Dear Colleagues and Friends, Research is fundamentally a pursuit into the unknown, intending to understand all that surrounds us. Passion, hard work, and persistence are required to accomplish this. However, the truly extraordinary thing about scientific research is that anyone who has these qualities can aid progress in pushing the boundaries of the collective knowledge of humanity.
Magesh T. Rajan Vice President for Research & Innovation mtrajan@pvamu.edu
At Prairie View A&M University, with the support of President Ruth Simmons, the Division of Research & Innovation is committed to fostering a community to help emerging undergraduate, and graduate researchers flourish early in their academic career. This initiative provides professional mentorship and multiple research opportunities. I am delighted to share a few words about the student researchers and their research work featured in this booklet. These undergraduate students exemplify all that Prairie View A&M University has stood for over the past 140 years. Many of these students, especially the graduating seniors, have demonstrated significant resilience to complete their research even during times of disruptions and uncertainties. They faced the social unrest caused by the death of PVAMU alumna Sandra Bland in 2015, the historic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and finally the global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. These student researchers persisted, and that is what we Panthers do! The many hours of physical, mental, and emotional work that goes into the completion of the research projects and scholarly dissemination from the student researchers and the faculty mentors are something we at PVAMU sincerely appreciate and understand. The continued growth of student researchers at PVAMU humbles and motivates us. This year we are pleased to announce that
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