Wat co-authors article on improving DEI in materials science education

Amy Wat (Materials Science Division) was featured on the cover of the Journal of the Minerals, Metals, & Materials Society (JOM) for her case study on how to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in materials science education. The resulting article, “Cal State LA: An Example for Successful DEI Outcomes for Students,” (pages 13–16) introduces the university’s materials science and engineering (MSE) master’s program with a focus on creating an inclusive environment that attracts diverse talent and ensures materials development benefits a wide range of individuals and communities.

Amy and the article’s co-authors are all Cal State LA alumni. Amy graduated from Cal State LA prior to the inception of the MSE master’s program in 2019. Despite being a first-generation college student, she leveraged a network of programs and faculty that enabled her career in MSE. This ranged from enrolling in the mechanical engineering program and learning about materials science as a discipline to gaining opportunities to conducting research in MSE within Cal State LA and world-class scientific institutes before coming to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Now that the school is systemically committing resources to train a new generation of students specifically in MSE, the possibilities it presents to improve DEI within MSE are unparalleled. The master’s program stands to recruit a diverse pool of students and create concrete connections between the various departments that have aligned MSE interests.