Collaborative Research: Louis Stokes Regional Center of Excellence: Broadening Participation of Underrepresented Students in STEM Education Using Nanotechnology

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The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority populations (African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders) to successfully complete high quality degree programs in STEM. Louis Stokes Regional Centers of Excellence in Broadening Participation (LSRCEs) are designed to serve as regional testbeds for outreach, knowledge-generating and diffusion activities or other activities that contribute to successful practices in STEM education. LSRCE activities may also be concentrated in the development of disciplinary research institutes.Norfolk State University, Tidewater Community College and Pennsylvania State University (lead collaborators) and other partner organizations that include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Langley Research Center (NASA-LaRC), Jefferson National Research Laboratory Applied Research Center (JLab-ARC), and Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), all active members of the broader nanoscience and engineering research community, will collaborate as part of the Southeastern Coalition for Engagement and Exchange in Nanotechnology Education (SCENE), a regional Louis Stokes Center for Excellence in Broadening Participation. SCENE utilizes nanotechnology and its many applications as a conduit for engaging and inspiring talented students from traditionally underrepresented minority populations. Through guided mentoring and opportunities for research and hands-on training experiences, students will (1) pair student participants with accomplished research professionals to seed and motivate continuing research activities; (2) sponsor student-centered research and training activities to achieve cohorts of students who are prepared and competitive for opportunities in advanced STEM environments; and, (3) utilize its unique resources and established collaborative connections to deliver and disseminate a suite of digitally prepared products and services to users. The program design augments an extensive summer training and internship component, with an aggressive strategy to prepare and mentor talented students as they generate portfolios and generate competitive profiles for research opportunities at national labs and federal research agencies (e.g. NSF GRFP and NASA Graduate Student Fellowship Program (GSFP) applications). The center will be led by multiple institution types including a historically black university, a community college, and a research I institution that houses the Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization in addition to federal and private sector organizations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.