GAANN Fellowship Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Kentucky

The underlying purpose of the proposed GAANN Fellowship Program is to increase the number of US students from the University of Kentucky Electrical and Computer Engineering Department obtaining PhDs and pursuing careers in teaching and research, with an emphasis on identifying, recruiting, and retaining talented students from underrepresented backgrounds. The proposed fellowship program includes support for four funded GAANN Fellows and an additional one cost-shared GAANN Fellow position. Fellows will undertake a supervised teaching experience that includes training in instruction, knowledge of effective teaching techniques, and an opportunity to work as first a Teaching Assistant and then as the primary instructor of a course, with personalized faculty mentorship. UK ECE is an excellent fit to the goals of the GAANN program, with strengths in several core areas of research, including power and energy, cybersecurity, and Artificial Intelligence, that represent fields in which there is clear and motivating national need, including the designated areas of both information science and engineering infrastructure. In addition to expanding opportunities for domestic students including women and traditionally underrepresented groups, the proposed fellowship program in these areas will also enable us to open opportunities for post-secondary education to a large demographic of talented but under-reached rural and first-generation students from the state of Kentucky. Together, the teaching and research training and rigor of the research program will maximize the opportunity for the GAANN Fellows to pursue careers in teaching in research and further contribute to these important areas of national need.