NC A&T Is The Black Cat That Catches Mice

•  N.C. A&T receives $900,000 for research on climate change

In 2011 HBCU North Carolina A&T for the seventh consecutive year had the third highest amount of research funding of the 16-member University of North Carolina with 56 million dollars  trailing only NC flag ship universities North Carolina-Chapel Hill and N.C. State.  NC A&T technology prowess hasn't gone unnoticed on the national level. In 2006 in the category of Doctorial Granting Universities NC A&T was rated as a High Research University in the Carnegie Foundation classification of colleges and universities. In 2008 NC A&T received an 18 Million dollar grant for an Engineering Research Center (ECR) from the National Science foundation. The award to A&T marked the first time that an HBCU has been the lead institution of an ERC. (http://www.ncat.edu/nsf_erc.html).    On the local level  “Having an engineering school in the area is enormously important," "Just look at N.C. State with their engineering program and what it's done for Centennial Campus in Raleigh. (Information and engineering technology) can grow very quickly and have a near-immediate impact on a community, unlike biotech which takes a while to develop." That's good news for Greensboro, said Matt Crawford, managing director at Longleaf Venture Fund."[8]

         Nanoscale science is a field of scientific investigation that addressed the development, manipulation, and use of material and devices on the scale of roughly 1-100 nanometers in length. Collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to research, particularly the integration of chemistry, physics, engineering and biology, will be required to realize the promises and opportunities of Nanoscale science.  Almost all of the occupations which will be affected by nanotechnology will require a BS in engineering with a broad, interdisciplinary and muti-disciplinary approach. Nanotechnology will require an understanding not only of electrical, mechanical and civil engineering, but biology, physics and chemistry as well. [4]  The largest producer of minority engineers in the country NC A&T  and only Ph.D. HMI in North Carolina, offers approved  master's degrees in Civil Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, Industrial Systems & Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Computational Science and Engineering, as well as doctoral degrees in Energy and Environmental Systems Engineering, computational Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Industrial and Systems Engineering. 

  "NC A&T has a 12-year history in Nanoresearch and two centers of excellence for Nanotechnology  and Nanoscience." wrote Sharlini Sankaran for NCTechnology.com and conducted over 10 million dollars of Nanoscience research between 2000-05 compared to less than 49,000 dollars by UNC-Greensboro. Source:  (PDF) Findings and Strategic Imperatives of the (NC) Governor’s Task Force on  Nanotechnology and North Carolina’s Economy APRIL 2006.

"NC A&T is “well known in areas such as advanced materials, nanotechnology, computational science, and engineering," says N. Radhakrishnan,  (former) vice chancellor for research and economic development at N.C. A&T.  The school also has significant strengths in other areas, including biotechnology, energy and the environment, information sciences and technology, logistics and transportation systems, public health, leadership, and community development. All these endeavors are aligned in eight research clusters that bring faculty together across disciplines to develop large research projects. These research clusters run in parallel with a number of multidisciplinary centers and institutes at N.C. A&T, which develop partnerships with private and corporate sponsors, educational institutions, and government agencies. This includes two US Army Centers of Excellence that are working on projects to enhance the capabilities of soldiers on the battlefield.” [7]

NCA&T State University has been funded at an average rate of $3-5 million per year in the area of Nanoscience and nanotechnology.  Most of the research in Nanoengineering is done in the Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures (CAMSS). Several Centers and projects are under CAMSS, including the NSF Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST), the DoD Center for Nanoscience, Nanomaterials and Multifunctional Materials (CNN) for Homeland Security, the NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC), the NSF project on US/Europe Materials Collaboration: Self-Organized Nanostructured Thin Films for Catalysis, the NSF project on Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT), the NSF Major Research Instrumentation for Nanoengineering Research, and the NSF Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) program. CAMSS also facilitates many of the materials research activities of the NASA-National Institute for Aerospace (NIA). In addition, the Center for Composite Materials Research (CCMR) does research in nano-enhanced. [5]   

N C Agricultural & Technical State University Nanoscience Research Centers

·         Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures

·         Center for Nanoscale Chemical-Electrical-Mechanical Manufacturing Systems

·         Engineering Research Center for Revolutionalizing Metallic Biomaterials

·         Center for Nanoscience and Nanomaterials

·         Transitioning Undergraduate Research to the Undergraduate Classroom

UNC Greensboro Nanoscience Research Centers

·         Center of Research Excellence in Nanobiosciences

 Source:  North Carolina Board of Science and Technology

When almost all of the occupations affected by nanotechnology will require a B.S. in engineering with an understanding not only of electrical, mechanical and civil engineering, but biology, physics and chemistry as well..  And UNC-Greensboro conducted $49,000 dollars of Nanotechnology research between 2000-05 compared to $10 Million dollars at NC A&T other than white privilege why is UNC-Greensboro without even a Master’s in Physics in the Nanoscience picture?