PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (November 8, 2022) — Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) Division of Research partners with Princeton University for the prestigious collaborative partnership, Princeton Alliance for Collaborative Research and Innovation (PACRI) in support of faculty research collaborations.

Two research projects from PVAMU Computer Science Department have been funded through the PACRI initiative as a first cohort.

PACRI projects will be co-led by a team of researchers from both PVAMU and Princeton University. These are the first projects to be supported by the groundbreaking alliance between Princeton University and the UNCF. PVAMU is one of the only four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to be part of this unique and prestigious collaborative partnership.

PVAMU Vice President of Research & Innovation Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBA, says “As a recently elevated R2 doctoral granting high research activity institution, you will find faculty and research scientists across all three PVAMU campuses engaged in significant projects with research universities, federal agencies, corporate industries, and governmental bodies, which furthers our impact on society on many levels.”

“We aim to establish mutually beneficial and collaborative partnerships with research institutions, particularly with Association of American Universities (AAU) institutions. Partnering with Princeton university is such an outstanding opportunity for our PVAMU experts to team up with the creative minds of Princeton to pursue research studies and student-centered projects that could be revolutionary and life-changing. These PACRI awards continue the momentum PVAMU has built-in partnering with top research institutions in the nation such as Princeton,” said Vice President Rajan.

“We started the Princeton Alliance to generate trailblazing ideas from collaborators who otherwise might not have the opportunity to work together – and researchers from across Princeton and our HBCU partners responded,” said Tod Hamilton, professor of sociology and a faculty co-founder of the PACRI program.

Rodney Priestley, also a faculty co-founder of PACRI during his tenure as Princeton’s former vice dean for innovation, is now dean of the Princeton Graduate School. Priestley anticipates ongoing benefits for the institutions and students. “An integral part of these projects is opportunities for student and faculty exchanges, which we see leading to innovative ideas with the possibility for shared intellectual property and even spinout companies. There could be many benefits for grad students just beginning their careers.”

Noushin Ghaffari, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science, and Yonghui Wang, PhD., associate professor of computer science were both recipients of the first cohort of PACRI funding at PVAMU.

Dr. Ghaffari will be working with Princeton University associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Bridgett vonHoldt, Ph.D., on her project “Exploring Applications of Machine Learning for DNA Methylation Experiments with the Goal of Trait Discoveries.”

“An important aspect of this project proposal is the training and research opportunities for students at PVAMU,” says Ghaffari. “I will train two Master’s degree students on the concepts of Data Science, Machine Learning, and Computational Biology. These students will have the opportunity to complete their thesis on the machine learning aspects of the proposed project and gain vast experience in computational biology, also benefitting from summer visits to Princeton. The intended outcome is that this experience serves as an excellent motivation for these mentees to pursue a career in research and apply for Ph.D. programs (a major goal of mentoring at PVAMU).”

Dr. Wang will be working with assistant professor of computer science at Princeton University, Jia Deng, Ph.D., on his project, “Deepfakes Detection: Solutions for a Growing Cybersecurity Concern,” to develop new deepfake detection algorithms, especially for the detection of deepfake videos, leveraging Wang’s unique expertise. As part of the proposed project, graduate students will be trained, and the research results will be integrated into the teaching at both universities. Undergraduate students, especially those underrepresented students, will benefit from this project by attending such courses.

“This project tries to provide solutions for the detection of deepfake which is a growing cybersecurity concern,” says Wang. “Fake images/videos generated with the help of deep learning technology become highly realistic and extremely hard to detect. Researchers from the two universities will work together to develop algorithms to detect falsified images and videos by examining inconsistencies in terms of high-level perceptual properties, such as lighting, defocus, optical flow, etc.”

Jenna Craig