SANDIA NATIONAL LAB

Sandia National Labs Taps Research Talent At Pvamu With New Initiative

For more than 70 years, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has produced vital science and technology research to resolve some of the most challenging U.S. security issues. As a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), SNL seeks out the best research talent to equip them with world-class tools and facilities and provide them with opportunities to collaborate with experts from a variety of scientific disciplines.

That’s why Prairie View A&M University’s Division of Research and Innovation reached a new milestone when it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SNL to increase research collaborations and expose diverse groups of talented students to the lasting impact they can have by working at a national laboratory.

SNL’s Black Leadership Committee (BLC), some of whom are graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), realized SNL had a unique opportunity to build a pipeline for recruitment by connecting with select schools. So, they created the Securing Top Academic Research & Talent for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (S.T.A.R.T. HBCU) initiative. PVAMU, which has an ongoing relationship with SNL, was chosen to participate in the initiative.

“This partnership has provided our faculty with more opportunities for research collaborations with the Sandia research community,” said Vice President for R&I Magesh Rajan. “We have already identified opportunities for possible collaborations with the other universities in the program to conduct research projects that will address some of the grand global challenges. It is more important than ever, in our current climate, to align the efforts of the most brilliant experts to develop research projects and build a pipeline of students prepared and skilled to pursue research as a career path.”