Due to the systemic challenges facing  underrepresented groups in STEM, solutions require long-term support rather than brief interventions.  We have targeted community college transfer students as a critical population where lasting impacts can be achieved via a our in-house summer program Bridge Opportunity for Transfer student Success (BOTS). Laboratory-based research in the summer during the transition to CSM from community colleges has been the focus of this program.   

 In 2018, CSM supported seven students as they transitioned to Mines under the leadership of this grant.  Students synthesized new crystalline materials to assess thermoelectric performance. Further, students learned about computationally-driven discovery through interfacing with theory partners.