We demonstrate that in humans, two metalloproteases, ADAMTS-9 (1935 amino acids) and ADAMTS-20 (1911 amino acids) are orthologs of GON-1, an ADAMTS protease required for gonadal morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. ADAMTS-9 and ADAMTS-20 have an identical modular structure, are distinct in possessing 15 TSRs and a unique C-terminal domain, and have a similar gene structure, suggesting that they comprise a new subfamily of human ADAMTS proteases. AD-AMTS20 is very sparingly expressed, although it is detectable in epithelial cells of the breast and lung. However, ADAMTS9 is highly expressed in embryonic and adult tissues, and therefore we characterized the AD-AMTS-9 protein further. Although the ADAMTS-9 zymogen has many proprotein convertase processing sites, pulse-chase analysis, site-directed mutagenesis, and amino acid sequencing demonstrated that maturation to the active form occurs by selective proprotein convertase (e.g. furin) cleavage of the Arg 287 -Phe 288 bond. Although lacking a transmembrane sequence, ADAMTS-9 is retained near the cell surface as well as in the ECM of transiently transfected COS-1 and 293 cells. COS-1 cells transfected with ADAMTS9 (but not vector-transfected cells) proteolytically cleaved bovine versican and aggrecan core proteins at the Glu 441 -Ala 442 bond of versican V1 and the Glu 1771 -Ala 1772 bond of aggrecan, respectively. In contrast, the ADAMTS-9 catalytic domain alone was neither localized to the cell surface nor able to confer these proteolytic activities on cells, demonstrating that the ancillary domains of ADAMTS-9, including the TSRs, are required both for specific extracellular localization and for its versicanase and aggrecanase activities.

Background Social identity theory has been used to understand student and professional engagement in engineering. Engineering identity development, however, can be disrupted by the barriers and challenges associated with the racialized and gendered perceptions of engineering. Purpose/Hypothesis This study examined the engineering identity development and resilience of Black women engineers in industry through the exploration of their experiences in the engineering workplace. Many studies document challenges that underrepresented groups face in engineering. This work, instead, focuses on particular supports and empowerment that enabled continued participation in the engineering workforce over time. Design/Method This interpretative phenomenological analysis consisted of nine self‐identified Black women engineers currently employed in engineering industry with at least 10 years of work experience and explored the background, pathway into and through engineering, and what it means to be an engineer through 90‐min interviews with each participant. Results The results of this study suggest that engineering identity development alone does not contribute to the retention of Black women in the engineering workplace but instead the confluence of race, gender, and role identity that aids in developing a resilient engineering identity. Conclusions The formal, informal, and structural educational experiences of Black women engineers are critical to the development of a resilient engineering identity. This identity is dependent on the complexities associated with being Black, a woman, and an engineer.

A first year Engineering Education doctoral student at Purdue University. Ms. Trina L Fletcher, Purdue University, West LafayetteTrina Fletcher is an Engineering Education doctoral student at Purdue University. Her research focus includes process excellence and total quality management (TQM) methodologies as a way to improve engineering related activities within industry and education. She is also interested in research around recruiting and retaining underrepresented minorities and women in STEM. Prior to Purdue, she spent time in industry holding technical and operations-based roles and has experience with informal STEM community and outreach projects. She holds a BS degree in Industrial Technology and a MS degree in Engineering Management. Hispanic student numbers rose from 3 percent to 13 percent, Asian/Pacific Islander students rose from 2 percent to 6 percent, and the percentage of Black students rose from 9 percent to 14 percent. However, the faculty demographic has not kept pace with the increase in URM enrollment. The percentage of URM faculty has remained flat over the last 20 years, hovering at just a little over 5 percent.Researchers, educators, and practitioners believe that in order for students to succeed academically, they need role models and mentors with whom they can identify. Racial and ethnic diversity has both direct and indirect positive effects on the educational outcomes and experiences of students. The campus climate improves when the diversity of the student population matches that of the faculty. Students from majority groups equally benefit from learning and exchanging ideas in a multicultural environment, offering a wider range of research and a broader representation of alternative perspectives. Therefore, the shift in American demographics over the next ten years changes the question from whether colleges and universities want to support diversity in their faculty distribution to how colleges and universities will accommodate this necessity.Thus, this is a review of the literature on one demographic in engineering academe, the African American woman. African American women are at the intersection of two of the most pervasive prejudices in this country: racism and sexism. This review will unveil some of the unique challenges African American female engineering faculty due to the intersectionality of race and gender. In order, to increase the numbers, the engineering education community must first fully understand the barriers these women face.

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