Funded by a five-year, $1 million award from the National Science Foundation’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, MATRIX seeks to improve the academic performance, retention, and graduation rates for financially disadvantaged students who transfer to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in UAH’s College of Engineering.
“Those selected for MATRIX will receive scholarships about $10,000 per year for up to two consecutive years beginning with their first fall semester at UAH,” says Dr. Kavan Hazeli, an assistant engineering professor who serves as the program’s principal investigator. “Their first year in the program will focus on community building and undergraduate research, and their second year will focus on professional development, networking, and internships. They will also have the possibility of staying in the program for a third year based on their performance.”