Three historically black colleges and universities are part of a group of seven institutions selected to receive research grants totaling nearly $35 million from NASA's Minority University Research and Education Program. Howard University, Morgan State, and Prairie View A & M and four other minority institutions will receive up to $1 million per year for a maximum of five years based on performance and availability of funds.

The goal of NASA's Minority University Research and Education Program is to establish significant, multi-disciplinary scientific, engineering and commercial research centers at the host universities that contribute substantially to NASA programs.

The awards will help to achieve broad-based competitive aerospace research and technology development capability among HBCUs and other minority universities. The grants will also increase participation by faculty and students of colleges and universities in research programs of NASA's mission directorates, and help increase the number of underrepresented minorities who obtain advanced degrees in NASA-related fields.

The university organizations selected to receive awards are:

Howard University Beltsville Center for Climate System Observation, Howard University, Washington

Center of Excellence in Systems Engineering for Space Exploration Technologies, Morgan State University, Baltimore

The Center for Radiation Engineering and Science for Space Exploration, Prairie View A & M University, Prairie View, Texas

Center for Bio-Nanotechnology and Environmental Research, Texas Southern University, Houston

Center for Advanced Nanoscale Materials II, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan

 WaterSCAPES: Science of Coupled Aquatic Processes in Ecosystems from Space, Florida International University, Miami

NASA University Research Center SPACE Center, California State University, Los Angeles