Obiomon is pictured third from right with other deans who attended the colloquium in Washington.
WASHINGTON (February 17, 2020) – Pamela Holland Obiomon, Ph.D., dean and professor in the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering at Prairie View A&M University, along with her fellow engineering academics from across the country, attended the 2020 Engineering Deans Council Public Policy Colloquium in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 3-5. The colloquium, organized by the American Society for Engineering Education’s Public Policy Committee, was designed to influence policymakers to invest more in engineering and computer science education and research.
As part of the colloquium, Obiomon, along with the deans from University of Texas at Austin, University of Houston, University of Houston-Clear Lake, University of Texas at El Paso, University of North Texas, Texas A&M University-Texarkana, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, West Texas A&M University, and LeTourneau University, met with Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Brian Babin (R-TX), Van Taylor (R-TX), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Michael Cloud (R-TX) and John Ratcliffe (R-TX) and the legislative assistants of Texas Senator John Cornyn, Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ron Wright (R-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Michael Burgess (R-TX). They asked to increase funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to about $9 billion, which is around a $700 million increase from last year. Of the funds the NSF currently receives, only about 14-percent is reserved for engineering research, which is spread among engineering schools across the U.S.
“NSF funding has fallen behind other research agencies, such as the DOE [Department of Energy] and the NIH [National Institutes of Health],” said Obiomon. “But NSF is the major supporter of engineering research. They support 43-percent of engineering and 83-percent of computer science projects. NSF funding touches PVAMU. It provides critical support for many of our undergraduate and graduate education programs, as well as research. The NSF supports our $5 million Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability (CEES).”
Continues Obiomon, “The largest agency funder of university engineering research and development is the DOD [Department of Defense]. Funding is critical for the national security of our country and keeping the military best-equipped. The DOD invests in AI, autonomous vehicles, quantum communications, cybersecurity, and smart materials, to name a few. The College of Engineering at PVAMU received more than $5 million to establish the Center of Excellence in Research and Education for Big Military Data Intelligence (CREDIT). As a parent with three children in the military, I advocate for this support to protect our troops.”
According to Obiomon, over the next ten years, 60-percent of 3.4 million jobs in the U.S. will remain unfilled due to a shortage of appropriately skilled talent.
“We are responsible for training the next generation of engineers and computer scientists,” said Obiomon. “America is losing its competitive edge to other countries,” said Obiomon. “However, using talent from HBCUs [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] can address those employers’ needs, while promoting diversity and inclusion and attracting the best and brightest international talent.”
Reinforcing global competition should not stop with American students.
“We must continue to attract the best and brightest students from across the world to our universities,” said Obiomon. “Free and open exchange promotes innovation and creativity. China is investing in international talent, and we need to match it. For America to maintain its leadership in science and technology, there must be investments in critical technology areas such as AI [artificial intelligence], machine learning, quantum physics, and 5G,” she said. “But we are in a difficult fiscal climate, so we need Congress to support research funding.”
Over the next few months, U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees will vote on a budget for the fiscal year 2021, with it going to the president’s desk in October.
“Hopefully, our recent deans’ visit and discussion in Washington regarding critical policy priorities had an influence on Congress, and we will see results when the budget comes out,” said Obiomon.
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