The National Science Foundation has announced that six universities will receive Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) awards. The objective of the PREM program is to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in materials research and education. The National Science Foundation forms PREM partnerships with minority-serving colleges and universities and funnels research grants in materials research to these institutions. Research projects will be in fields such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, electronics, renewable energy, and polymers.
Three of the new PREM partnerships will be established at historically Black colleges and universities and will be funded for five years.
Howard University in Washington, D.C. will focus its research on thin films. atomic membranes, and the fabrication of nanowires. Howard will work with Prince George’s Community College, Gallaudet University, and the Cornell Center for Materials Research.
Jackson State University in Mississippi will work to develop a Ph.D. program in materials sciences with the University of California at Santa Barbara. The partnership will conduct research in several areas including developing magnetically and mechanically active tunable hybrid biomolecular gels.
Norfolk State University in Virginia is partnering with the University of Michigan, Purdue University, and Cornell University to conduct research on metamaterials, which are artificial materials that exhibit properties not found in nature.
It would be very useful if the professionals in this field would also generate and broadcast career-related information about the various careers and qualifications for entering into the PREM field.