The U.S. Department of War has issued a five-year, $10 million federal grant to HBCU North Carolina A&T.
The grant will help the HBCU expand its defense research in artificial intelligence, autonomous technology, cybersecurity and quantum computing.
The U.S. Department of War selected the university as an inaugural recipient of funding through its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority-Serving Institutions Program. North Carolina A&T will use the award to establish Accelerate-DAQ, an interdisciplinary research initiative involving faculty and students across six colleges.
The pilot program supports advanced research and STEM training at HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions in fields connected to national security. It also seeks to strengthen the universities’ overall research capacity.
“We’re honored to have been chosen for the Accelerate-DAQ program,” Chancellor James R. Martin II said. “Our selection is strong validation of the research A&T is already focused on and our capacity to do much more in the future.”
Artificial intelligence anchors research plan
Accelerate-DAQ will concentrate on three interconnected research areas: Trustworthy AI and Cyber Defense, AI-enabled Autonomy, and Quantum Computing.
The work aligns with several of the Department of War’s Critical Technology Areas, particularly Applied Artificial Intelligence and Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance.
“Future AI systems must do more than produce accurate answers. They must be trustworthy, resilient and capable of operating under uncertainty,” said Kaushik Roy, chair of North Carolina A&T’s Department of Computer Science.
Roy said researchers will explore how intelligent systems can work effectively with people, withstand cyber threats and make dependable decisions in difficult environments.
The initiative will support faculty members, postdoctoral scholars, research staff and graduate and undergraduate students. North Carolina A&T also plans to increase its capacity to conduct sensitive or classified research.
“This project is a gamechanger in developing and providing support for our research champions at every level in multiple disciplines, while strengthening A&T’s ability to meet national security demands,” said Lisa Clough, vice chancellor for Research and the project’s lead principal investigator.
North Carolina A&T continues research growth
Accelerate-DAQ also supports North Carolina A&T’s larger effort to reach and maintain Research 1 status under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
Principal investigators have attracted more than $550 million in external funding over the past five years to the HBCU. North Carolina A&T received more than $113 million in research awards during the previous fiscal year alone.
The defense award is already the university’s second eight-figure grant of the new fiscal year. In August, North Carolina A&T announced a $16.9 million National Institutes of Health award to establish a research center focused on reducing health disparities.
