Sixty-nine years ago, two independent African American scientific organizations, Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Honor Society (BKX) and the National Institute of Science (NIS) met and decided to jointly provide a forum for African-American scientists and students to come together under the auspice of a credible national scientific meeting to present their research data. This transpired during a period when African-American scientists, professionals and students could not present their scientific research data to their peers at majority meetings. They decided the forum would not only be a meeting for exchange of scientific research data, but would stimulate professional, academic and student networking. Both organizations strongly believed that a joint meeting should be a vehicle to promote greater student interest and access to careers in the STEM disciplines (sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics) through novel activities. Through participation in these activities, students would have additional invaluable tools to immediately cultivate their successes as students and, in the long-term, as future STEM professionals. The organizations forged a bond of support with the faculty of Historical Black College and University (HBCUs) by having them commit to providing meaningful mentorships and top-notch laboratory research opportunities for their students on-campus, and at outside institutions. The BKX and NIS pledged that these students would be the primary focus of the joint meeting and guaranteed to recognize them for their hard work at this forum.
For more information on the conference that is being held on March 21-25, 2012 at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, TN, visit the NIS-BKX website.
