Title  : NSF92-99 - Gateway to Diversity in the Scientific and Technological
         Workforce
Type   : General Publication
NSF Org: EHR
Date   : November 3, 1992
File   : nsf9299

Gateway to Diversity in the
Scientific and Technological Workforce

Division of Human Resource Development
Directorate for Education and Human Resources
National Science Foundation

Inquiries

Questions not addressed in this publication may be directed to
the HRD staff by writing to:

     Division of Human Resource Development
     Directorate for Education and Human Resources
     National Science Foundation
     Room 1225
     Washington, DC  20550
     (202) 357-7350; 7461

The National Science Foundation (NSF) provides awards for
research and education in the sciences and engineering.  The
awardee is wholly responsible for the conduct of such research
and projects andpreparation of the results for publication.  The
Foundation, therefore, does not assume responsibilityfor such
findings or their interpretation.

The Foundation welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified
scientists and engineers, andstrongly encourages women,
minorities, and persons with disabilities to compete fully in any
of theresearch and research-related programs described in this
document.

In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations and NSF
policies, no person on the groundsof race, color, age, sex,
national origin, or disability shall be excluded from
participation in, denied thebenefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity receiving
financialassistance from the National Science Foundation.

Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with
Disabilities provide funding for special assistance or equipment
to enable persons with disabilities (investigators and other
staff, including student research assistants) to work on an NSF
project.  See the program announcement (NSF Publication 91-54,
rev. 91), or contact the program coordinator in the Directorate
for Education and Human Resources.  The telephone number is (202)
357-7456.

The Foundation has TDD (Telephonic Device for the Deaf)
capability, which enables individuals with hearing impairment to
communicate with the Division of Personnel and Management about
NSF programs, employment, or general information.  The telephone
number is (202) 357-7492.

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the work of Dr. Elmima Johnson, Staff
Associate, and Dr. Roosevelt Calbert, Deputy Director in the
Division of Human Resource Development, who served as the editors
of this publication.  Writers included L. Voss, B. Sprungman, L.
Davis, and Drs. Calbert and Johnson.

We also wish to acknowledge the cooperation of the project
directors who were interviewed for this publication and to
recognize the dedication and commitment of staff of the
Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) and the staff
in the individual projects, who are collectively responsible for
the success of NSFs targeted minority programs in the Division
of Human Resource Development.

Gateway to Diversity
in the
Scientific and Technological Workforce

Directorate for Education & Human Resources
National Science Foundation

September 1992

Foreword

Message from the Assistant Director

This publication is the result of several discussion sessions in
the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) on
strategies to highlight NSF activities focusing on minorities
that are underrepresented in science and engineering.  It is the
successor to an earlier publication that combined all the
existing minority-focused programs into one program announcement.
Each of these documents illustrates the NSFs long-term strategy
to increase the participation and achievement of minorities in
science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM) through systemic and
comprehensive approaches.

     To broaden the public's understanding that the increased
participation of minorities in SEM and other disciplines is
essential to the nations welfare, and that many segments of the
population are involved in this effort, this publication profiles
model programs that encourage alliances and coalitions among the
Federal, academic, industrial, and other private sectors.  The
material in this publication clearly demonstrates the NSFs
leadership in developing programs to train students and faculty
at all educational levels.

     We are pleased about the enthusiasm of the project directors
who agreed to be profiled and their realization that this
document  is an important way to demonstrate accomplishments and
accountability for these key NSF minority programs.

     Luther S. Williams
     Assistant Director
     Education and Human Resources

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY   v

INTRODUCTION   1

NSF PRECOLLEGE FOCUS     3

     CAREER ACCESS OPPORTUNITIES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY  7

     COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL CENTERS FOR MINORITIES     7

          Clark Atlanta University 10

          Loyola University of Chicago  11

          Maricopa County Community College District   13

          Montana State University 15

          Morgan State University  16

          Philadelphia PATHS/PRISM 18

          University of Texas at El Paso     20

     PARTNERSHIPS FOR MINORITY STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT     22

     SUMMER SCIENCE CAMPS     22

UNDERGRADUATE FOCUS 23

     ALLIANCES FOR MINORITY PARTICIPATION    25

          Arizona State University 27

          Jackson State University 28

          University of California, Irvine   29

     RESEARCH CAREERS FOR MINORITY SCHOLARS  33

          Texas A&M University     34

          University of Maryland, Baltimore County     35

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH INITIATIVES 39

     RESEARCH IMPROVEMENT IN MINORITY INSTITUTIONS     41

          Clark Atlanta University 43

          City College of New York 43

          Hampton University  45

          New Mexico State University   46

          North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
               University     48

          St. Mary's University    49

          Tuskegee University 50

          University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras and
               Mayaguez  52

          University of Texas at El Paso     53

          Wayne State University   54

     MINORITY RESEARCH CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE      59

Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University    62

          City College of New York 63

          Clark Atlanta University 64

          Hampton University  66

          Howard University   67

          Meharry Medical College  69

          University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez   70

          University of Texas at El Paso     72

APPENDICES

A - List of EHR Minority-Targeted Projects by Program  75

B - List of Other NSF Publications of Interest    85

Executive Summary

The National Science Foundations (NSF) Division of Human
Resource Development (HRD), within the Directorate for Education
and Human Resources, has primary responsibility for broadening
participation of minority groups underrepresented in science,
engineering, and mathematics (SEM).  The NSF minority programs
reflect the Foundations growing commitment to develop the
resources of the scientific and technological community as a
whole and to ensure an adequately trained research and
development workforce in the next decade.

     The Education and Human Resources Directorate has five major
long-range goals:

o    To help ensure that a high-quality school education in
science is available to every child in the United States and is
of  sufficient quality to enable those who are interested and
talented to pursue technical careers at all levels;

o    To help ensure that the educational pipelines carrying
students to careers in science, mathematics, and engineering
yield enough well-educated individuals to meet the needs of the
U.S. technical workforce;

o    To help ensure that those who select science and engineering
careers have available the best possible professional education
in their discipline;

o    To help ensure that opportunities are available at the
college level for interested nonspecialists to broaden their
scientific backgrounds; and

o    To support informal science education programs and to
maintain public interest in, and awareness of, scientific and
technological developments.

     The Division of Human Resource Development  is one of the
six divisions of the Education and Human Resources Directorate.
HRD activities reflect NSF's commitment to developing the
resources of the scientific and technical community as a whole.
Objectives of the programs profiled in this publication are as
follows:

o    To increase opportunities for participation in the nation's
scientific and technical enterprise for investigators who are
minorities; young persons who are minorities; and faculty from
predominantly undergraduate colleges and universities;

o    To strengthen the capabilities of institutions that have
significant minority enrollments; and

o    To foster comprehensive approaches and build effective
coalitions that address the development of scientific and
engineering talent, drawing from underrepresented minority groups
on a nationwide basis.

     NSF's goals are to increase the number of  minorities
underrepresented in NSF-supported fields receiving B.S. degrees
to more than 50,000 annually by the year 2000 and to increase the
minority Ph.D. attainment to more than 2,000 annually by the same
year.

     Minorities that are underrepresented in science and
engineering are: Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, Native
Alaskans, and Native Pacific Islanders (Micronesian and
Polynesian).

     This publication highlights a selection of model projects
among numerous such projects funded by the NSF Directorate for
Education and Human Resources in five minority targeted programs:
Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities (CRCM); Alliances
for Minority Participation (AMP); Research Careers for Minority
Scholars (RCMS); Research Improvement in Minority Institutions
(RIMI); and Minority Research Centers of Excellence (MRCE).

     Program descriptions and goals, individual project profiles,
and summary statistical data on programs are presented in the
following pages.

Introduction

The historical roots of mathematics and science can be traced to
Africa and Egypt, then to the great explorers of the
Mediterranean of Hispanic ancestry and to the courageous people
who found a way to cross the land bridge from Asia to North
America.  Thus, mathematics and science are a part of the
heritage of today's minority students who are underrepresented in
science, engineering, and mathematics.

     Mathematics, physics, and engineering were the tools that
the ancient Egyptians utilized in building the great pyramids and
their magnificent seafaring ships.  Even chemistrythe effects of
salt water on their wooden shipsand the biology of barnacles
were subjects their scientists and engineers had to master.

     The precursors of today's meteorologists were consultants to
yesterday's explorers.  Navigators were employed to chart courses
around hidden atolls and "sea monsters."  Today our
technologylike our array of communications and remote sensing
satellitesassists us, but the necessity of understanding and
best utilizing these assets rests on scientists and engineers of
all ages.  The participation of today's students is valuable in
meeting tomorrow's scientific and technological challenges.

     In the 1980s, in response to a growing concern that the
United States was no longer providing its children with the
intellectual tools needed for the 21st centuryparticularly in
mathematics and the sciencesthe National Science Foundation
(NSF) developed a new generation of education and human resources
programs.

     The aggressive actions of NSF in establishing these minority
education programs have set a high standard.  The programs are
successful models for national education reform.  Other agencies
have begun  replicating these programs.  NSFs minority programs
will have a ripple effect over the next ten years as the nation
pursues excellence in education.

     The NSF minority programs also offer a model that private
companies are interested in supporting.  In search of successful
models, industry is aware of how these programs encourage
initiative and excellence.  The concept has been successful in
attracting minorities into science.  NSF-funded research programs
serve as a beacon to students who are interested in careers in
the sciences.

NSF Precollege Focus

Career Access Opportunities in Science and Technology

The National Science Foundations Career Access Opportunities in
Science and Technology (CAREER ACCESS) program supports
Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities (CRCM),
Partnerships for Minority Student Achievement (PMSA), and Summer
Science Camps (SSC).  CAREER ACCESS enhances the kindergarten
through 12th grade science and mathematics preparation of
underrepresented students in an effort to increase the number of
students prepared to enroll and succeed as science, engineering,
and mathematics (SEM) majors in college.   The objective of the
program is to improve the education of underrepresented
minorities at the precollege level by strengthening student
science, mathematics, and technology literacy through curriculum
reform, teacher enhancement, student enrichment, and other
activities.

     In fiscal year (FY) 1991, the restructuring of the CAREER
ACCESS program had four major accomplishments: First, all
existing projects were examined and funding for weaker projects
was terminated.  Second, new and more demanding standards of
performance were set for project awardees and for the program.
Third, the programwhich initially provided activities for
kindergarten through undergraduate studentswas restructured to
focus exclusively at the precollege level to increase the number
of minority students who are adequately prepared and motivated to
pursue SEM majors in college.  The fourth achievement provided
two new initiatives in FY 1992:  Partnerships for Minority
Student Achievement, to encourage school districts to take the
lead in regional changes in education; and Summer Science Camps,
to provide a mechanism to increase summer enrichment
opportunities for middle school students nationwide.

Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities CRCM

     The Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities Program
supports the establishment of coalitions of colleges,
universities, school districts, business, industry, and other
organizations that are designed to substantively improve the
precollege experience of minority students in science and
mathematics.  The goal of the CRCMs is to stimulate systemic
improvement in precollege education in regions with significant
minority population in a way that results in an increase in the
number of minority high school students with strong interest,
confidence, and skills to pursue further study in science,
engineering, and mathematics.

     These large-scale projects are supported at a level of up to
$1 million per year for up to five years.  Each CRCM establishes
measurable objectives on which its progress is evaluated
annually.  The centers are in the process of setting up databases
in concert with NSFs Division of Research, Evaluation and
Dissemination (DRED) that will provide the base for evaluation.
The Centers are also judged on the awardees ability to manage
the CRCM in a manner that maximizes achievement of the program
goals.

     The database measures the success of a project by the number
of program participants; the attitudinal, motivational, and
academic enhancement that the programs provide; and the number of
participants who complete educational programs leading to careers
in science and technology.

     The Division of Human Resource Development (HRD) has created
a set of activities and projects that have an excellent chance of
meeting the objectives of the program, which are described below.

     Saturday Science and Mathematics Academies.  This 10-week
program activity was first offered at Clark Atlanta University in
1978 and because of its success was included in the CRCM program
plan.  The Saturday Academies are academic enrichment programs
providing instruction in hands-on laboratory science,
mathematics, computer applications, and communications skills for
third through eighth grade students.  The courses are taught by
college professors and high school teachers and are designed to
stimulate interest in SEM careers.

     Several Saturday Academies offer students an opportunity to
write articles, as well as poetry, on topics related to science
and mathematics and their lives.  Their creative works are
published in a newsletter that provides recognition to the
students and to the CRCM project.

     Summer Institutes for Junior High School Students.  This
activity provides instruction in laboratory science, mathematics,
computer applications, communications skills, and weekly career
seminars in which scientists and engineers talk to students about
their careers.  Undergraduate and graduate students serve as
tutors and counselors in the program, and help participants
explore SEM careers.

     Summer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Institutes.
This is a six-week high school summer residential program
activity to enhance skills in math, computer science, laboratory
science, and communications.  Students also receive opportunities
to attend local seminars to hear presentations given by
scientists and engineers and to participate in field trips.

     Pre-Freshman Bridge Programs.  These special intervention
programs, consisting of six weeks, eight hours per day of intense
work on chemistry, mathematics, physics, and computer science,
are designed to increase the retention rate of minority students
in the undergraduate science and engineering pipeline.  They
ensure that all participants possess the prerequisite skills
necessary to ensure a successful freshman year.  Throughout the
year, special lectures, seminars, and activities are conducted to
support the goal.

     Instructional Improvements and Curriculum Revisions utilize
K-12 teacher workshops, material development activities, regional
conferences, summer teacher enhancement internships, and
curriculum reviews.

     Industry-based mentor programs, after-school programs,
career days, science fairs, and science clubs are also among the
projects and activities that have been effective in meeting CRCM
goals.

     Figure 1 illustrates CRCM program student participants by
grade level for academic year 1991-1992.  During this period
there were more than 3,400 participants in grades K through 6,
approximately 4,400 students in grades 7 through 9, and more than
4,700 participants in grades 10 through 12.  Figure 2 shows the
geographic distribution of the 12 CRCM Centers and 2 prototypes.

Figure 1:__Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities

Figure 2:__Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities in
Science and Engineering

Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities  (CRCM) FY 1991

Twelve Existing Centers

_1.  California State University at Los Angeles

_2.  Clark Atlanta University

_3.  Florida A&M University

_4.  Loyola University of Chicago

_5.  Maricopa County Community College District

_6.  Minorities in Science and Engineering Center at Cincinnati

_7.  Montana State University

_8.  PATHS/PRISM at Philadelphia

_9.  University of Missouri in St. Louis

10.  University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

11.  University of Texas at San Antonio

12.  University of Texas at El Paso

Two Prototypes

     _1.  Morgan State University

     _2.  New Mexico Highlands University

     Clark Atlanta University

     The Atlanta University Centerin cooperation with the
Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State Universitywas
awarded a five-year NSF grant to establish the Atlanta
Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities (ACRCM) in Science
and Technology in the fall of 1988.  The ACRCM is composed of
Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morris Brown
College, and Spelman Collegeall Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCU)and is reaching out to the local and regional
community with their scientific resources and expertise.

     Dr. Melvin R. Webb, a professor of biology as well as Dean
of the College of Education at Clark Atlanta University, is the
principal investigator of the Center.  Dr. Webb is assisted with
program planning and implementation by six other project
directors, one from each of the participating institutions.
Eleven Clark Atlanta University faculty members contribute to the
programs, along with 40 student staff members who provide
tutoring and mentoring.

     The Center has two primary objectives: the implementation of
precollege and informal education activities for students, and
the revision and update of science, engineering, and mathematics
(SEM) and career information available to secondary school
teachers, counselors, and community members.  Major activities
under each of these components are described as follows:

     The precollege component consists of Saturday Science
Academies; the Summer Institute for Junior High School Students;
Pre-Freshman Bridge Programs; and the Summer Science,
Engineering, and Mathematics Institute.  In 1992, 480 precollege
minority students participated in these CRCM activities.

     An innovative element of the Summer Science, Engineering,
and Mathematics Institute is the student-produced newspaper,
Expressions.  It not only promotes their programs and recognizes
their sponsors, but most importantly it provides students with an
avenue for voicing their concerns.

     Dr. Webb explained the importance of students having an
outlet for creative expression to enable them to manage the
pressures of high school life:  "Students have the opportunity to
see themselves as scientists and engineers through the
publication.  In addition to articles on Center programs,
students write about their concernsfrom environmental problems
to alcohol and drug abuse.  One section is devoted to students
poetry and prose."

     Additional Center projects that are not typical of SEM
programs include an improvisational theater workshop called
"Scenes from Science."  Students also create murals related to
science topics.

     This project offers programs for teachers including the
seminars and workshops on Curriculum Review and Revision.  A
mathematics workshop was provided for middle school teachers
along with two science workshops for elementary and middle school
teachers.  The Center's "Cheap Science" workshoputilizing
discarded household itemsmay lead to a workbook on inexpensive
materials and hands-on exercises to use in elementary school
science classrooms.  Thirty teachers were involved in the CRCMs
teacher inservice programs in 1992.

     A further development of this program was the incorporation
of the Saturday Science Academy concept into the Atlanta public
schools.  Also, as a result of the project's work with the
science and mathematics coordinators in the Atlanta Public School
System, all students are now required to take algebra.

     The Center plans to develop informal education activities
with science-related facilities that include the Atlanta
Botanical Gardens, SCITREK, ZOO Atlanta, and the Fernbank Science
Center.  Another project under way is a Junior Museum/Science and
Mathematics Tutorial Center, which is funded by other Federal and
local sources.  The Center will be located in one of the oldest
housing project in America, which is adjacent to Clark Atlanta
University.

     The project has also established the Office of Science and
Technology Careers to promote the pursuit of careers in science
and technology at the precollege, undergraduate, and graduate
levels.  The office has materials and information on
opportunities for summer internships, research and academic
enrichment experiences, and graduate fellowships and
assistantships.  Future plans include adding audiovisual
equipment and computers to the office to enable students to
examine recruitment materials available on video tapes and
computer disks.

     Dr. Webb attributes the success of the Atlanta CRCM in part
to three activities.  First, there is a monthly directors
meeting to develop and review program plans.  Directors also
submit written reports twice a year to Dr. Webb that highlight
and justify any deviations from the original plans.

     Next, an executive committee composed of senior
administrators from the cooperating institutions and the Atlanta
public schools monitors the progress of the CRCM.  This committee
evaluates schedules, resources, and the technical status of
selected milestones for each aspect of the program.

     Finally, the CRCM's National Advisory Committee, composed of
industry and government representatives, reviews program
activities, writes critiques and reports, and recommends changes
to improve the program.

     A computerized database has been created that tracks the
long-term impact of the program on each student participant.  The
ACRCM measures its success by the number of program participants;
the attitudinal, motivational, and academic enhancement that the
programs provide; and the number of participants who complete
educational programs leading to SEM careers.

     NSF funding has assisted the CRCM in acquiring support from
other sources including the Office of Naval Research Historically
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiative in the
Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute Undergraduate Initiatives in the Biomedical Sciences
program, and the IBM Computer Laboratory Demonstration Center for
Pre-Service and Inservice Teacher Training.

     Dr. Webb's work has resulted in increasing the close
cooperation among the Center's partners and the community.
Through the CRCM's Resource Center for Science and Engineering,
Clark Atlanta University is sharing its scientific resourcesboth
human and materialwith the local community and the region.  One
program will produce and disseminate minority-centered science
recruitment materials to parents and provide a series of high
school counselor awareness workshops.  In 1992, the Parents
Orientation Programs attracted 350 participants.

     The CRCM programs have been, and continue to be, a highlight
of Dr. Webb's career.  "Directing this Center has given me an
opportunity to work on programs of national significance and with
exceedingly talented and dedicated people.

     "The Center's programs change the attitudes of students
towards science and mathematics by exposing them to
intellectually honest activities in science, mathematics,
computer science, and creative expression.  The students learn
that they can participate in, and contribute to, science and
mathematicsand they can succeed if they so choose."  Dr. Webb
stresses, "There is no secret to it, it doesn't require a
particular talent.  It just takes a willingness to work at it."
With a commitment of funding from a variety of sources for at
least a decade, he believes the CRCM programs could achieve
systemic change in our schools nationwide.

Loyola University of Chicago

     Chicago's Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities
program, known also as the Access 2000 Chicago Partnership, is a
collaborative effort among area universities, public schools,
government agencies, and local organizationsboth private and
nonprofit.

     Access 2000 is a vehicle for dialogue and cooperation among
the partners as they work toward their goal of increasing the
participation of underrepresented minorities in SEM professions.
Their main objective is to quadruple the number of
African-American and Hispanic students completing SEM
baccalaureate degrees in Chicago between 1990 and 2000.

     To reach its goal, Access 2000 intends to help increase from
250 to 1,000 the number of underrepresented minority students who
receive SEM baccalaureates in Chicago by the year 2000.  The
program is well on its way to meeting that goal.  In 1991, 1,490
students were involved in 19 full-time out-of-school SEM
activities.  It is projected that in 1992, 1,645 students will
have participated in 25 SEM activities.

     Spearheading the Chicago effort are dedicated co-principal
investigators Dr. Eric Hamilton and Dr. Dorothy Strong.  In
addition to directing the CRCM at Loyola University of Chicago,
the host institution, Dr. Hamilton of Loyola's Mathematical
Sciences Department is also a computer expert.  Dr. Strong is
Director of Mathematics for the Chicago Public Schools.

     According to Dr. Hamilton, the Chicago CRCM is successful in
encouraging partnerships because staff members are more than
willing to share the recognition for the program's
accomplishments.  They offer to potential partners more than they
ask of them.  They also offer administrative and program
leadership to leverage the work of each partner and to best
utilize available resources.  Each partner receives credit and is
a winner in the process.

     Access 2000 currently offers 39 different SEM programs and
activities to enrich the education of students and teachers.  The
programs include Club PreMed, Holistic Tutoring Center, Chemistry
Camp, Saturday Academy, AAAS Science Day, JETS Design
Competition, Loyola/Aspira PREP, Problem-Based Learning, and
Math/Science Centers, as well as science fairs, teacher
workshops, and inservice training.

     Four of the activitiesthe algebra activities, Argonne's
Chicago Science Explorers, the Young Scholars Program, and the
Black Churches' Projectare described below.

     Thanks to Dr. Dorothy Strong, who lends assistance to the
Chicago CRCM at no cost, a critical program was instituted that
increases awareness of the role of algebra as the "pump" for
minority students to proceed in SEM careers.  In cooperation with
the Chicago Algebra Project and the Parent Community Council, Dr.
Strong has arranged training for Chicago public school teachers
using the Bob Moses Algebra Model and the Chicago Algebra
Framework.  Reaching nearly 2,500 students and 1,100 teachers,
the Algebra Project received $51,000 of the $890,000 CRCM funds
in 1991.  Additionally, CRCM funds supported a combined teacher
training and algebra instruction activity during the summer of
1992 for 30 teachers who worked with 50 students as part of their
training.

     Access 2000 also cooperated with the National Society of
Hispanic MBAs to cosponsor an algebra program for 7th- and
8th-grade students.  Finally, Access 2000 hosted an "Access to
Algebra" national meeting that brought together other CRCM
personnel and directors of mathematics departments from six major
cities.

     Argonne's Chicago Science Explorers program reaches over
22,000 minority children each year at a cost of approximately one
million dollars, with a core grant made by the Department of
Energy, supplemented by the Chicago CRCM.  In addition to student
enrichment, the program offers teacher training in science.  It
provides teaching and reading materials to accompany videotapes
produced by a Chicago public broadcasting service.  Teachers may
sign up for the program, receive the curriculum, and show the
videotapes.  The Argonne National Laboratory, which helps develop
some of the videotapes, also has its scientists speak in
classrooms and invites teachers and students to the laboratory.

     The Loyola Young Scholars Program offers activities in
mathematics and computer science for 35 students at a cost of
$80,000.  The learning environment is stimulating and
challenging.  This project is responsible for nearly doubling
statewide participation in the upper level AP Computer Science
Examination by underrepresented minorities.

     The Center's involvement in the Chicago Urban League's Black
Churches' Project is an effort to support children in
neighborhoods beset by poverty, violence, and school failure,
using an often underutilized vital resource in the community.
Several Chicago churches serve as sites for after-school
tutorials, summer schools, computer classes, and science
activities.  This collaborative effort reached over 600 students
in 1991 at a cost of $140,000 to the Chicago CRCM.

     Beyond the creative educational programs, the project has
introduced an innovative administrative function that serves to
increase minority students in the SEM pipeline.  It is called the
Chicago Area Science Program Application Resource (CASPAR).
Initiated in March 1992, CASPAR represents a systematic, unified
effort to encourage children to participate in summer science
programs.

     CASPAR consists of a document that details all the summer
science programs in the Chicago area, a summary chart, and an
application form.  Students are encouraged to apply directly to
programs of interest and may use the CASPAR application to apply
to Access 2000 for admission to one or more of the programs.
Access 2000 then forwards the applications to the appropriate
institutions.  Thus, the Chicago CRCM has become an application
clearinghouse for SEM activities.

     Additionally, the CRCM acts as a recruitment service, a
function once handled individually by each CRCM partner.  Not
only does CASPAR serve as a tool to raise the visibility and
viability of summer science programs, it helps the Center in the
allocation of funds to programs that best serve students.

     In response to the NSF charge to nurture, encourage,
motivate, and challenge minority youngsters to pursue SEM
careers, Access 2000 has produced evaluation instruments to
measure success in achieving the goal.  In February 1991, Access
2000 began the development of  six attitudinal instruments in
English and Spanish for 1st- through 12th-grade students.  These
instruments were indexed to 15 variables that assess the degree
to which participating students have been "nurtured, encouraged,
motivated and challenged."  The instruments reflect the success
of each program and detect student attitudinal changes over one
or several years when given as pre- and post-measures.  Project
investigators from other CRCMs have requested copies of the
instruments for use in their programs.

     In addition to the attitudinal surveys, Access 2000 tracks
students served in out-of-school programs.  About 2000 students
are part of this database, which is now six months old.

     The Chicago CRCM staff works closely with the community.
They send CASPAR applications to parent community councils, and
one of their Holistic Tutoring Centers is located in a local
church.

     Dr. Hamilton also receives strong support from his
university.  He is on indefinite leave from his department at
Loyola University Chicago to work for the project.  The
university also contributes administrative support services to
the program.

     For Dr. Hamilton, who is particularly interested in computer
consulting and research, the position with Access 2000 is an
opportunity to use his skills in a unique way.  He enjoys the
interesting work and the challenge of bringing so many people
together to make positive contributions to the SEM education of
minority students.

     Although Access 2000 does not keep track of all the
publicity it receives, many articles have been written about the
Center's activities.  "Argonne's Chicago Science Explorers
program has had a ton of articles written in local and national
publications," says Hamilton.  More than 15 articles have been
written on the university's Young Scholars' project, and the CRCM
itself has been featured in several articles.  The Black
Churches Project was highlighted in a two-page article in the
New York Times.

     Despite the many successes of Access 2000, Dr. Hamilton has
some concerns.  Many students are turned away annually for
certain programs that receive five times more applicants than
available positions, while other programs must search for
students.  The system is currently operating at capacity, and
additional funding alone would not be sufficient.  Institutional
resources would have to be expanded and more staff trained.

     Concerning systemic change on a national level, Dr. Hamilton
suggested that NSF programs focus on algebra.  "Algebra
instruction is probably the most systemically oriented, single
strategy of this CRCM.  It should be a national priority."

     Dr. Hamilton explained, "The national CRCM effort is an
important program.  It has a very noble mission.  We make the
difference for a lot of students; that is what it is all about!"

Maricopa County Community College District

     In Arizona's Maricopa County, thanks to the Comprehensive
Regional Center for Minorities, the options for students to
pursue studies in science, engineering, and mathematics will not
be limited.

     That is the conviction of Dr. Alfredo G. de los Santos, Jr.,
Vice Chancellor of Educational Development, Maricopa Community
Colleges; Dr. Kathleen K. Church, Vice Provost and Senior Vice
President of Academic Programs, Arizona State University, both
CRCM co-principal investigators; and Dr. Ernesto Ramirez, Jr.,
Director of the Maricopa County Community Colleges CRCM. It is
coupled with their determination to double over a five-year
period the number of Hispanic, African  American, and American
Indian students in the Phoenix area proficient in science and
engineering skills.

     "Our kids," as Dr. Ramirez calls them, are the 2,382
minority student participants (K-12) eager to explore the world
of science, and to gain access to undergraduate college classes
that will prepare them for SEM careers.  Minority student
enrollment in CRCM programs is approximately 76 percent Hispanic,
10 percent African American, and 8 percent American Indian.

     From all indications, the program seems well on the way to
achieving Dr. Ramirez's goal of unlimited options.  After little
more than a year, results are encouraging: a 26 percent increase
in the number of high school graduates proficient to pursue
studies in SEM, an increase of 19 percent and 11 percent,
respectively, in the number of 8th- and 9th-grade students
enrolled in algebra I, and a 12 percent increase in the number of
high school graduates attending college.

     The Maricopa County CRCM has achieved these remarkable
results through a systematic approach to the problem of
underachievement of minority students.  Their approach targets
the entire student environment: parents, teachers, and the
community, as well as the students themselves.

     Indeed, the Maricopa County CRCM has identified parents as
crucial in supporting and reinforcing the schools' attempts to
improve minority performance.  They have used various model
programs in their endeavor to develop the Families Achieving
Mathematics Excellence manual and the short training program to
facilitate its use by teachers.  "When children sit down with
parents in the Families Achieving Science Excellence (FASE) and
our other family math programs, a new and synergistic
relationship is created between that parent and child," explained
Dr. de los Santos, who also serves as the principal investigator
for the CRCM project.

     Just as important are the teachers providing this education
for the world of tomorrow, some 268 of whom have been involved
through the program.  Thanks to the spillover effects of
improving teacher skills, the educational experience for
approximately 8,889 students has been enhanced.  No grade level
has been neglected; there are hands-on mathematics training for
teachers of grades 4-6, hands-on science training provided for
teachers from kindergarten through the 8th grade, and a variety
of teacher training components available at the high school
level.

     The program also provides a summer school physics course
that does not require calculus and one in life sciences to
instruct teachers.  Finally, for teachers who have completed the
training program, an onsite follow-up service has been added to
ensure the availability of expert scientific information.  Advice
is also available to teachers developing lesson plans.

     The heart of the program clearly lies with the students and
the direct services they receive through the program.  "We follow
our students closely," said Dr. de los Santos.

     By the 6th grade, students have mastered basic arithmetic
concepts. During 7th and 8th grades, they strengthen those
skills, and algebraic concepts are introduced.  By 9th grade,
they will be ready to pursue freshman algebra, and by the time
they graduate from high school, ideally, they are ready to enroll
in calculus.  Students have the opportunity to participate in the
Algebra Club (grades 6-8), which gives youngsters a taste of the
joys of mathematics.  Comparable strides are being made in other
curriculum areas, with the enhancement of skills in the life and
physical sciences through summer  training programs for teachers.

     NSF funds are being used not only to strengthen and
reinforce the curriculum, but to provide bilingual materials,
after-school tutoring, and precollege motivational experiences.
The program also sponsors five summer science and math camps
throughout the metropolitan Phoenix area, featuring hands-on
experiments in botany, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and
environmental science using real-life applications.

     The summer camps focus on providing hands-on experience.
For example, in the summer of 1992, student teams designed and
built models of energy-efficient homes from plywood, then
"landscaped" those homes with replicas of native plants, forming
natural habitats attractive to local wildlife.

     To verify the key role of direct services to students in the
Center's program, the Maricopa CRCM has developed a relational
database system to keep track of each student in the system.
"Students are tracked from their first day to their last," said
Dr. de los Santos, "wherever they might move within the state.
Tracking is just one component of our efforts to achieve the
objectives we have set for ourselves. This is the goal we are
continually striving for."

     Both Dr. de los Santos and Dr. Ramirez stress the hard work
and collaboration that have made the Maricopa County Community
College CRCM a reality.  The plan to apply for the grant was born
in the "Think Tank," an educational consortium that began in
Phoenix in 1988 to address issues of students at risk of dropping
out of high school.

     The grant brings together 11 institutions in the Maricopa
County Community College District, in cooperation with Arizona
State University and 17 public school districts in Maricopa
County.  Dr. de los Santos is quick to credit the success of the
program, in part, to the relationships formed at the time of the
grant preparation.  "The quality of the relationship, at both a
professional and personal level, between the Maricopa Community
College District and Arizona State is second to none," he said.
"The same is true of our relationships with school
superintendents and school principals."

     Another crucial set of ties has been formed with industry.
"We prepare many mid-level managers for Maricopa County
businesses.  We included major industry players with backgrounds
in SEM in our deliberations on the proposal, and the grant
proposal contained letters of support from 30 different
industries, including Motorola, Intel, and the Salt River
Project," Dr. de los Santos added.

     From proposal to reality, the program has generated enormous
enthusiasm at all educational levels.  "Our elementary, junior
high, and high school teachers have shown great enthusiasm, and
they are spreading the word to their colleagues," said Dr.
Ramirez.  "Moreover, there is a high level of enthusiasm among
our own faculty, who are involved in teacher training.  And
finally, there is the enthusiasm of the children, and our college
students who work with them as tutors.  They are so enthusiastic,
its contagious!"

     With such community response, it is easy to understand Dr.
Ramirez's optimism about "our kids."  In an atmosphere where
analytic learning is encouraged and horizons pushed back as far
as one can see on a desert landscape, it is possible to believe
with him that, contrary to previous generations, our kids
options will not be limited.

Montana State University

     In 1991, the Alliance of States Supporting Indians in
Science and Technology (ASSIST) received a five-year NSF grant to
establish a CRCM project to meet the special needs of American
Indians in the Northwest region.  Because of the serious health
concernshigh rates of diabetes, hypertension, and
alcoholismfaced by American Indians, the CRCM works to recruit,
retain, and graduate American Indian students in the sciences,
including biomedical science/health-related fields and to enhance
teacher-training techniques.  The ASSIST CRCM has a unique
advantage in reaching this population because it works in concert
with 18 of the 24 tribal community colleges located in Montana,
Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, Oregon,
and Washington.

     The rural isolation of American Indian schools in the
Northwest is prominent and poses problems for teachers and
students.  In Montana alone,  there are over 100 one-room
schools. Recruiting and retaining teachers with science and
mathematics knowledge are especially difficult tasks.  Keeping
teachers abreast of new teaching methods and current on many
subjects is also a problem.

     To prepare American Indian children for the world of the
future and to increase the number who enter science and
engineering careers requires teachers who can motivate students
to enter these fields.  For students, the problem is also
serious.  Half of the American Indian students do not complete
high school, because of boredom, personal problems, family needs,
or an unwillingness to travel long distances each day to obtain
an education.

     Making systemic changes under these difficult conditions is
the goal of Dr. Patrick Weasel Head and Dr. David Young,
co-principal investigators of the CRCM at Montana State
University, the leading institution in the Alliance.  The
American Indian Research Opportunities (AIRO) Program, which
houses ASSIST, has been actively working with tribal community
colleges since 1982 to reverse the poor conditions of the 300,000
American Indians living on reservations.  Currently, ASSIST has
over 50 programs that support teachers and encourage students to
enter the science and mathematics pipeline.

     In 1991, there were 10,868 American Indian students enrolled
in Montana schools in grades K-8.  Dr. Weasel Head projects that
at least 5,500 (50 percent) of these students will be taking some
type of college preparatory program in grades 9-12 by the end of
the five-year ASSIST program.  In addition, the number of
American Indian students in Montana completing high school will
increase from 542 in 1991 to 677 in 1996.  For baccalaureate
degrees in science, mathematics, and engineering, the Centers
goal is an increase from 45 to 81 in the same time span.

     ASSIST programs focus primarily on precollege students and
teachers and on significant interaction with the tribal community
colleges.  Two goals of the programs are to demystify science and
to improve the transition between education levels, while
tracking student progress.  A few notable ASSIST programs are
described below.

     Adopt-A-School.  In this program, tribal community colleges
agree to adopt schools in grades K-12 and help the schools plan
science fairs, career days, science academies, or other
science-based activities.  The program increases communications
between tribal community college instructors, undergraduate
students, precollege teachers, young students, school district
administrators, and community members.

     Science-By-Mail.  In this program, more than 30 American
Indian scientists and tribal college instructors in the region
became pen pals to students in grades 4-9.  The Museum of the
Rockies at Montana State University, which offers the service,
also provides students with challenging science project kits and
sponsors the Science-By-Mail Day for students and teachers who
seek stimulating science experiences.  This is one of the CRCMs
most successful programs because it fuels interest in the
sciences particularly, among 4th- through 6th- grade students.
Studies by the Alliance indicate a major leak in the science and
mathematics pipeline beginning in the 8th grade; therefore, a
program that focuses on students before they reach that grade
level is considered crucial to gain and retain students in the
pipeline.

     Saturday Science Academy.  This program is designed to
sustain the interest sparked by the summer science classes.
Fourth through sixth graders study under student role models from
tribal community colleges and aid guest instructors who teach
science lessons.  The program goes further than most enrichment
programs of this kind because it emphasizes that science has
always been a part of the Indian culture, except that such
scientists are called by different names.  For example, a field
trip to study plants might include an ecologist and a tribal
herbalist, both of whom explain the value of plants for food and
medicine.

     Involving Students in the Process of Science.  This program
creates opportunities for students to utilize personal computers
to design experiments, acquire experimental data, and organize
and analyze the data during an inservice teacher training
workshop.  It is aimed at junior and senior high school students
in science, biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics
classes.  Each of 12 teachers from reservations brings a student
to an inservice science workshop held at a tribal community
college.  The students benefit by working as peers with their
instructors and scientists and serve as laboratory assistants
upon returning to their schools.  As part of the program, each
participating school receives a personal computer and a data
acquisition system.

     Using Computers to Teach.  This precollege preparation
program in chemistry allows students to conduct chemistry
experiments utilizing a computer.  The program could have
national implications for courses taught by computer, especially
in rural areas.

     After one year of operation, Center staff point to three
positive results.  First, the co-principal investigators found a
need to clarify where the leaks occurred in the American Indian
science and mathematics pipeline.  The response has been to
develop a comprehensive tracking system to collect and monitor
information on students.

     Second, the co-principal investigators have observed
increased interaction between area K-12 schools and tribally
controlled community colleges.  The schools are talking to the
tribal colleges, something they did not do before.  Dr. Young
believes the new dialogue will lead to more students applying to
tribal community colleges.  Even parents are choosing to attend
college.

     Third, the Alliance is finding that participation and
support from other Federal programs are increasing, and that
requests for ASSISTs involvement in other mathematics and
science initiatives are becoming common.

     Dr. Weasel Head and Dr. Young continue their efforts to
encourage people to work together in the network. They are
actively supporting teleconferencing, an alternative approach for
reaching rural schools.  Montana State University wants to link
the tribal community colleges, the high schools, and major
four-year science institutions with each other, so they can offer
science enrichment activities.  Such an effort is well timed
because the tribal community colleges are involved in a pilot
project to study the benefits of linking all 24 tribal
institutions.  Because of rising travel costs, teleconferencing
also could facilitate discussions among ASSIST project directors.
ASSIST may also explore cooperative efforts with the Spokane Star
Schools, a program that provides about 200 rural schools with
telecommunication dishes to establish down-link capability.

     ASSIST is making a special effort to involve parents in
their children's education.  They believe the school districts,
the community, and the parents must be involved in a holistic
approach to education.  Dr. Young commented, "Parents need to be
empowered to say, Why are we not graduating more math and science
individuals?  If you look at the population in the tribal
colleges, you will find that more parents are enrolling.  Many
are single parents.  They are developing a strong appreciation
for education."

     A unique parental program exists at one of the colleges.
Middle school female students are invited to the college and are
asked to bring their fathers or uncles for a weekend of science
and mathematics tutoring activities on computers.  At other
sessions, male students are invited with their mothers or aunts
to science and mathematics activities.  The college then follows
up by providing students and their parents with information to
help with science and mathematics activities at home.

     Dr. Weasel Head and Dr. Young are dedicated to helping
American Indian youth rise above the hardships of the past and
present.  Perhaps some of the Native American students in the
program today will be the lead scientists and engineers of
tomorrow who find cures for diseases as their ancestral medicine
men did in the past.

Morgan State University

     In 1990, Morgan State University (MSU) received a three-year
$490,000 NSF grant to establish a prototype CRCM in the Baltimore
metropolitan area.

     Participating institutions and schools included Morgan State
University, Towson State University, Bowie State University,
Prince Georges Community College, Baltimore City Public Schools,
and Prince Georges County Public Schools.  Today, this prototype
CRCM continues to link participants with each other and with
local businesses, government agencies, and clubs to increase the
number of minorities in the science and mathematics education
pipeline.

     Dr. Eugene DeLoatch, Dean of the MSU School of Engineering
and principal investigator for Morgan State's CRCM, divides the
precollege program into three categories:  academic preparation,
teacher enhancement, and informal education.

     The academic preparation category includes classroom
activities for students and projects such as the Bridge Programs,
the Saturday Science Academies, and the Summer Mathematics and
Science Institutes.

     The second category focuses on teacher enhancement with
in-service training sessions and Saturday Teacher Workshops.

     Third, the informal education category includes community
outreach, with Family Mathematics, Science Nights for Adults,
Career Awareness, and Mentoring programs.  Equally important are
the science and mathematics activities sponsored by Mathematics,
Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) and Academic Champions
of Excellence (ACE) clubs.  Together, the three categories of
activities provide strong support to the precollege science and
mathematics pipeline.

     The program functions at three pipeline levels.  Recognizing
that a cadre of good teachers is crucial to success, the program
emphasizes teacher inservice training and science and mathematics
awareness in grades K-6.

     At the middle school level, CRCM programs introduce students
and teachers to career exploration.  Students become part of a
mathematics chain with the hope that by the end of 8th grade,
they will be prepared for algebra courses.

     Finally, at the high school level, students are encouraged
to take algebra and biology.  They then move on to chemistry and
physics in the sciences and to algebra II, geometry, and calculus
in mathematics.  By the time students complete high school, they
have the option to choose a science or mathematics career; they
are not precluded from making that choice for lack of the
necessary course requirements.

     The CRCMs main role is to stimulate and leverage the
resources of people and organizations in the community and thus
to produce systemic change.  The key agents of change are the
teachers.

     I am extremely excited about the enthusiasm I see among
teachers towards the hands-on innovations we use in in-service
training.  Its exciting to see the light come back into the
teachers eyes.  They are generating change in the whole system,
Dr. DeLoatch ardently reported.

     Like most new initiatives, this one has witnessed a few
unanticipated results.  Foremost among them is the sense of awe
shared by teachers.  Much of the CRCMs work has been centered on
space activities.  Teachers learn about tracking satellites,
about weather, and about how data are transmitted from satellites
to Earth.  Most teachers find learning about computers, data
reception, and computer mapping fascinating.  They understand the
rapid pace of technology and scientific knowledge and realize
their responsibility in teaching for the future.

     During the summer of 1992, a CRCM workshop sparked teachers
interest in the use of weather satellite data in the classroom.
Images of the days cloud patterns were downlinked by a satellite
dish at Morgan State University and then transmitted to the
teachers computers.  Teachers learned how to interpret the data
and design activities for students.

     The workshop was sponsored by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration's (NASA) Johns Hopkins University Space
Grant Consortium, of which the MSU CRCM is a member.  The
consortium also provides space science internships for secondary
mathematics and science teachers.  They receive graduate credit
through the Center for Excellence in Mathematics and Science
Education, an effort supported by the CRCM.

     The linkages between the CRCM and the many support groups
also affect students directly.  The Center for Excellence serves
as the CRCM's conduit for the Baltimore Science Fair.
Additionally, the CRCM is linked to MESA and ACE clubs and funds
their science and mathematics projects.  The club projects offer
students as young as 10 years old the excitement of science and
the "doability" of mathematics, and keep them involved through
their regular meetings.

     The MESA and ACE clubs benefit the CRCM in other ways too.
Through MESA and ACE, the program funds the Family Mathematics
program to excite parents and help them understand the challenges
their children face.  The science and mathematics clubs act as an
important resource to find teachers and students for the CRCM
programs.  Middle and high school students are placed in the
database to expose them to as many linking interventions as
possible and to track their performance in science and
mathematics courses until they complete high school.

     This idea of linking is crucial to program success.  Dr.
DeLoatch explains, "We match these students with our programs so
that we can pass the students from one program to another.  By
the time they complete 8th grade, they should be ready for
algebra and biology courses.  Then, they could proceed from
biology to chemistry to physics and from algebra to geometry to
algebra II to calculus.  We track the students and suggest
activities and programs in which they might want to participate
each summer and each academic year, whether to move from an ACE
club to a Saturday Science Academy, for example.   The ultimate
goal is to pass on to students a high level of interest in
science and mathematics."

     Dr. DeLoatch helps community members understand the intent
of the programs and how one program overlaps another, and then
encourages organizations to shape and link their programs to
interface with each other.  Dr. DeLoatch explained the CRCM's
intervention strategy: "We will not fund duplication, but we will
fund the interface of programs to create a continuous pipeline.
We hand off students from one program to another."

     Dr. DeLoatch also emphasizes collaboration, saying that "to
reach students, one cannot bypass key people in the effort."
Teachers and parents are critical to the effort in grades K-6.
Parents, teachers, and the community are especially important to
students in grades 7-12.

     He hopes to move from a prototype to a full-fledged CRCM.
He would like to see the current number of 800 students in the
prototype program expand to 3,000.

     Dr. DeLoatch also hopes to significantly influence the
education process in the region by having the CRCM programs
adopted in a systemic way by local public school districts.  To
this end, he has initiated an experiment with students in one
high school, adding 40 students from the freshman class each year
until 160 students are selected.  These students educational
endeavors will be closely tracked as they pursue their education.

     The school chosen for the experiment historically has had
few students selecting science and technology careers.  The CRCM
will place a computer graphics laboratory in the school and
establish teams of two students each to share a computer.  The
goal: to challenge students in science and mathematics from the
freshman year onward to see if they choose science and
mathematics programs at the undergraduate level.  Dr. DeLoatch
believes it may take a decade to obtain valid results from the
experiment.

     The MSU CRCM will monitor both the experimental group and a
control group, a class that does not receive the benefits of the
programs.  Comparison of the results from the two groups should
bolster claims that the Center does achieve results, and that it
is worthwhile to adopt some of its programs and teaching methods.
"Systemic change is likely to come," according to Dr. DeLoatch,
"as the CRCM program produces proof.  People will find it
difficult to ignore the results."

     With time, additional funds will be needed to operate the
CRCM.  Dr. DeLoatch hopes that matching funds from industry and
other government agencies will be available for their programs as
the CRCM moves out of the prototype stage.  Industry and
government currently provide in-kind services and other forms of
support that greatly contribute to the quality of the students
experience.

     The programs are strengthened by the resources available in
an urban setting.  For example, Martin Marietta provides tours of
its facilities, Westinghouse and the Maryland Science Center
provide speakers, and the Department of Defense Career
Exploration Program in Engineering and Science offers activities
for the students.

     Though the CRCM does not receive funds from other sources
for its programs, additional funds are funneled through it to
link existing community programs.

     Through networking and involvement in the Centers
activities, university faculty members are getting to know
teachers in public schools.   This linkage between two
educational levels will certainly benefit students.

     Students are not the only benefactors of the intervention
programs.  The universities also benefit by enhancing their image
and by helping to produce better prepared students.  "In some
ways it may appear that we are exerting additional effort but it
really is a part of our job," says Dr. DeLoatch.  As long as
students' lives are changed for the better, the participating
institutions will be willing to go the extra mile."

     Thanks to NSF, these extra efforts are occurring nationwide
through other CRCMs.  "Although there is much to learn from other
CRCM Program Directors at their yearly meetings," Dr. DeLoatch
cautions, "we must never forget the regional differences among
the CRCMs and their individual goals and objectives.  It is when
programs are individually tailored to meet student needs that
they are truly beneficial."

     Dr. DeLoatch insists that "we must get students involved and
keep them involved after school, on the weekends, and through the
summer.  Let science and mathematics become second nature to
them."

Philadelphia PATHS/PRISM

     The Philadelphia Alliance for Teaching Humanities in the
Schools (PATHS) and the Philadelphia Renaissance in Science and
Mathematics (PRISM) are programs of the Philadelphia Partnership
for Education, which includes colleges and universities,
foundations, and corporations in partnership with the School
District of Philadelphia.  CRCM program funding made possible the
extension and expansion of proven programs under PATHS/PRISM.

     "We teach students that the historical roots of mathematics
and science can be traced beyond the famous Greek and Roman
contributions to Africa and Egypt," explained Stephen Cox,
director of the NSF project.  "It is part of African American
history and part of their heritage."  Just as the construction of
the great pyramids and shipbuilding challenged the ancestors of
todays African-American students, Philadelphias PATHS/PRISM
programs involve students in the search for solutions to todays
technological challenges.

     The CRCM coordinates educational activities throughout
metropolitan Philadelphia with the goal of significantly
increasing minority student participation in science,
engineering, and technology.  The project involves five
metropolitan school districts; seventeen universities, colleges,
and community colleges; museums; corporations; and minority
professional organizations.

     The Center built upon a base of successful existing
programs.  The initial program was the Philadelphia Regional
Introduction for Minorities to Engineering (PRIME), a 20-year
program that offered a variety of support activities to African
Americans and Hispanics.  Through the CRCM, PRIME exceeded its
1989 five-year expansion plan in two years (PRIME Universities
Program (PUP) grew from 540 students to 1,100 students).
Ninety-five percent of the PRIME high school graduates are
enrolled in four-year college programs.

     The development of the CRCM was based on research and
experience, which indicated that to prepare students for SEM
careers, a more effective introduction to mathematics and science
in the middle schools was required.  To accomplish this, it was
perceived that middle school teachers would need further
enrichment in science and mathematics and students should be
required to study algebra by the 8th grade.

     As a result, the CRCM established the goal of providing
workshops for 177 middle school teachers in transition
mathematics and algebra.  Teachers in the Algebra Project
workshop staffed the summer Algebra Project for students,
utilizing technology to convey mathematical concepts.  K-8
teachers were also taught to incorporate the use of manipulatives
in the instructional process.  In addition, the Center is
presently assisting high school teachers (who will affect over
1,000 students) in integrating science, mathematics, and
technologies into their courses.

     Since many certified algebra teachers have been transferred
to the high schools, the program offers middle school teachers
mathematics enrichment for graduate credit to help them move
toward mathematics certification.  The Algebra Project has
significantly influenced both schools and students.  Students,
having been introduced to algebra and transition mathematics
prior to high school, acquired more interest in these subjects.
Initially, in the 1989-1990 academic year, approximately 500
students were enrolled in transition mathematics and algebra in
the School District of Philadelphia.  This number increased to
2,000 in 1991.  "The Center has dedicated itself to improve the
understanding and participation of African-American, Latino, and
Native American students at all levels of the mathematics
pipeline," said Mr. Cox.

     The program's success was in part responsible for the
Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia mandating
that algebra be taught in the 8th grade, affecting 3,000 to 4,000
8th graders.

     The Center has many strategies for capturing student
interest.  Its program integrates technologies and humanities
into SEM courses.  When science was taught across the curriculum,
subjects that were perceived as abstract and irrelevant by
students acquired new meaning and significance.  This integration
of the humanities and science courses was a departure from the
traditional curriculum and met with some initial resistance.
However, science, mathematics, history, and literature are now
viewed as an integral whole rather than as separate components
vying for student time and interest.

     The success of Center programs has attracted additional
funding and sponsors.  Organizers have leveraged NSF funding into
support from local foundations, such as the William Penn, the Pew
Charitable Trusts, the Ford, and the Merck Foundations.

     In addition, industry contributes to the program.  "Many of
our organizers had previously worked in industry and had many
contacts that helped us obtain the business community's support,"
said Mr. Cox.  Private industry provides scientists and engineers
who establish one-on-one mentoring relationships with youth.
Eight hundred and seventeen students have participated in the
mentoring program, which attempts to match them with mentors of
similar backgrounds.

     The CRCM also has formed a consortium of colleges and
universities to pull students into the pipeline.  "We were able
to build a large coalition of universities and colleges, because
the logical continuation of our precollege efforts focused a
well-prepared pool of students for undergraduate SEM curricula,"
explained Mr. Cox.

     "We were losing students at different joints in the
pipeline," said Mr. Cox.  "The key is strategic intervention in
students' lives."  The Center has strengthened and expanded
existing summer enrichment programs, as well as developed new
programs, to bring entering first-year college students into the
college environment.  Participants have numbered 389 thus far.
Several campuses offer residential programs from two to ten weeks
in length.  Living on campus demystifies the college experience
and gives students a sense of ownership of the collegea sense of
already belonging when they arrive in the fall.  Participants are
also introduced to student services such as tutoring, mentoring,
and counseling, as well as assistance with study skills and
activities related to the humanities.  In addition, approximately
1,560 students participate in commuter and residential summer
enrichment programs prior to the post-12th-grade level.

     The overall effect of the hands-on experience in science and
mathematics, student exposure to scientists and engineers as role
models and mentors, and the integration of SEM into the general
curriculum have made participation in the sciences familiar and
natural for students.  Continuing science courses in college
takes on a certain logic.  Science and mathematics becomes part
of the students past and future.

University of Texas at El Paso

     The Comprehensive Regional Center, developed under UTEP
leadership, includes six cooperating colleges and universities
and seven school districts, representing 85 elementary and
secondary schools.  With a focus on precollege programs to
involve underrepresented minority students in science,
engineering, and mathematics (SEM) careers, the Center reaches
out to the 81 percent of the minority students, mostly Hispanic,
in these schools.

     Business and community involvement in the programs has been
extensive.  Approximately 100 area scientists serve as mentors in
Project LIFT-OFF for middle school and senior high students.  An
IBM employee who is on loan to UTEP for one year spends 25
percent of his time on CRCM-related activities, including
establishing better bonds with industry.  In addition, UTEP has a
10-year history of raising money from industry for its outreach
programs.  For 1992, in addition to its NSF funding, the project
has received $100,000 from industry to pay for its precollege
programs.

     In keeping with its Center's emphasis on industry, business,
and community involvement, CRCM is advised by a regional board
made up of key administrators from the participating school
districts, teachers, representatives from the cooperating
colleges and universities, two regional business leaders, a
regional civic leader, and a statewide public education leader.

     In the summer of 1990, during its first year of operation,
the Center served 1,773 precollege students.  In 1991 with an
expanded number of program activities available, the Center
served 2,763 precollege students.  Following a shift in program
focus to more systemic, school-based programs for precollege
students, the El Paso CRCM predicts that approximately 3,600
students will participate in its activities in 1992.  Faculty
member participation for 1992 is projected at 25, with 700
precollege teachers in the program.

     Current programs offered are the Science Day Camps, a
five-day program with periodic follow-up activities; Project
LIFT-OFF, a five-year program with ongoing activities; and the
Science/Engineering Institutes, with one- or two-week activities.

     Held at elementary schools, the summer Science Day Camps
provide students with hands-on science activities and examples of
job-related applications of science and mathematics.  In 1991, 33
camps in five school districts served nearly 1,500 students in
grades 2-6.  This represented 52 percent more students than in
1990.

     Project LIFT-OFF identifies young people with potential in
math and science at the 7th grade level and monitors them until
they enter college.  In 1990, 88 students were involved in
Project LIFT-OFF.  The program has grown to include 328 student
participants in 1992.

     The project links the students with mentorspracticing
professionals in the regionwho take them to laboratories and
other science-related job sites.  These visits enable minority
students to see the variety of careers available, and to meet
minority scientists who have succeeded in those careers.  The
mentors are linked with students for an extended period, and
serve as advisors they can turn to as they move through the
education pipeline.  The ratio of mentors to students is
approximately one to one.

     Participants in Project LIFT-OFF take part in special
programs that offer hands-on experiences in science and
mathematics.  In one 1991 summer project, students designed and
built cardboard canoes and raced them competitively in the
university pool.  Other engineering projects have included
building a hot air balloon, building a telescope, and designing,
building, and racing soap box derby cars.

     Project LIFT-OFF publishes a newsletter entitled Starlog for
the student participants, the "Rising Stars" of the project, that
contains articles on students' design projects and activities and
future events.  A booklet identifying the local professionals
serving as mentors is also produced by the project annually.

     Junior and senior high students participate in the Summer
Science or Engineering Institutes.  These programs enhance
students' skills in laboratory science, mathematics, computer
science, and communications.  In 1991, three two-week programs
served 150 students in grades 7-10.

     These programs will be expanded from three at three
institutions to twelve at four institutions.  Additionally, two
six-week summer institutes will be conducted for students
planning to enter science and engineering undergraduate programs
in the fall.  In total, the CRCM will lend support to 14 summer
institutes.  Students served will increase from 150 to nearly
550, a 73 percent growth in the number of students served.

     In the fall of 1991, the El Paso CRCM joined with an area
collaborative to improve student achievement and undertake
research and evaluation on issues of school improvement.  The
CRCM will continue to work on teacher enhancement with school
district administrations and teachers, focusing on curriculum
change.

     When asked to identify the projects most important
contribution, Dr. Riter expressed his satisfaction that Center
programs and professionals have raised minority students
awareness of their ability to enter science careers.  NSF
funding has made possible a whole spectrum of summer activities
encouraging these young people to pursue careers in science and
engineering, he said.

     Dr. Riter cited two unanticipated results of the summer
programs: the growing interest in them and the employment they
have provided for undergraduate minority students.  Even with 200
slots for precollege students in the programs, the Center was
forced to turn down 150 applicants.  There is a great deal more
interest in SEM programs than people anticipated.  "All that was
needed," according to Dr. Riter, "was for the students' interest
to be stimulated."  The Center primarily employs undergraduates,
supervised by faculty, to teach in the programs, and because
these students must work to finance their own education, the
summer programs are an empowering experience for them.

     "There is a double benefit here for NSF in employing
students.  First, the programs will attract underrepresented
minority students to pursue careers in science and engineering.
The second benefit is that jobs which reinforce their own
education and make them feel good about themselves are a powerful
way to support underrepresented minority students who are already
enrolled in science and engineering programs," said Dr. Steven
Riter, co-principal investigator of the CRCM at the University of
Texas at El Paso (UTEP).  Dr. Riter is Dean of UTEP's School of
Engineering.

     Working as CRCM mentors and teachers also provides students
with leadership opportunities.  One of the stated goals of the
NSF Minority Programs is to help create leaders.

     Parental support has been good, according to Dr. Riter.
Many of the parents do not read or speak English, and they may
not understand the benefits of the outreach programs.
Nevertheless, they have allowed their children to participate
even when they were needed at home.

     UTEP has created a unique method of assisting students with
their homework.  A published flyer says: "Stumped by science
homework?  Just call Science Studio KTEP 88.5 FM on your
dialtalk radio with smart answers!"  Not only can students tune
in on Saturdays at 11 a.m., but they can also call the KTEP
Listener Line anytime with their problems, and a UTEP science
professor will return the call.

     There is also strong support within the university.  The
UTEP President, Dr. Diana Natalicio, sees the Universitys
mission as improving education in the El Paso area in general,
and Dr. Riter is in complete agreement with this view.  In fact,
when asked about the influence of NSF funding and the project on
his career, he replied that the Center has changed the direction
of his professional activities.  NSF support has resulted in his
making a personal commitment to precollege education; he now
focuses on the ability of students before they arrive at the
university.

     Dr. Riter added, What we have said, frankly, is that we
have a broader role.  We need to be involved with secondary
school education in the El Paso area because ultimately these are
the kids we are going to teach.  We are not responsible for
secondary education, but we have an obligation to do whatever we
can to improve it and to assure that students in the system have
as much of a chance as possible to come to our university, or any
university, and succeed."

Partnerships for Minority Student Achievement (PMSA)

     One of two new initiatives in FY 1992 under CAREER ACCESS is
Partnerships for Minority Student Achievement (PMSA).  PMSA is a
comprehensive precollege program that builds on NSF's strategy of
forging alliances and partnerships for systemic reform.  School
systems with significant minority student populations are
required to establish partnerships with institutions of higher
education, business and industry, professional organizations,
community-based organizations, and other educational
organizations that can be advantageous in facilitating program
objectives.

     This activity is intended to (1) focus on the needs of
underrepresented minority students; (2) require the direct
participation of the school system as the unit of change; (3)
provide support for an integrated, systemic approach to enhancing
all major components of the educational system; and (4) actively
identify successful models in the public and private sector and
support their replication.

     In FY 1992, PMSA received 17 proposals and will make four
awards.  The awards will range from $400,000 to $500,000 and
these projects will receive a total of $5.6 million over a
three-year period.  The four school systems represented in these
awardsPrince Georges County, Maryland; Rochester, New York,
City School District; Santa Ana, California, Unified School
District; and Durham, North Carolina, City and County
Schoolsserve more than 100,000 underrepresented minority
students.

Summer Science Camps (SSC)

The second new initiative under CAREER ACCESS is the Summer
Science Camps (SSC) program, which supports residential and
commuter enrichment projects for minority students in grades 7-9.
Eligible organizations include school districts, museums,
colleges, universities, and nonprofit youth-centered and/or
community-based organ-izations.

     Activities include classroom and hands-on experiences that
provide for an integrated study of SEM within the natural
environment; expanded counseling regarding career opportunities
in these disciplines; interaction with role models in these
fields; and activities that strengthen family and peer support
for student interest in these areas.

     FY 1992 was the first year of SSC program operations.
Approximately 150 proposals were received and 28 awards will be
made, for a total of $1,975,000.  The average award amount for
these three-year continuing grants was $70,000 for commuter
projects and $100,000 for residential ones.  The projects will
receive a total of approximately $6.2 million over a three-year
period.  These projects will serve a total of 1,700 middle school
minority students in 17 states in commuter and residential
projects ranging from four to six weeks in length.

Undergraduate Focus

Alliances for Minority Participation

The Alliances for Minority Participation (AMP) program supports
the establishment of comprehensive approaches to increase the
quantity and quality of education of underrepresented minorities
successfully completing science, engineering, and mathematics
(SEM) baccalaureate degree programs.

     A goal of the program is also to increase the number of
minority students continuing in graduate studies in SEM fields.
This near-term objective facilitates AMP's long-term goal of
increasing the production of minority Ph.D. degrees in SEM
fields, including entry into faculty positions.  AMP activities
include student enrichment, academic enrichment, curriculum
improvement, and enhancement of institutions with significant
minority SEM enrollment.  AMP program activities are directed
toward the overall NSF goal of producing 50,000 minority
baccalaureates annually in SEM fields and 2,000 doctoral degree
recipients annually, both by the year 2000.

     AMP reaches out to all undergraduate minority students
regardless of their grade point average and starts as soon as
they graduate from high school, involving them in Bridge Programs
to prepare them for college entrance in the fall.

     Some of the AMP activities and programs are described as
follows.

     Summer Bridge Program.  The program activity is for incoming
freshmen during the summer prior to their college entrance.  It
features academic work in areas that will assist students in
passing traditional "gatekeeping" courses, such as calculus,
biology, physics, organic chemistry, and English.

     Peer Study Groups.  The peer self-help network offers
undergraduate students the opportunity to study together under
the direction of a mathematics, engineering, or science
instructor for critical courses such as calculus, physics, and
chemistry.  Peer study groups encourage students to work at a
more advanced level and foster cooperative learning.

     Undergraduate Summer Research and Graduate Preparation
Institute.  This program for upper level students features
academic programs in research methodology, experimental design,
mathematics or statistics, and related topics that are customized
to the students needs and academic fields of interest.  Students
also receive orientation to the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and
guidance concerning preparing for and applying to graduate
programs.

     Faculty-Directed Undergraduate Student Research Projects.
This program activity gives students hands-on opportunities to
serve as apprentice researchers to a faculty members research
project.

     Summer Internships.  These programs offer students
opportunities to work with scientists in government laboratories
and participating corporations.

     Graduate Level Mentorships.  After being matched to a
science, mathematics, or engineering instructor, a student
receives guidance about the pursuit of a doctoral degree,
orientation to the customs of academe, and advice on the
students research project.

     Minority Experts Database.  The database stores resumes of
minority graduates and other professionals and provides on-line
updates of available employment opportunities.  The database is
becoming a comprehensive directory of opportunities in residency,
internship, fellowship, and scholarship programs.  The
information includes all the government programs and may well be
the first time so much information has been accumulated in one
place and made available free of charge to students.

     Figure 3 compares SEM baccalaureate degree attainment for
minority students from 1977 to 2001.  There is a significant
increase beginning in 1991, when the AMP program was implemented.

Figure 3:__National Science FoundationAlliances for Minority
Participation B.S. Degree Production in SEM*

Arizona State University

     One of the goals of the Coalition to Increase Minority
Degrees (CIMD) is to encourage and support almost 5,000
underrepresented minority students annually in pursuing
baccalaureate degrees in SEM by the year 2000.  Reaching this
goal would contribute 10 percent of the NSF national goal of
50,000 annually by the year 2000.  CIMD also plans to assist
minority students in obtaining 182 science, mathematics, and
engineering doctorate degrees per year by the year 2000, a
fourfold increase over the current regional number.

     CIMD received an NSF Alliances for Minority Participation
(AMP) grant in 1991.  Headquartered at Arizona State University,
CIMD combines the resources and abilities of 75 institutions and
organizations serving minority students in Arizona, Colorado, New
Mexico, western Texas, and Utah who are underrepresented in SEM.

     Some of the key partners are 35 major colleges and
universities in the region; 8 professional organizations
including the American Indian Science and Engineering Society,
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the National
Society of Black Engineers; Federal laboratories and government
agencies, including Sandia and Los Alamos; and 26 corporations.

     Dr. Gary D. Keller Cardenas, the AMP Program Director at
Arizona State University, coordinates the program and is assisted
by co-principal investigators representing each of the major
minority groups in the region.  The co-principal investigators
are Dr. Albert L. McHenry, Dr. Fred Begay, and Dr. Antonio A.
Garcia.

     Although the program is open to students representing all
minority groups, the largest number of student participants are
Hispanic and American Indian.  The current ethnic distribution of
minority students in the program is Hispanic, 69 percent;
American Indian, 18 percent; African American, 9 percent; and
Pacific Islander, 4 percent.

     CIMD has clearly defined its future direction.  The
organization provides underrepresented minority students from
junior high school through the doctoral level with a continuous
set of academic and support programs and enrichment activities in
SEM.  The Coalition gained program cohesion by using a $40,000
NSF planning grant to build consensus among its members regarding
the purpose and goals of the program.

     The planning grant allowed Dr. Keller Cardenas to take an
existing three-year-old academic structure that addressed
precollege and graduate students and add programs that reach
students in pursuit of baccalaureate degrees.  Attempting to
create a continuous pipeline, CIMD offers an expansive selection
of programs and activities.

     College students are offered Summer Bridge Programs for
incoming first-year students, Peer Study Groups, Undergraduate
Summer Research and Graduate Preparation Institutes, and
Faculty-Directed Individual and Group Undergraduate Research
Projects, as well as summer internships and graduate-level
mentorships.

     Because the results of each program are monitored regularly,
midcourse change can be implemented quickly when necessary.  If a
project is not effective, it can be phased out, and a potentially
successful program can be funded at the start of the new cycle.

     The premier graduate program of the CIMD is Project 1000, a
national initiative designed to recruit, retain, and graduate
underrepresented minority students in master's and doctoral
programs.  Students receive free GRE workshops, a toll-free
number offering bilingual counseling and academic advice, and a
common application for a total of 71 comprehensive
doctoral-granting institutions nationwide.

     The Minority Experts Database also has been established by
CIMD.  The database stores resumes of minority graduates and
other professionals and provides on-line updates of available
employment opportunities.

     In addition to the CIMD programs, a state-of-the-art student
tracking and data management system called MAESTRO (Management
and Evaluation of Student Tracking Objectives) has been created.
Menu-driven and object-oriented, MAESTRO ensures both the
integrity of detailed project evaluation and the replicability of
the Coalition's comprehensive and longitudinal approach.  The
system contains 2,500 variables to help monitor and track program
participants.

     Although the NSF AMP component of the CIMD program is only
six months old, the AMP program director already has observed
some unanticipated results.  One is the strong faculty support
for the program.  The Coalition's efforts have bound the faculty
together in a common cause.  "They are turned on," said Dr.
Keller Cardenas.  "Their level of enthusiasm and interest on
behalf of underrepresented students is beautiful to behold."

     Another unplanned result is the development of a
comprehensive computer directory of academic support
opportunities in SEM for minority students.  The directory
includes information regarding residency, internship, fellowship,
and scholarship programs sponsored by the government, private
institutions, and foundations.  It may well be the first time
such extensive information on this subject has been accumulated
in one place and made available free of charge to students.

     Beyond the AMP funds, CIMD has obtained substantial support
and cost-sharing contributions from participating institutions.
Some of the support comes from foundations such as the Carnegie
Corporation of New York, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Alfred P.
Sloan Foundation, the American Honda Foundation, and the ARCO
Foundation.

     The primary focus is to join committed faculty and students
to pursue exciting academic work.  Funding is used to buy
chemicals and materials for laboratory research projects and to
provide stipends to student participants.  CIMD is also dedicated
to preparing students to qualify for scholarship funds available
through other sources.

     "It is very exciting," said Dr. Keller Cardenas of the AMP
program.  "We have the opportunity to work with wonderful people
from other institutions and regions who have similar objectives,
and most importantly, to help students achieve their goals."

Jackson State University

     The Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation (MAMP)
project places strong emphasis on undergraduate research and
education and links eight state universities in Mississippi in
this effort.  MAMP's research foci are in the fields of
chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, computer science, and
engineering.  The members of MAMP are Alcorn State University,
Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi
State University, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi
Valley State University, University of Mississippi, and
University of Southern Mississippi.

     MAMP is designed to focus on the whole student, thus
ensuring higher success rates for minority students' college
attendance and degree completion.  Bridging programs facilitate
the successful transition from high school to college and from
undergraduate to graduate study.  The summer program, open to
approximately 200 students, starts with High School-to-College
Bridge courses that provide instruction in all science and
engineering subject areas.  Over 11,000 students identified
through the American College Test (ACT) are contacted by mail
with follow-up by telephone.  The overall goal of the MAMP
program is to increase the number of bachelor of science degrees
earned by minority program students from the current rate of 240
annually to 543 annually within five years.

     Some students come from as far away as Ohio, Michigan, and
Minnesota.  Once in college, students receive strong support in
their course work, research efforts, and personal lives.
Students participate in an annual IMAGE Conference,
interdisciplinary seminars, a scientific tools course, summer
internships, and attend professional conferences.  Research
opportunities abound for students through summer and
academic-year undergraduate research projects.  Moral and
educational support comes from minority role models and mentors,
student support teams, and tutoring and study groups.  Finally, a
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) workshop helps students prepare
for the GRE and graduate school.

     Statewide implementation of the effort at eight Mississippi
universities is coordinated by the project director, Dr. Richard
Sullivan, Chairman of the Chemistry Department at Jackson State
University.  Dr. Sullivan has a site coordinator on each campus
to oversee local program implementation.

     According to Dr. Sullivan, the major effort of the recently
launched (November 1991) MAMP program is the High
School-to-College Summer Bridge activity that stresses successful
movement of students from high school to college.  Since many of
the students are the first in their families to consider college,
the summer program orients students and their parents to college
life.  Eight courses, ranging from three to six weeks, operate
each summer.  Students are not graded, although the course work
is intense.

     In addition to being tutored in analytical, writing, and
speaking skills, students are guided in personal life skills and
encouraged to take personal responsibility for their learningto
take charge of their careers in college.  The community is
involved in the bridge program through volunteers who take
individual students to church, movies, and the mall.  During the
Fourth of July weekend, community volunteers invite students into
their homes for the holiday.

     One of Dr. Sullivan's goal is to improve the way
introductory science courses are taught at the universities.
Introductory science and engineering courses are being partially
or entirely restructured by faculty to make them more meaningful
by placing emphasis on teaching concepts that are portable rather
than on rote memory.  The "constructivist" concept of learning
allows students to use personal experiences, intuition, and
mistakes to learn.  Teachers on the campuses are being enlisted
to teach the new courses and to turn them into "gateway" rather
than "gatekeeper" courses, thus drawing more students into
science and engineering careers.

     Dr. Sullivan believes minority students at the undergraduate
level are often misperceived by faculty.  To reduce problems
created by lack of cultural understanding, the universities hold
cultural diversity workshops to raise the level of faculty
awareness of people with orientations that differ from their own.

     Although a statewide networking infrastructure was in place
before MAMP received the grant, the NSF support also helps
coordinate program efforts statewide.

     Additional funding is being sought through private and other
public sources to offer sustained precollege activities that are
essential to increasing the number of minority students in the
science and engineering pipeline.  An industrial linkage
component also leverages NSF and state funds by increasing
business and industrial support for science and engineering
education.

     Mississippi universities participate in a broad base of
industrial and governmental partnerships that provide
undergraduate research opportunities for students.  A unique plan
to attract new industrial participation will place two
grant-funded students at new industrial sites that agree to
sponsor at least one additional intern and to fund all interns in
subsequent years.  Ultimately, Dr. Sullivan believes the best way
to increase minority graduates in SEM is to enroll as many
minority students as possible in college and, more important, to
provide the emotional and academic support the students need to
graduate.

     To date, there have been no real surprises for the Alliance.
Dr. Sullivan was pleased to see the attendance rate for the first
Summer Bridge Program at his university 10 percent higher than
originally expected.

     Computers are used to network with other alliance programs,
and the university database is accessible to other institutions.
This database tracks precollege students interested in science
and engineering and those who enter at the undergraduate level.
In addition, MAMP will support a nationwide database for
monitoring, evaluating, and reporting outcomes of all NSF
Alliance projects.

     Of particular interest to prospective industrial employers
will be the development of a database to include science and
engineering professionals and their employers from both the
public and private sectors, as well as statistical information
that can be used as "predictors" of applicants' probability of
success.

     An evaluation team has been created to review and publish
the results of the program.  In the interim, articles about MAMP
have appeared in the Black Collegiate and the Chronicle of Higher
Education.

University of California, Irvine

     Cooperation, diversification, and planning for the future
characterize the California Alliance for Minority Participation
in the Sciences (CAMP).  The University of California system is
cooperating with the California State University System, the
independent colleges and universities of California, the
California Community Colleges, public school districts, and
private enterprise in forming the unique partnership known as
CAMP.

     CAMP's goal is to promote a common vision: to increase the
number of underrepresented minority students successfully
completing undergraduate and graduate degrees in SEM across
California and to develop an educational pipeline for access to
SEM careers that will continue beyond the duration of the NSF
grant.

     Throughout the NSF grant application process, CAMP received
solid support from University of California at Irvine's (UCI) top
administrators, including the UCI Chancellor, Dr. Jack Peltason,
who will become President of the University of California System
in the fall of 1992.  Chancellor Peltason said of CAMP: "With its
scale encompassing the entire educational continuum in the state
of California, we believe that the Alliance represents a model
program of great value unprecedented in its potential to achieve
its stated goals."

     Dr. Eloy Rodriguez, professor in the Department of
Developmental and Cell Biology at UCI, is the principal
investigator of the CAMP project.  As a student, he personally
experienced some of the barriers to education that today continue
to hamper underrepresented minority students.  Co-principal
investigators are the Executive Vice Chancellor of UCI, Dr. L.
Dennis Smith, and Dr. Ralph Cicerone, nationally known for his
work in atmospheric chemistry and global environmental change.

     While Dr. Rodriguez is committed to students, he is also
dedicated to his research.  He operates the Research Laboratories
of Phytochemistry and Toxicology, an on-campus greenhouse lab
that houses the important medicinal plants he studies.  As a
biochemist, he often travels to exotic places to collect
medicinal plants for research.  During the summer of 1992,
several students accompanied him to the Amazon as research
assistants.  In the future, he plans to expand the number of
students who can participate in this experience in hands-on
science.

     The goals of CAMP are ambitious: to double the number of
minority degree graduates by the close of the century3,500
bachelor's, 500 master's, and 150 doctoral degrees; to identify
and remove barriers to education; to develop alternate sources of
income so the program will continue without pause after the NSF
grant has terminated; to create incentive programs for primary
and secondary students; and to move students from the community
college system, where most of them begin their education, into a
university to obtain bachelors and graduate degrees.

     The philosophy that forms the foundation of these goals is
the belief that students will want to become
scientistsbiological, chemical, or physicalonly after they
become excited about science.  This excitement can best be
generated, said Dr. Rodriguez, "by rubbing shoulders with
scientists.  Don't talk about science to students, help them do
science," he contends.

      CAMP will identify likely candidates for the program while
they are still in elementary school and will monitor and
encourage them all the way through high school and into college.

     Not all of the students will enter CAMP's programs with a
strong background in science.  Consequently, CAMP is developing
strategies to improve student performance.  As Dr. Rodriguez
said, "We want CAMP to entice more minority students and to
improve the quality of their work.  We explain to students, "We
don't want you to be just a passenger on the boat; we want you to
steer itto be its captain."  Dr. Rodriguez also believes that
writing is as much a gatekeeper as physics, chemistry, and
calculus.  Therefore, the CAMP project utilizes computers to help
students improve their writing skills.

     During the summersusually free time for studentsprograms,
activities, and classes are held to encourage student interest in
the sciences.

     Student identification and recruitment are only parts of the
project.  To provide incentives and training for students
requires competent, qualified scientists to teach them.  The
minority faculty members recruited for the program will provide
excellent role models for the students.

     Herbert Carter, former Executive Vice Chancellor of the
California State University System, stated in a Los Angeles Times
article, "Those of us in education have been struggling with the
issues of how to best engage the minds of young people who have
lots of things tugging them in different directions.  It is clear
that education best occurs between teachers and students.  Thats
where it all happens, on a one-to-one basis.  The students will
be able to relate to some of the best faculty in the world."

     CAMP is a cooperative project between a diversity of
institutions, both public and private, and this cooperation
extends far beyond the five-year NSF grant.  Six hundred science
professors from the California State University System and
independent universities throughout the state have
enthusiastically agreed to participate in the project. Public
school districts link the project to students and parents, and
private enterprise provides internships, mentors, and permanent
employment opportunities.  It is truly an effort where all facets
of the students' communities are involved.

     Dr. Rodriguez explained the importance and the necessity of
UC's involvement: "The University of California system is one of
the premier research institutions in the world.  UC campuses have
produced top scientists and engineers in all fields of scientific
research, development, and management in government, industry,
and academia.  UC has an obligationand has made a strong
commitmentto contribute to the recruitment and retention of
students from underrepresented minority groups."

     In an effort to reach as many minority students as possible,
80 percent of the five-year $5,000,000 grant is dedicated to
supporting students in their quest for an education.  The
remaining 20 percent supports the infrastructure to encourage
students to attend and to remain in college.

     With NSF's help, CAMP has been able to form an alliance of
diverse institutions and groups united by the common goal of
enhancing the opportunities for minorities to contribute to the
scientific knowledge base.  It is providing encouragement and
incentive directly through researchers themselves to a group of
Americans who have too long been underrepresented in the
scientific and engineering community.

Research Careers for Minority Scholars

The Research Careers for Minority Scholars (RCMS) program
provides support to four-year colleges and universities to
implement research enrichment programs in science, engineering,
and mathematics (SEM).  The program includes stipends for
qualified minority students to enable them to pursue career paths
in SEM fields.  Students are especially encouraged to seek
careers leading them to higher education faculty positions.

     In 1987, only 12 Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs)
graduated 20 or more African Americans with baccalaureate degrees
in the biological sciences.  Of those 12 institutions, 10 were
Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs).  Only 12
IHLs graduated 10 or more African Americans with baccalaureates
in physical and environmental sciences in 1987.  Of those 12
institutions, 10 were HBCUs.  In 1987, only 1 percent of the SEM
faculty on IHLs campuses were African American.

     Based on these facts, RCMS was initiated in 1989 to
encourage SEM departments to vigorously recruit minorities into
the pipeline and retain them in these SEM disciplines through
graduate school leading to faculty positions.

     Support can be provided for student research experiences,
tuition, counseling, mentoring, and other academic enrichment
activities.  Although the goals of the RCMS program are similar
to those of the Alliances for Minority Participation (AMP)
program, and its activities may also serve as AMP components,
RCMS efforts tend to be smaller in scale and more departmentally
oriented.

     In the first two years of this program, the participating
institutions retained 96 percent of their scholars, including 9
percent who received SEM degrees.  In 1992, 35 colleges and
universities participated in the program.  By the end of 1992,
more than 500 students will be involved nationwide.

     Figure 4 illustrates the disciplinary analysis of existing
RCMS projects.  Figure 5 gives a breakdown of student participant
status for 1991 and 1992.

Figure 5:__RCMS Student Participants

Texas A&M University

     "This research experience really provides students with an
added dimension to their education.  The NSF Research Careers for
Minority Scholars program has a chance to demonstrate nationally
that research experience is extremely importantnot just to
encourage people to enter graduate school, but to help empower
them to become leading scientists and engineers," explained Dr.
Carl Erdman, principal investigator of Texas A&M University's
RCMS program.

     The RCMS program at Texas A&M is a joint effort between the
colleges of engineering and science.  It is designed to link the
best minority undergraduates from those colleges with Texas A&M
research faculty to foster undergraduate research experience.  In
its first year at the university, RCMS drew interest and support
from more than 100 engineering and science professors.  This
large number of professors allows students to select the faculty
mentor with whom they will conduct research.

     Lori Cardenas, the program coordinator, explained, "In our
program, the freshmen and sophomore students attend seminars,
meet faculty, and find out what kind of research is being
performed in the areas that interest them.  Then, in their junior
years, they choose their own mentors and begin research.
"Programs at other schools match students up with professors who
are in their areas but do not give the students the chance to
choose."  At Texas A&M, students make their decisions by
interviewing professors as well as consulting the graduate
students who work with them.

     Faculty members are enthusiastic about working with students
who have selected their research projects.  A benefit for the
faculty is that these students already have scholarship funding
and travel money.  Professors can be reimbursed for special
supplies and laboratory costs for the students.

     Student interest is strong, too.  For the past three years,
over 100 students have applied for the program.  Openings have
increased from 25 in the programs first year to 56 for the
1992-1993 school year.  There is a strong feeling among program
administrators that the number of slots should be expanded to
100.  The student response and the high caliber of the
applicantsmany who are turned away have grade point averages in
the 3.5 rangemay be partially attributable to students wanting
to participate in a program funded by NSF, according to Dr.
Erdman.

     Students are also attracted by the opportunity to devote
themselves full-time to completing their degrees and pursuing
research.  Without RCMS scholarship funding, many would have to
take part-time jobs to support their studies, which would delay
progress toward obtaining their baccalaureate degrees.

     One of the goals of the program is to encourage graduate
study and careers in engineering specialties including aerospace,
chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, mechanical, nuclear,
oceanic, and petroleum engineering, as well as computer science,
biology, chemistry, mathematics, applied mathematics,
microbiology, physics, and zoology.  More than 50 percent of the
students in A&M's program have continued in graduate
studiesapproximately five times the percentage in the general
population.  Of twenty-two graduates in the 1990 to 1991 school
year, one has already received a master of science degree; nine
are currently enrolled in engineering or science graduate
programs; one is attending medical school; one is attending
pharmacy school; and one is working as a research assistant at
Texas A&M and is a graduate applicant for the fall of 1993.

     Continuing to the graduate level, however, is not the only
measure of success for students in the program.  Dr. Erdman
stressed that even those who do not continue their schooling
immediately are very marketable upon completing this program.
These are minorities with a baccalaureate degree from Texas A&M,
research experience, and a grade point average of 3.5 or better.
"These students are the prime hiring targets of industry," Dr.
Erdman contended.

     One of the eight 1992 graduates who has opted for a career
before continuing her studies graduated with a bachelor of
science degree in chemical engineering.  She was hired by a
chemical company at a starting salary of $42,000, and the company
guaranteed that it would finance her pursuit of a masters
degree.  Her employer, VOP Chemical Company of Willowbrook,
Illinois, is also contributing matching funds to the scholarship
fund she started for Hispanic female chemical engineering
undergraduates who, as she did, need financial assistance to
complete college.

     The success of the RCMS program has raised awareness of the
needs of women and minority students, and it has inspired
confidence that such programs really work.  "The NSF RCMS grant
is a very positive factor when we seek additional financial
support. The capabilities and accomplishments of the RCMS
students verify the success of our program." said Dr. Erdman.
The NSF "stamp of approval" likely contributed to Texas A&M's
receiving U. S. Department of Education funding for fellowships
for minority students and a General Electric Foundation grant
that provides stipends for students to participate in summer
research projects on campus.

     The enthusiasm for the RCMS program has resulted in such an
outpouring of volunteer efforts that the program is extremely
cost-effective.  It may be the largest program of its kind
operating at the lowest cost per student in the country.  The
only full-time program employee is the coordinator.

     The feeling of community extends to the students'
neighborhoods.  Under the outreach component of RCMS, students
working on research at the university visit elementary and
secondary public schools to describe their research as well as to
discuss the program and the research opportunities for interested
students.

     Student participants would probably agree with Dr. Erdman
when he says the program is fun for him, as well as rewarding.
He enjoys the students and the positive reputation their
accomplishments give to minority student programs in general.
RCMS has provided the impetus for a range of other activities in
science and engineering within Texas A&M and in conjunction with
other institutions.

     On an even larger scale, Erdman feels that this programs
focus on research will bring about systemic change: "You should
ultimately see a change nationally, in that students will perform
more research as part of their undergraduate programs.  Research
experience raises the quality of the students" education.  The
requirements of thinking and finding problems, struggling with
the solutions, and then writing reports, demand that students
master the skills that will be required to meet tomorrow's
science and engineering challenges."

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

     The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) RCMS
program is part of the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program, a
full-time, year-round program for academically talented African
American students who excel in the study of science and
technology.

     Students, who are competitively selected, receive a
four-year academic scholarship along with a personal computer and
software.  They benefit also from summer internship
opportunities, field trips, cultural events, and relationships
with adult mentors.  Students attend a six-week summer program
before the freshman year, and in subsequent summers they each
take summer courses or hold paid internships in research
laboratories either on the UMBC campus or at other institutions
and agencies. During the academic year, all of the program
participants are enrolled as full-time students.  In their first
three years of study, the students work alongside faculty in
research laboratories in the sciences and engineering, preparing
for specific and substantial research projects during their
senior year.  In exchange for the benefits provided through the
program, the Meyerhoff students pledge to pursue doctorates in
the sciences or in engineering.

     Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, the University's Interim President
and a mathematician, launched the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program
in 1989 with a major grant from the Robert and Jane Meyerhoff
Foundation.  Dr. Hrabowski continues to oversee the students in
this program with the assistance of Susan N. Boyer, Earnestine B.
Baker, and several other staff members.  To be eligible for the
Meyerhoff Program, students must be African Americans who have
combined Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of approximately
1200, including a math SAT of about 650, and a high school grade
point average (GPA) of 3.5.

     In the program's first year, 19 students were successfully
recruited.  Four years later, the program received 380
nominations from high schools across Maryland and in the region,
resulting in acceptance of 43 new outstanding students in 1992.
Currently, 113 students are participating in the Meyerhoff
Scholarship Program, including 20 in RCMS, who have a mean
college GPA of approximately 3.4.  Eleven UMBC faculty members
have been designated specifically as mentors or advisers for the
RCMS students, helping to nurture their academic interests.
Mentors for the Meyerhoff students are African Americans for the
most part, and include faculty from UMBC and other nearby
institutions who have expertise in the students' varied fields of
interest.

     The major contribution of the RCMS program goes beyond
helping students to achieve academic excellence.  It also offers
students a level of personal attention they otherwise would not
receive at most other universities, and it allows them to
interact with a peer group of African American students.  Often
isolated in high school from other African- American students
because of their academic achievements, the Meyerhoff students
find that the program provides a environment where they can
interact comfortably with other academically talented
African-American students.  "I can talk to anybody here, knowing
that they just won't judge me," says Angela Hodge, of Upper
Marlboro, Maryland.  Other comments include:  "This is the best
group of black kids that I have ever been with."  "I never knew
there were so many smart kids like this."  "It is cool to be
smart in this group."  "This is neat." Students find themselves
in an enriching, warm, and supportive environment.

     Many local businesses and government agencies support the
Meyerhoff Program by providing paid internships and research
experiences for the students. IBM, with 14 paid internships, is
considered an outstanding supporter.  The programs National
Advisory Board meets each year to help shape the direction of the
program and to identify possible new sources of funding.
Additional support is essential for the programs continued
success, given that students are turned away each year because of
insufficient funds.

     NSF funding has been particularly helpful in developing the
RCMS program and allowing UMBC to extend the benefits of the
Meyerhoff Scholarship Program to more students.  Twenty RCMS
students are funded by NSF in the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program,
and other students receive funding through grants from Meridian
Health Care, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, the
National Security Agency, and the Eli Lilly Foundation.

     Support comes in many other forms, too.  Each year, for
example, Apple Computer, Inc., has donated computers worth
approximately $50,000; UMBC's office that oversees the Freshman
Experience gives students special support; UMBCs Learning
Resources Center and Chemistry Tutorial Center both help
students, as needed, with their course work; the Counseling
Center and the Office of Residential Life offer nonacademic
counseling; local and national media, through the coverage they
have given the Meyerhoff Program, are instrumental in generating
interest in it; and public and private school teachers
enthusiastically spread the word about the program.

     The RCMS scholars are encouraged to "give back" to the
community.  Some students tutor local children in science and
mathematics.  Others give speeches at career day programs and
explain what it means to be an aspiring young minority student
and to be successful in science.  Many of the students have been
invited to schools to speak about their visions for the future.
These students have proven so effective, in fact, that some of
them have accompanied Dr. Hrabowski and other staff to meetings
with potential sponsors.

     In another form of community involvement, the students and
their parents have organized a support group known as the Family
Association.  They meet regularly and conduct such activities as
a Welcome Dinner in the fall, at which parents of continuing
Meyerhoff students share their impressions of the program with
the parents of incoming students and tell them what to expect.
The Family Association also plays an instrumental role in
recruiting and selecting new students for the program.

     Maceo Thomas, a 20-year-old biochemistry major conducting
research on histamines, has a paper in progress to be published
with his mentor from the St. Thomas Hospital in London, where the
research was conducted.

     The RCMS program should produce its first graduates in 1993.
In so doing, this model project will be making a substantial
contribution to elevating the quality of our science and
engineering workforce.

Faculty Development and Research Initiatives

The Research Improvement in Minority Institutions (RIMI) program
provides grants to strengthen the research capabilities of
predominantly minority institutions, and institutions with
substantial minority enrollments, that have graduate programs in
science and programs in engineering.  The RIMI program supports
faculty research, the acquisition of research equipment, and
cooperative research projects between academic institutions and
industry to encourage greater student and faculty research
involvement.

     The RIMI program was originally called Research Initiation
in Minority Institutions and provided $20,000 to $40,000 to
assist new research scientists.  In FY 82, the name was changed
to Research Improvement in Minority Institutions to focus on
research needs of minority institutions instead of just
individual scientists.  More substantive awards of up to $250,000
were made available for up to three years.  Institutions with
greater than 50 percent minorities and graduate programs in
science and/or engineering were eligible to apply.

     In FY 85, the RIMI budget increased to $5 million. In
addition, the eligibility criteria expanded to a 20 percent
requirement of students from one minority group.  Awards were
increased to up to $500,000 for up to five years.

     The RIMI program not only provides the opportunity for
universities to develop research infrastructures, but also funds
the purchase of scientific equipment needed to spring out into
the mainstream of national and international research.

     Figure 6 is a disciplinary analysis of the current RIMI
projects.  Figure 7 shows the number of project participants from
1988 to 1991 by academic level.  Figure 8 illustrates that 123
baccalaureate, 48 masters, and 16 doctoral degrees in science,
engineering, and mathematics were earned by RIMI participants
from 1988 to 1991.

Figure 6:__RIMI Projects by Discipline

Figure 7:__RIMI Program Participants 1988-1991

Figure 8:__RIMI Student Graduates 1988-1991

Clark Atlanta University
Investigation of Bridged Organometallic Complexes on
Metal Oxide Supports

     Clark Atlanta University (CAU), one of the Historically
Black Colleges and Universities in Georgia, has used the RIMI
program for a project on the fundamental aspects of catalysis.
Since over half of the nation's gross national product is
directly or indirectly tied to catalysis, research in this area
is vitally important to the nations economic competitiveness.

     Because Black colleges have few start-up funds available,
CAU RIMI funds have proven critical in fostering
multidisciplinary research.  "The RIMI program has been essential
to get things off the ground with new faculty," says Dr. Eric A.
Mintz of CAU's Chemistry Department.  Consequently, CAU has
requested a series of small RIMI grants rather than one large
project.  The grants allow CAU faculty to initiate their research
programs at a more rapid pace, to support students and procure
chemicals, and to provide faculty salaries in the summer.

     CAU's three-year RIMI project, which began in October 1991,
is designed to investigate bridged organometallic complexes on
metal oxide supports.  The goal is to develop methods to prepare
ligands that have two, three, or four cyclopentadienyl groups
connected by bridges incorporating either hetero atoms or carbon
atoms.

     Five minority chemistry studentstwo graduate students in
their second year and three undergraduates in their sophomore
yearare being trained via this project.  The students are doing
research in organic and organometallic synthesis of bridged
ligands and bridged organometallic complexes.

     Success in developing the project also required project
investigators, Dr. Mintz and Dr. Mark B. Mitchell of the
Chemistry Department, to acquire spectroscopic equipment and
supplies, to design and fabricate heating and pumping systems for
the infrared reaction cell, and to determine the initial
thermogravimetric and infrared results for the initial alumina
substrate to be used in the experiments.

     A gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS), acquired
through a donation from the Coca-Cola Company, allowed the
researchers to add GC/MS capability to their infrared
decomposition studies.  A microreactor was installed in the gas
chromatograph to carry out a variety of rapid screenings of the
decomposition of organometallic compounds as a function of
temperature.  A diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform
(DRIFT)-controlled environment cell was purchased and its vacuum
integrity and optical throughput checked.  Dr. Mintz and Dr.
Mitchell designed, purchased, assembled, and verified the
temperature control system, obtaining good control under vacuum,
where thermal losses were confined to the sample support.  To
conduct the experiment, the interface from the controlled
environment cell to the pump station was fabricated and
interfaced to the cell.

     By developing a strategic plan for faculty research
improvements and infrastructure support, Clark Atlanta University
has been highly successful in obtaining funds for its projects.
Its success is attributed to a willingness by the university
leadership to give faculty members the freedom to do their jobs.
The CAU faculty has much more independence than faculty in many
other institutions.

     According to Dr. Mintz, there is a conscious effort to use
RIMI grants to strengthen the university's instrumentation to
support a wide array of research disciplines.  For example, the
mass spectroscopy instrument is utilized in environmental studies
as well as in Dr. Mintz's work.  CAU's strategic plan, therefore,
helps eliminate the internal territorial barriers and infighting
that can occur in institutions of higher education.

     Two presentations have been given on the RIMI-supported
research at recent meetings of the American Chemical Society
(ACS).  The topics of the presentations were "Synthesis and
Reactivity of Transition Metal Complexes Incorporating New
Tri-Penta Substituted Cyclopentadienyl Ligands" and "Synthesis of
Aminosubstituted Cyclopentadienyl Ligands: Application to
Organometallic Chemistry."  Manuscripts are now in preparation to
describe this work further.

     Ultimately, the greatest benefits from the RIMI grants, Dr.
Mintz explained, are twofold: long-term infrastructure support
and quality training of students.  The students will have a major
role in helping to advance the sciences while strengthening the
competitive posture of the nation.

City College of New York Turbulent Fluctuation in Collisional
Plasma

     "Turbulent phenomena are one of the last great frontiers of
traditional science," said Dr. Joseph A. Johnson III, principal
investigator  of the RIMI project in the City College of New York
(CCNY) Department of Physics.  Dr. Johnson has been studying
turbulent flow in collisional plasmas.  High-density collisional
plasmas have properties similar to those of gases.  Until now,
research has offered little understanding of the turbulent
physics of these plasmas.

     Dr. Johnson's work has resulted in two papers this year.
Three more will be submitted for publication next year.  His
findings violate the popular consensus on turbulent flow.  "They
will have an important influence on the development of the
physics of turbulent flow," he said.  He has made two major
discoveries: first, the fluctuations in a collisional turbulent
plasma are characterized by unique spectral behaviors and low
fractal dimension; second, the increase in dimensionality, and
thereby complexity, in a collisional turbulent plasma is both
sensitive to the strength of a weak magnetic field and
independent of its orientation.

     Dr. Johnson has been using computerized analytical models to
determine the significance of nonlinear or chaotic elements and
the correspondence between macroscopic and microscopic elements.
In other words, he hopes to ascertain whether events on a small
scale influence flow on a large scale, and vice versa.  His
analytical models address the extent to which significant
elements may occur and the potential number of independent
variables.  "We want to know whether there's a tendency towards
patterning, whether there is an underlying simplicity that would
give us a basis for predicting behavior," he said.

     In examining the flow of a plasma versus a fluid and the
effect of a magnetic field on turbulence, Dr. Johnson found a few
surprises.  For example, he discovered that a magnetic field
increases the complexity of an already turbulent plasma.
Research also showed a one-to-one correspondence between
macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in the fluctuation of
optical-line emissions.

     To implement his research program, Dr. Johnson had to
computerize the interface between the actual experiment and the
analysis.  Funding from the RIMI program enabled him to upgrade
his laboratory's computing capability and purchase a high-powered
24-watt argon ion laser. Without the added equipment, his
research could not have been competitive.  As Dr. Johnson said,
"If I want to be in this game, I have to have the tools of the
game."

     The support allowed Dr. Johnson to initiate research in a
topic area that previously had not been fully investigated. "RIMI
funding allows us to do exciting work that grabs the attention of
the scientific community."  Because the experiment exists and the
hardware is there, we can take advantage of other resources and
involve more students beyond what the RIMI grant supports. The
RIMI funding is there for the core research.  One student, whose
work follows the RIMI-supported research, is supported by a
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) grant.

     "We can leverage the RIMI grant because we're funded to do
exciting work," Dr. Johnson said.  "The source is also important.
NSF has a built-in validating process.  You could argue that
support from the National Science Foundation is the most directly
credible source. NSF is the premier science funding agency
because it cuts across all the sciences."

     In addition to funding Dr. Johnson's research, the RIMI
grant has supported three Ph.D. physics students.  Degree work
for all three is partially based on the research funded by this
grant.

     "The key to sending more students into science and
engineering is exposure to first-class science, science on the
frontier," said Dr. Johnson.

     Students in Dr. Johnson's lab are selected from
undergraduates who perform well in science classes.  When
colleagues recommend extraordinary students, he matches them with
a research experience.  "The undergraduates participate as
partners.  We get them as freshmen, and from the beginning they
are part of the team.  We keep their assignments appropriate to
their level, but we expect them to contribute.  By the time
they're seniors, they are doing valuable work.  They learn
procedures, library and other research skillsall tools theyll
need."

     Students complete a manufacturer-supported certification
process to demonstrate their competence with laboratory
equipment.  "It's exciting for them to use all this fancy stuff.
They learn to use expensive, fragile, delicate equipment.  They
start with equipment specifically related to their task, but the
graduate students try to familiarize themselves with each piece
of equipment in the lab," he said.

     "One Ph.D. student, supported by the RIMI grant while an
undergraduate, performed research to determine nitrogen dioxide
density by measuring the amount of fluorescent light that could
be passed through it.  He had to build an instrument to record
the measurements.  His efforts led to new science.  The results
were not publishable, but the work was important, and the student
knew it," Dr. Johnson said.

     The RIMI grant has given us the resources to let students
participate, and they benefit from the pleasure of success.
They're doing high-quality research, and the work gives them a
sense of what they'll be doing several years down the road,
should they decide to pursue a research career.

     The findings of Taskforce 2000 have people concerned about
future science.  NSF took action. Their aggressiveness has set a
high standard. Other agencies are copying NSFbut NSF did it
first.  They did it with conviction and persistence.  NSF's
efforts will have ripple effects over the next 10 years in the
Federal support community.

     "The NSF programs offer a model that private companies are
showing an interest in supporting.  They're looking for
successful models, and the NSF programs have worked to encourage
excellence and initiative.  The concept has been successful in
drawing minorities and women into science.  The research work
serves as a beacon to students who want to see science as an
option.  Without NSF programs, that option might not be available
to them," explained Dr. Johnson.

Hampton University Distribution of Larval Fish Prey Organisms in
Northwest Atlantic Nursery Areas

     If you looked at it from the viewpoint of fish larvae, you
could say: "This is a fine mesh you've got me in."

     That inside joke belongs to the Hampton University students
who use fine mesh nets to collect fish larvae for their marine
science research.  They are interested in testing the correlation
between the larval distribution of commercial fish and the
copepod population, which is a preferred food for fish that
inhabit the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank.

     Hampton University is known for its undergraduate and
graduate work in marine and environmental science.  In 1990, it
received an NSF RIMI grant to encourage minority student
involvement in marine science research.

     In the first year of the three-year study, the team compared
the developmental stages of copepod samples collected with
special plankton nets of two mesh sizes, fine .053 mm and coarser
.333 mm nets.  After sorting the copepods according to species,
life stage, and sex, the researchers concluded that there was a
strong correlation between the copepod samples of the two nets.
Research of this type is expected to help explain the
fluctuations in commercial fish abundance.

     The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is assisting
the university in its research.  The NMFS has extensive data on
larval fish abundance and distribution and on adult copepods.
However, very little direct information is available on the
smaller zooplankton.  As a result, marine biologists cannot
directly test for correlations between the distributions of
larval fish and their actual prey.  The link between zooplankton
and larval fish is critical in the early life history of fish.
The RIMI study is contributing data to this critical link.

     As a result of previous work with NOAA, Dr. Robert A.
Jordan, the principal investigator for the RIMI grant, has
acquired good plankton samples preserved since 1980.  Hampton
University students have processed the data on those samples and
are now shifting their emphasis to 1992 samples.  The recent
samples were collected in cooperation with the NMFS, which placed
a Hampton marine science minority graduate student on one of its
research cruises in June 1992.

     Hampton University is the only U.S. university performing
this kind of fine mesh research.  Most of the data on larval fish
and their environment are available in the NMFS files, but some
unanswered questions still remain.  The RIMI researchers are
working on the missing piece of the puzzle.  When they have
acquired their data, a student from the university will travel to
the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Center Laboratory in Narragansett,
Rhode Island, to use its data files for more extensive data
analysis.

     Dr. Jordan has always placed emphasis on  acquiring research
microscopes needed for various projects.  He bought three
research-level stereoscopes called Zeiss SV8 dissecting
microscopes with the RIMI grant.  The equipment is especially
helpful in conducting this type of research because of the small
size of the animals under study.  The stereoscopes allow
researchers to conduct more exacting and thorough research.

     In addition, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant
helped Dr. Jordan obtain an inverted compound Zeiss microscope.
And, with a grant sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, he
obtained a research-quality stereo microscope.  As part of
another development grant, the university obtained several
student-grade microscopes and another research-grade compound
microscope.  Consequently, the Department of Marine and
Environmental Sciences has the best microscopes at the
university.  Because of the quality of its equipment, the
department has received requests to help other departments at the
university with their research.

     Much of the work in marine science is performed as a
collaborative effort among government agencies and academia.
Hampton University cooperates with the Virginia Marine Resources
Commission, the data agency that regulates marine fisheries
primarily in the Chesapeake Bay.  Commission staff assist in
organizing conferences and interacting with students.

     An integral part of Hampton's program is the internship
component.  The students spend one summer obtaining hands-on
experience in a government agency, industry lab, or another
college.  The internship gives them the opportunity to explore
various research careers while being involved in a current study
they can conduct successfully.  Because Hampton has one of the
few undergraduate marine science programs in the United States,
government agencies are eager to visit the campus and provide
internships.

     Hampton also collaborates with the Federal Fish and Wildlife
Service, the National Park Service, and the Environmental
Protection Agency.  Two of its students spent two months at a
Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife refuge.  At the refuge, they
conducted some research, but generally they managed the refuge
and provided educational services for tourists.  There are
potential job opportunities for these students with the wildlife
refuge after graduation.

     Hampton University recently established a relationship with
another refuge, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, that is
providing a house that can double as a field lab.  So far,
several field trips to the refuge have been undertaken in
conjunction with marine science courses.  Consideration is now
being given to transforming the field lab into a permanent
research facility.

     Of the 5,500 students at Hampton University, 30 are
undergraduate majors in marine science and 5 are graduate
students.  A total of seven students have participated in the
RIMI study since 1990.  Three of the undergraduate students
earned their bachelor of science degrees in marine science.  All
three enrolled in graduate school.  One student is expected to
receive her masters degree in environmental science and a
fellowship award from the Environmental Protection Agency to
support further study in marine science.

     Hampton University has a variety of programs to attract
students to its undergraduate and graduate marine science
program.  During the summer, the university offers short-term
programs, including the NSF Young Scholars Program, which offers
groups of precollege students projects requiring field trips
lasting several weeks.  University science professors give
classroom presentations and local students visit the university
laboratory.

     The arrangement with the NMFS scientific research vessels
was an unexpected development.  Dr. Jordan always wanted to
develop a cooperative effort with the NMFS research vessel team,
but unfortunately much of the funding for that type of work had
been eliminated.  Working with the NMFS Pascagoula Laboratory
research vessel is a great opportunity for the universitys
minority graduate students.

     "It is a challenge on this campus to attract students to
science rather than business," said Dr. Jordan.  Opportunities on
the NMFS research vessel help draw students into science,
engineering, and mathematics courses.  NMFS will bring the
students who worked on the vessels to Florida next fall to share
their experiences.  These experiences are critical for students,
allowing them to see the relevance of their studies.  Students
have presented the results from their ocean studies in on-campus
presentations.

     The marine science laboratory has proven valuable beyond the
research conducted there.  It has given Hampton University the
ability to employ students.  The three professors in the
department have many positions for students as research
assistants and interns.  The employment of undergraduate students
is of great benefit to the university's ongoing projects.

     With the assistance of NSF, Hampton University minority
students are undertaking frontline marine research, helping to
assure the environmental integrity and quality of life from the
tiniest of plankton to the largest of ocean mammals.

New Mexico State UniversityAdsorption Behavior and Properties of
Tailored Smectites

     How to decontaminate the Earth of toxic chemicals and
rapidly handle accidental spills from oil tankers are among the
problems being tackled by New Mexico State University with the
support of a RIMI grant.

     This project, which began in 1989, is an interdisciplinary
environmental engineering effort involving teams of Hispanic
students and professors from chemistry and environmental
engineering.  The project seeks to understand how clay materials
coated with a film of organic molecules can be "tailored" to
absorb deadly pollutants from contaminated underground and
surface water as well as from oil spills in lakes and oceans.

     The university's work has tremendous waste management
implications.  According to Dr. Fernando Cadena, an environmental
engineer and co-principal investigator, the most precious
resource in New Mexico is water and the most abundant resource in
the state are soils that have absorbent properties.

     About 90 percent of the Western states depend on groundwater
supplies.  New Mexico's water is continuously threatened by
underground and surface contamination from gasoline.  As unleaded
gasoline replaces leaded gasoline, the situation improves.  But
the potential for underground water contamination is heightened
because benzene, a carcinogenic chemical, is being added to
unleaded gasoline to boost its power.  About 3 to 6 percent of
unleaded gasoline is benzene.

     Since the EPA estimates that 35 percent of the existing U.S.
underground storage tanks (USTs) commonly used to store gasoline
or other petrochemical or petroleum-based products either leak or
are not liquid-tight, as many as 75,000 to 100,000 USTs are
leaking hazardous chemicals into the earth.  The number is
expected to increase by 350,000 in the 1990s.   The RIMI project
focuses on the elimination of benzene from groundwater.

     The process is best explained by using a simple example.
"Imagine that you are trying to remove oil in water using a paper
towel," said Dr. Cadena.  "It's difficult.  However, if you coat
that paper with a thin layer of oil, it becomes compatible with
the oil in the water and it sucks the oil right out.  What we are
doing with clay is similar.  We are taking clay and other natural
minerals and applying a thin or molecular layer of other organic
materials which we attach or tailor to the soil so that the soil
becomes more compatible with the pollutants we want to remove.
The pollutants we are removing are aromatic compounds, such as
benzene, toluene and xylenescarcinogenic compounds generally
found in oil and chemical spills.  Every type of natural fuel
contains these types of pollutants.  Once they enter the aquatic
environment, they are very difficult to remove.  The greatest
advantage of the technique we employ is that we can selectively
target the pollutant that we want to remove from water."

     Dr. Cadena sees the major application of the technology as a
chemical barrier for USTs.  New USTs could be built in a layer of
soil tailored with the compounds that would adsorb any leaks.
"In cases where the water is already contaminated, we propose to
pump the water out of the ground and pass it through a series of
reactors with tailored soils.  The water would pass through these
minerals and would be returned to its original location," Dr.
Cadena said.

     Beyond its relevance to pollution control, the work
performed by New Mexico State University contributes to basic and
applied interdisciplinary research.  The program employs ten
Hispanic students and two professors from the Environmental
Engineering and Chemistry Departments.  Dr. Gary Eiceman is the
co-project investigator from the Chemistry Department.  Of the
nearly 12,000 students enrolled at the university, about 320
undergraduates and 60 graduate students are enrolled in civil
engineering.  The Civil Engineering Department has specialties in
environmental engineering, hydrology, and structural engineering.

     Asked about the greatest accomplishment of the RIMI project,
Dr. Cadena said, "we have generated outstanding professionals."
Six students have graduated with master's degrees and one with a
doctoral degree.  Graduates of the civil engineering program have
jobs with Eastman Kodak, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and
Phillips Petroleum.  One student who received a doctoral degree
is now working as an assistant professor in the Chemistry
Department.  Another student from Puerto Rico who is working on
her doctorate in environmental engineering plans to return home
and teach.

     The university has also witnessed an increase from 5 to 30
in the number of graduate students in the civil environmental
engineering program over the last 10 years.  The department
cannot accept additional students and is, in fact, turning down
four out of five applicants.  The department is becoming highly
selective, targeting only the best students.

     National Science Foundation funding has had other
significant impacts on New Mexico State University.  The largest
portion of the funds is dedicated to student and faculty support
(two new environmental engineering faculty have been hired), to
supplies and chemicals, and to overhead.  Additionally, since
receiving the original seed money from NSF in 1986, the
university has developed an excellent reputation for research in
pollution control.

     University expertise in environmental research has also led
to ties with other national research organizations.  For example,
in 1989 the university entered into a funding agreement with the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to create a Waste Education and
Research Consortium.  This consortium includes the three major
universities in New Mexico--New Mexico State University, the
University of New Mexico, and New Mexico Institute of Mining and
Technology.  Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories are also
part of the consortium, along with the DOE's Waste Isolation
Pilot Project.  DOE wants to mitigate the impact of energy
production, especially fossil fuels and oil spills.  Texaco,
Inc., has become interested in the university's work and provides
funding toward the project.  NSF has proven to be the catalyst
for funding from these other sources.

     NSF funds have been instrumental in obtaining other funds.
Every dollar New Mexico State University receives from an
external resource is matched by the state and the Federal
Government, thus tripling its financial resources for minority
undergraduates.  The funds help pay undergraduate minority
students who work on research projects.

     New Mexico state-provided funds are used to buy equipment
such as a gas chromatograph, a mass spectrometer, a
high-performance liquid chromatograph, a total organic carbon
analyzer, and an atomic adsorption spectrophotometer.

     RIMI participants are proud of their accomplishments.  At
least nine articles have appeared in professional publications,
and it has become routine for students to make presentations at
national and international chemistry and civil engineering
conferences.

     The grant has laid the foundation for a great future at New
Mexico State University.  Participants are hopeful about
developing important new technologies that will aid in the
removal of environmental pollutants.  Dr. Cadena believes the use
of natural minerals modified by organic compounds to remove
pollutants from water will be commonly used in five years.  And,
if current environmental trends continue, the universitys
environmental engineering budget may double in the next five
years.  More important, the grant provides an opportunity to
educate people to solve major local and global concerns.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
UniversityImprovement of Cell Plasma Membrane Research
Capabilities in Biology

     At North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) State
University, Dr. David W. Aldridge, professor of biology, focuses
on instilling in his students a sense of pride in what they do.
"Interacting with students takes time," said Dr. Aldridge. "It
takes time to give them good habits. They have to believe in the
importance of what they're doing, whether it's washing dishes or
reading oxygen uptake."

     Even Dr. Aldridge's undergraduate and high school students
are assigned small experiments to perform. Though the level of
work is not necessarily publishable, the students perform every
stage of the experiments themselves, from laying out experimental
designs and collecting the data to crunching numbers for
statistics.

     Most minority students receiving graduate science degrees at
A&T come from predominantly black institutions. "Many of our
students have little science background. We're kind of an
initiation for them," said Dr. Aldridge. "A&T has a good track
record in getting students up and out in the sciences." Of the 18
students who earned A&T science degrees this year, 9 are enrolled
in graduate school in the sciences and 4 are enrolled in medical
school. One has been accepted at MIT.

     More A&T undergraduates than master's students enter Ph.D.
programs, partly because salaries drop off above the master's
degree level. Of A&T students who have received bachelor of
science (B.S.) or master of science (M.S.) degrees, Dr. Aldridge
is aware of nine who are still involved in science.

     "The university can be a safe haven for becoming an adult,"
said Dr. Aldridge. "We teach students to deal with stress,
paperwork, and difficult supervisors. It boils down to giving
students pride in what they do."

     Dr. Aldridge has trained nine graduate students. A&T's RIMI
grant has provided stipends for six. In 1992, three students
earned master's degrees in biology. Two of the three were from
Dr. Aldridge's lab. One has continued in environmental science at
the University of Southern Florida. The other is employed with
the Federal Government.

     In the summer, Dr. Aldridge opens his lab to high school
students who seek research experience and science exposure. Many
are good students who have been "turned off to science in high
school, but have their interest sparked again," Dr. Aldridge
said.

     "The hands-on laboratory experience is a turn-on for
students.  The things we teach in class come alive in the lab,"
he said.  Recently he received a card from a former high school
student who had planned to major in business, but who is now
finishing her second semester in chemistry. "We help our students
make decisions about what they want to do."

     Without NSF funding, it would have been difficult for A&T
students to gain modern research experience. "Training students
takes money," said Dr. Aldridge. Because graduate schools prefer
applicants with research experience, the opportunities provided
by NSF funding make A&T students more competitive.

     NSF support for a RIMI grant in 1983 financed Dr. Aldridges
initial equipment purchases to set up his laboratory. The same
funding also helped keep his lab going during the 1980s, when the
university had little money.

     Dr. Aldridge and Dr. Thomas L. Jordan received $30,000 in
matching funds from the university for the 1989 RIMI award. At
the time, A&T had no doctoral program. However, the University of
North Carolina System Board of Governors has authorized A&T to
offer a Ph.D. in engineering beginning in 1993.

     The grant made possible research in cell biology.  A
professor in the Biology Department, Dr. Aldridge is studying how
fresh-water mollusks adapt to changes in temperature to maintain
a constant level of fluidity. Since materials are more liquid at
higher temperatures, changes in fatty acids can alter the natural
change in viscosity of cellular fluid by changing the composition
of the phospholipids that make up the major part of cell
membranes. Essentially, an increase in saturated fatty acids can
"harden" the cell membrane to make it less permeable in higher
temperatures.  Dr. Aldridge's research indicated changes in the
relative percentages of the various fatty acids with changes in
temperature and a small change in cholesterol. The researchers
hope to develop assay techniques to differentiate fatty acids and
changes in cell membrane composition.  Dr. Jordan is studying
changes in plasma membrane lipids during the growth cycle of
bacteria.

     NSF is one of a few sources of funding for Dr. Aldridges
research area. Though the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
also funds environmentally related research, their major focus is
humans, not invertebrates.

     NSF funding has helped A&T to attract faculty they could not
otherwise afford. Day-to-day university operations have become
easier as well. A&T now has an Office of Research Administration,
and the NSF grant supports clerical staff and assistantships that
enable students to participate in the research.

     Equipment purchased with the RIMI grant is shared between
departments. When the Chemistry Department needs a gas
chromatograph, it uses the one purchased by the Biology
Department. When Dr. Aldridge needs a scanning spectrophotometer,
he uses the one in the Chemistry Department. "It is hard to
demarcate where one program starts and another ends," said Dr.
Aldridge.

     This equipment also allowed the department to perform
research on zebra mussels in the Great Lakes under a grant from
the Army Corps of Engineers. The equipment needed included the
gas chromatograph, respirometers, specific ion meters (especially
for the ammonia ion, to measure nitrogen excretion),
spectrophotometer, and computers.

     Dr. Aldridge hopes that some of his RIMI-sponsored research
using gas chromatography to analyze cell composition will apply
to the Army Corps of Engineers grant as well. In that work, he
will study how environmental stresses affect invertebrates.
Though invertebrates are difficult to kill, they do show stress
that lowers their reproductive capabilities. Dr. Aldridges work
may enable the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate environmental
stress in a given organism.

     The Army Corps of Engineers grant involves research on a
"nuisance" mollusk the Army is trying to eliminate. (Dr. Aldridge
thinks they will just have to live with it.) However, the same
research also could be applied to measure environmental stress on
endangered fresh-water species the Corps is tasked with
protecting. Examples include a fresh-water snail species in the
Pleurocerid family and species in the Unionid family of large
mussels.

     Knowledge is not always used in the way originally intended.
Whatever fields of endeavor Dr. Aldridge's students finally
select, they will be able to apply a standard of excellence to
whatever they do.

St. Mary's University
Near-Threshold Excitation of Molecules by Electron Impact

     "The most significant thing about this project for me is
giving the students who are interested in research the
opportunity to follow their curiosityespecially those students
who really have the potential, but not the environment to do the
research," said Dr. Mehran Abdolsalami, assistant professor of
electrical engineering at St. Mary's University. "With this
project, I can provide all the equipment necessary for our
research, even though we are a small university. I did not have
that luxury as an undergraduate."

     Dr. Abdolsalami has been studying techniques for
near-threshold electron scattering of molecules, an important
problem in quantum collision theory. He is applying a method for
electron scattering called the First-Order Non-Degenerate
Adiabatic (FONDA) theory. He wants to implement exact exchange in
the FONDA theory and apply this technique to a more complex
molecule, the  nitrogen molecule.

     Of the two current methods, one breaks down as threshold
excitation is approached; the other is applicable only to the
simplest molecules, like hydrogen, because the process is too
complex for today's computers. If Dr. Abdolsalami can apply this
technique to enable the study of nitrogen molecule collisions
with sufficiently high accuracy and a methodology that is
manageable on today's computers, it should have wide
applicability.

     The nitrogen molecule is used in industry to excite the
carbon dioxide laser molecules to generate a carbon dioxide laser
beam. Experimentalists are looking for the kind of information
Dr. Abdolsalami's results could provide about the transition of
the nitrogen molecule from one state to another.

     Earlier, St. Mary's lacked computing equipment sufficient
for high-level research. It was the National Science Foundation
grant that gave Dr. Abdolsalami the computing capability he
needed. The award of a RIMI grant in October of 1990 enabled him
to purchase faster computers, including four Sun workstations.
"Now students and project consultants can spend time on the
computer and complete the research without interruption," he
said. "We have as much time as we can use on these computers
because they're dedicated to the project." The last of the three
phases of his project will require fast computers. Dr.
Abdolsalami hopes to use NSF funding to purchase Sparc Station
10, which is three times faster than Sparc Station 2, the
computer now  being used in the project.

     Dr. Abdolsalami reports that the research is progressing
very well. He initially faced some unanticipated networking
problems and delays on equipment, but those have been resolved.

     On the other hand, he did not anticipate the work needed to
orient the students to the research process. NSF funding supports
two undergraduate students and one graduate student in his lab.
Two of the three students, one undergraduate and one graduate,
are Hispanic.

     Initially, the students treated small research projects more
as homework than as independent work. If, for example, a student
had an assigned project and wrote a computer code that did not
work, the student brought the code back to Dr. Abdolsalami for
help. "It took me four or five months to teach them that what
they are doing now is different from a course project. They've
learned to use their intuition and their judgment and come up
with their own solutions."

     The students have changed in other ways as well. Dr.
Abdolsalami has one graduate student who has decided to pursue a
Ph.D. in his current area of research with Dr. Abdolsalami.
Another one of my students, before he became involved in this
project, was sure he didnt want to go to graduate school. Now
that he has had a taste of research, he is headed for graduate
school.

     "In research, once you give the students responsibility,
they like it.  It excites them a lot. That's my experience.

     "One major result of the NSF grant has been to prepare these
students to go on to other research institutions, should they
decide to continue in research," Dr. Abdolsalami said.

Tuskegee University
Center for Computational Epidemiology

     At the Center for Computational Epidemiology at Tuskegee
University School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Tsegaye Habtemariam
is creating a new branch of science. "Computational science is
the third branch of science," said Dr. Habtemariam. "Classical
science includes two branches: theoretical science and
experimental or empirical science.  In experimental science you
conduct experiments in the laboratory or in the field and observe
and generate data. In theoretical science, the understanding
revolves around a theory that explains behavior. Computer
modeling provides a new arena of computer-based scientific
experimentation." Within the branch of computational science, Dr.
Habtemariam is working on computational epidemiology or the use
of computers for research.

     Taking advantage of advances in information management and
computer modeling, Dr. Habtemariam is developing a new approach
to conducting research by integrating computer modeling and
expert systems as a means of generating experimental data.
"Instead of gathering data in the field and using the computer to
analyze it, we are using the computer to recreate the whole
experimental medium," said Dr. Habtemariam. "The computer serves
as the field or laboratory.

     "You can define populations on the level of ecosystems of
cells, molecular epidemiology; as populations of data; or in the
highest levels of ecosystems, people or even global systems,"
explains Dr. Habtemariam. Information about growth and death of
populations under various conditions can be programmed into the
computer to model an ecosystem. Different parameters can be used
to define the systems, and different variables can be introduced
into the system to discover what effect is created. The computer
can process decades of evolution in hours.

     Dr. Habtemariam is working on the basic science for
advancing methods of computer modeling. "The object is to develop
methods of computational modeling and apply them to specific
problems like health," he said.  For developing the Center's
methodology, Dr. Habtemariam is using the population dynamics of
trypanosoma, a parasite that is a significant world problem.

     Extensive qualitative and quantitative data have been
collected on trypanosoma, which is important for the methodology
that Dr. Habtemariam hopes to develop. "Quantitative modeling
emphasizes numbers, but the majority of biological data is
qualitative description, which is the domain of expert systems,"
he said. "The two methods are generally used separately, but if
we can combine the two, we will be able to advance
problem-solving and decision-support models."

     Over the past four years, the Center has instituted several
projects, many of which contribute to multidisciplinary
databases. Current projects include the development and
application of the Problem-Oriented Epidemiologic Approach (POEA)
methodology to expand knowledge of schistosomiasis and
trypanosomiasis and the development of expert system modules to
help select and implement control strategies in biomedical areas.

     Center accomplishments include two demonstrations at the
World Conference on the Environment in Rio de Janeiro this year.
Project staff have published over 74 papers in eight different
journals and proceedings.  In addition, 70 presentations have
been made at both national and international conferences in
England; Antwerp, Belgium; the International Center in Insect
Physiology and Ecology in Kenya; Addis Ababa University in
Ethiopia; and the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

     All of this would not have been possible without National
Science Foundation support. "The initial Center and even the
concept of the computational epidemiology center came from the
original NSF grant," said Dr. Habtemariam.  The first NSF grant
in 1986 bought a VAX 11750 and enhanced the computing capability
of the university.  In 1988, RIMI grant funds were used to
purchase a Mac 2 FX workstation. Although the grant is fairly
small for setting up computational research, Tuskegee was able to
leverage the NSF support into a major National Institutes of
Health (NIH) grant and a grant from Digital Equipment Corporation
(DEC) for networking fiber optic thin-wire ethernet.

     Because of the NSF-supported facilities, the Center also
received a grant from the U. S. Department of Health and Human
Services to create a Center of Excellence for the medical
education of minorities.  This medical information center has a
biomedical information system with a research component and an
education component for minority students.  The education
component is funded by the U. S. Department of Education.

     The Center also has received support from Apple; Symbolics,
Inc.; and the Dodge Foundation and would like to obtain more
support from private foundations.  The Center further extends its
capabilities through collaboration.  For example, the Center has
written a joint proposal with a nearby university to combine its
expertise in video disk technology with Tuskegees expertise in
computational modeling.

     The Center has become a campus resource.  Faculty from other
departments train in computational methodology in the lab during
the summer.  In addition, "Faculty come to us to develop joint
proposals," said Dr. Habtemariam.  Within the School of Medicine,
faculty use the information system for biomedical information.
International visiting scientists are also attracted to the
Center's work. "All major visitors on campus come to visit the
Center," said Dr. Habtemariam.  During the summer of 1992, the
Center hosted a Fulbright Fellow and a Fogerty International
Fellow, among others.

     The Center also serves as a resource for students, and Dr.
Habtemariam has been amazed at the richness of the scientific
disciplines brought together in this program.  The NSF grant
supports 17 minority graduate students in epidemiology,
engineering, and biology.  Three students have been awarded
master's degrees in epidemiology.  The Center is training 30
undergraduates and is reaching out to high school students to
bring them into the laboratory in the summer.  "These minority
students have the opportunity for exposure to new science that
would not have been available without support from NSF," said Dr.
Habtemariam.

     "The Center in computational epidemiology is now beginning
to hold its own in the international scientific community and to
influence research all over the world," said Dr. Habtemariam.
The Center is pioneering methodologies and training future
researchers to solve international health problems.  NSF was the
key to initiating this international program.

University of Puerto Rico at
Rio Piedras and Mayaguez
The Algebraic and Combinatorial Computing Group

     The Algebraic and Combinatorial Computing Group at the
University of Puerto Rico (UPR) at Rio Piedras and Mayaguez has
surged forward in research with support from NSF. Since 1984, the
Rio Piedras Mathematics Department has moved from having the
lowest number of publications per researcher at the Rio Piedras
campus to having the second highest number in all science
departments at UPR. In addition, Mathematics Department funding
increased twentyfold, from $100,000 for the ten years 1974 to
1984 to nearly $2 million for the five years 1985 to 1990.

     Impetus for increasing the output and quality of the
research and learning facilities was provided by the Mathematics
Departments focus on computer modeling and simulations.
"Modeling and simulation are extremely important to Puerto Ricos
future because science is becoming computational," said Dr. Oscar
Moreno, principal investigator in the Algebraic and Combinatorial
Computing Group.

     "NSF was the funding cornerstone," said Dr. Moreno. "The
RIMI grant was instrumental in getting us going." With a 1986
grant from NSF, the Gauss Research Laboratory at Rio Piedras
acquired a state-of-the-art FX/8 Alliant minisupercomputer. With
the Alliant, the computing group organized a local area network
(LAN) among local researchers. In 1988, with additional support
from NSF, the group connected the Alliant through NSFNET to the
network of supercomputers at NSF. "These links are important,
since they allow our researchers to communicate with mainland
computers," said Dr. Moreno.

     The last objective of the RIMI proposal is a cooperative
effort between the Rio Piedras and Mayaguez campuses to offer a
doctorate in computational mathematics. The program will be
carried out with the cooperation of local and national industry
and assistance from national research institutions. Dr. Moreno
feels the expanded graduate program will continue to upgrade the
level of research, enabling UPR to train faculty and
professionals to serve the needs of research and industry.

     The computing group's work in applied computational
mathematics is aimed at developing the high-performance computing
capability for the island of Puerto Rico.  Researchers have been
collaborating with Cornell University in symbolic computation and
linear analysis.  The main thrust of their research is the
development of computational techniques involving communications
science, symbolic computation, and modeling.  "Traditionally,
mathematics is used to influence applied research," said Dr.
Moreno.  "But using applied math, you impact the real world."

     Their work in computation has also influenced the world of
mathematics.Techniques developed for applied math are being
applied back to theoretical mathematics to expand previous
results.  For example, the 30-year-old Theorem of Ax, which
posits a number of solutions to a multiple-variable polynomial,
has been improved. New computation techniques substituting values
for variables have increased the number of solutions.

     Over the last five years, the computing group has
established cooperative links with some of the mainlands top
research institutions: the University of California at Berkeley,
Cornell University, IBM Watson Research Laboratory, AT&T Bell
Laboratories, and Bellcore.

     UPR is also working with the City University of New York,
Rutgers, Michigan, and Ohio State Universities, the Universities
of Southern California and Minnesota, and the Technical
University of Denmark.  Notable scientists from other
institutions visit as researchers.  UPR has collaborative
agreements with the Communications Science Institute of the
University of Southern California, the Mathematical Sciences
Institute of Cornell University, and the Institute for Problems
of Information Transmission Center in Moscow.

     UPRs outreach program focuses on the identification,
encouragement, and training of students interested in the
sciences. Precollege, college, and graduate students are
recruited through the universitys Resource Center.

     Many students proceed from UPR to mainland universities. In
the last three years, UPR has awarded 33 master's degrees. Eleven
students continued on to Ph.D. programs at institutions including
the University of California at Berkeley, Cornell University,
Ohio State University, and Arizona State University.

     One high school junior came to work in the computing group
laboratory during the summer of 1989. On his own he traveled long
distances two or three times a week during the year. "He came
from a poor family, but was very disciplined," said Dr. Moreno.
"I was very impressed with his interest." With Dr. Moreno's
recommendation, the student won an internship at Lawrence
Livermore Laboratory and continued his studies at a mainland
university.

     The expanded computation and modeling capabilities available
to the computing group offer UPR students a resource that
otherwise would not be available. Through the support received
for this project, the mathematics communities in Puerto Rico and
on the mainland have gained colleagues and trained students, and
UPR students are preparing themselves to contribute to the
advancement of computational mathematics.

University of Texas at El PasoThe System AG-S-SE: Phase
Relations, Electrical and Optical Properties, and Application

     The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), which serves a
substantial number of underrepresented minority students,
received National Science Foundation funds in 1990 to establish
an interdisciplinary RIMI project in material science.

     In its first year, the RIMI research group synthesized 30
compounds in the system Ag[subscript-2]SAg[subscript-2]Se
(silver-sulfer-selenium compounds) and examined them on an
optical microscope, electron microprobe, and x-ray powder
diffractometer.  These and other tests provided information on
changes in lattice spacing associated with solid solutions, the
electrical conductivity of the compounds, and the deposition of
the materials as thin films.  Fabrication of the
silver-sulfur-selenium compounds as thin films is a prerequisite
to potential applications in microelectronics and
optoelectronics.

     Three professors, five Mexican-American students, and one
staff member on the RIMI project work on the overall
silver-sulfur-selenium project.  During those times when the
compounds must cook for a month and cool slowly before
investigators can try another mixture, students participate in
other projects that use the skills, techniques, and equipment
from their RIMI research.  These spin-offs include measurement of
surface area in corals, lead in soils, and minerals in oil-well
core.

     Two research articles, four abstracts, and four
project-related presentations have evolved from the research on
silver-sulphur-selenium systems.  In each case, RIMI students
were co-publishers.

     For Dr. Nicholas E. Pingitore, Jr., professor in the
Department of Geological Sciences and co-principal investigator
along with Dr. J.J. Robillard of the Department of Physics, life
is no longer calm and relaxed since receiving the RIMI grant.  "I
have never worked harder," said Dr. Pingitore.  "Most of the
minority students in our group have a limited background in
research and they lack experience with laboratory equipment.
Nevertheless, the principal investigators must do top flight
science, along with mentoring and even some social work.  El Paso
is a poor community that doesn't have many resources; our
students face hardships to get to the university.  We must help
them on the next step to careers in science.  This is incredibly
hard work but very rewarding."

     Six Mexican-American students were enrolled in the project
in 1990 and five in 1991.  Undergraduate majors include the
geological sciences, physics, electrical engineering, and
chemistry; graduate students are geological science majors.

     The influence of the grant on the students has been
wonderful.  "It is tough to be a minority student in El Paso,"
said Dr. Pingitore.  "Some students feel lost when they first
come to the university.  They have never viewed science as
something exciting...as something that involves teamwork...and as
something that involves pride in what one is doing."
Participation in the RIMI grant has changed that perception.
Even the simple reality of wearing a laboratory coat has fostered
a sense of professionalism, and working side by side with
professors and graduate students makes undergraduate students
feel special and able to see science as a career, something they
could do.  The five minority students on the project have gained
self-confidence and a real sense that they can be scientists.

     The "recruitment window" is a part of that experience.  The
Department of Geological Sciences recently moved to a renovated
building where the main laboratory, which houses the project, has
windows that run the full length of the room.  The windows are
adjacent to a main, well-traveled university corridor.  This
permits other students to observe the equipment and activities in
the lab, thus making the research visible to a larger segment of
the university community, as well as to summer students from
local junior and senior high schools.  UTEP students have gained
a sense of pride in their work and enjoy the opportunity to
demonstrate their research skills.

     The project has produced other benefits.  Dr. Pingitore
received strong support from the university in the form of a
matching grant.  The matching funds were close to the NSF grant
amount and included $75,000 for x-ray equipment.  The equipment
not only benefits the RIMI research but also will be useful for
other projects and will bring UTEP closer to a state-of-the-art
capability in materials research.  The NSF funds take pressure
off the technical assistants to obtain outside jobs and increase
the overall number of students the university can support.  The
grant also encourages interaction among departments, bringing
geological sciences, physics, and chemistry professors together
to work on the RIMI project.  For example, Dr. Leigh C. Porter, a
chemistry professor, works cooperatively with a minority
chemistry student to provide electrical measurements for the RIMI
project.

     Applications for project findings abound.  As a direct
result of the initial research findings, Professors Pingitore and
Porter have submitted a grant proposal to fund development of the
silver-sulfur-selenium compounds as solid-state thermal bulk
switches and nanoswitches.  Their compounds may be appropriate
for microwave sensors or as a temperature sensor on bottles of
food, wine, or medicine to indicate if the product has been
exposed to temperatures above appropriate levels.  The compound
is a "designer material," a solid solution with a continuous
range of compositions, making it possible to change the
properties of the material with the composition.

     The RIMI project also is collaborating with Sandia
Laboratories.  Sandia Laboratories has a strong commitment to
UTEP and is allowing RIMI investigators to use its
high-temperature x-ray diffraction equipment during the summer.
The experience gives students an opportunity to work at a large
laboratory and to observe many scientists at work.  Students gain
self-confidence from these summer trips and positive
reinforcement for their chosen profession.

     Teamwork...student self-confidence...hands-on research;
these components contribute to the success of this RIMI project,
clearly seen through UTEP's "recruitment window" of opportunity.

Wayne State University
Nutrient Homostasis: Coordination of Response Patterns by the
Nucleus Tractus Solitarius

     Dr. Robin A. Barraco, professor of physiology, has been
researching basic brainstem mechanisms for regulating bodily
functions since 1985 when he received his first RIMI grant from
the National Science Foundation.

     "When you breathe and your blood pumps, you move around
nutrients," Dr. Barraco said.  While studying how the brain
regulates blood pressure, he found that the most active area was
a small area of the lower brain, right above the spinal cord,
called the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS).  That finding opened
a whole new area of research.

     It was NSF's emphasis on basic research that allowed Dr.
Barraco to explore this unexplored area of the brain and discover
its relation to other functions in the body.  The RIMI grant was
the first funding Dr. Barraco received to determine the
implications of his research.

     "You go to NSF when you want to explore a new horizon or a
basic mechanism.  NSF is the one agency for unique, cutting-edge
research," Dr. Barraco said.  Three major agencies fund research
similar to that of Dr. Barraco: the National Institutes of Health
(NIH); the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration
(ADAMHA); and NSF.  However, NSF is the only agency that funds
basic research not related to disease.  The others fund clinical,
disease-related research that is targeted at mental health, drug
abuse, cancer, heart disease, or other health disorders.  "For
the really innovative work, NSF is the place," he said.

     The basic research Dr. Barraco performed under the NSF grant
has provided the foundation for related research funded by NIH
and ADAMHA.  "Once you have completed the basic research, there
are different directions you can explore that are more
appropriate to other agencies," he said.

     Brain research itself is a young discipline.  The first
professional organization in neuroscience, the Society for
Neurosciences, was established in 1969, two years before Dr.
Barraco graduated.  In 1985, the lower part of the brain was
mostly discounted in neurological work because it was related to
the more primitive functions of the vertebrate brain.  Taste and
smell are projected there, and the development of this part of
the brain represented the first time vertebrates connected those
senses with visceral sensations, like nausea.  One of the
strongest types of learning is taste aversionfor example, using
Mercurochrome to stop thumb sucking.  The development of the NTS,
therefore, represents an evolutionary advance for vertebrates.

     The NTS is a central integrating area for all visceral
information.  Everything inside the body, including all of the
organs, transmits signals to this part of the brain.  The
regulation of such things as sweating and heart rate is part of
the autonomic nervous system.  The NTS regulates blood sugar
level, peristaltic movement, release of hormones (peptides
including insulin for digestion) in the gut, respiration, and
blood pressure.

     "No one really understands how the brain senses and
regulates activities like the level of hormones and the metabolic
needs of tissues through blood flow changes," said Dr. Barraco.
It turns out that NTS plays a major role in doing all this.

     "The brain function that dignifies the real meaning of life
is the one that senses what your internal feelings are," he said.
"And now we know that this is located way down there just above
the spinal cord."  Dr. Barraco discovered in mapping the NTS that
this small area in the medulla has pathways that network to all
the higher brain areas associated with an individuals emotions
and thoughts.

     Dr. Barraco is also looking at another area of the brain
that is connected with the NTS, called the nucleus accumbens,
which is associated with emotional expression. "This area of the
brain is a hot area for research right now. It is the major
reinforcement area of the brain," he said. "If you stimulate this
area with an electrode, you can get any behavior you want. This
is the area where drug addiction takes place. When this area is
activated, it releases neurotransmitters that transmit great
pleasure. It is in charge of your reward drive, and it is all
connected through the NTS."

     According to Dr. Barraco, his study of NTS provides an
entirely different way of looking at consciousness and brain
function, perhaps forming the basis for a whole new strategy in
the study of mental illness and consciousness, performance, brain
function, and memory.

     At the time Dr. Barraco received his degree, only half a
dozen neurotransmitters were charted.  "Now we know the brain has
a vast chemical vocabulary of at least 500 substances including
neuromodulators. Every known neurological substance we know is
found in the NTS.  The NTS can communicate with every major area
of the brain, something that even the higher brain doesn't do,"
he said.

     "In America the great tradition in brain science formerly
belonged to psychologists and their research on memory.  Brain
research is a discipline only a quarter of a century old," Dr.
Barraco said.

     The understanding that a complex vocabulary of communication
substances exists in the brainsuch as endorphins that activate
during long-distance runsis a relatively new finding.  In fact,
the number of known substances that the brain uses for
communication has jumped from in the twenties to the hundreds in
the last five or six years, Dr. Barraco explained.

     Dr. Barraco is currently editing a first-of-its kind book on
the NTS, with contributions from international scientists who are
also investigating this area of the brain.  The book is a direct
result of research spurred by Dr. Barraco's second RIMI grant.
Dr. Barraco also has written a histological atlas of the NTS
portion of the rat brain, thereby creating the first reference
work on the subject to stimulate future research.

     With his first RIMI grant, Dr. Barraco established his
laboratory, with subsequent funding directed toward the creation
of advanced microinjection techniques.  This high-tech procedure
was developed under NSF funding at Wayne State University by Dr.
Richard Campbell.  Dr. Campbell was one of the few African
Americans in the nation to earn a doctorate in neuroscience.

     Using RIMI program support that began in 1985, Wayne State
University has established powerful and sophisticated surgical,
neurophysiological, and neuropharmacological methods for
examining brainstem regulatory functions.  These methods now
serve as an important resource in the university community for
faculty research collaboration and student training.  Many
university staff have been trained in microinjection and surgical
techniques.

     Since 1989, with the aid of two RIMI grants, Wayne State has
graduated two Ph.D. students, one of whom is a minority; two
masters students, one of whom is a minority; and four
baccalaureate students, all of whom are minorities.  Students in
the laboratory complete an apprenticeship and are matched by
interest with faculty mentors.  Dr. Barraco works with five
faculty members.  The RIMI program provides for the funding of
one graduate student and one postdoctoral student.

     Dr. Barraco has trained eight Ph.D.s who are now teaching
around the country, as well as three graduate students.  "I not
only teach my students how to think and reason in science, but
also share with them my feelings on ethics and morality in
science," he said.

     For over two decades, Dr. Barraco has had a strong
commitment to minority student education.  He serves as the
Program Director of the ADAMHA Minority Access to Research
Careers (MARC) program, an honors undergraduate training program
at Wayne State University.  "So I'm growing students at the
undergraduate level in brain research," he said.  He places
students with faculty around the university who are performing
brain research and uses ADAMHA funds to provide stipends of
$6,700 per year plus full tuition for selected students.

     Another important part of Dr. Barraco's life is developing a
network of people concerned with the education of
underrepresented minorities and women from high schools and
colleges, as well as graduate and postgraduate students and
faculty members.

     "I see it as a national security issue," he said.  "The
largest pool of human power in the next century will come from
women and minorities.  We have to train women and minority
scientists for careers in science and engineering to provide the
scientists for the next century.  It's imperative."

The Minority Research Centers of Excellence (MRCE) program seeks
to increase the number of minorities in science and engineering
by making substantial resources available to upgrade the
capabilities of the strongest and most research-productive
minority institutions.  This funding provides increased
opportunities for minority faculty and students to engage in
research, and supports the initial phase of establishing the
Centers.  The program also enables these institutions to use
their resources and research to increase the effectiveness of
related science and engineering activities for other institutions
in their regions.

The MRCE program was initiated in 1987 to encourage institutions
that have previously received funding through Research
Improvement in Minority Institutions (RIMI) and Minority Research
Initiation (MRI) program grants.  Criteria for selection include
the institution's ability to attract teams of experts and proof
of progress in establishing a research infrastructure with other
institutions.

Universities are required to have a 50 percent minority student
population with graduate programs in science and engineering.
Awards provide up to $1 million for up to five years.   The
National Science Foundation's (NSF) Centers of Excellence model
has been replicated by several other government-funded science
programs.

All of the Minority Research Centers of Excellence are featured
in this publication because meeting the requirements to establish
an MRCE indicates that the institution has proved itself as a
model program.

Figure 9 illustrates the number of students participating in the
MRCE program and the number of research papers produced from 1987
to 1991.  MRCE student participants increased from approximately
50 in 1987 to more than 300 in 1991.  Concurrently, publications
in referred journals by faculty increased from approximately 10
to more than 200 in the same time period.  Figure 10 shows the
geographic distribution of the eight MRCEs.

Figure 9:__National Science Foundation
Minority Research Centers of Excellence

Figure 10:__Geographic Distribution of Research Centers of
Excellence

Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University

Scientists at the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University
(AAMU) Minority Research Center of Excellence (MRCE) for the
study of Nonlinear Optics and Optical Materials have taken the
high road in their investigation...all the way into outer space.
Since AAMU was awarded an MRCE grant in 1988, it has increased
the number of its laboratories from four to twelve.

Investigators at AAMU are performing research in quantum optics
and in the preparation of crystal materials for optical and
electronic systems.  Studies include the growth of bulk crystals
of semiconductors and optically active materials from solution.
These crystals have been characterized and growth models have
been developed, to advance the state of crystal research and
further their application to products that enhance our daily
lives.

Four of the dozen laboratories at the Center are dedicated to
growing various types of crystals, with the remaining eight
engaged in optics and laser research.  The crystal materials used
in the optics of laser systems are now finding wide application
in manufacturing and biomedical fields.

Accomplishments by the faculty in the area of crystal growth
include a collaboration with the University of Wisconsin at
Madison and the University of Alabama at Huntsville in the growth
of superconducting crystals.  The results of this joint research
were carried in the Journal of Crystal Growth.

In certain experiments, it is fair to say that the Centers
research is out of this world!  That is certainly the case when
you consider the exciting work carried aboard U.S. space shuttle
missions.  In one experiment in January 1992, a solution growth
of triglycine sulfate (TGS) crystal was flown aboard the
International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-1) into Earth orbit on
board the STS-42 space shuttle mission.

X-ray inspection of crystals manufactured in space indicate
better homogeneity and fewer defects than their Earth-made
counterparts.  Infrared detectors are sensitive to thermal
conditions.  These crystals, therefore, are useful in detecting
forest fires from spacean important commercial application for
AAMUs research.  The AAMU crystal work may also be applied to
maintaining strict temperature controls on the International
Space Station Freedom, scheduled to be circling Earth at decades
end.

Dr. Ravindri Lal developed a new process for growing TGS crystals
in space, which greatly increased the quality of the crystal
compared with crystals grown on Earth.  Data accumulated from the
shuttle research mission are helping scientists to understand how
fluids behave in the low-gravity environment of outer space.

Alabama's MRCE has established novel collaborations between the
Center and industry.  "The participation of industry is very
critical," said Dr. Lal.

Accomplishments by the faculty in the area of crystal growth
include collaborations with the University of Wisconsin at
Madison, the University of Alabama at Huntsville, and the
University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in the growth of
superconducting and mixed organic crystals.  The result of this
joint research was carried in the pages of the Journal of Crystal
Growth and Journal of Applied Physics.

The faculty members have perfected certain photorefractive
crystals grown by Czochralski technique.  Using this method,
Center scientists have been able to grow industrial-quality
barium titanate and bismuth silicon oxide crystals.  Barium
titanate is difficult to buy commercially, with very limited
sources for obtaining the crystal material.  A small crystal of
five cubic millimeters costs about $4,000, and a nine or ten
cubic millimeter crystal costs about $10,000.  Striving for
perfection in the quality of these crystals means a number of
trial tests are needed.  "Perfection in the crystals is one of
the main characteristics that we attempt," said Dr.
Venkateswarlu, Associate Director for Research.  Both of these
crystals are very useful in signal processing and for optical
phase conjugation in lasers.

The Center has a strong partnership with Hughes Electro-Optics
Data and the System Group, which is also working in optical
crystals.  The Center and Hughes have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding research agreement that involves an exchange of
students, faculty, and Hughes experts.  In addition, Hughes
recruits students for summer research experiences. "It also has
resulted in some valuable research equipment transferred from the
corporation to AAMU," said Dr. Jeanette Jones, Executive Director
of the Center and Vice President of Research and Development.

"This is a benefit that not only helps the department of physics,
but benefits the whole university.  As a result of the work that
we're doing in physics, which was enhanced by the NSF funding, we
have experienced a great deal of benefit throughout the
university.  It has been a catalyst for us."

"A primary example of the collaboration we are establishing is
our arrangement with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC)
Space Science Laboratory," said Dr. Alton Williams,  the Center's
Assistant Director for Research.

Sheila Nash Stevenson, a graduate student at the Center, is being
supported by MSFC in her dissertation research.  She is an MSFC
employee and was awarded $100,000 by MSFC for equipment support.

The Center also collaborates with EDO/Barnes Engineering Division
of Connecticut, a leading supplier of infrared detectors.
Fabricating detectors requires multimillion dollar
establishments, which are not available in Alabama at the moment.
AAMU also has alliances with several other groups including AT&T
Bell Labs, Litton Airtron, Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  Joint activities
with these groups have strengthened the new Ph.D. program in
Nonlinear Optics and Optical Materials.  The first two Ph.D.
students graduated in May 1991.

NSF funding has enabled the university to expand the number of
graduate students from 14 to 42 and to increase its physics
faculty from 9 to 22.  In addition, the number of minority
students in the program has grown from 6 to 18.  NSF funding also
enabled the university to augment and focus its research agenda
in materials science.  Much of the Center's funding now received
from collaborative efforts with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army,
Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), and others is a result of the initial
support provided by NSF through RIMI and the MRCE Center.

The Center is also working to increase the number of minority
students in the science pipeline through an outreach program for
4th and 5th grade students.  One two-week outreach program
emphasizes science, chemistry, biology, physics, math, English,
computer science, and career exploration.  The Center also
supports a similar five-week program for students in grades 9-12.
In addition, a six-week research apprenticeship program for
grades 10-12 and college freshmen and sophomores has been
established.  In this program, students are assigned mentors and
are tasked to work on a research project over the summer months.

"Since starting, we have served about 585 students," said Dr.
Jerry Shipman, Associate Director for Center Outreach.  "Our
follow-up on these students has revealed that 100 percent
graduated from high school and 96 percent attended college: 50
percent majored in scientific disciplines, 34 percent are
undecided, and the remainder selected nonscientific areas."

Students who graduated from AAMU are well prepared for science
careers.  One student recently received a postdoctoral fellowship
from the National Research Council and is now working for NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center.  "One of the distinctive things
about students who graduate from AAMU and have worked in the
department is that they learn how to write research grants," said
Dr. Jeanette Jones.  For example, the very first physics Ph.D.
student from AAMU submitted a proposal to NASA that resulted in a
$1.5 million grant for five years.

"I think there are very few institutions who have graduates that
are capable, in their first year out of school, of writing a
proposal to attract funding at that level," said Dr. Jones.

City College of New York

"Our biggest accomplishment is the first rate science we do here.
We're exploring the same problems as majority institutions, doing
some of the same level of work as places like Berkeley," said Dr.
Daniel L. Akins, Director of the Center for Analysis of
Structures and Interfaces (CASI) at the City College of New York
(CCNY).

The way Dr. Akins sees it, the MRCE offers an opportunity to show
that minorities can make a contribution to the nation, and CASI's
students are trying to win as a team.  Everyone contributes.

The aim of the MRCE program at CCNY is not so much to develop a
few stars as to move a broad number of students through the
process. "In a few years we plan to have all of them making a
contribution," said Dr. Akins. "Their success is a group success.
They meet and share experiences and try to help each other out.
They network and bring perspectives to each other."

CCNY has a long history of helping newcomers contribute to the
American scene, beginning with immigrants, and the New York City
area provides a unique group of students to the university as
well. Dr. Akins feels CCNY's student population represents the
wave of the future, a melting pot of nationalities40 percent
African American, 30 percent Hispanic, 13 percent Asian, and 17
percent others.  "We're extracting the best talents from this
population," Dr. Akins proudly said.

In addition to being Director of the MRCE, Dr. Akins is Chairman
of the National Alliance of Research Centers of Excellence
(NARCE), an organization in which students meet annually to share
problems and knowledge gained from research experiences. "We
represent a unique capability," said Dr. Akins. At first, he was
surprised at the great desire and enormous range of skills
evidenced in the students. "There is a pool of talent there to be
tapped, but ways to tap into that talent are limited," he said.
Major universities would have to do something special to reach
out to minorities and they are not necessarily able or willing to
do this. "We are trying to develop pathways for individuals to
develop themselves."

In 1991, CCNY graduated two minority Ph.D.s in chemical and
electrical engineering.  In 1992, CCNY expects to graduate 14
students in scientific disciplines from laser physics to applied
engineering.  "Those students would not be in the pipeline if not
for the Center," said Dr. Akins.  "Only three or four might have
planned to do Ph.D. work.  The rest would not have thought about
getting a Ph.D. in science because of barriers in terms of family
or money.  The Center has made it doable" through the research
stipends provided, Dr. Akins stressed.

CCNY's undergraduate program, supported under CASI, is even more
ambitious than its graduate program.  In the former, there are 20
undergraduates "rubbing shoulders" with researchers who can
"stand shoulder to shoulder with any faculty in the country,"
said Dr. Akins.

The students also receive support outside the classroom. CCNY has
been very successful at placing students in industrial
laboratories over the summer. For example, in 1991 students
received industrial internships at the Motorola, Bell
Communications Research, Sony, Hughes, and Timken corporations.

The numbers of participants can be attributed, in part, to the
Center's outreach efforts. The philosophy is simple: talk to
people and spread the word about the Center.  Center staff
regularly speak to local high schools and often meet with the
parents of students on campus.

The MRCE project has also made a difference to the university in
many ways.  As the largest funded program at CCNY, it was a
management challenge Dr. Akins couldn't refuse. At first he found
a prevailing view that minorities could not handle such a large
undertaking.

"That was unacceptable to me," said Dr. Akins. "I've accepted
challenges all my life, and I wanted to show that it could be
done."   A competitive individual, he likes taking on things that
others call impossible. Operating the MRCE "in a competent,
efficient manner is a feat," said Dr. Akins.  He showed it could
be done, and his success has resulted in other minorities
assuming the reins in other programs on campus.

One of the advantages of the National Science Foundations MRCE
program is the flexibility afforded by Center-level funding.  One
thing the Center can do is respond quickly to new opportunities.
Through seed money, the Center can support a project that has not
been formally approved for funding. Subprojects can be managed
because of the flexibility. "We take advantage of that kind of
discovery activity to develop new proposals," said Dr. Akins. It
allows the researcher to pursue some ideas or investigate trails
that might open up new research arenas.

Dr. Akins is conducting one of the major projects at CASI. His
research group is studying sensitized processes at semiconductor
interfaces using laser scattering techniques or spectroscopy.
Research could ultimately lead to new film techniques that may
increase the speed at which information can travel in composite
integrated circuits.

"We're breaking new ground every day," said Dr. Akins. With
original research, "every step is unknown.  Sometimes you find
solid results; other times you step on quicksand."

Dr. Akins said three new spectroscopy techniques have been
integrated into his research program.   They are Fourier
Transform Raman (FT-Raman), coherent anti-Strokes Raman
scattering (CARS), and picosecond Raman spectroscopies.  FT-Raman
is used for observing vibrational modes of aggregated cyanide
dyes and other important molecules.  The new techniques for
characterizing systems allow researchers to see details they
could not see before.  It is hoped that CARS spectroscopy will
enhance signal intensities.  Picosecond Raman spectroscopy allows
measurements of electron-transfer rates at semiconductor
interfaces.

Clark Atlanta University

Do science and soccer have something in common?  Dr. Alfred
Msezane and Dr. Carlos Handy of Clark Atlanta Universitys
Minority Research Center of Excellence  believe that some of the
same principles used to coach soccer will stimulate and excite
students about science by converting athletic competitiveness
into intellectual competitiveness.  They contend that seeing
their names in print and knowing that scientific research can
open doors will inspire students to pursue research careers.

The co-directors of the MRCE have coached soccer teams together.
They took disadvantaged youth, taught them the game, brought
cohesion to their teamwork, honed their competitiveness, and made
them winners.

Dr. Msezane stresses the importance of countering students fear
of failure: "Students need to be allowed to make errors.  When
you experiment in physics, if you fail, you try again."

Over the years, Dr. Msezane and Dr. Handy have been able to share
their expertise in physics with minority students through the
assistance of NSF's RIMI grants as well as funding from the U.S.
Department of Energy and the Office of Naval Research.  The MRCE
grant has permitted them to expand their program to encompass
more students in their "environment of excellence."

Their MRCEthe Center for Theoretical Studies of Physical
Systemsis consolidating and expanding research capabilities in
physics.  Research at the Center is conducted through dynamic
interdisciplinary research clusters in (1) atomic and molecular
theory, (2) quantum few/many body problems, and (3) mathematical
physics/applied mathematics.  The clusters will strengthen and
expand ties with several national and international scientific
institutions.

Led by principal investigators or group leaders, each cluster
involves researchers who are members of other clusters as well as
visiting scientists, research associates, graduate and
undergraduate students, and high school students.

The MRCE program sponsored two parallel outreach programs
involving 48 students in the summer of 1992.  The first is an
"open door" program involving Atlanta area students from grades
8-12.  In 1992, the Center's inaugural year, 34 high school
students participated in the open-door program, and most were
highly motivated, reports Dr. Msezane.  The Center exposes them
to college-level experiments in physics and the rudiments of
calculus.  While many students are uncertain about their future
careers, a number of the participants are considering a career in
the sciences as a result of their involvement in Center programs.

A key ingredient of the Center's success is that calculus is
taught not only from the chalkboard, but also by involving
students in hands-on experiments using computers.  This permits
students to see that research and calculus have immediate and
practical applications.

The second parallel component of the program is the High School
Summer Research Apprentices Program.  In 1992, 15 students,
primarily women, were selected to participate.  This program has
proven extraordinarily successful.  Matched with mentors,
participants work on challenging research projects.  They are
introduced to the whole spectrum of computer physics.  Utilizing
computers with advanced software, students study mathematics,
atomic and molecular properties, quantum mechanics, computer
graphics, condensed matter, and atmospheric physics.

In the future, Dr. Msezane and Dr. Handy plan to introduce
students to supercomputers such as the Cray and parallel
processors.  The co-directors explain: "They are an integral part
of Physical Science research.  Comprehensive workshops will
permit students to advance their knowledge of such computers and
assist them in understanding the potential of a research career."

NSF funding for the Center has also assisted Dr. Msezane and Dr.
Handy in leveraging funds from other sources.  Additional support
for the program has come from the Office of Naval Research, the
U. S. Department of Energy, IBM, and Digital Equipment
Corporation.  Since most of the grant funds are utilized to
support students, the Center seeks additional assistance from the
private sector to implement innovative programs.  For example, a
Mobile Physics Demonstration Laboratory is planned that will
visit local schools for several days, allowing students to view a
panorama of exciting experiments that cannot be duplicated easily
by public schools.

The Center also plans to identify experiments that can be placed
within area schools for extended periods of time.  Clark Atlanta
University professors will visit the schools to offer guidance.
Both projects, however, require a truck that can house and
transport the experiments.  Local private sector support is being
sought.

Unlike other grants and contracts that require traditional
methods, the NSF grant allows Center staff to experiment with
innovative approaches to problems in science education.  This
freedom makes winners of students and schools, permits healthy
competition, motivates students, and frees scientists to generate
and implement ideas.  The co-directors' enthusiasm for scientific
research and the teaching of students is evident: "Problems
excite us, and we love competition."

Clark Atlanta University is expanding its faculty with talented
researchers from throughout the country and other continents.
For example, Dr. Romain Murenzi, a wavelet analysis expert, and
Dr. Xiao-Qian Wang, a superb researcher in density functional
theory/molecular dynamics, will join the Center in the fall.  Dr.
Murenzi, originally from Ruanda, is currently at Saclay, France,
while Dr. Wang, a native of China, is at the University of
Minnesota.

Through the MRCE grant, the Center has built a sophisticated
computing facility at Clark Atlanta University.  The computers
were acquired through support from IBM, Digital Equipment
Corporation, and the Pittsburgh Supercomputer Facility.  The MRCE
co-sponsored a workshop on the Clark Atlanta campus in April 1992
entitled "Electron-Ion Collisions."  The U. S. Department of
Energy's Lawrence Livermore Laboratory co-sponsored the event.
Support also came from IBM, Digital Equipment Corporation, the
Office of Naval Research, and other branches of the Department of
Energy.  Approximately 40 researchers from the United States and
Europe participated in the workshop.

"One of the main goals of the MRCE is to create an environment of
excellence where students are encouraged to pursue scientific
challenges and be competitive with the best in their field,"
explained Dr. Handy.  To this end, a Chautauqua Course in Applied
Mathematics was held in March for Center students and professors.
Georgia Institute of Technology professors and a professor from
the University of Texas at Arlington participated as speakers.

The External Advisory Board members of the MRCE come from such
institutions as The American Physical Society, The American
Association of Physics Teachers, Stanford University, Georgia
Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories,
The University of Waterloo, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
These members will strongly enhance coupling and interaction of
the Center with major research universities and
national/international laboratories and impact the training of
students in the physical and mathematical sciences.

From supercomputer workshops to a laboratory on wheels, the
various Clark Atlanta University MRCE programs herald a great
future in attracting minority students to science and
engineering.

Hampton University

The Minority Research Centers of Excellence Nuclear/High Energy
Physics Research Center of Excellence (NuHEP) at Hampton
University is the first program of its quality in nuclear and
high-energy physics at a Historically Black University.
Beginning in September 1992, Hampton will be the first minority
institution in Virginia to offer a doctoral program in physics.

Hampton is taking advantage of a collaboration with a high-energy
and nuclear physics facility near the campus to enhance the
capabilities of its physics department.  For the past nine years,
Hampton has taken part in the development of the Continuous
Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) operated for the U. S.
Department of Energy (DOE) by the Southeastern Universities
Research Association (SURA).

Dr. Warren W. Buck is Director of the MRCE and Interim Chairman
for the Department of Physics.  He sees the accelerator as an
opportunity to augment important work in physics by the
department and its faculty.  More than eight years ago, Dr. Buck
began his Hampton career teaching courses related to physics and
began building a relationship of mutual support between
administrators and researchers.

Hampton's faculty hold joint research positions at CEBAF and
collaborate with many other universities.  Close collaborations
are maintained with Morehouse College, Virginia State University,
Jackson State University, The College of William and Mary,
Michigan State University, Yale University, University of
Houston, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
University, and Old Dominion University.  Over the next two
years, Hampton will be refurbishing and managing a 60-ton
spectrometer that will be used in CEBAF experiments.  Technicians
and engineers will be required to maintain the spectrometer.

The CEBAF facility provides opportunities to conduct experimental
and theoretical physics research.  Experimental work is focused
on developing new detectors and specialized measuring
instruments. Hampton has been approved for experiments in
hypernuclear physics and spectroscopy, which will get underway in
the next two years.  Theoretical work includes relativistic
models of mesons and electromagnetic structure using quantum
electrodynamics (QED) and quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

"We have African American students involved in world-class
science through the MRCE," said Dr. Buck.  Of the 27 graduate
students in the department, 30 percent are African American and
20 percent are women.  In the undergraduate population, 100
percent of the students are African American.  Through the
physics department's collaboration with CEBAF, "we can introduce
students to forefront type physics that traditionally has not
involved a large percentage of the minority community," he said.
"It is opening up research physics to minorities and the rest of
the world, making highways to success that people can walk on."

Dr. Buck finds that his students are in great demand.  The
forecast for January 1993 is that all available students will be
recruited for summer internships.  In spring 1992, the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) approached NuHEP
about a possible collaboration.  Additionally, one Hampton-area
university is prepared to provide full tuition for physics
students, provided they teach upon completing their degree.

Like many of the other MRCE directors, Dr. Buck enjoys taking on
pioneering projects. "There are always many problems when you are
doing something new that people have not seen before."  From his
experience sailing the Atlantic for three years, he knows what it
is like to go up against a hurricane.  "Other problems are small
by comparison," he explains.  Following his sailing epoch, he
charted a new course for himself by teaching physics.  "I wanted
to build something that cannot be torn down very easily."

Dr. Buck publishes in the Physics Review, which is one of the top
refereed journals in his field.  He collaborates with colleagues
at many other physics facilities and has earned the Outstanding
Service Award from the User's Group of CEBAF.  Among numerous
awards, he received an Honorary Superior Accomplishment Award
from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA/Langley Research Center for his significant contributions to
the development of practical shield designs for countering
radiation on human space flights.

As a new challenge, Dr. Buck is conveying to others a sense of
mission.  One area in which he is applying this philosophy is the
outreach program.  "What we want to do is expose students to
physics and get them excited about the science," he said.  He
established the Undergraduate Institute in Physics (UnIPhy)
summer program, with support from the U. S. Department of Energy
to pay for student research at national laboratories.  In
addition to giving opportunities at laboratories, the program
provides students from schools without physics courses the
opportunity to spend a semester at Hampton to supplement their
studies.

Dr. Buck would like to reach students from elementary school
through graduate school.  Recently, the Center hired an outreach
liaison to develop a precollege component that initially will
consist of elementary school activities.  Also, the liaison will
identify other science education efforts in the community.  "For
example, there are numerous programs for middle school students
in the Hampton area.  So we want to find out what they're doing,
and to avoid competition.  We want to make the community
stronger," said Dr. Buck.  "That's the idea.  Because if we
compete with each other, we're lost.  So our goal is to try to
work together and to work together continuously."

Howard University

Sophisticated aircraft avionics and jet turbine engine control
electronics that operate at high temperatures are some of the
applications for the electronic materials on the research agenda
of Howard University's Materials Science Research Center of
Excellence (MSRCE).

According to Dr. Michael Spencer, Director of the Center, only a
few people in the nation are studying many of the materials now
under analysis at the university.  "In materials work, we are
often trying to find out basic things about how to grow materials
and what properties these materials have," said Dr. Spencer.
Casting an eye toward how the research will be applied, the
Center Director senses a bright future.  "The applications of our
work will be exploited maybe 5 or 10 years down the road," he
said.

The Center has been able to fabricate new kinds of electronic
materials for and create demonstration devices of material
systems previously unavailable.  Compound semiconductors made of
gallium arsenide, straight-layer super lattices of indium
arsenide, and gallium arsenic are among the materials being
analyzed.  To predict the performance of these materials, the
Center uses computer simulation technology.

Dr. Spencer was a Minority Research Initiative (MRI) grant
recipient in 1981 and a Presidential Young Investigator awardee
in 1985.  In 1987 he became the Director of the MSRCE.  He is
quick to point out that the MRI grant facilitated the strong
research programs now under way.  Following that award, Spencer
won a Research Improvement in Minority Institutions grant. "In
some ways the MRCE was almost the next logical step," he said.
"As you continue to grow in research, and your group begins to
growand if you are an experimentalistyou have to begin to think
about large funding.  The Center-funding mode is really the only
way to do it."

"One of the nicest things that can happen when you are trying to
do research is to have stable funding for a given period of
time," said Dr. Spencer.  "The initial center-funding mode offers
at least three years of funding and potentially five.  With that
kind of baseline stability, it becomes possible to do many things
that are impossible without stable funding.  One of the more
attractive features of some of the NSF programs, like the
Presidential Young Investigator program, is that it is a
five-year funding program.  It is an individual program and the
levels of funding are nowhere near center levels but,
nevertheless, the five years means that you can plan."

There are trade-offs, Dr. Spencer continued, with the move into
large-scale funding.  "The grant administration becomes more
complicated.  As you begin to do research with sophisticated
equipment, the equipment then demands technician support as well
as other administrative support, which are large dollar items.
People are very costly.  And with people you really don't want to
be in the position of wondering where their money is going to
come from every year," he said.

"If you are going into a research arena, you are changing
direction from something else, in this case pure teaching,"
emphasized Dr. Spencer.  The MSRCE's contribution to increasing
minority participation in the sciences and engineering is a
recognized benefit.  The university clearly sees the value of
maintaining the vitality of the Center, but there is always the
fundamental problem of resource allocation.  Any organization
that is growing requires the allocation of more resources from
the limited amount available at the university, Dr. Spencer
stressed.

Between the RIMI grant and the MRCE grant, Howard University was
able to purchase three "reactors," devices for furthering their
materials research: a molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) reactor for
gallium arsenide, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor for
aluminum nitride, and a sublimation or bulk reactor for silicon
carbonide.  The CVD reactor was specifically designed for
deposition of wideband gap silicon carbide. The MBE reactor was
purchased under the previous RIMI grant for thin films, and the
bulk reactor was acquired for bulk films.  These were major
devices directed at the wideband materials research.  The MBE
reactor has been used a great deal for putting down films at the
atomic level.  The atomic level is verified by these
characterization techniques.

Dr. Spencer and his colleagues have worked hard to focus the
research to ensure a synergy among projects.  The Center is
developing themes in its research work and in the work it does in
collaboration with industry and other universities.

The Center has established a number of collaborations.  The most
important is a three-year research agreement with Digital
Equipment Corporation (DEC) on integrated optical receivers that
involves computer chip-to-chip communication.  The collaboration
was engineered by a former Howard student and has been helpful
because it "allows you to get a real sense of what industry is
focused on," said Dr. Spencer. In addition, DEC will donate, over
the course of three years, $300,000 worth of equipment to the
Center.

The Center also collaborated with the Naval Research Laboratory
(NRL), growing films of gallium arsenide for NRL to characterize.
Dr. Spencer reported that the research produced some
unanticipated results.  In the course of the work, researchers
discovered a self-interstitial defecta new kind of defect in
semiconductor materials.  The collaboration proved highly
productive in terms of the number of research papers published.

"The most important thing our research provided is that it showed
people what big research can look like at Howard.  Once people
could see our work in operation it was easy enough to duplicate
the effort," said Dr. Spencer.  Following the initial grant, the
number of research applications in other departments at the
university has increased.

The MSRCE was the first large research center that was not part
of the medical school at Howard University.  Dr. Spencer noted
that the MSRCE grant helped provide the impetus for the
university to establish the Office of Research Administration,
which did not exist prior to the award.

Most recently, Howard University has developed close ties with
the former Soviet Union.  Through a cooperative exchange program,
Howard University researchers and Russian scientists have
collaborated on research involving wideband semiconductors.

The grant also pays stipends for 25 graduate student researchers.
At Howard, the stipend pays for tuition plus about $800 per
month.  Graduate students receive training from laboratory
technicians in the use of the lab equipment necessary for the
research.  Each student has a faculty advisor to assist with
thesis work.  Undergraduates work on small projects in the
laboratory for course credits.

The Center and the graduate students are highly visible in the
community, receiving coverage in such magazines as Ebony and
Black Enterprise.

The most impressive accomplishment of the Center, according to
Dr. Spencer, was graduating ten students in science and
engineering in the 1991-1992 academic year alone.  Howard
University conferred seven masters degrees and three doctoral
degrees to MSRCE studentsalmost double the number in 1990-1991.
"Some of these students have already chosen academic careers
where they will be positively influencing others," said Dr.
Spencer.

Meharry Medical College

National Science Foundation funding to establish the Minority
Research Center of Excellence at Meharry Medical College in
Nashville, Tennessee, has strengthened the institutions overall
research structure.  The funding has enabled the college to
obtain significant research grants from other agencies, including
the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense,
the Navy, and the Army, explained Dr. George C. Hill, Interim
Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Research, as well as Program
Director of the MRCE program.

According to Dr. Hill, the MRCE grant has accomplished two
things. It has fostered interdisciplinary research, bringing
together professors from various departments to communicate and
carry out joint research.  Meharry uses the MRCE funding to offer
seed grants of $8,000 to $10,000, giving the faculty a chance to
work together using limited funds. If the idea turns out to be a
fertile area for research, they can then apply for a larger
grant. Last year, ten applications for grants were submitted to
government agencies from individuals who had received seed
grants, and seven were funded.  "Department collaborations are
being fostered and the work is across disciplines," said Dr.
Hill.  "That's the exciting direction things are going."

Another benefit of the grant that never ceases to amaze Dr. Hill
is how the funding attracts students to the program.  "That's the
exciting part," said Dr. Hill.  Students from Historically Black
Colleges work in the laboratories with stipends from the MRCE
grant.

NSF has supported Meharry through a number of RIMI grants as well
as the MRCE grant since Dr. Hill's arrival at Meharry in 1983.
Within his first two years at Meharry, he was awarded a RIMI
grant to perform the technology research applied to African
trypanosomes.  His research was directed toward applying the
technology to the molecular biology of parasites, a subject that
resulted in the publication of two technical papers authored by
Dr. Hill and his colleagues.  As part of his NSF-funded work, Dr.
Hill and his colleagues initiated a course on recombinant DNA
technology designed for graduate students and faculty.

Following the award of Dr. Hill's grant, other departments at
Meharry that offer graduate programs have been successful in
obtaining a total of seven additional RIMI grants.

NSF support has permitted the Center to purchase three critical
pieces of equipment: an oligonucleotide synthesizer, a peptide
synthesizer, and a protein sequencer.  This equipment is in an
institutional Molecular Biology Core Facility but is available to
all faculty, and it allows Meharry researchers to synthesize
nucleotide sequences or sequence segments of DNA or protein.
Students use the core facility for their research.  The Center
has 22 faculty members from different departments, the qualifying
criteria being an expressed interest in membrane biology.  In
addition to the five graduate departmentsBiomedical Sciences,
Microbiology, Pharmacology, Physiology, and
Biochemistryprofessors at the Center also represent pediatrics
and anatomy.

"The Center's interests are quite broad, with a focus on membrane
biology, including cloning genes for membrane proteins,
biochemical work looking at the structure of membranes and
receptors, and the role of biological membranes in regulating
cell function," said Dr. Hill.  "One of our researchers, a
physical biochemist, is studying synthetic membranes and looking
in detail at how they function," he said.  Dr. Hill is looking at
the function of lipid bilayers and examining their biophysical
properties.

The equipment Meharry has been able to purchase with MRCE funds
is a valuable teaching tool for inquiring students, and it is
particularly useful for students in Meharry's strong graduate
training program.  Currently, 60 students are in the graduate
program which include M.D./Ph.D. and D.D.S./Ph.D programs.  The
MRCE grant supports five research stipends.  Meharry's summer
recombinant DNA technology course cost the Center $6,000 and is
one of the best training courses anywhere, according to Dr. Hill.
"Over the summer months, faculty and students carry out projects
involving the cloning and sequencing of genes.  Students come to
this institution for such training from majority institutions
like Vanderbilt.  Thats the reverse of standard thinking," he
proudly emphasized.

"The students make it all worthwhile," said Dr. Hill. "We measure
our success in terms of the number of students that enter science
careers," he said.  In 1992, Meharry graduated eight students
with biomedical sciences doctoral degrees, including five
minority students.  As Dean, Dr. Hill had the pleasure of handing
some of his former students their diplomas.  "That was so
exciting," he said.  "Working with students and motivating them
is the raison d'etre."

Dr. Hill's interest in students extends to reaching out to them
before they enter college.  Earlier is better for motivating
students, as far as he is concerned.  "High school is really too
late," he said.  Dr. Hill and his staff enjoy interacting with
students and visiting local schools, making good use of a
specially prepared video by the MRCE on science careers.
Participating faculty in the outreach effort also visit magnet
high schools.  Over the summer months, students from both high
school and middle school work with faculty in the Centers
laboratory.  "Our outreach program has been evaluated as
excellent and Mr. Fred Hamilton, Associate Project Director, is
responsible for that," added Dr. Hill.

Opportunities for students after graduation are provided through
collaborations with other universities and industry.  One of
those collaborations is with the Merck Foundation, a
pharmaceutical company with strong ties to international health.
Meharry has been receiving support from Merck for the last five
years.  In addition, students work at Merck during the summer.
The relationship between Merck and Meharry has been of benefit to
several students in furthering their involvement in innovative
research, as well as providing them with important contacts and
possible employment opportunities.  In addition, the Historically
Black Research Universities Foundation recently chose to support
Meharry from among seven other Historically Black Research
institutions.

As one of NSF's first two MRCEs to be established, Meharry
Medical College stands as a model program in attracting students
into science, engineering, and mathematics careers.

University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez

The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) at Mayaguez has developed six
components in its Center for Tropical Caribbean Research.  The
first is an outreach program.  The other five are the study of
tropical forests, natural hazards, natural products, terrestrial
ecology, and the geology of the Caribbean.

"Our students are awakening," said Dr. Juan G. Gonzales,
co-director of the university's Minority Research Center of
Excellence (MRCE) program and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
"We're getting students from the undergraduate programs involved
in research.  Our top students in science and engineering work
with professors over the summer.  That gives these students the
incentive to develop themselves in a particular disciplinebe it
engineering, science or something elseand continue on to
graduate school.  We want to send more students into their
professions with a Ph.D. degree. We're trying to stop leaks in
the pipeline.

"A lot of major universities in the States are taking advantage
of our good students.  More and more of our high school students
are being recruited by mainland universities.  We like that.  It
shows that through our programssummer camps, teacher training,
student training, lecturesmore students are well prepared to go
to many universities.  Yes, sometimes the mainland schools take
our best students, but that's good.  It is the contribution we
make to the nation.  We can't be egotistical.

"At the same time, our best professionals are being recruited by
U.S. agencies.  If you go to NASA, you'll find at least 250 of
our engineers working there.  Sometimes we call that a brain
drain, but still, it means that we are training our students
well.  It means the support that were getting from NSF is having
a major positive impact on our population.

"The MRCE grant has done very good things for our students," said
Dr. Gonzales.  "Their research has become very professional."
Students have been working with professors on the mitigation of
natural disasters. They simulate natural disasters, such as
hurricanes, and study ways to improve construction methods in
disaster-prone regions.  Their recommendations have been
submitted to the island government for possible inclusion in
building codes.

UPR has been working to raise the level of faculty research as
well.  About 12 years ago, the university reached a crossroads
that led to more research.  Since then, university chancellors
have more aggressively championed science, mathematics, and
engineering research.  Before the MRCE project, UPR won funding
for NSF's Experimental Project to Stimulate Competitive Research
(EPSCoR) program.  UPR previously had received a grant in 1980
for the National Science Foundation's Resource Center for Science
and Engineering (RCSE) at the San Juan campus; a branch of that
program was established at Mayaguez.

"We're getting to the point where we can develop something bigger
with a wider spectrum of action," said Dr. Gonzales.  For
example, many students are researching the development of natural
products from marine algae and other marine organisms found in
mangrove and coral reef systems.  As a result of the natural
products program, "a group of scientists are working together to
develop research to examine problems in biotechnology," he said.
"This is a good example of how a program looking into products
obtained from the ocean now turns into a more sophisticated type
of activity, in this case biotechnology."

"Our NSF-funded projects have encouraged interdisciplinary
activity in engineering, science, mathematics," said Dr.
Gonzales.  "We're getting faculty from both San Juan and Mayaguez
to work together.  That creates a wider spectrum of thinking.  We
need chemists and engineers to help understand computer models,
traditional biologists who work with different types of animals,
and modern biologists who work with DNA and genetic engineering,"
he said.  "It's a very interesting interaction of different
disciplines."

UPRs increased focus on research has improved the quality of
teaching as well.  "The research adds a certain quality to
classes," said Dr. Gonzales.  "When teachers teach from their own
information, rather than just lecturing from a textbook, they
have more effervescence."

As with most of the staff, Dr. Gonzales adds teaching to his
other duties as Assistant Director of the MRCE.  He is also in
charge of outreach.  I try to get involved with high school
teachers and kids as part of the precollege component of our
program.  We want to get to the high schools, and even the
elementary schools, to help students prepare better for college,
he said.

UPR runs 7th- through 10th-grade summer camps with intensive
mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, English, and Spanish
classes. "The idea is to give good students the tools to continue
in research programs, be it here or in the U.S.," said Dr.
Gonzales.

UPRs reputation is attracting an increasing number of
applications from locations as diverse as Canada, Spain, South
America, and Japan.  Puerto Rico is a small island about 100 by
35 miles wide. What differentiates UPR's marine science program
in the Center from mainland programs is Puerto Ricos tropical
location.  Mayaguez has the only Ph.D. program in marine sciences
in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico also boasts one of the major tropical forests in the
world, Yeunque Forest, in the eastern part of the island.
Students in the Center's terrestrial ecology program use Yeunque
as a hands-on research laboratory.

A few years ago, "we encountered a situation that turned out to
be a pleasant surprise for our terrestrial ecology students,"
said Dr. Gonzales.  The Center had a team of people studying many
aspects of the forest from its natural development to its ability
to recover from damage.  "The pleasant and unpleasant event was
Hurricane Hugo.  Everything we wanted to do in the laboratory
happened naturally.  We didn't have to simulate a disaster
because the hurricane destroyed much of the area.  So now we're
looking at how a forest recovers after a storm like Hugo.  We
simply took advantage of something that was unanticipated.  We
hadnt had a major hurricane in Puerto Rico for the last 60
years.  This one provided a very good laboratory experience."
Students measure how the amount of light on the Yeunque Forest
floor changes over time.  Now, as the forest grows back, there is
more shade on the canopy organisms.

As a result of MRCE/NSF funding, UPR has intensified its
relationships with both community and industry.  UPR's Industrial
Advisory Committee is one example. Puerto Rican industries
concentrate more on manufacturing than on research and
development.  In the collaboration, the university borrows some
of industry's highly trained personnel to teach, and in return,
provides advisory assistance.  According to Dr. Gonzales, the
collaboration works because rather than asking industry for
donations, the university participates in a true give-and-take
relationship.

One example of the working relationship between industry and UPR
involved complaints about industry releasing gases into the air.
UPR scientists found traps in the gas pipelines that allowed gas
to build up until it leaked into the atmosphere.  Industrial
engineers then found a way to address the problem.

"Because NSF funding has allowed us to improve ourselves as a
university, we've become a partner in Puerto Rico's future," Dr.
Gonzales said.

University of Texas at El Paso

In our high-tech world, materials science research plays a
crucial role in keeping American industries competitive and on
the cutting edge as the nation moves toward the 21st century.
From automotive manufacturing to producing microelectronics,
materials science research can strengthen products, improve their
resistance to wear and tear, and further boost a products
capabilities.

The National Science Foundation-funded Materials Research Center
of Excellence at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is
developing a competitive, state-of-the-art research center in
materials science.  UTEP is having a profound effect on
increasing the number of minorities and women choosing careers in
materials science.

For a glimpse of what the demographics of universities in the
Southwest may look like in the year 2000, talk to Dr. Rey
Elizondo, UTEP's Dean of the College of Science.  UTEP is the
largest majority (60 percent) Hispanic university in the United
States.   When Dr. Elizondo first joined the faculty, he saw the
potential to develop a model program for bringing minorities into
mainstream academics.

Through NSF's support, the Center provides research stipends to
many students.  That makes a tremendous difference in a
university where 65 percent of the students must work to pay for
their education. "Rather than working in fast food restaurants to
earn money, they can work at the Materials Research Center and
learn at the same time," said Dr. Elizondo.   Students are
matched with faculty mentors based on mutual research interests
and work 20 hours a week in the laboratory.

The accomplishments of the project are reflected in the quality
and quantity of research by both students and faculty. In 1991,
project faculty received 36 grants, published 93 research papers,
made 93 presentations, and applied for one patent. This year, the
project's researchers have applied for three additional patents.
Forty-eight students participated in research, comprising
thirty-six undergraduates, eleven graduates, and one postdoctoral
student.  Students were invited to make 26 presentations of their
research at national meetings. At one meeting, a UTEP student was
the only undergraduate to receive an award among sixty
participants.  Of benefit to faculty scientists, students
coauthored 14 research papers with their colleagues.  "People are
constantly surprised that our undergraduates' research is of such
high quality as to be accepted in refereed publications,' said
Dr. Elizondo.

It has been well documented that enrollments in science and
engineering have been declining nationwide.  But at UTEP, while
overall enrollment at the university has increased 3 percent,
science and engineering enrollment has increased by 6 percent.
Dr. Elizondo attributes this increase to UTEP's summer science
and engineering outreach programs with local public schools.

During the summer months, UTEP offers students in grades 7-11 a
hands-on science and engineering learning experience.  Students
attending the Summer Science Institute are invited to solve
problems in biology, chemistry, geology, math, and physics, while
the Summer Engineering Institute introduces students to careers
in engineering. In addition, the Summer Institute for Teachers
helps math and science teachers develop innovative teaching
materials.  Throughout the school year, a special Weekend Program
introduces junior high students to engineering and science
through laboratory tours and demonstrations.

These outreach programs are a significant component of the
project.  Over 800 students participated in these activities in
the summer of 1991.  The results of these efforts have already
begun to show.  "We now have bachelor's students that were
participants in the summer science and engineering institutes,"
according to Dr. Elizondo.

Dr. Elizondo believes the project serves as a useful model for
successfully reaching minority students and developing their
interest in science, engineering, and mathematics careers.

Perhaps the greatest achievement is UTEP's recent proposal to the
state of Texas to offer a Ph.D. degree in materials science.
Reaction from state officials in June 1992 was supportive,
explains Dr. Elizondo.  He is optimistic that UTEP will be
recognized for doing Ph.D.-level research in materials science.
"That could never have happened without NSF," says Dr. Elizondo.

NSF funds also supported Research Improvement in Minority
Institutions (RIMI) projects that helped UTEP acquire an electron
microprobe and a transmission scanning electron microscope.
"These were essential if we were going to succeed as a
state-of-the-art research center," said Dr. Elizondo.  With NSFs
funding, the university is developing a materials science focus,
thereby attracting additional faculty following an investment in
tenure-track positions in materials science research.  In
addition, the university has successfully matched NSF grant money
to buy needed equipment.

Dr. Elizondo has been pleasantly surprised by "the willingness of
the faculty and staff at all levels and in all departments of
science and engineeringchemistry, physics, metallurgical and
materials engineeringto work together to put forth a
multidisciplinary Ph.D. proposal in materials science."  The
departments now meet once a month to discuss information,
exchange ideas, and share problems and solutions.

UTEP has been successful in leveraging its NSF funding to
generate support from other academic institutions, national
laboratories, and industry.

UTEP has formed partnerships with five local industries that
provide research funding for Center activities.  For example,
researchers are working with a small electronics company on thin
television screen surfaces for a new type of television screen.

Another research team in the materials science laboratory
successfully completed a technology transfer project with Imaging
Science Technologies, Inc., of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Partially funded under the Federal Small Business Innovative
Research (SBIR) program, research in the MRCE laboratory led to
new developments in photodichroism (the interaction of a
substance with polarized light) that resulted in industrial
production of long-wavelength infrared detection and imaging
systems.

The Center's program to invite guest lecturers to campus recently
led to the establishment of student internships.  As a result of
a visit from the director of materials science at IBM in New
York, two project students will participate in research at this
world-renowned facility this summer.

One type of partnership that Dr. Elizondo recommends other MRCEs
might consider is collaboration with another NSF Science and
Technology (S&T) Center.  For example, at the invitation of the
University of Texas at Austin (UTA), UTEP and its S&T Center
worked out a strong partnership in which UTEP and UTA not only
exchange students but also fund student research at both
universities.

UTEP's partnerships with national laboratories also involve equal
investments on both sides.  Sandia Laboratory, for instance, has
offered equipment on its inventory list that is not actively in
use for permanent loan to UTEP faculty.  The result of this
partnership over the past two years has enabled UTEP to receive
approximately $500,000 worth of equipment.

While Sandia hopes to employ some of the outstanding minority
scientists graduating from UTEP's program, it also committed
staff and resources beforehand. "Sandia has gone out of their way
to think of ways to help our Center," said Dr. Elizondo.

Dr. Elizondo points out that many industrial and academic
organizations have expressed an interest in collaborating with
the Center because of its large number of minority science
majors.  However, he considers an ongoing relationship and a
financial commitment to be necessary components of a real
partnership.

Using the Center's state-of-the-art equipment, UTEP scientists
are recognized at the national level.  UTEP is one of only seven
universities with an advanced electron microprobe.  Its surface
characterization laboratory uses electron spectroscopy in physics
research.  The materials analysis laboratory uses a
state-of-the-art x-ray unit to determine the crystal structure of
organic compounds, metals, semiconductors, and ceramics.

One research project that received considerable publicity is a
contract with the Bank of Belgium for developing a new technology
to prevent counterfeiting.  The research focuses on the use of
special materials to print currency and legal documents that
would go blank if counterfeiters tried to duplicate them.

In chemistry, a multidisciplinary team is studying how altering
the molecular structure of a compound might create new materials
for aerospace engineering and biotechnology.  Another team is
exploring ways of slowing down or eliminating corrosion in
metals.  One application of this knowledge might be the reduction
of wear in surgical implants.  Another group of researchers is
studying silicon transition metal materials. The results of this
work may have implications for the electronics industry.

UTEP's Materials Research Center of Excellence has opened up
research avenues that will help assure the competitiveness of the
nation in the world market.  UTEP also has proven to be an
incubator for strengthening the ability of talented minority
students to actively participate in the national research arena.

Appendix A  List of EHR Minority-Targeted Projects by Program

Comprehensive Regional Centers for Minorities (CRCM)

Participating Institutions and Program Directors

Dr. Jewell P. Cobb
Access Center
703 Administration Building
California State University
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA  90032

Dr. Melvin R. Webb
Dean, College of Education
Clark Atlanta University
Atlanta, GA  30314

Dr. Ralph W. Turner
Department of Chemistry
Florida A&M University
Tallahassee, FL  32307

Dr. Eric Hamilton
Mathematical Sciences
Loyola University of Chicago
6525 North Sheridan
Chicago, IL  60626

Dr. Alfredo de los Santos
Maricopa County Community College
2411 West 14th
Tempe, AZ  85281

Ms. Gardenia Butler
MSE Center, Room 60422
20 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati, OH  45206

Ms. Melva Ware/
Dr. Harvest Collier
University of Missouri at St. Louis
8001 Natural Bridge Road
St. Louis, MO  63121

Dr. Patrick Weasel Head
308 Culbertson Hall
Montana State University
Post Office Box 128
Bozeman, MT  59717-0128

Mr. Stephen R. Cox
PATHS/PRISM
7 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Suite 700
Philadelphia, PA  19103

Dr. Manuel Gomez-Rodriquez
Resource Center for Science and Engineering
Post Office Box 23334
University of Puerto Rico
University Station
Rio Piedras, PR  00936

Dr. Steve Riter
Dean, School of Engineering
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX  79968

Mr. Gilbert Ramon
College of Science and Engineering
6900 North Loop, 1604 West
University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX  78285-0601

Alliances for Minority Participation (AMP)

Participating Institutions and Program Directors

Dr. Louis Dale
UAB Station
Department of Mathematics
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL  35294

Dr. Gary Keller
Hispanic Research Center
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ  85287-2701

Dr. Eloy Rodriguez
Developmental & Cell Biology
University of California at Irvine
Irvine, CA  92717

Dr. Richard Sullivan
Chemistry Department
Jackson State University
Jackson, MS  39217

Dr. Manuel Gomez-Rodriguez
Resource Center for Science and Engineering
University of Puerto Rico
Post Office Box 23334
University Station
Rio Piedras, PR  00936-3334

Dr. Carl Erdman
Engineering Program Office
301 WERC Building
University of Texas Engineering
Experimental Station
College Station, TX  77843-3126

Research Careers for Minority Scholars (RCMS)

Participating Institutions and Program Directors

ALABAMA
Dr. Arthur L. Bacon
Department of Biology
Talladega College
627 West Battle Street
Talladega, AL  35160

ARIZONA
Dr. Ronald L. Trosper
Department of Forestry
Northern Arizona University
P.O. Box 4098
Flagstaff, AZ  86011-4098

CALIFORNIA
Dr. Richard Olson
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Harvey Mudd College
301 East 12th Street
Claremont, CA  91711

Dr. Janet K. Benson
Lawrence Livermore National Lab
PO Box 808, L-793
Livermore, CA  94551

Dr. Morey A. Ring
Department of Chemistry
San Diego State University
5178 College Avenue
San Diego, CA  92182-19006

Dr. John Ashe
Graduate Division
University of California at Riverside
Riverside, CA  92521

Dr. Richard Attiyeh, Dean
Graduate Studies and Research
Mail Code 0003
University of California-San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA  92093

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Dr. Winston A. Anderson
Department of Zoology
Howard University
2400 Sixth Street, NW
Washington, DC  20059

GEORGIA
Dr. Isabella N. Finkelstein
Department of Biology
Clark Atlanta University
Atlanta, GA  30314

Dr. Rosalyn M. Patterson
Department of Biology
Morehouse College
830 Westview Drive, SW
Atlanta, GA  30314

Dr. Wanda Patterson
Department of Mathematics
Spelman College
350 Spelman Lane,
P.O. Box 327
Atlanta, GA  30314

ILLINOIS
Dr. Emil Jason
Department of Chemistry
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL  62026-1652

IOWA
Dr. Anna L. Pate
Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics
Iowa State University
Ames, IA  50011

LOUISIANA
Dr. A. N. Murty
Department of Physics
Grambling State University
Grambling, LA  71245

Dr. Diola Bagayoko
Department of Physics
Southern University
P.O. Box 12596
Baton Rouge, LA  70813

MARYLAND
Dr. Freeman Hrabowski
Interim President
University of Maryland,
Baltimore County
5401 Wilkens Avenue
Baltimore, MD  21228

MASSACHUSETTS
Dr. Ernie Moniz, Head
Department of Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02139

MICHIGAN
Dr. William B. Rolnick
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI  48202

MISSISSIPPI
Dr. Keith W. Johnson
Department of Physics and Atmospheric Sciences
Jackson State University
Jackson, MS  39217

Dr. Abdul K. A. Mohamed
Department of Biology
Jackson State University
1400 Lynch Street
Jackson, MS  39217

NEW JERSEY
Dr. Bradley W. Dickinson
Department of Electrical Engineering
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ  08544-5263

NEW MEXICO
Dr. Mark C. Bauer
Department of Mathematics
Navajo Community College
P.O. Box 580
Shiprock, NM  87420

NEW YORK
Dr. Daniel L. Akins
Department of Chemistry
City College of the City University of New York
Convent Avenue and 138th Street
New York, NY  10031

Dr. Neville Parker, Director
Institute for Transportation Systems
City College of the City University of New York - Y220
New York, NY  10031

OKLAHOMA
Dr. George S. Dixon
Department of Physics
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK  74078

Dr. Wayne Steen
Minority Engineering Program
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK  73019

PENNSYLVANIA
Dr. John C. Reynders
Office of the Provost
Allegheny College
520 North Main Street
Meadville, PA  16335

Dr. Daniel Davis
Dean's Office
Pennsylvania State University
114 Kern Building
University Park, PA  16802

PUERTO RICO
Dr. Manuel Gomez-Rodriguez
Resource Center for Science and Engineering
University of Puerto Rico
P.O. Box 23334,
University Station
Rio Piedras, PR  00936-3334

TEXAS
Dr. Carl Erdman
Engineering Program Office
Texas A&M University Engineering Experiment Station
308 WERC
College Station, TX  77843

Dr. Philip Goodell
Department of Geological Sciences
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX  79968

Dr. Shair Ahmad
Professor
College of Science and Engineering
University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX  78285

VIRGINIA
Dr. Isai T. Urasa
Department of Chemistry
Hampton University
Hampton, VA  23668

WISCONSIN
Dr. Jon K. Jensen
College of Engineering
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI  53233
Research Improvement in Minority Institutions (RIMI)

FY 1992 Participating Institutions and Program Directors

ALABAMA
Dr. Gwyn Morgan Jenkins
Department of Physics
Alabama A&M University
Normal, AL  35762

Dr. Tsegaye Habtemariam
School of Veterinary Medicine
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee, AL  36088

Dr. Mohamed A. Seif
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee, AL  36088

ARIZONA
Dr. Michael P. Eastman
Department of Chemistry
Northern Arizona University
Post Office Box 4130
Flagstaff, AZ  86011

CALIFORNIA
Dr. Getachew Z. Kidane
Department of Biology
California State University-Dominguez Hills
1000 East Victoria Street
Carson, CA  90747

Dr. Anthony Fratiello
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
California State University at Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA  90032

Dr. David Pearson
Department of Biology
California State University at Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA  90032

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Dr. James A. Donaldson
Department of Mathematics
Howard University
2400 Sixth Street, NW
Washington, DC  20009

Dr. Farshad Amini
Department of Electrical Engineering
University of the District of Columbia
4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC  20008

Dr. Jafar Vossoughi
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of the District of Columbia
4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC  20008

FLORIDA
Dr. N. Chandrasekaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Florida A&M University
Tallahassee, FL  32307

Dr. Joseph A. Johnson, III
CENNAS
Department of Physics
Florida A&M University
1800-3 East Dirac Drive
Tallahassee, FL  32310

GEORGIA
Dr. William V. Dashek
Department of Biology
Clark Atlanta University
223 James P. Brawley Drive, SW
Atlanta, GA  30314

Dr. Ishrat M. Khan
Department of Chemistry
Clark Atlanta University
233 James P. Brawley Drive, SW
Atlanta, GA  30314

Dr. Eric A. Mintz
Department of Chemistry
Clark Atlanta University
223 James P. Brawley Drive, SW
Atlanta, GA  30314

Dr. Alfred Z. Msezane
Department of Physics
Clark Atlanta University
223 James P. Brawley Drive, SW
Atlanta, GA  30314

Dr. M. Sambandham
Department of Mathematics
Clark Atlanta University
223 James P. Brawley Drive, SW
Atlanta, GA  30314

Dr. I. I. Harruna
Department of Chemistry
Morris Brown College
643 Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive, NW
Atlanta, GA  30314-4140

KENTUCKY
Dr. Cassie Osborne
School of Public Affairs
Kentucky State University
Frankfurt, KY  40601

LOUISIANA
Dr. Chao-yun T. Shih
Health Research Center
Southern University
Post Office Box 12596
Baton Rouge, LA  70813

Dr. H. Cavit Topakoglu
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Southern University
Baton Rouge, LA  70813

MARYLAND
Dr. Eugene DeLoatch
Dean, School of Engineering
Morgan State University
Cold Spring Lane and Hillen Road
Baltimore, MD  21239

MICHIGAN
Dr. Robin A. Barraco
Department of Physiology
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI  48202

Dr. Andrzej Olbrot
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Wayne State University
5050 Cass Avenue
Detroit, MI  48202

MISSISSIPPI
Dr. Cynthia Ford
Department of Psychology
Jackson State University
Jackson, MS  39217

Dr. Eric A. Noe
Department of Chemistry
Jackson State University
Jackson, MS  39217

NEW MEXICO
Dr. Fernando Cadena
Department of Civil Engineering
Box 3CE
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM  88003

Dr. Larryl K. Matthews
Engineering Research Center
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM  88003

NEW YORK
Dr. Yiannis Andreopoulos
Department of Mechanical Engineering
City College of the City University of New York
Convent Avenue at 138th Street
New York, NY  10031

NORTH CAROLINA
Dr. Arthur J. Hicks
Dean of Arts and Sciences
Crosby Hall
North Carolina A&T State University
Greensboro, NC  27411

PUERTO RICO
Dr. Juan G. Gonzalez
Department of Marine Sciences
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
G.P.O. Box 4984-G
San Juan, PR  00936

Dr. Rafael Martinez-Planell
Department of Mathematics
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Box 5000
Mayaguez, PR  00709-5000

Dr. Ned Fetcher
Department of Biology
University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras
Rio Piedras, PR  00931

Dr. Oscar Moreno
Department of Mathematics
University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Box 23355
University Station
Rio Piedras, PR  00931

TENNESSEE
Dr. Parkson Lee-Gau Chong
Department of Biochemistry
Meharry Medical College
1005 D.B. Todd Boulevard
Nashville, TN  37208

Dr. George C. Hill
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Meharry Medical College
1005 D.B. Todd Boulevard
Nashville, TN  37208

Dr. Mohammed A. Maleque
Department of Pharmacology
Meharry Medical College
1005 D.B. Todd Boulevard
Nashville, TN  37208

Dr. Shirley B. Russell
Department of Microbiology
Meharry Medical College
1005 D.B.Todd Boulevard
Nashville, TN  37208

Dr. James G. Townsel
Department of Physiology
Meharry Medical College
1005 D.B. Todd Boulevard
Nashville, TN  37208

Dr. Fernando Villatta
Division of Biomedical Sciences
Meharry Medical College
1005 D.B. Todd Boulevard
Nashville, TN 37208

Dr. Joel A. Eaton
Center of Excellence in Information Systems
Tennessee State University
330 10th Street, North
Nashville, TN  37203-3401

TEXAS
Dr. John R. Williams
Department of Chemistry
Prairie View A&M University
Post Office Box 397
Prairie View, TX  77445-0397

Dr. Mehran Abdolsalami
Department of Engineering
St. Mary's University of San Antonio
One Camino Santa Maria
San Antonio, TX  78228-8534

Dr. Lawrence E. Murr
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX  79968

Dr. Nicholas Pingitore
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX  79968

Dr. Jean J. Robillard
Department of Physics
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX  79968

Dr. Vijay P. Singh
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX 79968-0500

Dr. Andrew O. Martinez
Division of Life Sciences
University of Texas at San Antonio
7000 Loop 1604, NW
San Antonio, TX  78285

VIRGINIA
Dr. Warren W. Buck
Department of Physics
Hampton University
Hampton, VA  23368

Dr. Robert A. Jordan
Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences
Hampton University
Hampton, VA  23368

Dr. Godson C. Nwokogu
Department of Chemistry
Hampton University
Hampton, VA  23368

Dr. James C. Turner
Department of Mathematics
Hampton University
Hampton, VA  23368

Minority Research Centers of Excellence (MRCE)

Participating Institutions and Program Directors

Dr. Jeanette Jones
Vice President for Research
Alabama A&M University
Normal, AL  35762

Dr. Daniel L. Akins
Department of Chemistry
City College of the City University of New York
New York, NY  10031

Dr. Alfred Z. Msezane
Department of Physics
Clark Atlanta University
223 James P. Brawley Drive, S.W.
Atlanta, GA  30314

Dr. Warren Buck
Department of Physics
Hampton University
Hampton, VA  23668

Dr. Michael G. Spencer
Department of Electrical Engineering
Howard University
Washington, DC  20059

Dr. George C. Hill
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Meharry Medical College
Nashville, TN  37208

Dr. Reinaldo Caban
Dean of Academic Affairs
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Mayaguez, PR  00681

Dr. Reynaldo S. Elizondo
Dean of the College of Science
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX  79968

Appendix B - List of Other NSF Publications of Interest

Other NSF Publications of Interest

NSF Guide to Programs, available from the NSF Forms and
Publications Unit, briefly describes Foundation activities. The
following brochures, available from the NSF Forms and
Publications Unit, describe Foundation-wide programs:

o    NSF Minority Graduate Fellowships - Intended for ethnic
minority groups, i.e. American Indians, Blacks, Hispanic, Native
Alaskan (Eskimo or Aleut), or Native Pacific Islander (Polynesian
or Micronesian).  Program requirements are similar but not
identical to those for the NSF Graduate Fellowship Program.
Contact Fellowship Office at NRC on (202) 334-2872, and ask for
Brochure NSF 90-62.

o    Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) provides
support for faculty research at predominantly undergraduate
institutions.   Contact the relevant program office or the RUI
Coordinator, Room 1225, NSF, phone (202) 357-7456.  (NSF
Publication 89-60)

o    Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) allows science and
engineering faculty in predominantly undergraduate institutions
to participate in NSF-supported research at research
institutions.  Contact relevant program office or the ROA
Coordinator, Room 1225, NSF, phone (202) 357-7456.

o    NSF Faculty Awards for Women Scientists and Engineers (FAW)
recognizes outstanding women faculty.  Nominations are made by
their institutions for faculty women who are not yet full
professors.  Contact the relevant NSF program office or the FAW
Coordinator, phone (202) 357-7456.  (NSF Publication 90-42)

o    Visiting Professorships for Women (VPW) provides support for
experienced women scientists or engineers to undertake advanced
research and teaching at a host institution.  Contact VPW Program
Director, Room 1225, NSF, phone (202) 357-7734.  (NSF Publication
89-37)

o    Research Planning Grants (RPG) provide opportunities for
women scientists and engineers who have not had prior independent
Federal research support to develop competitive research
proposals.  Contact the relevant program office or the
Coordinator for Womens Programs, Room 1225, NSF, phone (202)
357-7456.  (NSF Publication 90-121)

o    Career Advancement Awards (CAA) provide opportunities for
women scientists and engineers to expand research capability and
productivity.  Contact the relevant program office or the
Coordinator for Womens Programs, NSF, phone (202) 357-7456. (NSF
Publication 90-121)

o    Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement (UFE) offers opportunities
for groups of faculty who teach undergraduates to learn about new
techniques and developments in their fields. Contact UFE, Room
639, NSF, phone (202) 357-7051.  (NSF Publication 90-112)

o    Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) provides
opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in
research or related activities.  Contact the relevant NSF
disciplinary program office.  (NSF Publication 90-79)

o    Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement (ILI) Program
provides matching grants for the purchase of undergraduate
instructional apparatus.  Contact ILI, Room 639, NSF, phone (202)
357-7051.  (NSF Publication 90-101)

Ordering by Electronic Mail

     If you are a user of electronic mail and have access to
either BITNET or Internet, you may prefer to order publications
electronically.  BITNET users should address requests to
pubs@NSF.  Internet users should send requests to pubs@nsf.gov.
In your request, include the NSF publication number and title,
number of copies, your name, and a complete mailing address.
Publications will be mailed within two days of receipt of
request.