September 29, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) National Labs and Plants expanded its Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program (MSIPP) and has awarded four new grants to better serve students and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in STEM disciplines. The awards are in four categories:

  • The Consortium on National Critical Infrastructure Security
  • The In- and Ex-Situ-Quality Control of Additive Manufacturing Consortium
  • The Consortium for Laser-based Analysis of Nuclear and Environmental Materials
  • The Growing STEMs Consortium

Prairie View A&M University is in the “STEMS” consortium and has teamed up with New Mexico State University and Navajo Technical University.  Each is an MSI serving a different category. All are land-grant universities. The NNSA awarded their team a $3M grant. PVAMU’s share is $715K to research quality control in additive manufacturing.

Rambod Rayegan

Rambod Rayegan, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering

Rambod Rayegan, Ph.D., associate professor in mechanical engineering, is Principal Investigator, with Co-Principal Investigators Lai Jiang, Ph.D., and Xiaobo Peng, Ph.D.  All are faculty members in mechanical engineering. Rayegan and his team will develop a sustainable workforce pipeline with advanced knowledge and skills required for in- and ex-situ-quality control of polymer and metallic AM (Additive Manufacturing) components.

“The project has an emphasis on distance education and the use of tools, such as virtual reality, to create a platform to efficiently perform outreach, education, and other consortium activities,” Rayegan said.

As a collaborator in this three-million-dollar project, Rayegan and his team have $715,000.00 to conduct their area of study.  The initiative will also provide students with research opportunities at one of the three national labs, internships, and the possibility of a career path in the industry.

“This study our researchers are undertaking embodies the values and purpose of Prairie View A&M as an emerging research institution,” said Magesh Rajan, Ph.D. P.E. Vice President of Research & Innovation. “These mechanical engineers are exploring ways to innovate and revolutionize an aspect of the manufacturing process, engaging and educating current and future students on industry research, while elevating the research and innovation enterprise as a land-grant institution and collaborating with federal agencies and industry.”

Oakridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the National Nuclear Security Administration Kansas City National Security Campus will support the Consortium in accomplishing its goals.

Jiang believes their project could potentially impact the PVAMU student experience and the public for generations.

“The cutting-edge advancements in additive manufacturing have the potential to be widely adopted by the industry and later become popular for everyone,” said Jiang.  “Incoming engineering students to PVAMU and enrolled students will have the opportunity to join the summer bridge program as well as annual workshops to sharpen their knowledge in advanced manufacturing.”

Exposing students to often unattainable research and career opportunities will elevate the awareness and visibility of PVAMU.   Therefore, the team is incorporating current technologies are an integral part of their research design.

“The project has an emphasis on distance education and the use of tools, such as virtual reality, to create a platform to efficiently perform outreach, education, and other consortium activities,” Rayegan said.

This project will establish a sustainable pipeline of under-represented students in the STEM field from Minority Serving Institutes with advanced knowledge and experience to serve the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) National Labs and Plants.

For more information, contact Rambod Rayegen, (936) 261-9964, or rarayegan@pvamu.edu.

Rambod Rayegen
Key Research Interests include Solar Organic Rankine Cycles, Thermal Energy Storage, Net Zero Energy Buildings, and Ground Source Heat Pumps.

– Karen B. Cotton