Huntsville, Ala. ---- Fifteen undergraduate research students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines at Alabama A&M University will present their research findings at a four-day national conference in Atlanta, Ga., this month.
The students, all participants in AAMU’s HBCU-UP Project’s Undergraduate Research Program, were each awarded travel grants valued at $1,650 to attend the Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM February 23-26. The grants were provided by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Human Resource Development following a national competition.
The HBCU-UP program’s goal is to enhance the quality of education, mentoring of students to improve the graduation rates of STEM undergraduates, improve the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination passing rates for engineering graduates, increase STEM student recruitment and retention, and expand research opportunities for STEM undergraduates.
In the HBCU-UP Student Research component of the HBCU-UP program, students from the STEM disciplines are paired with faculty mentors to engage in research. Faculty mentors show the students how to conduct basic research and offer them an opportunity to co-publish and present their research findings at local, state, and national conferences. Additionally, the student researchers are awarded a $1,500 stipend each semester for their participation. This opportunity serves as a catalyst to enhance the students’ research skills and produce research publications at the undergraduate level.
The award-winning students’ names, along with respective faculty mentors and STEM disciplines, are listed below:
Student Researcher Faculty Mentor STEM Department
Brittany Bazzle |
Dr. T. X. Zhang |
Physics |
Jermaine Clements |
Dr. S. Budak |
Electrical Engineering |
Alaya Fields |
Dr. A. Batra |
Physics |
Clayton Fredericks |
Dr. T. X. Zhang |
Physics |
Roderick Gray |
Dr. T. X.Zhang |
Physics |
Isis Holloway |
Dr. S. Hopkinson |
Biology |
Taylor Hood |
Dr. A. Elkhaldy |
Chemistry |
Kimberly Howard |
Dr. L. Dimov |
Forestry/Biology |
Anita Johnson |
Dr. T. Kukhtareva |
Physics |
Breana McArthur |
Dr. M. Verghese |
Food Science |
Belther Monono |
Dr. R. Monkolo |
Environmental Science |
Kreana Pye |
Dr. S. Budak |
Electrical Engineering |
Sima Meseret |
Dr. A. Batra |
Physics |
Mychal Thomas |
Dr. S. Budak |
Mathematics |
Bojun Zhang |
Dr. P. Guggilla |
Physics |
Dr. Mostafa Dokhanian is the lead faculty member responsible for the HBCU-UP Student Research component, with assistance in program implementation by Dianne Kirnes. Six AAMU student researchers presented their research findings at the 2011 National ERN conference in Washington, DC.
The HBCU-UP project is in its third year of implementation. Dr. Juarine Stewart, associate provost, is the project’s principal investigator. AAMU STEM faculty members serving as co-principal investigators on the other six components of the project include Dr. Mostafa Dokhanian, Dr. Nesar Ahmed, Dr. Mohammed Karim, and Dr. Marius Schamschula. Kirnes also serves as administrative assistant for the program.
For additional information, contact Dianne Kirnes at Dianne.kirnes@aamu.edu or call (256) 372-8786.
by Jerome Saintjones
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