(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON, D.C., December 3, 2014--A new report from the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Statistical Research Center has found that the number of Hispanic students receiving bachelor's degrees in the physical sciences and engineering has increased over the last decade or so, passing 10,000 degrees per year for the first time in 2012. The overall number of U.S. students receiving degrees in those fields also increased over the same time, but it increased faster among Hispanics.
From 2002 to 2012, the number of Hispanics earning bachelor's degrees in the physical sciences rose 78 percent compared to an overall increase of 47 percent in all U.S. bachelor's degrees earned in those same fields. Similarly, Hispanics earning bachelor's degrees in engineering rose 64 percent, compared to just a 34 percent increase in the overall population.
"While those numbers are encouraging, Hispanics are still underrepresented in many fields, including astronomy and Earth sciences," said Laura Merner, a research associate at AIP and author of the report. "More Hispanic students earning physical science degrees is a good thing, but it does not mean the representation gap has closed."
"We still have a long way to go," she said.
Merner and her colleagues analyzed data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, a database maintained by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. This allowed them to determine how Hispanic involvement in physical sciences and engineering has changed over the past decade.
Among other observations, the research found:
- The number of Hispanics earning undergraduate degrees of all types increased 85 percent over the decade, from 95,492 in 2002 to 176,699 in 2012;
- A total of 87,906 new bachelor's degrees in the physical sciences and engineering were earned by Hispanics in the United States between 2002 and 2012;
- In 2012 alone, 10,563 Hispanics earned bachelor's degrees in the physical sciences and engineering, a historic high;
- The number of degrees obtained by Hispanic students increased in all nine fields of engineering that were examined, doubling in more than half of the fields between 2002 and 2012; and
- The number of Hispanics who earned physics bachelor's degrees has doubled over the last 10 years.
The study also found that the representation gap has already closed in engineering technology, civil, electrical and industrial engineering -- four fields in which Hispanics are earning bachelor's degrees at approximately the same proportion as the total population.
However, Hispanics are still underrepresented in most of the other fields of physical sciences and engineering, Merner said.
ACCESS THE DATA AND REPORT
• The full report, part of a series on underrepresented minorities in physical sciences and engineering, can be viewed online at http://aip.org/statistics/reports/hispanic-participation-in-physical-sciences-and-engineering
• To view the raw data used in the compilation of the report, visit http://www.ncsedata.nsf.gov
• Report author: Laura Merner, lmerner@aip.org
INFORMATION:
ABOUT SRC
AIP's Statistical Research Center collects, analyzes and disseminates data on education and employment in physics and related fields.
ABOUT AIP
The American Institute of Physics is a federation of scientific societies in the physical sciences, representing scientists, engineers, and educators. AIP offers authoritative information, services, and expertise in physics education and student programs, science communication, government relations, career services for science and engineering professionals, statistical research in physics employment and education, industrial outreach, and the history of physics and allied fields. AIP publishes Physics Today, the most influential and closely followed magazine of the physics community, and is also home to the Society of Physics Students and the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. AIP owns AIP Publishing LLC, a scholarly publisher in the physical and related sciences. See: http://www.aip.org
INFORMATION:
INFORMATION:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A team led by Florida State University researchers has identified DNA elements in maize that could affect the expression of hundreds or thousands of genes.
"Maybe they are part of the machinery that allows an organism to turn hundreds of genes off or on," said Associate Professor of Biological Science Hank Bass.
Bass and Carson Andorf, a doctoral student in computer science at Iowa State University, began this exploration of the maize genome sequence along with colleagues from FSU, Iowa State and the University of Florida. They wanted to know ...
New York, NY, December 2, 2014 - Immediate breast reconstruction following mastectomy is becoming more prevalent. However, in breast cancer patients undergoing simultaneous chemotherapy, thrombotic complications can arise that can delay or significantly modify reconstructive plans. Outcomes of cases illustrating potential complications are published in the current issue of Annals of Medicine and Surgery.
Chemotherapy is increasingly used to treat larger operable or advanced breast cancer prior to surgery. Chemotherapy delivered via the placement of a central venous line ...
Hamilton, ON (Dec. 3, 2014) - Scientists at McMaster University have discovered that human stem cells made from adult donor cells "remember" where they came from and that's what they prefer to become again.
This means the type of cell obtained from an individual patient to make pluripotent stem cells, determines what can be best done with them. For example, to repair the lung of a patient with lung disease, it is best to start off with a lung cell to make the therapeutic stem cells to treat the disease, or a breast cell for the regeneration of tissue for breast cancer ...
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- MIT biological engineers have created a new computer model that allows them to design the most complex three-dimensional DNA shapes ever produced, including rings, bowls, and geometric structures such as icosahedrons that resemble viral particles.
This design program could allow researchers to build DNA scaffolds to anchor arrays of proteins and light-sensitive molecules called chromophores that mimic the photosynthetic proteins found in plant cells, or to create new delivery vehicles for drugs or RNA therapies, says Mark Bathe, an associate professor ...
Vienna, Austria - 3 December 2014: The Mediterranean diet is linked to improved cardiovascular performance in patients with erectile dysfunction, according to research presented at EuroEcho-Imaging 2014 by Dr Athanasios Angelis from Greece. Patients with erectile dysfunction who had poor adherence to the Mediterranean diet had more vascular and cardiac damage.
EuroEcho-Imaging is the annual meeting of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), a branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and is held 3-6 December in Vienna, Austria.
Dr Angelis ...
CHICAGO - Researchers reported today on a procedure that can preserve fertility and potentially save the lives of women with a serious pregnancy complication called placenta accreta. Results of the new study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) showed that placement of balloons in the main artery of the mother's pelvis prior to a Caesarean section protects against hemorrhage and is safe for both mother and baby.
Placenta accreta, a condition in which the placenta abnormally implants in the uterus, can lead to additional complications, ...
CHICAGO - Researchers at Mayo Clinic found that some children are receiving chest X-rays that may be unnecessary and offer no clinical benefit to the patient, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
"Chest X-rays can be a valuable exam when ordered for the correct indications," said Ann Packard, M.D., radiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "However, there are several indications where pediatric chest X-rays offer no benefit and likely should not be performed to decrease radiation dose ...
CHICAGO - A popular surgery to repair meniscal tears may increase the risk of osteoarthritis and cartilage loss in some patients, according to research presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The findings show that the decision for surgery requires careful consideration in order to avoid accelerated disease onset, researchers said.
The new study focused on the meniscus, a wedge-shaped piece of cartilage in the knee that acts as a shock absorber between the femur, or thighbone, and tibia, or shinbone. The two menisci ...
New research from researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) looking at how goats express subtle positive emotions could lead to greater understanding of animal welfare. While there has been a great deal of research into negative emotions and stress in animals it is often hard for those who work with animals to know when they are in more subtle positive states.
Dr Alan McElligott and Dr Elodie Briefer, working from QMUL with goats at Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats, carried out the first research, published today (Wednesday) in the journal Animal Behaviour, ...
Pregnant women in Bangladesh with low levels of the most common form of vitamin E are nearly twice as likely to have a miscarriage than those with adequate levels of the vitamin in their blood, according to new research led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The findings, published online last week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest that improving the diet of women in impoverished nations or encouraging intake of vitamin E through prenatal supplements could have a direct impact on fertility, though more research is needed.
"For ...
