Research and Facility Renovation for the College of Engineering, Technology and Computer Science at Tennessee State University

Tennessee State University, Nashville TN

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This award supports the 7,202 square foot renovation and modernization of six research laboratories and a server room on the lower level (bottom floor) of the Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP) Building at Tennessee State University (TSU). The new, state of the art laboratories will foster multidisciplinary research as part of TSU's Interdisciplinary Graduate Engineering Research (TIGER) Institute. Renovation tasks supported by this award will include flooring, installation of HVAC, electrical work, plumbing, and interior finishes. Intellectual Merit: The renovated facility will be used by TSU faculty and students from architectural, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering; aeronautical and industrial technology; computer science, chemistry; biology; mathematics; and physics. Upgrading TSU's research infrastructure will enable collaborative, interdisciplinary research in ongoing research thrusts in scientific visualization, materials science and engineering, and smart sensor networking. Current research at TSU focuses on integrated systems health management of turbine engines, improving vehicle-human performance in vehicles for military and commercial applications, simulation and modeling techniques to assess the life of composite materials, cross-layered cognitive networks, and RF sensor based automatic target recognition. Broader Impacts: TSU is an Historically Black College/University that trains a significant number of African American students in engineering. Annually, at least one hundred undergraduate and fifty graduate students will be impacted by this award. Upon completion, the renovated facility will enhance the ability of faculty to compete for extramural funding, continue to attract outstanding student scholars and faculty, and facilitate the increase of the nation's minority doctorates in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics.