2019 News Stories

Doctoral student selected for post-doctoral fellowship at Arizona State University

Tara Nkrumah, a doctoral student in the College of Education’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program, has accepted a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz.

The Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology aims to create an interdisciplinary, ethnically diverse community of scholars, students, policy makers, and practitioners who explore, identify and ultimately create innovative scholarship about and best practices for underrepresented girls and women in science, technology, engineering and robotics (STEM). During her fellowship, Nkrumah will develop research agendas, participate in mentorship opportunities and assist with research related to the center’s work in robotics education.

“I’m always trying to figure out how to promote engagement,” Nkrumah said. “I see this as another arm of that—trying to learn how to engage kids through robotics. For me, that’s the exciting part. Going down a trail that I’ve never been before, being open to the possibilities and finding out how students are engaging with the idea of robotics and how I engage with it.”

Nkrumah’s research interests include science curriculum leadership development that explores methods to increase the underrepresentation of Black women in STEM fields. She will be graduating from USF in August.

Prior to beginning her post-doctoral fellowship, this summer Nkrumah will participate in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research grant in Ghana with other USF students and researchers. The US-Ghana Collaboration: Providing Opportunities for Global Research on Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) focuses on water and sanitation challenges and solutions in Ghana. It involves the study of technological, social, and economic aspects of water sanitation in a multidisciplinary research setting.