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1. Promoting Technology Transfer Of A Pumpless Solar Thermal Air Heater (Patent Number 10775058) Innovation Using The Customer Discovery Method In A Historically Black College And University (HBCU)

   Addo, Sampson; Tyagi, Pawan (October 2021, Techconnect World Innovation Conference and Expo)

   Prior research details the large gap that exists in the technological transfer of innovation between HBCUs and non-HBCUs. This is compounded by HBCUs being under-resourced and having a reduced focus on research and innovation. Several federal and private organizations are funding HBCU innovators aimed at transforming them into revenue-generating entrepreneurs. One of such federally funded programs, the NSF-CREST Center for Nanotechnology Research Excellence in the University of the District of Columbia is promoting innovation and intellectual property generation at HBCUs. Another federally funded program, NSF I-Corps focuses on training HBCUs innovators on the commercialization of innovations. The training aims at identifying key customer segments through interviews. This paper discusses how our innovation, the Pumpless Solar Thermal Air Heater functions and how we are promoting its commercialization using the NSF I-Corps customer discovery strategy. 

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2. A Proven Strategy to Improve Funding Success Rates for Two-Year Colleges Seeking Grants from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Program

   Craft, Elaine L.; Silvers, Pamela J. (June 2023, 2023 Annual Conference and Exposition)

   Too few two-year technical and community colleges pursue funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Instead, they tend to rely on the U.S. Department of Education or the U.S. Department of Labor for federal grants. From the way grant funding opportunities are announced, to the processes used in reviewing proposals and making funding decisions, to the policies and procedures that govern submission of proposals and implementation of grants, NSF operates differently from other federal funding agencies that make grant awards. The Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program is unique within NSF because of its focus on two-year colleges and workforce development, specifically for those who complete for-credit programs of study and earn credentials that enable program completers to enter the skilled technical workforce. NSF expects faculty to be involved in developing proposals and implementing projects funded by the agency. Meeting this expectation requires a paradigm shift for many community and technical colleges where the primary emphasis is on teaching and where there is seldom any expectation that faculty will contribute to college efforts to secure external funding from federal sources. In addition, in 2021, the overall NSF funding rate was 26% which presents daunting odds for success. However, 10 years of research demonstrate the effectiveness of an intervention that dramatically increases the funding rate for two-year colleges seeking funding from the NSF ATE Program. Since 2012, the Mentor-Connect initiative has been funded by the NSF ATE Program to help two-year college technician educators and related STEM faculty develop the grant-writing skills needed to meet NSF expectations and benefit from ATE funding. Over the past decade, 80% of Mentor-Connect participants have successfully submitted proposals. To date, the average funding rate for these proposals is 71%. This paper describes how the Mentor-Connect intervention works and for whom, what outcomes have resulted for participants who become grantees, and how two-year colleges and technician educators can benefit. 

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3. Barriers and Facilitators to Obtaining External Funding at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

   Escobar, Martha; Qazi, Mohammed; Majewski, Haylee; Jeelani, Shaik (September 2023, Journal of STEM education)

   Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established to further the education of Black Americans and have a long history of service to minority, first-generation, and low-income students. HBCUs are also struggling financially, due to federal and state underinvestment, small endowments, low alumni giving, and decreasing enrollment. Financial constraints not only have a direct impact on physical facilities and resources, but also on human resources. Faculty at HBCUs are tasked with heavy teaching loads and, in research-focused institutions, high research expectations, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, HBCUs can provide only limited support for these research endeavors; thus, faculty at these institutions need to pursue external grants and contracts to support their research. In the present study, we surveyed faculty at five research-focused HBCUs to determine the major difficulties they encounter when applying for external funding (barriers) and the things their institution could do to facilitate this process (facilitators). Time constraints and difficulties with internal functioning and policies emerged as the most relevant barriers, whereas providing training and mentoring and improving internal functioning and policies emerged as the most relevant facilitators. The PATHs program is proposed as a model of faculty support anchored around mentoring and institutional awareness, and which could be adapted to different institutions to increase their faculty’s success in attaining external funding. 

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4. Barriers and Facilitators to Obtaining External Funding at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

   Escobar, Martha; Qazi, Mohammed; Majewski, Haylee; Jeelani, Shaik (August 2023, Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research)

   Raju, P K; Banu, E (Ed.)

   Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established to further the education of Black Americans and have a long history of service to minority, first-generation, and low-income students. HBCUs are also struggling financially, due to federal and state underinvestment, small endowments, low alumni giving, and decreasing enrollment. Financial constraints not only have a direct impact on physical facilities and resources, but also on human resources. Faculty at HBCUs are tasked with heavy teaching loads and, in research-focused institutions, high research expectations, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, HBCUs can provide only limited support for these research endeavors; thus, faculty at these institutions need to pursue external grants and contracts to support their research. In the present study, we surveyed faculty at five research-focused HBCUs to determine the major difficulties they encounter when applying for external funding (barriers) and the things their institution could do to facilitate this process (facilitators). Time constraints and difficulties with internal functioning and policies emerged as the most relevant barriers, whereas providing training and mentoring and improving internal functioning and policies emerged as the most relevant facilitators. The PATHs program is proposed as a model of faculty support anchored around mentoring and institutional awareness, and which could be adapted to different institutions to increase their faculty’s success in attaining external funding. 

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5. From Lack of Time to Stigma: Barriers Facing Faculty at Minority Serving Institutions Pursuing Federally Funded Research

   Wilson, Carolyn; Chavela Guerra, Rocio (July 2021, ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) serve a high proportion of students from underrepresented minority groups, particularly within STEM fields. MSIs make up approximately 14 percent of all degree-granting, Title IV-eligible institutions for higher education, and they enroll approximately 30 percent of all undergraduates in the United States. However, in 2018, only 3 percent of all federal obligations for science and engineering research and development provided to institutions of higher education was distributed to MSIs. Federal funding agencies, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), have recognized the need to diversify their funding portfolios to increase the engagement of under-participating institutions, including MSIs. With this in mind, a conference was held in February 2020, funded by NSF, with the goal to increase the number and competitiveness of proposals from MSI faculty to core programs within NSF’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). While informative, the conference, along with the interest survey sent to potential participants, revealed multiple challenges and barriers MSI faculty face as they attempt to secure and conduct research funding. This work-in-progress paper focuses on the responses to an open-ended question of the conference interest survey focusing on barriers to securing research funding. 

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