The phrase “survival of the fittest” has become an iconic descriptor of how natural selection works. And yet, precisely measuring fitness, even for single-celled microbial populations growing in controlled laboratory conditions, remains a challenge. While numerous methods exist to perform these measurements, including recently developed methods utilizing DNA barcodes, all methods are limited in their precision to differentiate strains with small fitness differences. In this study, we rule out some major sources of imprecision, but still find that fitness measurements vary substantially from replicate to replicate. Our data suggest that very subtle and difficult to avoid environmental differences between replicates create systematic variation across fitness measurements. We conclude by discussing how fitness measurements should be interpreted given their extreme environment dependence. This work was inspired by the scientific community who followed us and gave us tips as we live tweeted a high-replicate fitness measurement experiment at #1BigBatch.

The Women in Applied Science and Engineering (WISE) Summer Bridge Program is designed to prepare incoming female students for the transition from high school to the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) at Arizona State University (ASU). This program offers academic reviews in courses such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Computer-programming tutorials are also offered in Excel and HTML to better prepare students for their freshman introductory engineering course. Participants acclimate to the campus by receiving general information concerning the university, financial aid, and departmental advising. Students attending the program become familiar with the campus, have a head start on their freshman engineering classes, and have a chance to meet other female students.An overview of the WISE Summer Bridge Program will be presented as well as retention data for 1998 and 1999 program participants. I n addition, the paper will discuss the need for and impact of bridge programs specifically geared toward female students. Further, the paper will investigate other lzye circumstances, such as level of involvement in student activities, living situation, and employment that impact retention of these students.Finally, future projections of implementation and direction of student retention programs will be explored.

In fall 2003, the Fulton School of Engineering began its first National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) class of scholars as part of a five-year block grant from NACME. The third class of freshmen began their studies in fall 2005. A major change in the program began in January 2005 in the second semester of the second NACME class and the fourth semester of the first NACME class. The change is an emphasis on a detailed time management schedule and the activities that go with it using Donna Johnson's 4.0 Plan. The presentation of the process, the student assignments, the students' reactions, and the results of a year of this program will be discussed. The success of the program is very dependent on the commitment of the student to the 4.0 Plan. Dramatic results have occurred with students who were resolved to raise their GPA. Lessons learned and an evaluation of the program will also be discussed in this paper.

In 2003 Arizona State University received a fiveyear block grant from the National Action Council on Minorities in Engineering (NACME).The funding provides scholarships of up to $2,500 for underrepresented students with financial need. Qualified non-minority students have been included in the program during the past two years and are supported by other funding. The new freshmen NACME students are required to take a two-hour course in the fall and meet every other week for an hour during the spring semester. In subsequent semesters, the NACME scholars meet for an hour six times a semester. This paper will report on lessons learned during the three years of the program, on programming improvements (including an academic emphasis), and on the challenges of the program. The paper will also include the students' retention, GPAs, and evaluations of the program. To date, over 60 students have participated in the program. This program helps to blur the academic, cultural, and social borders that minority engineering students often face.

For participating university programs, summer bridge outreach has helped to significantly increase student retention in academic majors. For female engineering students, bridge programs not only serve an academic need, but also serve to foster networking relationships between students prior to starting the semester. The Women in Applied Science and Engineering (WISE) Summer Bridge Program was designed to prepare incoming female students for the transition from high school to the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS). Since 1998, this program has offered academic reviews in courses such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry. In addition, computer-based curricula have been offered in Maple, Excel, and HTML to better prepare students for their freshmen introductory engineering courses.