Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** a wide range of scientific and…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** a wide range of scientific and technological disciplines are necessary to make advancements in the agricultural industry corresponding to the growing demands of our global society. Among these disciplines are agricultural, chemical, environmental, industrial, and mechanical engineering disciplines which are strongly rooted in the fundamental scientific domains of chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Often the interdisciplinary aspects and interconnectivity of these disciplines is not well communicated to the aspiring students. This is currently being done at undergraduate or graduate level education. However, with changing educational fields and quickly growing interdisciplinary nature of various scientific and engineering fields and industrial sectors, IT is a must to communicate these advances to students at much earlier stage so that they are prepared for higher studies. This lack of knowledge or understanding is more prevalent in students from underrepresented communities and groups including women and minorities. This wams project aims to recruit women and minority students from senior high schools, vocational, junior and community colleges to provide immersive, informative, and experiential learning experience that fosters curiosity and an intriguing feeling about the interdisciplinary aspects of scientific and engineering disciplines as related to agricultural fields. A total of 75 students from the northwest indiana and northeast illinois regions will benefit from this program over the three years of the project. There are numerous rural communities that are within 25-mile radius to the host institution and several colleges and high schools have already registered interest in this wams program due to ongoing collaborations in similar programs. The program specifically aims to engage students in classroom, laboratory (hands on), and outdoor (field) activities to provide an appreciation for the complex issues at nexus of energy, water, nutrient, environment, and land sustainability. The two-week curriculum will be prepared in a way to provide a deeper of understanding of the intrinsic connection of these essential elements and the role of science and technology in addressing the challenges at their nexus. The topics will include water, energy, and food nexus, environmental and land sustainability in agriculture. In addition, food, nutrition, and public health topics will be discussed. The curriculum will provide opportunities for instruction and mentoring through various innovative indoor and outdoor activities with the goals of improving professional, technical, and interpersonal skills of the participants. The project is expected to instill confidence and unwavering interest towards stem disciplines in the participants. The program includes an external evaluator who will utilize various forms of evaluation to provide feedback aiming to enhance the project outcomes. Wheels graduates will be tracked in time to record their higher education TRA, jectories and to measure the impact of wheels program.