Student Support for 2024 American Society for Composites (ASC) 39th Annual Technical Conference; San Diego, California; 21-23 October 2024

This conference award is to provide travel support for participating students to American Society for Composites (ASC) 39th Annual Technical Conference; San Diego, California; 21-23 October 2024. ASC conference is an annual event gathering researchers in composites since 1986. The funds will be used to broaden the participation of students by reducing their overall registration fee (about 160 students) and to provide travel awards for students from underrepresented groups in STEM (about 30 students) to attend ASC 2024. The funds will also be used to develop community building and professional development activities that include workshops, training sessions, and campus visits for these students. This award will provide unique opportunities for underrepresented students in STEM from US institutions of higher education to i) engage with researchers from academia, industry, and governmental research organizations related to advanced composite materials and structures, ii) create a network of young student researchers that can establish future partnerships and leadership nationwide, and iii) advance scientific knowledge in mechanics of composite materials and their advanced manufacturing. The grant will provide unique opportunities for historically underrepresented students in STEM to attend the 39th ASC Annual Technical Conference, the premier venue for the dissemination of fundamental research and technology advancements in the composites field in the United States. Their participation in this event will not only increase the diversity of the field, but it will also promote their retention in the engineering workforce. The conference organizing committee, including the PI, is comprised of members from historically underrepresented groups who are particularly interested in and uniquely well-positioned to mentor students from the same backgrounds. This project is jointly supported by the Mechanics of Materials and Structures (MoMS) program and the Advanced Manufacturing (AM) program. 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.