Career Program 16 comprises approximately 80 percent white engineers and scientists (E&S) and 20 percent non-white. In contrast, the latest national figures show that the overall E&S population is approximately 75 percent white and 25 percent non-white. Several years ago the Army Research Lab (ARL) instituted a minority outreach program to increase minority representation in its offices. This year, the Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) has adopted the program and extended it to all Research, Development, and Engineering Centers (RDECs) and Labs. ARL's Dr. Vallen D. Emery oversees the program.

A major accomplishment of the outreach program is participation in career fairs held in association with national conventions of various professional organizations for minority engineers and scientists. During the current academic year, Dr. Emery and outreach representatives from the RDECs and Labs have attended the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC) and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers conventions; the Black Engineer of Year Awards and National Society of Black Engineers conventions; and the Society of Women Engineers convention. During each of these events, they have collected more than 200 resumes from students interested in internships or careers with the Army. RDECOM has created a searchable database containing the most current resumes for its components' use in recruiting new scientists and engineers. Its goal is to recruit half of its new hires through this outreach program.