into its fifth year, the SRP program is continuing to bring faculty and students to Berkeley Lab to experience the exciting scientific culture and work with some of the greatest minds tackling important problems for the nation. SRP provides opportunities for faculty and their students to engage in innovative research at one of the Department of Energy’s preeminent national laboratories.