PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (February 10, 2025) — Sunil Karna, Ph.D., an assistant professor of physics at Prairie View A&M University, has been awarded nearly $700,000 in grant funding from the Department of Defense’s U.S. Army Contracting Command–Aberdeen Proving Ground to acquire advanced research equipment for material science education and research.
Sunil Karna, Ph.D.
Gururaj Nellgund, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry at PVAMU, will serve as co-principal investigator.
The grant will support the acquisition of a Laser-based Floating Zone Furnace for single crystal growth and a real-time transmission or back-reflection Laue system, enhancing material science education and research at PVAMU.
The Department of Defense (DoD) provides funding for equipment acquisition through its Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority-Serving Institutions (MIs). The program aims to strengthen research and education in scientific and engineering fields critical to national security while increasing the number of STEM graduates, particularly from underrepresented minority groups.
By Joe McGinty