Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), a historically black university (HBU), will establish a year round undergraduate research program which will provide research experience for minority undergraduates in a positive friendly environment. Four students will participate during the academic year while eight (four preferably from community colleges) will participate during the ten week summer program. These students will work with pre-selected mentors on research projects in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, biochemistry, physics and agriculture focused on "Material Science for Space and Aerospace Applications." The academic research program will start Fall semester while the summer program will start around the start of June. Orientation will begin on day 1 of the academic year, and revisited at the beginning of the summer program. Faculty mentors will meet with their students to focus on the progress and/or problems in research projects. Seminars will be held weekly throughout the program. Speakers will be invited from research-intensive universities (Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas Houston Medical School and MD Anderson Cancer Center), industry and government. Representation of minority and female presenters will be given special attention. A seminar series will give the students an appreciation of the diversity of available research fields. A panel of minority and women scientists from academia, industry and government will discuss the job opportunities that are available to persons who are involved in scientific research. A second panel discussion will involve former students of PVAMU who have entered Ph.D. programs at Research Intensive Universities (RIUs). There will be three workshops throughout the academic year and summer which will be half-day sessions with open discussion and will include computer tools and technology, scientific writing, and professional career development. Field trips will be arranged to Research Intensive Universities (RIU), agencies and companies such as the Texas Medical Center (TMC) and NASA Johnson Space Center throughout the program. At the end of the ten-week summer session, students will present their research in oral and written form. E-mail: Laura_Carson@pvamu.edu or Gloria_Regisford@pvamu.edu for information and an application.
