NSF Research on Educational Equity and Diversity in STEM (REEDS) Postdoctoral Fellowship

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a prestigious research grant to the University of Arizona, supporting an innovative Postdoctoral Fellowship program aimed at promoting educational equity and diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. The fellowship, known as the NSF Research on Educational Equity and Diversity in STEM (REEDS) Postdoctoral Fellowship, will provide exceptional scholars with an opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research and foster inclusive learning environments. 

The REEDS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona provides opportunities for early career scholars to critically engage with STEM educational practices within the context of an institution recognized for its award-winning Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) initiatives. The goals of the project are to:

• Create research opportunities for a diverse cohort of four postdoctoral fellows.
• Foster applied research on diversity and equity in undergraduate STEM education (specifically on increasing equity by using inclusive and culturally responsive practices in STEM).
• Support inclusive and equitable research environments for the postdoctoral fellows.
• Develop each postdoctoral researcher’s capacity to utilize and advance equitable practices as early career STEM educators.

The research itself is grounded in educational equity with the goal of informing educational practices to broaden participation in STEM. This is done through a focus on culturally responsive practices and how they are implemented to support student success at a large, Hispanic Serving Institution located near the U.S./Mexico border. 

Woven throughout their research experience, the REEDS fellows will engage professional development to build collaborations and community in STEM, develop individualized professional development plans, build research skills, disseminate their research, and advance their own equitable teaching practices. These activities will prepare them for careers in STEM and introduce them to networks of other STEM faculty including those in the Arizona HSI Consortium, which serves as a community of practice for the 22 HSIs throughout Arizona.

To hear from our REEDs Scholars and learn more about their research, check out this episode of The Inquiry Oasis. They dive into the REEDS (Research on Educational Equity and Diversity in STEM) Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona College of Education. Funded by a significant NSF grant, this initiative aims to reshape STEM education through research focused on creating inclusive and diverse learning environments. The episode features conversations with the first cohort of REEDS fellows - Drs. Abby Rocha, Sy Simms, Nicholas Witt, and Davi Gopal - who share their individual research projects, personal inspirations, and experiences in transitioning from graduate students to postdoctoral scholars. They reflect on the intersection of STEM, diversity, and education, and discuss how their work contributes to a more equitable academic landscape.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2217797/14174066-ep-13-shaping-stem-s-future-voices-from-the-reeds-fellowship

Learn about our scholars!

Image	Meet Shakuntala Devi Gopal! REEDS Postdoctoral Research Fellow Shakuntala Devi Gopal is a REEDS Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Arizona where she supports research grounded in culturally responsive practices to broaden participation in STEM.   Devi’s own research examines the ways social and political forces inform how socio-scientific issues, such as climate change, are treated in the classroom. Her dissertation work entitled, Investigating Guyanese Science Teacher Identity as a Conduit for Revealing Sociopolitical Discourse in the Science Classroom, explores exactly this in her family’s home country of Guyana in South America. Read more here!
Image	Meet Abby Rocha REEDS Postdoctoral Research Fellow Abby Rocha completed her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at Arizona State University, where she was recognized with multiple awards for her research and teaching excellence. Abby’s research investigates relationships between teachers’ mathematical meanings and their actions while teaching. Her dissertation examined the relationships between teachers’ mathematical meanings for teaching, their commitment to quantitative reasoning as a critical way of thinking, and their instructional practices, including their actions to decenter.  Read more here!
Image	Meet Sy Simms! REEDS Postdoctoral Research Fellow Sy Simms is a REEDS Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Center for the Higher Education at the University of Arizona. Their research interests include interrogating institutional and administrative practices of diversity and inclusion, examining higher education policies and practices through Queer of Color and Black Feminist critiques. Their first coauthored book, Digital Me: Trans Students Exploring Future Possible Selves Online, examines the ways that transgender collegians use the internet to provide possibilities for existence. Their other pieces and publications can be found in the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, and Transgender Studies Quarterly. Read more here!
Image	Meet Nick Witt! REEDS Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Witt is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice as a part of the Research on Educational Equity and Diversity in STEM (REEDS) postdoctoral fellowship program. As a member of this cohort of REEDS scholars, Dr. Witt will primarily conduct research related to Project FAMILIA - Dual Enrollment and Project Evaluation with Dr. Guadalupe Lozano. Read more here!
Image	Meet Hannah Hyun White! REEDS Postdoctoral Research Fellow Hannah Hyun White (she/her) is a REEDS Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the STEM Learning Center and Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice at the University of Arizona. Dr. Hyun White also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), the Chair for NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education’s Transracial Adoptee and Multiracial Knowledge Community (TAMKC), and the Past Chair for the American College Personnel Association’s (ACPA) Asian Pacific American Network (APAN). Read more here!