In October 2012, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded $4 million in grants to 22 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in key STEM areas. This funding launched NNSA’s new Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program, a consortium program organized to build a sustainable STEM pipeline between six Energy Department plants and laboratories and the HBCUs.
The Program is designed to enrich the STEM capabilities of HBCUs in a sustainable manner that aligns with the broad interests of Energy Department sites and emphasizes the STEM career pipeline.
The program brings together 8 teams from HBCUs that share similar interests in STEM research areas with the facilities and technology available at 6 DOE plants and laboratories--NNSA’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Kansas City Plant, Y-12 National Security Complex and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The 8 teams are formed based on their individual research capabilities:
- Malware Intelligence Harvesting for Greater Cyber Defense: Voorhees College, Allen University, Clark Atlanta University, North Carolina A&T State University, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
- Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing: Applied Research and Workforce Development for High Power Density Electronic Device Technology: Howard University, Southern University of New Orleans, Alabama A&M University, University of the District of Columbia, and Kansas City Plant.
- Investigating and Characterizing Catalytic Activity in Novel Materials and Processes using Experimental and Computational Techniques: Prairie View A&M University, Allen University, Morehouse, Southern A&M University, Tennessee State University, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- Support Advanced Manufacturing and Pipeline of Skilled Workforce: Hampton University, North Carolina A&T State University, Clark Atlanta University, Y-12, and Kansas City Plant.
- Addressing the Shortage of Quality Cybersecurity Workers in the U.S.: Norfolk State University, Voorhees College, Bowie State University, North Carolina A&T State University, University of the Virgin Islands, and Sandia National Laboratory.
- Experimental and Computational Studies of Matter under Extreme Environments: Tuskegee University, Benedict College, Florida A&M University, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
- Detection and Analysis of Chemical and Radionuclides: Alabama A&M University, Fisk University, Alcorn State University, Morehouse College, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University of Baton Rouge, Southern University of New Orleans, Y-12, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- Advanced Chemometrics and in-situ analysis using Laser Ablation Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Mass Spectroscopy and/or Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: Florida A&M University, Alabama State University, Delaware State University, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Building consortiums not only strengthen the capacity of the individual institutions it supports, but it also strengthens the MSI community as a whole because it makes these schools more competitive on a national scale when competing with other larger, research institutions for Federal funding.