Abstract:

The United States (US) is a global leader in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM). Nevertheless, its dominance has declined over the past decade while a number of countries have made significant strides to increase their STEM capacities. A report from the US National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) states that the US, “… may be short as many as 3 million high-skilled workers by 2018.” Numerous efforts are underway to prepare larger numbers of skilled STEM professionals. Policy makers and educators who specialize in said preparation, recognize the need to diversity the STEM workforce by increasing the number of underrepresented groups in the STEM fields. In the US, underrepresented groups include women, persons with disabilities and three ethnic groups: African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians. In US, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) have played a vital role in educating those from underrepresented groups. Historically, HBCUS were the designated institutions of higher learning for those of African descent. Hampton University (HU) has the distinction of being recognized as an HBCU. Within a decade of its beginnings in 1868, the University began instructing Native Americans (i.e. American Indians) and women. The commitment to a quality education has remained consistent over the centuries and is evidenced in the fact that HU has been ranked as one of the top five HBCUs over the past decade. More recently, HU has established a number of initiatives to address the need to prepare more underrepresented STEM professionals for global enterprise. One such initiative is the establishment of the Nanoscience Project at Hampton University (NanoHU). This five year project (2012-2017), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), provides an innovative model for the preparation, and subsequent success of underrepresented minority students. The goal of the project is to develop and systematically implement an integrated, multidisciplinary STEM research and education program in nanoscience at Hampton University.

Within the last four years NanoHU has implemented several components in the University:
(1) Establishing a new Nanoscience Minor;
(2) a new “Introduction to Nanoscience” course, SCI-203;
(3) the NanoHU Scholars Program;
(4) the NanoHU Fellows;
(5) a Faculty Research Startup Awards Program;
(6) a NanoHU Seminar Series; and
(7) a summer research outreach program for high school students called “NanoHU Pioneers”.

NanoHU not only strengthened the undergraduate research participation across the STEM disciplines but also increased the faculty’s scholarly activities utilizing the institutional resources. The demographic information suggest that the students who have participated of these components are predominantly women (~50%) and that of African Americans (>75%) population. NanoHU provides a conceptual framework for provides a developing a model for nanotechnology education, while promoting a diverse global workforce.

Keywords:

HBCU, underrepresented groups, African Americans, nanotechnology education.