PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (November 17, 2025) — Prairie View A&M University Chemistry Professor Matthew Minus, Ph.D., has secured nearly $200,000 in NASA funding through the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to support a three-year research project focused on advancing Earth science, expanding research capacity at PVAMU, and strengthening pathways into the national STEM workforce.
Matthew Minus, Ph.D.
Minus, who teaches in the College of Arts and Sciences, will contribute to NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Earth Science, Systems, and Remote Sensing (ESSR) Institute. The award will support research tied to understanding the planet as an interconnected system and addressing environmental change—while also providing PVAMU students with direct access to NASA-related learning, research, and data.
The purpose of this award is not only scientific discovery, but also institutional and workforce development. For PVAMU, the funding expands opportunities to participate in high-impact Earth science research and provides students—many of whom represent historically underrepresented STEM populations—with authentic, hands-on experiences aligned with NASA’s strategic priorities.
The project also advances a national goal: connecting new scientific observations and models to the communities, stakeholders and decision-makers who need them. NASA will work closely with participating institutions to coordinate meetings, collaboration, and joint workshops across the ESSR network to ensure research outcomes are translated into real-world impact.
This award strengthens PVAMU’s role in national research conversations on Earth systems, climate, resilience, and environmental change—while opening more doors for PVAMU students to step into the emerging aerospace and Earth science workforce.
By Joe McGinty