(AAPNW) – “When we created the “Bucks for Brains” program, our goal was to not only spur research and intellectual capital at our state’s major research institutions, but also to encourage greater learning in STEM fields at colleges and universities statewide,” said Governor Joe Manchin. “By providing opportunities for more of our students to innovate and compete, we’re planting the seeds for a more diverse, high-tech economy in West Virginia.” The newest awards supported by interest earned on the program’s Research Trust Fund are:
Fairmont State University will receive $100,000 for the “New Media Assessment Project,” which will enable the university’s Open Source Intelligence Exchange to create a process that allows the university to capture large amounts of content from new media applications such as Twitter, social networking sites and discussion boards, and to consequently generate new knowledge about national security and law enforcement threats.
Shepherd University collects $99,892.50 to develop an “Undergraduate Research and Experiments in Robotics-Based Accomplishments for STEM Students” project. Through this robotics initiative, the university will seek to improve the recruitment and retention of STEM students and better prepare them for careers in robotics engineering and science. Robotics is an emerging multi-disciplinary STEM area that combines mechanical, electrical and computer engineering in the design and construction of robots to perform specific tasks, in addition to emphasizing mathematics and computer science.
“By infusing the universities with the support they need to launch these inventive programs, the state is affirming its commitment to up-and-coming STEM fields and the potential they hold for economic expansion in West Virginia,” said Dr. Paul Hill, Vice Chancellor for Science and Research at the Higher Education Policy Commission.
Proposed by Gov. Manchin and authorized by the Legislature in 2008, the $50 million Research Trust Fund strengthens the research departments also at West Virginia University and Marshall University by providing state dollars to be matched by private donations, including other state higher educational institutions.