INSIDE TRACK

Research at Prairie View A&M University is directed by talented and dedicated scholars. We place a high priority on training students to balance ambitious career goals with a commitment to improving conditions in society for the long term.

Prairie View A&M University Takes Top Awards at 12th Annual TAMUS Pathways Research Symposium Industry Day Sets Tone for PVAMU Research Partnerships in the Business Community

Prairie View A&M University students were awarded top honors at the 12th Annual TAMUS Pathways Research Symposium hosted by the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Business School in Corpus Christi. The symposium enables students to showcase their research projects and network with other schools, faculty members, and students within the TAMU System.

PVAMU truly shined in the Education Doctoral research category, sweeping the competition to finish in first, second and third place. Research partners Mathis Vairez and Jerrel Moore took home the first place prize for their in-depth research project, The Development and Validation of the Grit Trigger Scale.

Second Place Doctoral finalist, Rebecca Faison, wowed judges with her research project, The Examination of Commercialization of Research Portfolios at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Doctoral Candidate Jasmine Williams placed third in the category with her research, Homeschoolers: Experiences of AfricanAmerican Male Students, A Phenomenological Study.

In addition to sweeping the Doctoral Education category, Prairie View also won the top honor in the Doctoral Engineering category.

Ashley S. Kelsey, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student, focused her research in communication and signal processing — specifically in cyber security. Her topic, A Discrete Wavelet Transform Approach for Enhanced Security in Image Steganography, showcased her research in data encryption and hiding data/information in images. o Last spring, Prairie View A&M University hosted its first annual Industry Day, an event held in partnership with The Texas A&M University System.

Industry Day proved to be a showcase of the broad range and research capabilities of PVAMU. Selected researchers provided a glimpse into their current projects that have potential for commercialization. Industry participants at the one-day event included representatives from Texas, throughout the United States and international companies. Those present included NASA, Northrup Grumman Corporation, REUSA-Wraps and Synergy Global, among others. Participants also had the opportunity to learn more about the process of moving research ideas from the laboratory to the market place from representatives of Prairie A&M University and The Texas A&M University System.

John Sharp, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, Prairie View A&M University President Dr. George C. Wright and Col. Dennis Beal, USMC (ret), Executive Director Strategic Alliances/Programs joined the PVAMU Office of Research and Graduate Studies in supporting the vision of ensuring that PVAMU is on the forefront of becoming an emerging research institute and a significant contributor in the commercialization of research.

Activities included high-level overviews of the technical services and expertise available from Prairie View A&M University and across the Texas A&M System.

The research program is committed to building stronger research ties with various industry partners who are able to contribute to PVAMU while the university’s research teams provide assistance with research-related industry priorities. o

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Ashley S. Kelsey

Doctoral Student Hopes to Inspire Upcoming Minority Students with Her Work in the Cyber Security Field

Ashley S. Kelsey completed a master’s of science in electrical engineering from Prairie View A&M University in August 2015. She is now pursuing her doctorate degree at PVAMU. Her research is focused on cyber security, specifically steganography. Steganography, also known as data hiding, is the science of secret communication on a public or private network. The magnitude of the growth in the Internet — combined with the increase in technological innovations — poses serious threats to the process of digital data transmission. Kelsey chose this area of research because she is passionate about finding solutions to solve the security issues negatively affecting our nation and its people. “I chose to continue on and pursue my doctoral degree because I do not want to limit the opportunities that could possibly be available to me from having a doctoral degree and I do not want to pass up the opportunity to expand my knowledge,” Kelsey said. “I also want to inspire other minority students to pursue a higher education, by going through the program myself. By being in contact with undergraduate and master’s students every day, I am able to discuss with them the opportunities here at Prairie View for master’s and Ph.D. students as well as the opportunities in the industry.”

Kelsey added that her parents, Thad and Annette Kelsey, as well as her grandparents, Dan and Anne Weaver, always pushed her to excel in her studies and to always pursue excellence. “Without their guidance, teachings and encouragement,” Kelsey said, “I would not be the person I am today and I would not be so driven to pursue a higher education.” She added that Dr. Pamela H. Obiomon and Dr. Kendall T. Harris have been instrumental in the decision-making process to pursuing a higher education. “Without their insight into the engineering field and the various opportunities that have been made available to me, I probably would have decided to work right after obtaining my bachelor’s degree instead of pursuing my master’s and doctoral degrees.”

“I hope to change the world with my research by creating a program to help securely transmit information or data without the fear of the information being obtained by hackers or eavesdroppers,” Kelsey said. “I also hope to inspire others, young children and teens, undergraduate students and minorities to expand their knowledge and pursue a higher education. I hope that this will be a domino effect in which the person I inspire, inspires someone else to do the same.” o

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Jerrel Moore

The Academic ‘Grit’ of PVAMU Grad Student Jerrel Moore Promises to Make a Big Difference in the Lives of Many Others

When we hear the term, “grit,” some may recall the old Western film, True Grit, which earned an Academy Award for the late actor John Wayne. But if you ask Jerrel Moore, “grit” has a lot more to do with achievements in the present and the future. Jerrel Moore completed a master’s of science degree in engineering from Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) in 2001, immediately after completing an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at the university. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in educational leadership. His research involves non-cognitive factors that affect academic achievement. Specifically, Moore is studying the life domains from which one acquires “grit.” Grit is defined as “the passion and perseverance to achieve long-term goals.”

Moore credits his immense faith in God for the opportunities he has been afforded to continue his education. His wife and children have been very supportive of his studies. Moore’s mentor, Dr. Lucian Yates, has also been instrumental to his achievements thus far.

“The prevailing thought in our society regarding success is that one must possess extreme talent to achieve success,” Moore says. “However, I plan to help individuals develop the necessary character attributes to become successful despite not possessing extreme talent. I intend to develop programs to this end that will help people of all ages.”

Moore has high professional goals centered around bringing out the “grit” in others. “I plan to change the world by developing researchbased programs that develop ‘grit’ in students which will lead to their academic and personal success,” Moore says. o

While the Earth’s atmosphere acts as a shield for human cells and tissue against harmful radiation, understanding and measuring how the human body reacts to various radiation levels beyond the Earth’s protective reach is critical to the next phase of space exploration. In an effort to assess the risk of radiation exposure to astronauts on long duration human expedition missions, Prairie View A&M University's Radiation

Institute for Science and Engineering (RaISE), funded by the Chancellor's Research Initiative (CRI), and in collaboration with the NASA Johnson Space Center and other partners developed a radiation detection system for the Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) in Japan.

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