PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (August 20, 2020) – As the nation grapples with civil unrest, the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, and economic hardships, the Division of Research & Innovation (R&I) at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) has launched a new funding program initiative to address these issues.
The Rapid-Response Grant Program (RAPID) encourages PVAMU faculty, research staff, and doctoral students from all disciplines to broaden their research or jump-start new research in areas that are relevant to current national needs.
“I recognize the importance of funding support, such as RAPID, for the Prairie View A&M University community,” said Vice President of Research & Innovation Magesh Rajan, Ph.D. “RAPID will help mobilize our scholarly researchers and, particularly, deepen understanding and develop ways to respond to the recent national challenges.”
During the first phase of the RAPID program this summer, R&I selected 19 projects. Each project was awarded $3,000 to begin.
“We are very pleased to have received a great response from the campus research community on this RAPID Response Grant Program, and we are humbled to be able to provide the support needed,” Rajan said.
Under the RAPID grant program, each project focuses on one of five research themes:
Magesh Rajan, Ph.D.
- Race, Inequality, and Social Justice: Research projects focused on race, inequality, social justice, and recent national events and activities related to race and inequalities.
- COVID-19 Research: Research projects that include scientific or technology-oriented non-medical research designed to address or mitigate COVID-19 risks and related issues.
- COVID-19 Innovation: Innovation projects that include activities to innovate, design, develop or commercialize physical or software products and processes to address or mitigate COVID-19 risks and related issues.
- COVID-19 Impact Studies: Projects that focus on understanding the impact of the pandemic and resulting economic stress on African-American communities, including topics such as food insecurity, economic stress and income gaps, nursing homes, impacts on mental health issues, K-12 educational effects, international affairs, and others.
- Interdisciplinary Research: Projects that focus on interdisciplinary project topics related to one or more of the major themes.
“I’m proud that the research our gifted faculty and students are undertaking will help illustrate our great university’s resilience in the face of these major challenges,” Rajan said. “I believe that supporting and nurturing our researchers, especially during these challenging times, is highly needed. I hope their work makes both scholarly impacts and practical advances to assist our communities and society.”
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