HBCU Digest » Research

Alcorn State To Receive $1 Million for Biofuel Research

HBCUDigest.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:29:53 +0000

A recently-approved multi-million dollar support package for a biofuel company seeking to build processing plants in Mississippi includes $1 million in biofuel research resources for Alcorn State University. The support package, which is nearly $45 million in total support for the KiOR initiative, will allow Alcorn students and faculty new opportunities in this field of science, and may bolster new growth in the biofuel research industry in the state. From the Natchez Democrat:

Though the total funding on research is only a fraction of the total amount of investment planned on the KiOR project, it could be the most impacting, particularly if it helps set up our state as a hub of research for alternative fuel development.

Between this project and the potential Rentech project still on the menu for Adams County, Southwest Mississippi could be poised for some amazing things ahead.

Like Texas is to the U.S. petroleum industry, Mississippi could wind up being that for the alternative fuels — particularly coming from biomass — industry.

North Carolina A&T Receives $900K Grant to Study Climate Change

HBCUDigest.com — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:45:09 +0000

North Carolina A&T State University is part of a five-school consortium receiving more than $10 million over five years to research climate change. Aggie researchers will receive $900,000 to develop technological solutions that will enable scientists to better predict disastrous weather patterns. From the release:

“This effort will allow us to analyze climate variables together with geographical information about vulnerabilities and impacts,” (Lead A&T researcher Dr. Abdollah) Homaifar said. “This analysis can lead to an understanding of what we can do to protect communities at risk, key resources and critical infrastructure.

“The computational challenges comprise understanding the cascading relations of climate variables and geographical information (relationship mining), fusion of disparate data, as well as decision sciences for uncertainty quantification, risk assessment and allocation of resources based on cost-benefit tradeoffs.”

North Carolina A&T joins the University of Minnesota, North Carolina State University, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the Oak Ridge National Research Laboratory as the only HBCU on the research project.

North Carolina A&T, UNCG Prepare to Open School of Nanoscience

HBCUDigest.com — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:56:48 +0000

The North Carolina A&T State University-University of North Carolina-Greensboro Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering will open its doors to students this fall. With a robust class of doctoral students entering in its first year and a legislative funding commitment from the state, the joint program is positioned to impact educational and professional development in the area for years to come. From the Greensboro News & Record:

The universities believe the programs and their research will have a multimillion economic impact on the Piedmont Triad.

John Merrill, executive director of the Gateway research park, said the joint school is the anchor for what the park is trying to do: spur research activity for the benefit of the universities, the park and the area.

Any inventions that stem from the universities could attract companies to the park, he said.

“What we hope is that … this type of investment … will pay dividends for not only the universities, but help to create jobs in the community,” Ryan said. “We’re working pretty hard on that right now.”

Sources:

The Nanoschool Gets Real - Greensboro News & Record

HBCU Students, Alums Enrich Princeton Summer Research Program

HBCUDigest.com — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:32:46 +0000

Students and alumni of historically black colleges and universities are taking part in the Princeton University Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, a program designed to provide working experience and knowledge for undergraduate students interested in future doctoral work. This year’s eight-week program, with its emphasis on opportunities for underrepresented minorities, boasts participants and mentors from Spelman College and Howard University. From the Princeton News Desk:

Brittany Rhodes, a rising senior at Spelman College, is working this summer in the laboratory of Steven Bernasek, a Princeton professor of chemistry, alongside Joshua Wnuk, a postdoctoral researcher at the University. Rhodes is focusing on making nanotubes of titanium oxide for use in developing lower-cost solar cells.

“This is brand-new to me, and I find it very interesting,” she said. “One of the reasons I was interested in this program is that I wanted to do something outside of my current research, which is drug design, and I have really enjoyed it…”

Ashley Crump, a Howard University alumna who is now a doctoral student in Princeton’s Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics, is serving as a graduate mentor for all of the PSURE students along with Monica Trujillo, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology.

“Mentorship has played a critical role in the progress of my academic career,” Crump said. “I have experienced firsthand how the involvement of a mentor can pave the way for success. Becoming a mentor with the PSURE program is a way for me to impact students’ lives in the same way others have done for me.”

Jackson State, Spelman to Study Origins of Life on Earth

HBCUDigest.com — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:09:13 +0000

Jackson State University and Spelman College are part of a national research team that will study the chemical and biological processes that will better explain the origins of life on Earth. Headed by the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Center for Chemical Evolution will be funded by a $20 million grant awarded by the National Science Foundation and N.A.S.A. From NewsWise.com:

“Our research team seeks to understand how certain molecules in a complex mixture can work together to form highly ordered assemblies that exhibit chemical properties similar to those associated with biological molecules,” said Nicholas V. Hud, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “Such a process was likely an essential and early stage of life, so we are also working to understand what chemicals were present on the prebiotic Earth and what processes helped these chemicals form the complex substances ultimately needed for life…”

All of the researchers will work together to accomplish the Center for Chemical Evolution’s three main research goals:
• To identify potential biological building blocks among the products of model prebiotic reactions,
• To investigate the chemical components and conditions that promote the spontaneous assembly of increasingly complex multi-component structures, and
• To prepare and characterize highly-ordered chemical assemblies, and to study their potential to function like biological substances.

Cheyney Senior Leads Ecological Research in Alaska

HBCUDigest.com — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:02:01 +0000

As numerous public and private entities push for minority interest and participation in biological sciences, Cheney University senior and biology major Charles Owens is leading a new wave of HBCU students entering the fields of marine and ecological science. Owens is leading estuarine research and development initiatives with the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve in Homer, Alaska, where he has had a prominent role in salmon ecology and public engagement in the field. From the release:

In addition, Charles has helped set up and presented a display of the salmon work for public outreach workshops, called Discovery Labs. This display included prey items from estuary habitats and a microscope showing a salmon otolith (a bone from the fish’s head which lays down annual rings like a tree) with instructions for ageing the fish which are under study. The last three weeks of his internship will focus on public education and outreach, including setup and presentation of the different Discovery Lab programs, guiding estuary walks, and assisting the public with general marine ecology questions.

Howard, GW Scientists Develop Solar Air Cleaning System

HBCUDigest.com — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:17:49 +0000

Researchers from Howard University and George Washington University have developed a solar-powered system to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. The process, which could clean air to pre-industrial levels, can also be used to make diesel and aircraft fuel sources. From PhysOrg:

By showing how to take advantage of both the sun’s heat and light for capturing and splitting carbon dioxide, the STEP process is fundamentally capable of converting more solar energy than either photovoltaic or solar thermal processes alone. The experiments in this study showed that the technique could capture carbon dioxide and convert it into carbon with a solar efficiency from 34% to 50%, depending on the thermal component. While carbon could be stored, the production of carbon monoxide could later be used to synthesize jet, kerosene, and diesel fuels, with the help of hydrogen generated by STEP water splitting.

South Carolina State Pioneers BP Oil Spill Recovery Research

HBCUDigest.com — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:11:31 +0000

Researchers from South Carolina State University are among the leaders in finding environmentally-safe methods to begin recovery efforts from the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast. Led by SCSU microbiology professor Dr. Waltena Simpson, the team has discovered a bacteria commonly found in soil that may provide great support in breaking down contaminants left behind in burning and dissolving oil in the waters. From WLTX.com:

“We saw that they had an ability to break down a variety of environmental contaminants, which made them very interesting to us,” Simpson says. More than just interesting, they could potentially be an eco-friendly clean-up tool.

“What they can do is provide a low-cost, natural way of trying to remove harmful contaminants from the gulf,” Simpson says. She and her staff are results in the lab.

Shaw Study Corrects Medal of Honor Racial Disparities

HBCUDigest.com — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:37:28 +0000

With the passing of acclaimed soldier Vernon Baker earlier this week, citizens have had time to reflect on another chapter of progress in American race relations through his accomplishments. 1st Sgt. Baker served honorably and was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor in 1997, more than 50 years after his valor in combat in World War II warranted the military’s highest honor.

But it was a study compiled by Shaw University that spurred the U.S. Army to reexamine the awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and its results led to Baker receiving the award on behalf of black soldiers long gone and unjustly denied the citation. From the Los Angeles Times:

No black soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II, although Baker did receive the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest award for bravery.

In 1993, Army officials contacted Shaw University, a historically black college in Raleigh, N.C., to study whether there was a racial disparity in the way Medal of Honor recipients were selected.

The study concluded that the political climate and common Army practices guaranteed that no black soldier would ever receive the award. The researchers recommended that 10 soldiers receive the medal, and the Army chose seven from that list.

But since the statutory limit for presentation had expired, Congress was required to pass legislation that allowed the president to award the Medals of Honor so many years after the action.

Initially, Baker had been rebuffed when he tried to join the Army in 1941. A recruiter told him there was no quota for enlisting “you people,” he said later.

Reflecting on life in a segregated Army unit, he told the Post: “I was an angry young man. We were all angry. But we had a job to do, and we did it.”

Howard Researcher: Center of Gravity Key to Athletic Speed

HBCUDigest.com — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:57:50 +0000

The center of gravity of an athlete’s body may be the determining factor in an athlete’s performance speed, according to researchers from Howard University and Duke University. The findings also indicate that the center of gravity for African-Americans gives them a distinct advantage in sprinting, as opposed to other sports. From the L.A. Times Booster Shots Blog:

Blacks, they note, tend to have a slightly higher center of gravity than whites, due to having longer limbs with smaller circumferences. Because Asians and whites tend to have longer torsos, their centers of gravity are lower.

Those differences may translate into faster times in specific sports. Looking at other studies on the human body, the researchers deemed that, on average, blacks have about a 3% higher center of gravity than whites. That may make black sprinters 1.5% faster than white sprinters. Using that formula, whites may have a similar advantage over blacks in swimming. Asians may have an even greater advantage than whites in terms of center of gravity, they add, but that benefit is canceled out by the fact that they’re usually not as tall as white swimmers…

“When I grew up in South Carolina, we were discouraged from swimming,” Edward Jones, a co-author, said in a news release. Jones, who teaches at Howard University and is black, added, “There wasn’t nearly as much encouragement for us as young people to swim as there was for playing football or basketball. With the right encouragement, this doesn’t always have to be the case — just look at the Williams sisters in tennis or Tiger Woods in golf.”