Service Activities of Dr. Adrienne Minerick

National, University, and Minority Service

A wise mentor of mine once said that you should develop a theme to your service activities and keep them as focused around your main research area as possible so that they have the most profound impact. My service has revolved around efforts to increase involvement of underrepresented minorities in research – preferentially in microdevice or related areas. A synopsis of my professional service activities are outlined here.

National Service Activities

American Electrophoresis Society (AES)

I have served AES in a number of capacities from an advisory role to most recently being nominated for Vice-President of the Society (elections held in November 2008). I co-organized two annual meetings with Victor Ugaz from Texas A&M and in 2006, we fielded contributions for a Special Issue in the newly established Biomicrofluidics Journal. I currently serve as the Webmaster and counselor to the current program chairs.

  • Webmaster, American Electrophoresis Society (AES), appointed 2007
  • Councilor to the board, American Electrophoresis Society (AES), elected 2004-2007
  • Guest Editor of the AES Special Issue in Biomicrofluidics 2006-2007
  • Programming co-chair of the AES Annual Meeting (AIChE affiliate), San Francisco, CA 2006
  • Programming co-chair of the AES Annual Meeting (AIChE affiliate), Cincinnati, OH 2005

American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)

I have served ASEE at both the national and regional level. At the national level, I have been active in the New Engineering Educators Division (NEE), the Women in Engineering Division (WIED), and the Chemical Engineering Division (ChED). I was re-elected as a NEE officer into subsequently higher positions each year, which I like to think is reflective of my contributions to each office. I have developed two newsletters (Fall 07, Spring 08) thus far and was recently elected into board positions in both ChED and WIED.

Chemical Engineering Division:

  • Director (advisory role) elected 2008
  • Newsletter Editor, appointed 2007

Women in Engineering Division:

  • Webmaster, Women in Engineering Division, American Society of Engineering Education, elected 2008
  • Member at Large (2006 - 2008) of the Women in Engineering Division - American Society of Engineering Education

New Engineering Educator’s Division:

  • Past Division Chair (2007)
  • Division Chair (2006)
  • Programming Chair (2005)
  • Vice-Chair (2004)
  • Treasurer (2003)

Southeast Region:

  • Secretary, Chemical Engineering Division, elected 2007.

American Institute of Chemical Engineers

  • Committee Member, Division Formation Committee for establishment of an Educational Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, invited 2008.

University and Departmental Service Activities

University Service

My university service is focused around my research. Each month, colleagues from across campus meet with the Vice President of Research and Economic Development and provide guidance on the university’s efforts to move Mississippi State University to be a Top 100 national research university. I have served on two search committees related to my research activities. The Biosafety Officer search was key because my laboratory is a certified Biosafety Level 2 facility. Lastly, I have been an active member and now leader in the Materials Working Group on campus, a collaborative team of researchers from many disciplines who meet monthly to advance materials infrastructure on campus and collaborate on projects. My efforts with this have led to the submission of two proposals to NSF: an MRI proposal in January 2008, and an REU Site proposal in 2007 and resubmission in 2008.

  • Faculty Research Advisory Council (FRAC) to VP of Research and Economic Development (ORED). Appointed 2005.
  • Faculty Search Committee, Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Fall 2005. - Spring 2006
  • Biosafety Officer Search Committee, Office of Regulatory Compliance, Fall 2006 – Sp 2007
  • Treasurer, Materials Working Group, Mississippi State University, Elected 2007 – 2008.
  • CAREER Advice Presentation to new(er) faculty, Spring 2007.

    • Departmental Service

    • Graduate Affairs Committee, member, 2003 -2004
      • Reviewed applicants, revised qualifier exam structure
      • Designed 2 brochures, developed recruitment video, conducted personal recruiting at AIChE, NOBCChE, SEA, MS AGEM
    • Assessment Committee, 2005
      • Prepared for ABET visit
    • Ad-Hoc Climate Committee to Address Rose Report, 2006-2007
    • Undergraduate Affairs Committee, member, 2007-2008
      • Redesigned curriculum to have concentrations in Biomolecular Engineering, ChE Practice, ChE Research
      • Proposed revised course offerings
      • Developed guidelines for Directed Individual Study (DIS) courses
      • Helped develop Concept Inventories for each course
    • Graduate Affairs Committee, member, 2008

    Minority Service Activities

    One governing motivation in my career is that access to education is the foundation for progress in our society. Students who are traditionally underrepresented in science and engineering have a higher probability of a) having been discouraged (intentionally or unintentionally) from pursuing math or science, or b) lacking a support network for advice and perspective through college. I see it as my responsibility to counter this by facilitating access to resources and nurturing a support network for my students. I believe the following efforts reflect this.

    • Faculty Advisor, National Organization of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)
      • College of Engineering Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award 2005, 2006, and 2008
      • Membership has varied from 20 to 30 members annually since 2003.
      • Many students have participated in undergraduate research and 3 past officers have gone on to graduate school.
    • Recruiting Officer and Minority Student Advisor - funding from Office of Graduate Studies
      • Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Recruiting, Mississippi State University Office of Graduate Studies and Office of Research, $2,500 (PI: Minerick), 1/1/05 – 6/1/05.
    • Additional Efforts:
      • Science Bowl committee, NOBCChE 2005
      • Science & Engineering Alliance (SEA) Minority Conferences, Washington D.C. October 2003 and 2004
      • Alliance for Graduate Education in Mississippi (AGEM) Minority Conference, January 2004 and 2005
      • Regular attendee of the AGEM First Friday lunches at Mississippi State University, 2004 - 2007
    • Undergraduate Research:
      • In the Medical micro-Device Engineering Research Laboratory (M.D.-ERL), I have mentored 11 African-American students, 13 female students, and 6 have entered or are in graduate school (out of 28 total mentored).
      • The Bonds REU site sponsored 45 participants from 2005 to 2007, 27 of who were supported by NSF funds. The three-year program was particularly successful in attracting and involving underrepresented groups in interdisciplinary research projects. A total of 20 ethnic minorities (13 African-Americans, 7 Hispanics, and 1 Pacific Islander) and 21 women participated.
    • Outreach:
      • Conducted DEMos for University Familiarization Program for Minorities in Engineering (UFPME) 2005
      • Guest Speaker for Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education (IMAGE), Aug 2006
      • As part of the CAREER Award, Desktop Experiment Modules (DEMos) have been conducted in regional high school’s chemistry classes. NOBCChE members volunteer to help and also talk with the students. We disseminate ASEE’s ‘Go For It!’ magazine to encourage students to major in engineering.
        • East Oktibbeha High School, May 2008
        • West Oktibbeha High School, April 2008
      • NOBCChE teamed up with the Boys and Girls Club to assist with after school tutoring.
      • NOBCChE and Optimist Club of Starkville cooperated on chemical engineering demonstration for area students, March 2007
      • Organized and ran the Optimist Club’s Oratorical Contest, March 2007.

      • Invited Seminars

      • College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Basic Sciences, MSU, Jan. 2008
      • University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering, 2007
      • University of Ohio, Athens, OH, Department of Chemical Engineering, 2007
      • University of Kentucky, Paducah, KY Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006
      • Materials Working Group, Mississippi State University, 2006
      • Tennessee Technological University, Department of Chemical Engineering, 2004
      • Auburn University, Department of Chemical Engineering, 2004
      • Biochemistry Department, MSU, 2004
      • Life Sciences Biotech Institute, Biotechnology Upstarts at Mississippi State, 2004
      • Louisiana State University, Chemistry Dept. Steven Soper Microfluidics Res. Group, 2004
      • Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 2003
      • University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Department of Chemical Engineering, 2003
      • DIAL - Diagnostic Imaging & Analysis Laboratory, MSU Research Park, 2003
      • Chemistry Department, MSU, 2003
      • College of Veterinary Medicine, MSU, 2003

      Professional Development

      • ASEE Chemical Engineering Division’s 2007 Summer School, Washington State University.
      • Felder / Brent Workshop: Effective Teaching in Science, Engineering & Mathematics, Mississippi State University, January 4-5, 2007
      • NSF Summer Institute on Micro and Nano Devices with Applications to Biology and Nanoelectronics, Fellowship Awardee, Northwestern University, 2006
      • ExcEEd – Excellence in Engineering Education, Annual Workshop, University of Arkansas, July 2004.
      • NETI – National Effective Teaching Institute –participant June 2005.
      • EPICS – Engineering Projects in Community Service, Annual Workshop, Purdue University, May 2004.
      • Engineering new faculty development series – regular attendee 2003-05
      • Mississippi State Instructional Technology Advisory Committee’s BOOTCAMP, March 2005
      • SACHE Faculty Workshop, "Designing for Safe and Reliable Process Operations" Exxon Mobil, Baton Rouge, LA 2003.