Jackson State University has won a $589,000 Scientific Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to bolster its Emergency Management Technology program.
The grant will fund collaborative interdisciplinary efforts to promote and encourage undergraduate students to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security-related Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (HS-STEM) field. The EMT program is designed to ensure that students have the skills needed to manage a crisis.
“This is a team effort, in collaboration with different departments,” said Technology Department Professor Dr. Pao-Chiang Yuan, Ph.D., principle investigator for the grant.
To be spread over five years, the SLA grant for Minority Serving Institutions Granting Bachelor Degrees will fund two phases. The first primarily will go toward developing new courses – including remote sensing and social media technologies – as well as upgrading laboratories. The second phase will increase recruitment and exposure of the EMT program as well as continue to strengthen ties with the Department of Homeland Security Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence (DHSCOE) housed at JSU.
Yuan said he was especially grateful for all the support for the dean’s office and DHSCOE Director Dr. Robert Whalin, and team members: Dr. F.C. Dancer and Dr. April Tanner of the Computer Science Department; Dr. H.R. Shih and Dr. Jessica Murphy of the Technology Department; and Dr. Duanjun Lu of the Physics Department.
The EMT program was approved in fall 2010 and began admitting students in Spring 2011.