Southern, Yale, New Haven Schools Collaboration Receives National Science Grant

Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and Yale University were awarded a six-year, $13 million grant to expand cutting-edge scientific research and bolster educational opportunities for students and faculty in the New Haven Public Schools.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced it was allocating the money to enhance the schools’ joint materials science center known as the Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (CRISP).

Six years ago, NSF awarded $7.5 million for the creation of such a center, of which SCSU received $1,484,000. The new award will enable the schools to build upon the accomplishments of the last six years. SCSU will receive $1,763,000 — the largest research grant as well as one of the largest grantsever awarded to the university.

Materials science is a discipline that includes the creation of technologically advanced items, ranging from computer chips to biological implants. The center enables students to create and examine new materials at the atomic level. It also helps foster interdisciplinary research in physics, chemistry and engineering by faculty and students at both institutions.

CRISP is considered by NSF to be a Center of Excellence for Materials Research and Innovation — one of several in the country — but the only small materials research center to have attained that designation.

“This grant supports both innovative research and teacher development at a crucial time for Southern and the state of Connecticut,” said Southern Physics Department Chairwoman Christine Broadbridge, the center’s director of education. “This is a natural partnership; in fact, we believe it will serve as a model for other urban school district/higher education partnerships.”

Broadbridge said one major benefit to the grant is the ability to work closely with the New Haven School District and encourage students to consider the math and science fields. The program will now include an assessment component to gauge how effective they are at improving student learning.

Richard Therrien, science supervisor (K-12) for the New Haven Public Schools, said CRISP and SCSU will also offer New Haven teachers workshops in materials science, nanotechnology, math, engineering and technology. “These are skills that urban students need to be successful in pursuing jobs in the future and ensure that the New Haven region and Connecticut continue to have a pool of skilled workers and scientists,” said Therrien.