Rice University and the United States Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have signed an Education Partnership Agreement in formal recognition of their collaboration as part of a multi-institutional program that provides financial and educational support for students from low-income backgrounds seeking master’s degrees in engineering and related fields.
The program, Improving Access to Career and Educational Development (I-ACED), launched in 2021 and is funded through a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to Rice, Jackson State University, Prairie View A&M University and Texas Southern University. The program seeks to remove barriers for academically driven master’s students from low-income backgrounds and provide flexible internships and research experiences to complement coursework in one of three technical tracks: biotechnology, sustainability and resilience and digital twinning.
As a key partner in the program, ERDC provides internship and employment opportunities for participating students at the four universities. Additionally, ERDC employees are able to pursue master’s degrees in engineering at universities in the program. ERDC Director David Pittman and Rice’s Executive Vice President for Research Ramamoorthy Ramesh signed the agreement during a trip by Rice I-ACED students to the research and development facility headquartered in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
“This is truly an occasion for celebration, and I’m thrilled that Rice and ERDC are collaborating to make this initiative a success,” Ramesh said. “As institutions with a shared commitment to world-class research, we are natural allies in the effort to build solutions for a better, more resilient, equitable and sustainable future. I am confident we will continue to work together and establish ways to further leverage our respective strengths in service of that shared commitment. I feel a great sense of hope and excitement for what we can accomplish together.
“It is perhaps most fitting to officially mark the collaboration between Rice and ERDC during a student visit to this exemplary facility. We need to do more to support students pursuing higher education degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, and this program is a great example of what we can do in that regard. This is a great first step.”
The I-ACED program provides comprehensive support to participating students not only through industry internships and research opportunities but also scholarships, mentoring and professional development. The program implements a FIRE model (flexible internships, research and education), which helps sustain high retention and graduation rates.
Matthew Wettergreen, lead investigator for the project, an associate teaching professor at Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen and director of the Global Medical Innovation program in the Department of Bioengineering, said he was excited to see how positively students responded to the ERDC trip.
“Visiting ERDC introduced students to a vision of what their careers could hold, the level of impact and innovation in biotechnology, sustainability and resilience or digital twinning that they could foster as a part of the premier R&D institutions in the U.S,” Wettergreen said. “As a bonus, the Rice-ERDC partnership opens collaborative research and career development opportunities for faculty and staff from both institutions, broadly serving the research community. Students left this trip energized and wanting to make their own contributions at ERDC.”