Federal grant funds summer transportation sessions

By Dr. Ellis Lawrence

Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) professor Dr. Ellis Lawrence announces two opportunities for students interested in a career in a transportation-related field: the Eisenhower Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Fellowship and the ECSU Summer Transportation Institute (STI).

The Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program

The Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP) awards fellowships for the pursuit of degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels in transportation related fields. The program objectives are to attract the nation’s brightest minds to careers in transportation, to enhance the careers of transportation professionals by encouraging them to seek advanced degrees and to retain top talent in the transportation industry of the United States. The DDETFP encompasses all modes of transportation (i.e., land, rail, water and air). Applications are currently being accepted from undergraduate and graduate students interested in the program.

Fellowship Amount

An annual maximum of $10,000 in tuition and mandatory fees will be covered. All recipients may not receive a full award (i.e., tuition, stipend, and travel to the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Recipients’ awards will be based on rankings from the ECSU Campus Selection Panel and FHWA. Recipients will receive a minimum of $1,500 for attendance at the TRB Annual Meeting.

Eligible Majors

Aviation Science, Business, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Public Policy

The ECSU Summer Transportation Institute

The ECSU-STI is designed to introduce high school students to the potential career opportunities that exist in the area of transportation, with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) applications. We meet this challenge by supplementing classroom instruction in trigonometry and computer-aided design with laboratory experiments and field trips. The students will also have the opportunity through the STI to study aviation and earn an Aviation Career Education certificate. Students who have an interest in mathematics, computer-aided design, electronics, computer programming, robotics and unmanned aerial systems are encouraged to apply for this program. This four-week program begins June 13, 2016 and ends July 11, 2016.

The ECSU-STI has been offered since 1999, conducting residential and nonresidential programs for over 250 high school students. The program is funded by a grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation/FHWA, with more than one million dollars allocated over the program’s 17-year history. The curriculum has been updated each year in an effort to keep pace with new technologies that are fundamental to many careers related to various types of transportation.

For more information on applying for an Eisenhower HBCU Fellowship (undergraduate and graduate students) or this summer’s STI (high school students who are rising juniors, seniors or recently graduated) please contact program director and principal investigator Dr. Ellis Lawrence at eelawrence@ecsu.edu.