JSU lands $75,000 grant from 3M for academic and technology

Girls STEM Academy, LSMAMP inspire interest in STEM

To bolster interest in STEM, the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) invited 15 female and male students to participate in the annual summer Girls STEM Academy and the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliances for Minority Participation (LSMAMP) program. Dr. Martha Tchounwou, director of Student Support Services in CSET, said, “This year, students got a chance to get out and have fun learning science, chemistry, math, biology, physics, computer science, engineering and coding.” As CSET student counselors helped the students with academic and life skills, participants used their newly acquired skills to learn, build and show, for example, how traffic lights work. The Girls STEM Academy and LSMAMP are funded by the National Science Foundation. Support is also provided by Nissan and JSU. Both programs aim to increase the quality and quantity of students completing baccalaureate degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. LSMAMP also aims to help young people matriculate into graduate study programs.

Emergency management, meteorology benefit from $470K Homeland Security award

Jackson State University is the recipient of a Department of Homeland Security Scientific Leadership Award totaling $470,000. Funds will be used for a collaborative interdisciplinary effort to integrate Emergency Management Technology and meteorology in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET). In addition, the award has helped to form a partnership with Copiah-Lincoln Community College (Co-Lin), which serves as a pipeline for student recruitment from two-year to four-year degrees in Homeland Security-related fields. The project is spearheaded by Dr. Duanjun Lu, the principal investigator and a meteorology instructor in CSET. He and his team are developing new course modules, upgrading laboratories and implementing field campaigns for case studies. Their plans involve meteorology observations and geographic surveying through drone. Funding also supports efforts related to conducting student and faculty research; revising existing courses; and strengthening the collaboration between JSU and its community college partner.

JSU lands $75,000 grant from 3M for academic and technology success program

A $75,000 grant from 3M will help Jackson State University provide students with a Pathway to Academic and Technology Success through the university’s summer bridge program. PATS will immerse students in a number of topics that will help them make an easy transition to college, prepare them for academic success, and place them on a trajectory for a STEM-based career. The program will also include a mental-health element, and participants will have access to a network of experts and opportunities for collaboration and mentoring. “Student-athletes and band members are among the university’s biggest ambassadors,” says Associate Provost Brandi Newkirk-Turner, Ph.D. “Even with hectic schedules, overall, both groups excel academically and have been successful in managing their academics and their athletic or musical talent. Still, it is important for the University to continue to seek ways to support these students in their academic endeavors.” PATS is the result of an ongoing collaboration between the Divisions of Academic Affairs, Athletics, and Research and Economic Development.