The institute hosts research groups on three topics—learning & work, health, and climate change—as they relate to STEM and equity. Each group meets once a month for a seminar, during which people share their research. New collaborations are often sparked by these meetings; some collaborative research teams have been funded by the institute.
- In our health group, researchers and practitioners are working on advancing equity in medical decision-making; promoting health in marginalized families; increasing access to healthcare for low income populations, and understanding the impact of policing on African-American health.
- In our learning & work group, faculty and students are designing remedies to promote gender, race, and class equity in STEM education; developing strategies to improve teachers’ accuracy in evaluating students; and designing technologies to teach adolescent drivers with ADHD how to drive safely.
- In our climate change group, researchers and practitioners are working on developing strategies to mitigate the disparate impacts of climate change policies on particular communities, identifying communities’ capacity for adaptive responses to climate change, and studying how energy transition can occur equitably and sustainably.
Read about the equity-inspired research our current seed grant awardees are conducting
Our research-practitioner network brings together Researchers, Educators, Business Leaders, and Students (REBLS) from across Massachusetts to create solutions so that diverse populations can thrive in computer science and engineering -- both in their educational pathways and in the STEM workforce.
We also operate and support programs that help STEM students thrive from college to careers:
- Twice a semester, we host a professional speaker series for students called "Creating Pathways to Social Good in your STEM Career"
- We organize a 6-week summer online Leadership Academy for students traditionally under-represented in tech and engineering
- We support the BRiDGE program, which hosts talks by scientists from diverse backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in STEM. Speakers present on their research and its broader impacts. The program is designed and run by graduate students in STEM and promotes their career development.
You can read more about our programs in our biannual E-Newsletter. Previous and current IDS E-Newsletters and short videos on our activities can be found here.
Get engaged
Faculty, students, and staff: Attend a research group on one or all of our research topics — learning & work, health, and climate change. Listen, learn, and present your work. Start a new collaboration with researchers and practitioners who share your interests. Apply for funding from the institute to tackle a research problem related to equity or diversity.
Massachusetts Business Leaders, K-12 Outreach Professionals, Researchers, Educators in Tech & Engineering: Join the our research-practitioner partnership to connect with others who are interested in diversifying the STEM pipeline, recruit and work toward the success of diverse students in your field.
Students: Work with a graduate student-run organization, to invite underrepresented scientists to campus to share their research, professional experiences, and serve as informal mentors; join our REBLS Network to connect with Massachusetts researchers, business leaders, and other students in your field. Apply for our undergraduate student summer leadership academy.
UMass alums and friends: Be a mentor or an invited speaker, join our external advisory board, or make a gift.
Other ideas? Contact Nilanjana (Buju) Dasgupta, institute director, or Leyla Keough-Hameed, program manager.
