Sylvester James Gates Jr. Named the 2014 Scientist of the Year
Dr. Gates, the John S. Toll Professor of Physics and the director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland College Park, is being honored by the Harvard Foundation.
Xavier University Patents New Method to Treat Heroin Addiction
Xavier University, the historically Black educational institution in New Orleans, has received a patent for a new drug formulation that aims to improve methods for treating pain and heroin addiction.
Texas Tech Professor Develops Online Petroleum Engineering Course for Mozambique Students
Significant natural gas discoveries have been found in the Mozambique Channel between East Africa and the island of Madagascar. But there are very people in the area with any expertise in petroleum engineering.
Nuclear Engineer Named Dean at South Carolina State University
Kenneth Lewis was appointed dean of the College of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering Technology. He served in the same post from 2005 to 2011.
STEM Alliance of Washington-Area HBCUs Is Producing Results
The Washington-Baltimore-Hampton-Roads Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation is a consortium of universities that is working to increase opportunities for underrepresented students in STEM fields.
HBCU Teams Up With the Army Corps of Engineers
The University of Arkansas Pine Bluff has signed an agreement to establish and participate in STEM enrichment programs, research projects, and paid internships for university students.
A Huge Racial Gap in STEM Degree Program Attrition Rates
New data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that almost two-thirds of Black students who start out in STEM-related bachelor's degree programs do not complete their studies in these fields.
Report Documents Huge Shortage of Black Women Faculty in STEM Disciplines
The gap between the percentage of Black women in STEM faculty posts and the percentage of Black women in the general working-age population is wider than for any other racial or ethnic group.
Virginia Tech’s Bevlee Watford Spending Two Years at the National Science Foundation
The associate dean for academic affairs at the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, will be the program manager for broadening participation in the engineering education and centers division of the NSF.
Census Data Shows Need for Further Efforts to Attract Blacks Into STEM Fields
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that while while Blacks are 10.8 percent of all employed workers, they make up only 6.4 percent of all employees in STEM occupations. Blacks make up an even smaller percentage of all workers in specific STEM jobs.
Florida A&M University Aids Students’ Path to Medical School
Under a new agreement, undergraduate students at Florida A&M University who are accepted into the Medical Scholars Program will be offered provisional acceptance into the medical school at Florida Atlantic University.
Gilda Barabino Named Dean of Engineering at the City College of New York
Dr. Barabino was associate chair for graduate studies and professor of biomedical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and previously served on the faculty at Northeastern University in Boston for 18 years.
Historically Black Florida A&M University Graduates Four Physics Ph.D. Students
At the summer graduation ceremonies at Florida A&M University, four students were awarded Ph.D.'s in physics. In all of 2011 only 15 African Americans earned doctorates in physics from universities in the United States.
Saint Louis University Creates Chemistry Internship Program for Black Students
Saint Louis University in conjunction with the Jost Chemical Company have formed the Clyde Miller Career Academy in an effort to increase the number of minority students who develop an interest in the field of chemistry.
A Proven Track Record in Increasing Black Students in STEM Fields
The Virginia-North Carolina Alliance includes nine partner institutions, including four HBCUs. The program has been funded by the National Science Foundation since 2007. During this period the number of students who graduated with degrees in STEM fields is up 67 percent.
Black Scholar Is the New Dean of Engineering at the University of Delaware
Babatunde A. Ogunnaike is the new dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Delaware. Dr. Ogunnaike joined the faculty at the university in 2002. Prior to joining the university faculty, he had a 13-year career at DuPont Inc.
Morehouse School of Medicine Names Its Next President
Valerie Montgomery Rice was named the next president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. She will take office upon the retirement of John E. Maupin Jr. on July 1, 2014. She has been serving as executive vice president and dean of the medical school.
University of California at Davis to Hold a New Plant Breeding Academy in Kenya
Since 2006 the University of California at Davis Plant Breeding Academy has trained 114 crop breeders from 26 countries. Now the university has announced plans for a new African Plant Breeding Academy to be held in Nairobi, Kenya.
The New Class of Scholars of the UNCF-Merck Science Initiative
The 2013 UNCF•MERCK Fellows in the biological sciences receive awards ranging from $25,000 for undergraduate scholarship recipients to $92,000 for recipients of postdoctoral fellowships.
New Initiative Looks to Boost the Number of Blacks in Graduate-Level Computer Science
Seven universities have been chosen by the National Science Foundation for participation in the Institute for African American Mentoring in Computing Sciences (iAAMCS, pronounced "I am CS"). The $5 million program is being led by computer scientists at Clemson University in South Carolina.
The Top Undergraduate Feeder Institutions for Blacks Who Earn Scientific Doctorates
The National Science Foundation reports that between 2002 and 2011, 9,202 Blacks received doctorates in science and engineering fields. Howard University in Washington, D.C., was the leading undergraduate feeder institution for Blacks who earned doctorate in these fields.
Howard University To Develop and Test New Drugs in Africa
Howard University in Washington, D.C., has signed a partnership agreement with TNI BioTech Inc. of Bethesda, Maryland. Under the agreement, Howard University will conduct clinical trials in several African nations for drugs treating addition, HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other diseases.
Rutgers University Program Helps Minority Students on the Road to Healthcare Careers
In 1987, one African American student graduated from the Rutgers pre-med program. This year, the university graduated 52 students who are going on to medical school or are continuing their education in healthcare fields.
Howard University Engineering Students Spending the Summer Conducting Research in Africa
In Cameroon, Howard students will use wireless networks to collect seismic data. In Senegal, the research will focus on HIV resistance to antiretroviral drugs. In South Africa, Howard University students will conduct experiments with silicon detectors in nuclear physics laboratories.
The First African American Dean at Mississippi State University
Achille Messac was named dean of the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University. He has been serving as distinguished professor and chair of the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Syracuse University in New York.
An Academic Redshirt Program in Washington State
Under the redshirt program, entering students will take five years to complete their bachelor’s degree in a STEM field. The program is targeted at students who are eligible for the federal Pell Grant program.
Clemson University Launches Major Effort to Increase the Number of Blacks in Computer Science
Clemson University in South Carolina received a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to increase the number of African Americans who pursue degrees in computer science and to improve retention of Black students in these programs.
The First Graduate of the UConn Medical School from the Rowe Health Scholars Program
The program, funded by the Aetna Foundation, is aimed at increasing the number of undergraduate students from underrepresented groups who pursue careers in the healthcare field.
Thurgood Marshall College Fund Works With Army ROTC to Provide Scholarships in STEM Fields
Under the program, representatives of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund visited 452 high schools, community organizations, and other groups to provide information about opportunities in the Army's Reserve Officer Training Program.
Coppin State to Build New $80 Million Science and Technology Center
The 150,000-square-foot facility will house academic departments in biology, physics, chemistry, and environmental science. In addition the facility will support programs for dentistry, medicine, and pharmacy training.
Two African Americans Awarded Gilliam Fellowships
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has chosen nine students for its 2013 Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study. The students receive $46,500 per year, for up to four years, for doctoral studies in the life sciences. Two of nine fellows are African Americans.
The New Dean of Arts and Sciences at Fort Valley State University
Victor M.D. Brown has been serving as dean of the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Technology at Burlington County College in Pemberton, New Jersey. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of the West Indies.
CalTech’s Stephen Mayo Appointed to the National Science Board
Professor Mayo joined the faculty at CalTech in 1991 and for a time was the only African American on the university's faculty. From 2007 to 2010, he served as CalTech's vice provost for research.
Florida A&M University Professor Using Plants From His Native Ghana for New Medicines
Seth Y. Ablordeppey, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, has received a U.S. patent for a compound that fights a staph infection that is resistant to common antibiotics.
New Robotics Laboratory Opens at Elizabeth City State University
The laboratory will train university students to design, build, and program robots and to operate them remotely and autonomously. It will also be used during a summer outreach effort aimed at increasing interest among high school in pursuing careers in high technology industries.
New Mentoring Program for Minority Nursing Students at the University of Cincinnati
Advising Minorities By Inspiring & Transforming Them Into Outstanding Nurses (AMBITION) is a new mentoring and networking group for pre-nursing minority students at the University of Cincinnati.
