2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT)-Cornell University Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) was established in 2021 via the PREM SEED award for three years. The NCAT-Cornell PREM, called Collaborative Research and Education in Energy Materials (CREEM), research activities were the pursuit of the development of novel material systems in low-dimensional (LD) geometries with an aim to make significant advancements in the fundamental understanding as well as device engineering in the field of alternative energy generation and energy-efficient refrigeration. The PREM seed funding has created a pathway for students at all levels with broader participation of African American (AA) students in materials research. The PREM URM student recruitment, retention, and degree attainment record has been outstanding, considering the seed funding nature of the NCAT-Cornell PREM project in terms of shorter duration and smaller funding level. The central component of the URM recruitment, retention, and degree attainment strategy was working strictly along our chosen PREM framework that started with a synergistic research plan built using the material research strengths of both NCAT and the Cornell MRSEC. It was then followed by the execution of an integrated education and research program of activities guided by literature best practices and constant evaluation and assessment of the program. The key research and educational practices, starting from outreach to recruitment and retention of K-16 students to doctoral programs, and finally, to degree attainment, were designed to continuously feed the pathway by means of vibrant exposure and engagement in material research. The retention strategies involve keeping students engaged in research, encouraging them to attend professional development workshops and seminars, promoting them to attend and present papers in conferences, motivating them to publish papers in peer-reviewed journals, and assigning a graduate student as an immediate mentor to high school and undergraduate students. The availability of the preeminent researchers and world-class scientific infrastructure of Cornell MRSEC, along with culturally responsive mentoring, has also propelled the students to successful progression along the PREM pathway.
The PREM has impacted the research and education of 14 graduate students (8 PhD, 6 MS) (URM: 57%, Female: 43%), 13 Undergraduate students (URM: 100%, Female: 77%), 4 high school students (URM: 25%), and 14 faculty members (URM: 50%, Female: 28 %) at NCAT. The PREM has also impacted over 500 students (URM: 80%, Female: 32%) via jointly teaching materials-related undergraduate and graduate new courses/course modules, organizing seminars, and conducting joint materials workshops. The broader impact of this work has been consistently reflected in the project’s assessment data, where 97% of participants reported that their STEM interest level had increased, and 53% reported that their materials science interest level had increased. The success story of students at each cross-section within the PREM pathway will be shared to illustrate the impact the PREM seed project has made. The additional support available to the PREM students from NCAT institutional resources in terms of tuition and teaching assistantships and travel support via NSF-initiated mechanisms, such as MRSEC/PREM-sponsored workshops/conferences, has made it possible to support a larger number of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students than initially expected. The retention rate for the students at all levels has been 100%, meaning no PREM students have left the PREM program without completing their respective degrees.