Battelle and National Lab Partners Expand Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Consortium with Howard University

October 5, 2023 |

4 min read

Battelle, in collaboration with several national labs, announced a new partnership with Howard University to promote STEM career and research opportunities for faculty and students.

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Battelle, in collaboration with several national labs, announced today a new partnership with Howard University to promote STEM career and research opportunities for faculty and students. Battelle is a non-profit research and development organization that has a management role at eight Department of Energy national laboratories. The organization’s HBCU Consortium program focuses on providing internship, co-op and early career research opportunities that effectively bridge STEM classroom learning and hands-on employment opportunities in innovation.

The goal of this initiative, led by Battelle, is to build sustainable relationships with students, faculty and staff, leading to internships and early career opportunities. Many of the labs, namely Brookhaven National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory where Battelle has a management role have individual longstanding relationships led by the Office of Research at Howard University. This initiative will allow for collaboration and increased visibility into opportunities at Battelle as well as each of the national labs.

As part of Battelle’s long-standing commitment to increasing diversity and fostering inclusion within Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers, Battelle developed in 2021 an HBCU Consortium to build meaningful, long-term collaborative relationships with the country’s leading HBCUs. Currently, Battelle works with Bowie State University and Morgan State University in Maryland.

“We look forward to expanding on our work with the incredible scholars at Howard University,” said Lou Von Thaer, Battelle President and CEO. “Diversity drives innovation, and we are proud to invest in these future scientists and engineers.”

In addition to intern and co-op programs other elements will include:

Faculty connection/exchange programs to build relationships between Howard University faculty and Battelle scientists and engineers.
Battelle scientists, engineers and corporate employees to serve as mentors and guest lecturers.
Virtual seminar series with guest speakers to provide networking and learning opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

“Battelle and the DOE national labs recognize the critical importance of representation in STEM,” said Mark Peters, Battelle’s Executive Vice President for National Laboratory Management & Operations. “Our intention with this partnership is to equip students with the workplace experiences and personal networks that they need to successfully pursue employment in scientific and engineering fields.”

Kicking off the new partnership, Battelle and some of the national lab partners will be at Howard’s Engineering and Architecture Career Fair Sept. 26 and the All Majors Career Fair Oct. 5 to provide information on the open internship, co-op and full-time roles. The visits will culminate with an open-house style event for Howard faculty, students and staff in the Interdisciplinary Research Building on Howard University’s campus on Friday, October 6^th from 12-4pm ET. Additional events to encourage interaction with students, faculty and staff are being planned in October.

“Howard University is pleased to partner with Battelle on this important initiative focused on faculty and postdoctoral research collaboration, student research internships, career development opportunities, and access to state-of-the-art research facilities,” said Bruce A. Jones, Professor and Senior Vice President of Howard University’s Office of Research. “This partnership will create amazing opportunities for Howard scientists and engineers to participate in research at world-class facilities while increasing diversity and representation in the STEM workforce.”

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org.

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced two Schwarzman Scholars, four Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American PhD. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.