ASU Receives $175,000 Grant from DOD for Research!

ASU's Dr. Derrick Dean (R) working with a student in his university laboratory (photo credit: David Campbell/ASU).

ASU Awarded $175,000 Grant from the Defense Department for Research in Biomedical Engineering, Defense Systems and Acquiring an Electron Microscope!

- Grant aids in continuing ASU's effort to establish a state-of-the-art facility for DOD research.

- It provides useful training and expertise for ASU students.  

By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU 

The Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded a grant of $175,000 to Alabama State University from the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering for the acquisition of a scanning electron microscope for materials research and education at the University, according to ASU's Dr. Derrick Dean, professor of Biomedical Engineering and program coordinator. 

According to Dean, the grant will allow the University to continue its efforts to establish a state-of-the-art facility for research and education to assist the DOD in specific areas of interest, including biomedical engineering, materials science and chemistry applications suitable for advanced materials for U. S. defense systems. The grant will be supervised by Dean and Elijah Nyairo, an ASU chemistry instructor, who both are in the College of Science Technology Engineering and Math (C-STEM). 

"The grant will strengthen the education and training of ASU students involved in this process by providing them with educational tools that can be utilized in research experiences and hands-on lab training modules," Dean said. "It will allow us to acquire instrumentation that will build our capacity to conduct research and education on projects that are relevant to the Defense department."  

Dean stated that he will use the instrumentation that this grant provides to conduct research such as working on the development of light weight, high performance materials for the U. S. Air Force.  He said the electron microscope will be a very useful tool in that project. 

GRANT ENHANCES EXPERTISE OF ASU STUDENTS 

Nyairo explained that involvement by ASU's students is an important component of this and every project in which he and Dean are involved. 

"Students will be exposed to and trained on cutting-edge instrumentation that will prepare them for the high-tech jobs in the defense industry," Nyairo stated. "ASU's students are expected to contribute to the research in the laboratory while learning research methods, using advanced research equipment and becoming a part of an active research group." 

GRANT BENEFITS ASU’S RESEARCH CAPABILITIES 

Dean believes that the DOD grant will also help to increase the overall research capability at ASU. 

"This new grant will increase competitiveness for future funding opportunities for Alabama State University and train our STEM students on the latest research and development tools," Dean said. 

The biomedical engineer is confident that this grant will also provide the University with a tool that could be very beneficial to it contributing to useful work at neighboring universities and industries.  

"I am very excited because ASU will no longer need to send or take its samples to other universities for this type of analysis, which the electron microscope will provide us. It alone will increase the pace of our research at Alabama State University." 

News media contact: Kenneth Mullinax, 334-229-4104. 

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