Rethinking Engineering Pathways: An Exploration of the Diverse K-12 School Experiences of Six Black Engineering Undergraduates

Dr. Bruk T. Berhane received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland in 2003, after which he was hired by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) where he worked on nanotechnology. In 2005 he left JHU/APL for a fellowship with the National Academies where he conducted research on methods of increasing the number of women in engineering. After a brief stint teaching mathematics in Baltimore City following his departure from the National Academies, he began working for the Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering (CMSE) in the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. In 2011, he began working directly under the Office of the Dean in the Clark School. Currently, he serves the college as Assistant Director of the Office of Undergraduate Recruitment and Scholarship Programs. His current duties entail working with prospective freshmen and transfer students. Since assuming his duties, he has helped to increase the enrollment of freshmen underrepresented students of color to 17%. New freshmen women admitted to the Clark School have also increased during his tenure from 27% in 2012 to 37% this year. Bruk completed a master’s degree in engineering management at George Washington University in 2007. In 2016, he earned a Ph.D. in the Minority and Urban Education Unit of the College of Education at the University of Maryland. His dissertation research focuses on factors that facilitate transfer among Black engineering community college students.