the defense systems. He said, “Biotechnology and materials science remains a priority across the Department to achieve new operational capabilities ranging from strengthening chemical-biological defense systems to impacting warfighter performance. We are excited for the range of activities the Centers will conduct in their technical areas and look forward to the foremost research contributions to the defense research enterprise.”
For a period of five years, the selected HBCUs will conduct research in two major defense priority areas. The following HBCUs have been selected. North Carolina A&T State University, Center for Biotechnology: North Carolina A&T State University and its associative partner, the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine, will head the research to advance the technology for the identification and tracking of chemical and biological threat agents with an integrated micro-engineered organ equivalent system. The suggested method will be utilized to describe the effect of a variety of pharmacological and toxicological substances, including threat agents associated with national security concerns.
Morgan State University, Center for Advanced Electro-Photonics with 2D Materials: Morgan State University will collaborate with Johns Hopkins University to investigate the technological capacity of an emerging class of two-dimensional (2D) materials for military applications by the Defense Department. The studies will focus on the characteristics of two-dimensional materials relevant to specific fields of technology, such as wearable photovoltaics (PV), thermally managed photosensors, and hybrid photovoltaic thermoelectric technologies that will be used by individual warfighters.
Along with doing research, the CoEs will train the minority students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, particularly the subjects recognized by the Defense Department as being of vital significance. Along with the training programs to secondary and post-secondary students, the CoEs will provide training to K-12 pupils as well. According to the Pentagon, the training aims to strengthen the knowledge and skills of the personnels joining the STEM pipeline and to empower a diverse and capable STEM workforce.
