We have developed a Diversity Index (DI) to better quantify the impact of eight traditionally underrepresented demographic categories in chemical engineering (“Women,” “Non-Binary,” “Black or African American,” “Hispanic or Latino/a,” “Asian, American Indian or Alaska
Native, Middle Eastern, or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander” (Asian/other for a short version), “LGBQT,” “Disabilities,” and “First Generation”). We then compared the DI with a Minority Index (MI), which only reflects the ratio of “Non-White American male” members to the total number of members but exhibits poor representation for diversity when teams are conformed mainly by minority representatives. We obtained data by instructor observation (nosurveys taken at this time) from 69 self-selected teams that performed 37 technical projects and 101 outreach projects in eight junior/senior chemical engineering courses. Results show that the DI is a promising quantitative tool to analyze and track diversity impact. For outlook, we hypothesize that a “diversity rewarded” option may incentivize students to self-select team members that bring increased diversity, promote inclusion, and yield statistically measurable improvement in performance.