NSF Funds Project to Enhance Broadband Research and Education at PVAMU and Beyond

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (September 20, 2023) — In November 2021, Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), which includes a $65 billion investment toward ensuring high-speed internet access for every American. To support and implement this goal, a specialized workforce is needed, yet the U.S. currently faces a shortage of workers skilled in broadband technology. In conjunction with this is the need for broadband education and training and a more balanced diversity picture for the existing telecommunications workforce.

To help enhance and promote broadband research, education and training at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) and expand the talent pipeline for the country’s telecommunications industry, researchers at PVAMU have created the “Targeted Infusion Project: Enhanced Broadband Research and Education at PVAMU.” In recognition and support of this innovative project, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the PVAMU team a research grant totaling $400,000.

“The NSF’s generous funding of this project will allow PVAMU students to obtain evidence-based, hands-on training that will help them achieve mastery of the skills needed to excel in the ever-evolving broadband domain,” said PVAMU Vice President of Research and Innovation Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., MBA, P.E.

“This award gives PVAMU the opportunity to do research in 5G and beyond and train the 21st-century broadband communication systems engineers that are very much in demand in the present and future job markets,” explained Cajetan Akujuobi, Ph.D., MBA, P.E., F.I.A.A.M., the project’s principal investigator (PI) and professor of electrical and computer engineering at PVAMU. Dr. Akujuobi is also the founder and executive director of the Center of Excellence for Communication Systems Technology Research (CECSTR) – a Texas A&M University Systems-approved research center – and founder and PI of the University’s SECURE Cybersecurity Center of Excellence.

Collaborating with Dr. Akujuobi on the project are co-PIs Shumon Alam, Ph.D., lead researcher at CECSTR and research scientist at the SECURE Center of Excellence; Suxia Cui, Ph.D., PVAMU associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Justin Foreman, Ph.D., PVAMU assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The project is designed to run for three years and will focus on developing ECE courses in broadband technologies and creating a 5G testbed for hands-on training and research activities. PVAMU students will be prepared for the 21st-century broadband telecommunications industry through enhanced curriculum, relevant seminars, and training modules based on prior research and existing knowledge and evidence for classroom and lab engagement. Outreach to two-year college students will also be conducted to develop broadband technology awareness and create a pipeline to PVAMU’s baccalaureate engineering program.

Additionally, the awarded grant will enable the necessary upgrade of broadband access equipment utilized in the CECSTR, which has been training students and conducting research in broadband access technologies at PVAMU for years. Given that most of the broadband access equipment used in training is of the 3G era, the plan is to leverage what is already at CECSTR and upgrade to 5G/6G, which will, in turn, help develop a broadband workforce skilled in next-generation technology. The project will also help train existing industry workers looking to upgrade their skillsets in broadband 5G/6G technologies via a broadband access certification program.

With a diversified and enhanced workforce, the federal government’s goal of providing every American with high-speed internet access can be effectively implemented. As a result, millions of Americans who don’t currently have broadband services will have access to essential resources – such as those relating to jobs, education, and health services – which will also help stimulate economic growth.