NCAT-UCSD PREM: Collaborative Research and Education in Advance Materials (CREAM)
The research partnership across NCAT and UCSD will lead to new methods for theory-assisted materials design, functional and precisely tunable materials, and detailed insights into fundamental materials behavior that will open new avenues in technology, environmental sustainability, human health, and civil infrastructure. Together, the research and educational accomplishments that will be realized during the NCAT-UCSD PREM will result in establishing NCAT as an HBCU that is a globally recognized hub for materials research and education.
The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (NCAT) State University — a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) — and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) partnership for research and education in materials (PREM) proposes to use advanced materials research to rally a large number of students around the concept that new materials and research discoveries have the power to transform their communities as well as society at large. Advanced materials research and education will serve as a gateway to attract students at the undergraduate, graduate, and K-12 levels to STEM fields. The mission of this PREM Center is to establish a broad alliance of scientists, engineers, social scientists, and education experts. Consistent intellectual interaction and reciprocal exchange of NCAT and UCSD MRSEC faculty members, students, and postdoctoral fellows will reinforce this partnership. The NCAT-UCSD PREM will use advanced materials research and a seamlessly integrated education program to develop a network of relationships that reinforce and populate the PREM pathway and increase recruitment, retention, and degree attainment of students at all levels. The PREM pathway will provide both financial support and mentoring for over 50 undergraduate and 30 graduate students and trainees during its tenure at NCAT.