American Indian Science and Engineering Society

The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional association with the goal of substantially increasing American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, First Nation and other indigenous peoples of North America representation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and other related disciplines. Its headquarters is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As of May 1, 2013^[update], Sarah EchoHawk is the Chief Executive Officer.^{[citation needed]}

American Indian Science and Engineering Society

Formation	1977
Founder	Arnold Anderson Al Qöyawayma Carol Gardipe George Thomas Jerry Elliott Jim Shorty
Type	501(c)(3)[1]
Focus	Native American education
Location	2305 Renard SE, Suite 200 Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
Area served	United States and Canada
Members	c. 4000[2]
Key people	Sarah EchoHawk (Pawnee) Chief Executive Officer
Endowment	$1,000,000 - $4,999,999[1]
Employees	10 to 29 FTE[1]
Website	www.aises.org

History

AISES was founded in 1977, by American Indian scientists: Manhattan Project scientist and Mohawk, Arnold Anderson, Al Qöyawayma, Carol Gardipe (Penobscot), George Thomas (Cherokee), Jerry Elliott (Cherokee/Osage), Alex Labadie (Osage) and Jim Shorty (Navajo).^[3]

Since its founding, the society has held the annual, three-day AISES National Conference, which includes the largest job fair in Indian country.^[4]

Chapters

As of 2011^[update], AISES has 177 chartered college and university chapters and 13 professional chapters in the US and Canada. In addition, 150 affiliated K-12 schools enroll in excess of 45,000 Native American students.^[2]

Winds of Change magazine

AISES publishes Winds of Change, a quarterly magazine on science, technology, engineering and math fields and Native Americans.^[5]

Scholarships

In 2012, AISES administered four merit-based, college scholarship programs:^[6]

• A.T. Anderson Memorial Scholarship—offered since 1983 to its members in the fields of math, science, medicine, engineering, physical science, natural resources, and technology.^[7]
• AISES Google Scholarship
• AISES Intel Scholarship
• Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation Scholarship

Awards

At the annual AISES Leadership Summit, two student awards are voted on for students, by students. The awards are the Rising Leader Award and Leadership Award. In 2018, soil scientist Lydia Jennings was awarded the Rising Leader Award.^[8]

In 2011, the San Juan College branch of AISES earned the National Student Chapter of the Year award, the first community college to earn the national award formerly given at top schools such as Stanford University and the University of California, Los Angeles.^[9]

See also

• American Indian Council of Architects and Engineers