WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — A Purdue University researcher has landed a $1.4 million federal grant for her study of the barriers women often face in the engineering field.

Associate professor Monica Cox in the School of Engineering Education is leading the study.

Cox says her funding from the National Science Foundation will help the three-phase study look at topics including how women overcome the barriers many traditionally face in engineering.

The project’s initial phase will study statistics from tenure-track female faculty members at as many as 350 large and small accredited engineering institutions through an American Society for Engineering Education database.

Once that’s completed, any trends will be examined as the study progresses, including in the context of race and class as well as gender.