Dr. Hamid Norouzi, and his colleagues at NY City Tech, CUNY awarded NSF S-STEM grant

Dr. Hamid Norouzi, and his colleagues at NY City Tech, CUNY awarded the NSF S-STEM grant for Developing an Ecosystem of STEM Success for Built Environment Majors

CUNY CREST Faculty affiliate, Dr. Hamidreza Norouzi and other Co-PIs, were recently awarded about $1.5 million in funding through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) grant. Dr. Norouzi will be serving as a Co-PI alongside fellow Co-PIs, Muhammad Ummy, Daeho Kang, Masato R Nakamura, and Melanie Villatoro, who will be serving as the Lead PI for this project. All project personnel are associated with The City University of New York (CUNY), New York City College of Technology.

Dr. Norouzi is a Professor of the Department of Construction Management and Civil Engineering Technology at CUNY New York City College of Technology. Dr. Norouzi serves one of CUNY CREST Institute’s esteemed scientists and as mentor for our students. The lead PI of this project, Prof. Melanie Villatoro is an Associate Professor and Chairperson of the department of Construction Management and Civil Engineering Technology. Dr. Muhammed Ummy (Co-PI), faculty of the Department of Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering Technology. Dr. Daeho Kang (Co-PI), Assistant Professor of the Department of Environmental Control Technology. Dr. Masato R Nakamura (Co-PI), Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design Technology.

The NSF S-STEM grant aims to encourage academically talented students from low-income populations, to obtain degrees in STEM disciplines, with a focus in the built-environment workforce. The built-environment workforce includes professions with a background in construction, construction management, architecture, civil engineering, electrical, etc. The awarded project, Developing an Ecosystem of STEM Success for Built Environment Majors, seeks to create a solution to the mission set out by the NSF S-STEM grant for the built-environment workforce.

The New York City College of Technology’s School of Technology and Design plans on implementing an S-STEM scholarship and student support program. The program will select sixty engineering and technology major students focused on Civil Engineering Technology, Construction Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology and Environmental Control Technology as S-STEM scholars. The potential candidates for the program come from a financially disadvantaged background in order to empower and equip them to enter the built-environment workforce, or attend graduate school. Selected students will be provided a STEM faculty member as their mentor, STEM academic support for gateway courses, and research and internship opportunities. Main objectives of this program would be to increase retention and graduate rates of the S-STEM scholars, equip the scholars throughout their academic journey, and to identify strategies for promoting academic success of low-income students. The team will not only help the participants of this program, but also help encourage diversity, equity, and economic mobility in the built-environment workforce.

The CUNY CREST Institute would like to congratulate Dr. Norouzi and the City Tech project team on their success!