The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) was awarded a $749,958 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (CFDA 10.310 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative) to implement the ASTEMA program. ASTEMA aims to attract high school and undergraduate students underrepresented in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) disciplines to apply their STEM degrees in agriculture and food-related fields.
The program will consist of two phases: (1) online webinars, workshops, learning modules, professional development, and leadership training during the academic year; followed by (2) a three-week summer travel camp where high school students will visit HBCU agricultural facilities, tour programs, and participate in team-based experiential learning projects focused on precision irrigation, small agricultural devices, and other STEM applications. UMES will leverage best practices developed under its current AFRI-EWD-REEU undergraduate program to deliver the ASTEMA initiative from September 2023 through August 2027.
Additionally, UMES issued a $38,875 subcontract to the University of Maryland, College Park in February 2024 to support the participation of Dr. Andrew Ristvey in the project.
Generated 5/14/24, 7:30 AM