NEU-HU S-POWER Program

Hampton University has partnered with Northeastern University (NEU) researchers on a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish an innovative scholarship and mentoring program that supports college transfer students from underrepresented backgrounds who are studying and doing research in energy.

This program - called Student Pathways Opening World Energy Resources, or S-POWER - aligns with a national imperative to increase workforce diversity in STEM fields and the energy sector. According to the NSF, the program seeks to address two primary national crises: the extremely low persistence rate of underrepresented minority transfer students from two- or four-year institutions that don’t offer degrees in STEM to institutions that do grant degrees in STEM, and the need for fundamental research and training in energy-related fields in order to prepare a new generation of energy experts.

HU is one of five colleges selected to work with NEU faculty on this program to enhance engineering research and education at the HU School of Engineering & Technology. This collaboration provides scholarships, summer internships, and equipment funding for HU students as well as establishes a pathway for them to continue their education at a graduate level. It also provides opportunities for HU faculty professional development through summer faculty fellowships at DOE National Labs.

The vision of S-POWER is to revolutionize the pedagogy with which colleges and universities successfully educate transfer students, particularly those with financial need as well as those who are underrepresented minorities, female, and first-generation students.

For more information about this program, please click here or contact Dr. Zhao (Joy) Sun.