Underserved Communities

Artificial Intelligence is transforming research, education, manufacturing and everyday life. To prepare the next generation of talent for a diverse, well-trained AI workforce, the U.S. National Science Foundation directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and STEM Education launched the NSF EducateAI initiative. This program aims to make state-of-the-art, inclusive AI educational experiences available nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced nearly $85 million across four heat pump manufacturers to accelerate the manufacturing of electric heat pumps, heat pump hot water heaters, and heat pump components at five factories in New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Rhode Island.

The Biden-Harris Administration’s economic agenda, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Internal Revenue Service released additional information on key provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act to strengthen energy security and drive investment to hard-hit coal communities and underserved communities.

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a funding opportunity of $6 million for up to 17 grants to attract and keep women in Registered Apprenticeship programs and industries where they are underrepresented, including manufacturing, construction and cybersecurity.

The U.S. Department of Education announced $93 million in grant awards to 20 colleges and universities to support research and development at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions. Southern University and A&M College received an award to progress to R1 through establishing multidisciplinary research centers focused on advanced manufacturing and biological sciences.

The U. S. National Science Foundation announced a $120 million investment over five-year to support four new Science and Technology Centers (STCs). Since program inception in 1987, the STC: Integrative Partnerships program has supported exceptionally innovative, complex research and education projects that have opened up new areas of science and engineering and developed breakthrough technologies.

The Biden-Harris Administration released a new action plan to rapidly and equitably expand biotechnology and biomanufacturing education and job training programs in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced five competitively selected higher education institutions to serve as Centers of Excellence for DOE’s Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) Program and will receive a combined $18.7 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Over more than four decades, the IAC Program has provided more than 20,000 assessments at small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs), which comprise more than 90% of the nation’s manufacturing base.