The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has awarded 14 planning grants to Minority Serving Institutions through its Minority University Research and Education Project, part of the agency’s Office of STEM Engagement. The grants, totaling more than $587,000, are part of a phased partnership effort with the National Science Foundation. The grants will encourage the development of coalitions aimed at broadening participation in engineering.
Among the grant recipients are four historically Black universities.
Florida A&M Univerity received a grantfor a project entitled “Fueling Opportunities for Successful Engineering Retention of Non-Traditional STEM Majors into Ph.D. Programs.”
North Carolina A&T State University is planning a program to form a diverse, comprehensive consortium focused on exposing, encouraging, educating, engaging, and employing the underrepresented minority engineering community.
Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, plans to help develop a strong technical workforce in the targeted region with a concentration in advanced additive manufacturing technologies.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff aims to increase the capacity of the university’s Industrial Technology Management and Applied Engineering program to plan, collaborate and share NASA research with faculty, students, stakeholders, and the community.
“Efforts with Minority Serving Institutions to broaden student participation exemplify the work of the federal coordination in STEM community and highlight the direct benefit to students when agencies work together,” said Mike Kincaid, NASA associate administrator for STEM Engagement. “We look forward to see the results of this partnership.”
