Hampton University will expand the number of African American students in materials science and engineering research careers with a $3.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Announcing the NSF award, which begins September 1, 2018, the historically black college and university (HBCU) said the grant will run until 2024 to support the Hampton-Brandeis Partnership for Research and Education in Materials, a partnership for research and education in materials (PREM) project.

“The Hampton-Brandeis PREM will develop a Materials Science and Engineering minor, which will include courses from chemistry, engineering, and physics,” said Dr. Demetris L. Geddis, assistant dean of the Hampton University School of Engineering and Technology.

Students from Hampton’s School of Engineering and Technology and the School of Science will get undergraduate research experiences related to integrated photonics and optofluidics, scholarship opportunities, and summer research experiences at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

The PREM will also develop an outreach program in materials science and engineering for middle and high school students in the Hampton Roads region, increasing the number of undergraduate and graduate students to prepare a new cohort of early-career faculty for HBCUs.