Bronx Community College (BCC), working with industrial, governmental, and academic partners, will develop an Associates of Applied Science degree in Chemical and BioEnergy Technology for Sustainability. This degree program will combine the disciplines of biology, chemistry, and engineering, and educate community college students for careers in the emerging bio-economy and at the interface of green chemistry and fermentation science. The project will leverage ongoing projects at BCC, such as the Center for Sustainable Energy, the Renewable Fuel and Sustainable Product Laboratory and the College Now program. College Now will allow high school students to earn college credits towards careers in this emerging field. Due to BCC's urban location in the City of New York, many of the students who have access to this project will come from traditionally underserved backgrounds.
The goals of this project are to prepare students for careers in emerging STEM fields that address the need for cleaner, renewable energy and chemicals using a biomass feedstock platform. The new degree program will educate community college students in fields associated with biomanufacturing, renewable transportation fuels, and green chemical feedstocks. This program will leverage the principal investigator's current work in Bionic Liquids (NSF I-Corp Award #1443859) and prior ATE awards made to BCC in pharmtech and chemtech (Award #0202386 and #0936994). BCC is a minority-serving institution in the City of New York that educates approximately 11,500 students annually. It is part of the 24 college City University of New York system and has significant interactions with high schools in its service area. This will allow the project to impact a sizable number of students underrepresented in the STEM fields and contribute to the economic development of the region. The program will be a model for crossing disciplinary boundaries to prepare students for STEM careers and developing students' important middle employment skills. Project evaluation will focus on the progress of the developing the program and measuring student performance indicators such enrollment, success, and retention.
