NASA has awarded University of Missouri and Lincoln University a grant to host summer camps each year for high school students from traditionally underrepresented and underserved communities. Lincoln is one of seven historically Black colleges and universities to receive the grants, designed to help provide a path for students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
As part of NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project, this $424,403 grant will support two intensive camps each summer for five years. Each nine-day residential camp will provide hands-on experience in digital agriculture, data science and robotics for 24 students, along with activities and interaction with college professors, STEM professionals and entrepreneurs. In 2024 the camps will run July 6-14.
The PI of this grant is Prof. Sougata Bardhan, an assistant professor of natural resources management and Prof. Sounak Chakraborty is the Co-PI of this grant from University of Missouri.
This summer camp offer keys for success for participating students to advance their careers in STEM fields as undergraduate students and beyond. The focus will be on digital agriculture, data science and robotics broadly aligns with the NASA earth science program mission to understand the planet’s interconnected systems, from a global to a local unit. The planned activities and interactions will be critical in developing the future workforce. We will educate students about the most urgent scientific questions about our changing planet related to climate, agriculture, data science and robotics. This effort will provide innovative and exemplary preparation to underrepresented minority and economically disadvantaged students to pursue STEM careers and become poised to make significant contributions in science and technology.”
University of Missouri is collaborating with the Lincoln University on the curriculum for the camps. Lincoln faculty members will provide instruction in agriculture, mathematics and computer science; Mizzou faculty will deliver content in statistics, engineering and natural resources.
The camps are open nationally to any eligible student. The grant will support the students; families are responsible for providing transportation to and from the camp. For more information visit http://tinyurl.com/SummerCampLU .
Media Reports:
https://www.lincolnu.edu/news/2023/06/nasa-grant-for-summer-camps.html
