LOUIS STOKES ALLIANCE FOR MINORITY PARTICIPATION BRIDGE TO THE DOCTORATE PROGRAM AT PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY
Program Overview
The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Bridge to the Doctorate Program at Prairie View A&M University aims to increase the pool of PhDs from groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and create a cohesive community of graduate students across STEM disciplines within PVAMU. Through collaborations between the Marvin D. and June Samuel Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences (BCAS) and the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering (RGPCOE) at PVAMU, twelve first-time graduate students in five RGPCOE departments and one BCAS department will be nurtured for two years as a cohort community. The Fellows will benefit from a program of academic and personal development activities and social support, to sustain their commitment and success in their degree programs and advancement toward doctoral programs by August 2026. Also, fellows will be assisted in applying and securing funding for PhD studies at one of our partner institutions (e.g. Texas A&M University, John Hopkins University, etc.) after completing MS degree at PVAMU.
Benefits
The PVAMU BTD program will support 12 Master’s of Science students, who are interested in completing a doctoral degree, for up to two years with a $32,000 stipend and up to $12,000 in educational expenses per year.
Qualifications
- Must be a US citizen or permanent resident
- Must have participated in a LSAMP program as an undergraduate. Program participation will be confirmed with your B.S. degree institution. See LSAMP Directory here
- Must be admitted into a STEM Master’s program at PVAMU to begin in Fall 2024
Eligible STEM MS Programs at PVAMU
Note: students must pursue a MS degree program with thesis option
- MS in Chemistry (concentrations in analytical, computational, inorganic, materials, organic, and polymer chemistry, and biochemistry)
- MS in Computer Science
- MS in Computer Information Systems
- MS in Engineering (concentrations in mechanical engineering; chemical engineering; and civil and environmental engineering.)
- MS in Electrical Engineering
Potential Faculty Research Advisors
Below is a list of potential faculty research advisors for each eligible STEM MS program. BTD applicants are encouraged to contact the faculty to discuss potential research topics, opportunities to work with the faculty, and specific MS degree program requirements.
MS in Chemistry Program
- Sameh Abdelwahed, shabdelwahed@pvamu.edu, organic synthesis impacting areas such as medicinal chemistry, material science, and reaction mechanism
- Ananda Amarasekara, asamarasekara@pvamu.edu, renewable electrical energy storage technologies and sustainable biofuels
- Andrea Ashley-Oseolorun, adashley-oyewole@pvamu.edu, trace metal mixture analysis and green chemistry
- Gina Chiarella, gmchiarella@pvamu.edu, transition metal complexities, inorganic, organometallic, and bioinorganic chemistry
- Harschica Fernando, hufernando@pvamu.edu, kinetic and mechanisms of nanoparticle interaction with environmental pollutants, lipidomic, food contaminant, molecular modelling of DNA interactions
- Yunxiang Gao, yugao@pvamu.edu, novel agriculture nanocomposites, smart cell culture scaffold, soft robotics, carbon nanomaterials
- Marco Giles, mdgiles@pvamu.edu, synthesis and functionalization of biocompatible and biodegradable materials
- Yingchun Li, ycli@pvamu.edu, organic chemistry and enzymology
- Matthew Minus, maminus@pvamu.edu, closed loop recycling
- Gurugaj Neelgund, GMNeelgund@pvamu.edu, inorganic chemistry
MS in Computer Science Program
- Ahmed Abdelmoamen Ahmed, amahmed@pvamu.edu, parallel and distributed systems, big-data analytics, mobile sensing
- Sherri Frizell, ssfrizell@pvamu.edu, human-computer interaction, social computing
- Lei Huang, lhuang@pvamu.edu, big-data analytics, cloud computing, high performance computing
- Lin Li, lilin@pvamu.edu
- Na Li, nal@pvamu.edu, privacy and security, social computing
- Yonggao Yang, yoyang@pvamu.edu, virtual reality, smart human computer interface, 3D animation, computer graphics, smart sensor systems
MS in Computer Information Systems Program
MS in Engineering Program
Concentration in Chemical Engineering
- Emmanuel Dada, eadada@pvamu.edu, conversion of CO2 to useful chemicals, process intensification, shale gas, hydrogen peroxide use in production of peracetic acid, artificial intelligence in chemical processes, circular economy of waste plastics
- Jorge Gabitto, jfgabitto@pvamu.edu, renewable and sustainable systems
- Michael Gyameral, migyamerah@pvamu.edu, production of biofuels, applied biocatalysts, production of bio-active proteins
- Leolon Martin, llmartin@pvamu.edu, synthesis and reconstruction of metabolic networks using state space optimization-based approaches
- Kazeem Olanrewaju, kaolanrewaju@pvamu.edu, multiscale modeling of species transport, fluid-structure interactions in human physiological systems, biorenewable and supercritical fluid reactions, sustainable energy systems, machine learning
- Irvin Osborne-Lee, oslee@pvamu.edu, renewable energy technology, ecological impact modeling, thermodynamic origin of life
- Sheena Reeves, smreeves@pvamu.edu, design and manipulation of pharmaceuticals, catalyst, and other nanomaterials, renewable and sustainable systems
- Nabila Shamim, nashamim@pvamu.edu, thermal properties of electrospunned nanofibers, crystal kinetics in energetic materials, 3D printed micro porous scaffolds, transport in a porous membrane
Concentration in Civil and Environmental Engineering
- MD Alam, mdalam@pvamu.edu, sustainable waste management, waste containment, transportation infrastructure, hydro-geotechnical modeling of embankment, problematic soil, shallow and deep foundation, bioreactor landfill operation
- Kiranmai Bellam, kibellam@pvamu.edu
- Raghava R. Kommalapati, rrkommalapati@pvamu.edu, environmental engineering, alternative energy, sustainability
- Emmanual Nzewi, EuNzewi@pvamu.edu, mathematical modeling, infrastructure resilience and sustainability, geospatial information, hydropower production, remote sensing, transportation accessibility
- Judy Perkins, juperkins@pvamu.edu, traffic signals, mounted variable digital message signage, traffic counters, video wall, radar gun, driving simulations
- Ramalingam Radhakrishnan, raradha@pvamu.edu, structural and geotechnical design, trenchless technology, aftershock effects, nanotechnology, prevention of microbial acid-produced attack of concrete
Concentration in Mechanical Engineering
- Paul Biney, pobiney@pvamu.edu, processing, fabrication and characterization of lightweight structural materials, nanocomposite materials, functionally graded materials
- Chang Duan, chduan@pvamu.edu, robust control, hybrid systems, mechatronics and robotics
- Ziaul Huque, zihuque@pvamu.edu, computational fluid dynamics
- Lai Jiang, lajiang@pvamu.edu, composites manufacturing, biocomposite materials, additive manufacturing and 3D printing, sustainable and green manufacturing
- Jaejong Park, japark@pvamu.edu, manufacturing and artificial intelligence
- Shahin Shafiee, shshafiee@pvamu.edu, heat transfer under anomalous boundary conditions, hydrogen and energy storage, non-conventional refrigeration systems, transformational insulation technologies
- Jeffory Streator, jestreator@pvamu.edu, heat transfer under anomalous boundary conditions, hydrogen and energy storage, non-conventional refrigeration systems, transformational insulation technologies
- Jianren Zhou, jizhou@pvamu.edu, microelectronics, thin films, electronic materials, manufacturing processes, material composites, ceramics, polymers refractory alloys, failure analysis
MS in Electrical Engineering Program
- Cajetan Akujuobi, cmakujuobi@pvamu.edu, communication systems, cybersecurity, wavelets, smart technologies, broadband, digital signal processing, fractals, multispectral image analysis, health monitoring, smart card
- Mohamed Chouikha, mfchouikha@pvamu.edu, computer networks security
- Penrose Cofie, pscofie@pvamu.edu, power transfer, instrumentation and calibration, data acquisition
- Suxia Cui, sucui@pvamu.edu, image processing, computer vision, machine learning, data analysis
- Justin Foreman, jfforeman@pvamu.edu, cybersecurity
- John Fuller, jhfuller@pvamu.edu, power electronics and drives
- Siew Koay, stkoay@pvamu.edu, 3D tracking of mobile objects, transform coding in communication
- Abburi Kumar, aakumar@pvamu.edu, solid state devices
- Xiangfang Li, xili@pvamu.edu, bioinformatics, computational and systems biology, deep learning in biomedical applications
- Lijun Qian, liqian@pvamu.edu, big-data processing, wireless communications, mobile networks
- Richard Wilkins, rtwilkins@pvamu.edu, space radiation, nano-scale materials, radiation dosimetry instrumentation
- Karen Butler-Purry, klbutler@tamu.edu, power systems resiliency, automation and protection of active distribution systems with distributed energy resources, cyber physical systems, cybersecurity, modelling and simulation microgrids
Application Process
Bridge to the Doctorate applicants must complete a PVAMU graduate admissions application to an eligible STEM MS program with thesis option through our Graduate Admissions system and be admitted for Fall 2024.
Waivers for the PVAMU graduate admissions application fee will be provided to the first 30 non-PVAMU applicants for the PVAMU Bridge to Doctorate Application program. If you are interested in applying for a graduate admissions application fee waiver, please answer yes to this question on the Bridge to Doctorate Application form. You will receive an email with instructions on the process for securing the waiver.
Additionally, applicants must complete an online Bridge to the Doctorate Application Form by March 1, 2024 .The application form requires the following items in PDF format:
- Resume/CV
- Personal Statement (up to 2 pages), focused on relevant academic background, research interests/plans, and future goals
- Statement (at least 2 paragraphs) discussing interest in pursuing PhD degree after completion of MS at PVAMU
- Unofficial copy of transcript
- One letter of recommendation (academic recommenders are strongly preferred) for the BTD fellowship program
Questions may be sent to tamuslsamp@gmail.com
