NSU expands educational opportunities through Brookhaven

(Tahlequah, Okla.)Northeastern State University is expanding educational opportunities for minority students through participation in Brookhaven National Laboratorys Interdisciplinary Consortium for Research and Educational Access in Science and Engineering (INCREASE). The two signed a memorandum of understanding this May.

The INCREASE organization promotes research to facilitate education and experimentation training in minority-serving institutions. National user research facilities will be utilized, particularly the National Synchotron Light Source at Brookhaven in Upton, N.Y.

This is an important and significant affiliation for NSU, said Dr. Martin Venneman, dean of the College of Science and Health Professions. Northeastern is the only university in the country serving American Indians that is a member of INCREASEs core group of 11 institutions. This gives our students in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines access to a national laboratory and is consistent with our efforts in Making Place Matter.

NSUs membership in INCREASE was facilitated by Dr. Jody Buckholtz, professor of chemistry, with support from Dr. Chris Burba and Dr. Atogho Abia, also professors of chemistry. Buckholtz and two NSU students traveled to Brookhaven National Laboratory to participate in the U.S. Department of Energys Faculty and Student Teams program in summer 2010.

Through the INCREASE consortium, member institutions may communicate, innovate and collaborate through focused research initiatives and specialized workshops. A long-term goal of INCREASE is to establish a pool of minority role models in STEM fields.

Venneman said the benefits to NSU go beyond access to state-of-the-art research facilities and research and training opportunities for students and faculty.

This creates the possibility of joint research and academic appointments at BNL, Venneman said. It also can result in employment for students during or after college and research funding for which we might not otherwise qualify.

Northeasterns INCREASE memorandum of understanding with BNL is effective for 10 years.

Additional core universities affiliated with INCREASE include Hampton, Delaware State, Morgan State, North Carolina A&T State, Southern, Tennessee State, Tougaloo College, Alabama A&M, University of the Virgin Islands and the University of Puerto Rico.