Morgan State University announced Tuesday, Oct. 2. that it is one of the lead institutions in Engineering for US All (E4USA).

The national program designed to teach engineering in high schools is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Craig Scott, interim dean of Morgan’s Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. School of Engineering, said that the selection to take part in E4USA acknowledges the unique resources and talent that the historically black college brings to the task of expanding the nation’s engineering workforce.

“My work with E4USA is the culmination of the work I’ve done for Morgan at the pre-college level since 2015, partnering with Baltimore area teachers to enhance their skills in teaching engineering-related topics,” said Dr. Jumoke Ladeji-Osias (photo inset).

An associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Morgan State University, Ladeji-Osias served as a co-principal investigator for the proposal, which received a continuing grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) last month.

“Dr. Ladeji-Osias has proven her commitment to academic and research excellence during her tenure at Morgan, and I am delighted that her work continues to shine a spotlight on our advancement of engineering diversity,” said Dr. Scott.

E4USA team leaders anticipate that five Baltimore area high schools, and fifteen across the state of Maryland, will participate in the program beginning in the 2019–20 academic year.

Nationwide, more than a 1,000 students, at 40 high schools are expected to complete the program during its three-year span. An additional 30 schools will participate indirectly with other funding.

E4USA will focus on Engineering and Society, Engineering Processes, Essential Engineering Content, Skills, and Tools.

Credit would be earned by students through curriculum covering the Principles of Engineering and submission of a design project. The pilot program includes professional development for teachers.

The Morgan State press release states that Ladeji-Osias and the School of Engineering will be involved in developing the E4USA syllabus, developing standards for teachers to use in evaluating the students’ progress with the hands-on engineering design products and distance-learning technologies.

The national pilot program will be led by University of Maryland College Park and include Arizona State University, Vanderbilt University, Virginia Tech, collaboration with NASA, and a sampling of some 70 high schools across the United States. Morgan anticipates that hundreds of engineering educators will be involved in shaping the curriculum by the conclusion of the pilot.

The million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation will advance the plan to teach engineering in high schools across the country. The one-year high school course aims to engage high school students and teachers to think and practice engineering, like an engineer.