Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** chemistry is the foundation of many…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** chemistry is the foundation of many disciplines in food and agricultural sciences, which provides an insight into the chemical processes that occur across the agriculture-food-nutrition continuum. Students often experience challenges within majors that require chemistry knowledge due to its abstract nature. Their struggle stems from a lack of effective learning strategies and supports extending beyond conventional methods. Moreover, there is a scarcity of opportunities to apply chemistry knowledge to solve contextualized problems in food and agricultural sciences. To address these challenges, the project aims to develop and implement a program (a) using an asset-based framework to foster their science identity, (B) incorporating evidence-based science pedagogy to promote student engagement and motivation, (C) equipping students with reactive molecular dynamic simulations skills to enhance their understanding of chemical reactions, and (D) emphasizing the importance of practical application skills to enable students to solve contextualized problems in the food and agricultural science field. The project will target students from three hispanic-serving institutions in california, california state university, LOS angeles, SAN diego state university, and california state university, bakersfield, to promote equitable learning opportunities for underrepresented minorities. Through three implementations and iterative refinements, a total of 72 undergraduate students will receive training to enhance their knowledge of dynamic mechanisms of chemical reactions in food and agricultural science topics. Furthermore, 10 graduate students will be selected to enhance their leadership skills by assisting in mentoring the undergraduate participants. They will also refine their application skills by incorporating reactive molecular dynamic simulation into their own research. By accomplishing the project objectives, the overarching goal of the project is to enhance the quality of food and agricultural science education in hispanic-serving institutes, to better prepare students for success in advanced degree programs and careers within the food and agricultural science sector, and to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and community building.