PREM Quarterly Newsletter

Wayant Billey (second from right) and his colleagues represent NTU as the Science Bowl Team at the AIHEC 2026 spring conference. Billey won first prize for an oral presentation of his research at the event. Image courtesy of Navajo Technical University.

Navajo Technical University Student Develops Sensors to Detect Heavy Metals in Water

Wayant Billey’s work could help communities better understand local contamination risks while inspiring the next generation of STEM students.

Xinle Li (extreme right) with his lab members in 2024. Li, assistant professor of chemistry at Clark Atlanta University recently received the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. Image courtesy of Xinle Li.

A Milestone Year for Clark Atlanta University PREM Faculty Member Xinle Li

Clark Atlanta University students in Xinle Li’s lab recently met 2025 Chemistry Nobel Laureate Omar Yaghi while presenting their research at the ACS Spring Meeting. The milestone comes amid a standout period for Li, who also received the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award and continues to grow a nationally recognized research program at CAU.

An AI-generated illustrative depiction of gray tin’s brittle, gray crystalline appearance.

NMSU Student’s Research Points to Better Way to Study Gray Tin

Jaden Love’s work uses a light-based method known as ellipsometry to better understand a promising quantum material.

Graphical summary of pulsed-laser-deposited RuO₂ thin films on sapphire, showing that the thicker film had lower sheet resistance, lower charge-transfer resistance, and better electrocatalytic performance than the thinner film.

North Carolina A&T Researchers Build Lower-Cost Catalyst Film for Green Hydrogen Using Sapphire

North Carolina A&T researchers have shown that high-performance water-splitting catalysts can be grown on lower-cost sapphire, a finding that could help make clean-hydrogen technologies more affordable.

NSF Resources Worth Bookmarking for Materials Science Faculty and Students

Looking for NSF resources to support your work in materials science? Whether you are seeking funding, proposal guidance, student research opportunities, fellowships, or access to shared facilities, NSF offers a range of helpful tools for faculty and students alike. We’ve rounded up a few links worth bookmarking.