N.C. A&T awarded funding to help increase diversity in STEM field

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is among the schools chosen to receive funding through an initiative by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The agency's Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce, or RENEW, will award $70 million to colleges and universities. The funds will assist student research and workforce training.

A&T professor Ademe Mekonnen says the initiative aims to diversify the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. He says the money will allow the university to educate students in cutting edge research.

"This process would inspire the generations to come," Mekonnen says. "Which means workforce is increasing as a result of reaching out to these underrepresented, minority students."

He says A&T will receive just over $700,000. One of the school's projects supported by the initiative is a study on the predictability of rainfall over East Africa.

Mekonnen says this investment will ensure students are prepared for not only today, but into the future.