PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (March 7, 2023) – Supporters of Prairie View A&M University’s Roy G. Perry College of Engineering celebrated the grand opening and ribbon cutting of its Epsilon Gamma lota Inc. Innovation Hub for Student Success. The new lab, valued at $10,000, is designed to help students think bigger and broader, elevating the “engineering student experience” at PVAMU.
Sponsored by materials science leader Dow through their Dow Promise Grant Program, and spearheaded by Epsilon Gamma Iota, Inc., a student-led engineering organization founded at PVAMU, the new partnership will create another pathway of support and success for PVAMU students.
“The hub will serve as a safe and innovative space for senior engineering students to reimagine the world and design solutions to tackle problems society faces daily on the micro and macro level,” said PVAMU former student and Epsilon Gamma Iota, Inc., National Director Emeritus John Nicklos II. “It will provide students with a dedicated workspace, materials and top-quality professional tools to complete senior design projects, scale existing design projects, and run wild with imagination as they design and create new prototypes that could one day change the world.”
Additionally, the Innovation Hub will provide programming that allows students to compete in interdepartmental and interdisciplinary design competitions that mimic the real-world work environments they enter after graduation, Nicklos said.
In a way, the hub is a “love gift” from PVAMU alum to current and future students. Epsilon Gamma Iota, Inc. was birthed on the campus by students who loved their university and their industry and who wanted to create a support network.
Dow representative, PVAMU alum and Epsilon Gamma Iota, Inc. member Gail Singleton is a product of that legacy who never forgot her commitment to her university or fellow Panthers. During the ribbon cutting ceremony, she spoke about her part in this project for the University.
“When the Dow Promise opportunity came my way, the first thing I thought of was Prairie View A&M University. How could it benefit from this?” she said. “The next thing that crossed my mind was Epsilon Gamma Iota. [Those are] my two loves.” Singleton said she was excited to learn that PVAMU had been awarded the grant to establish the first-of-its-kind Innovation Hub inside the C.L. Wilson Building.
The hub was also a labor of love for students as they helped with its construction. Their work was applauded during the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Beyond academic enrichment, students will benefit financially as the College has agreed to create student jobs to help manage the hub. Senior design students will have assigned lockers and workspaces inside the hub with all the equipment they need, such as heavy-duty tools, accessories, personal protection equipment and industrial workstations.
“You have the audacity to wake up from your dreams and make it real,” Nicklos said.
By Jo-Carolyn Goode
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