Award Abstract # 1742716
Assessing the Columbia Bridge-to-PhD Program's First Decade

NSF Org: AST
Division Of Astronomical Sciences
Recipient: THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Initial Amendment Date: April 27, 2018
Latest Amendment Date: April 27, 2018
Award Number: 1742716
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Matthew Benacquista
AST
 Division Of Astronomical Sciences
MPS
 Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Start Date: May 1, 2018
End Date: April 30, 2020 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $30,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $30,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2018 = $30,000.00
History of Investigator:
  • Marcel Agueros (Principal Investigator)
    marcel@astro.columbia.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Columbia University
615 W 131ST ST
NEW YORK
NY  US  10027-7922
(212)854-6851
Sponsor Congressional District: 13
Primary Place of Performance: Columbia University
NY  US  10027-6902
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
13
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): F4N1QNPB95M4
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): SPECIAL PROGRAMS IN ASTRONOMY,
OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC,
Integrative Activities in Phys
Primary Program Source: 01001819DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 7556, 7621, 7715, 9179
Program Element Code(s): 121900, 125300, 913400
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.049

ABSTRACT

Students from groups underrepresented in the sciences are more likely to take post-baccalaureate classes or pursue a Master's degree before applying to Ph.D. programs. The goal of the Columbia Bridge-to-PhD Program is to increase the number of underrepresented scholars entering STEM PhD programs and to give them the skills necessary for success in those programs. One such necessity is a network of mentors and colleagues. The program holds a half-day symposium every year with returning alumni sharing their experiences. This grant will support a "Super Symposium" to evaluate the lessons learned from the the ten-year history of the program. Funds will support travel costs of program alumni to attend the symposium.

The PI has begun analyzing the impact of the program on students' graduate career trajectories. His data show that the program has a high success rate for students admitted to PhD programs, with 80% of the program's applicants being accepted. Preliminary data show that the Bridge Program's alumni are more likely to be admitted to higher-ranked, less diverse graduate programs.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Cheung, Sky C. and Shin, John Y. and Lau, Yenson and Chen, Zhengyu and Sun, Ju and Zhang, Yuqian and Müller, Marvin A. and Eremin, Ilya M. and Wright, John N. and Pasupathy, Abhay N. "Dictionary learning in Fourier-transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy" Nature Communications , v.11 , 2020 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14633-1 Citation Details
Cortés, Jorge and Kipping, David "On the detectability of transiting planets orbiting white dwarfs using LSST" Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , v.488 , 2019 10.1093/mnras/stz1300 Citation Details
Hennon, Gwenn M.M. and Williamson, Olivia M. and Hernández Limón, María D. and Haley, Sheean T. and Dyhrman, Sonya T. "Non-linear Physiology and Gene Expression Responses of Harmful Alga Heterosigma akashiwo to Rising CO2" Protist , v.170 , 2019 10.1016/j.protis.2018.10.002 Citation Details
Hernández_Limón, María_D and Hennon, Gwenn_M_M and Harke, Matthew_J and Frischkorn, Kyle_R and Haley, Sheean_T and Dyhrman, Sonya_T "Transcriptional patterns of Emiliania huxleyi in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre reveal the daily rhythms of its metabolic potential" Environmental Microbiology , v.22 , 2019 https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.14855 Citation Details
Lee, Melissa A. and Sitko, Austen A. and Khalid, Sania and Shirasu-Hiza, Mimi and Mason, Carol A. "Spatiotemporal distribution of glia in and around the developing mouse optic tract" Journal of Comparative Neurology , v.527 , 2019 10.1002/cne.24462 Citation Details
Marcucci, Florencia and Murcia-Belmonte, Veronica and Wang, Qing and Coca, Yaiza and Ferreiro-Galve, Susana and Kuwajima, Takaaki and Khalid, Sania and Ross, M. Elizabeth and Mason, Carol and Herrera, Eloisa "The Ciliary Margin Zone of the Mammalian Retina Generates Retinal Ganglion Cells" Cell Reports , v.17 , 2016 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.11.016 Citation Details

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

The Bridge to Ph.D. Program in STEM, as it is now known, was created in 2008 to provide underrepresented post-baccalaureate students with a research-centered experience designed to improve their preparation for graduate school. Participants are hired to work for two years in Columbia laboratories as full-time employees at a salary set by the university. They complete Ph.D.-type work and contribute to projects in highly productive, well-established laboratories. Upon finishing the Program, they should have an understanding of how to be effective, creative scientists.

As Columbia employees, Bridge participants are able to take up to two tuition-free courses per semester, and the Program requires that they take at least one. The Program, with input from the participants' sponsoring PI, tailors the coursework to the needs of the individual participant. Bridge participants are also expected to attend colloquia and symposia, to participate in weekly laboratory meetings, and to attend and present at professional meetings.

The main purpose of this project was to support the Bridge Program's 10th annual research symposium, held May 31st to June 1st, 2018. The research symposium is the culmination of the Program's year. It is simultaneously an opportunity for the participants to describe their work to one of the most diverse audiences they are ever likely to address, a celebration of their accomplishments (there is a graduation ceremony for our second years), a chance to catch up (and network!) with alumni, past PIs, administrators, and other friends of the Program, and of course a showcase for the Program. For the 10th anniversary symposium, our goal was to have every Bridge participant, past and current, come back to Columbia, participate in panels, present their work, and network with their Bridge family.

Twenty-two alumni attended at least part of the 10th anniversary symposium, with 18 giving talks and/or participating in a panel. This is in addition to the 12 talks that were given by the (then) active participants in the Program. The symposium was also attended by all three of the previous Program assistant/associate directors, who moderated sessions and/or a panel. The symposium therefore met its primary goals by:
  • providing a forum for celebrating the Program and especially our alumni;
  • giving our alumni an opportunity to update us as to their current research/activities;
  • allowing our current participants to present on their research;
  • introducing our current participants to our alumni, and giving them an opportunity to hear about their predecessors' experiences.
In addition, this project supported our 11th annual symposium, held June 4th, 2019. This was a "traditional" symposium, with talks by our active Bridge participants only. There was one difference with our usual format, which was a tribute to Shane Colombo, a member of Cohort 9, who was shot to death on September 2nd, 2018, his first day in Chicago, where he was going to begin a Ph.D. program at Northwestern. We invited Shane's family to attend the symposium. And we dedicated an hour to remembering him and to hearing from two of his former colleagues about their progress on research Shane was involved in since his graduation from the Bridge Program in summer 2018.

Last Modified: 07/29/2020
Modified by: Marcel A Ag?eros

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