By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
The 40th annual Becoming Everything You Are (BEYA) STEM Conference took place at the Baltimore Convention Center Feb. 12 to Feb. 14, assembling business leaders, experts, professionals and students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Two of the day-one panels put historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) center stage.
The first explored how the institutions can play a strategic role in early exposure, advocacy and pipeline-building for artificial intelligence (AI) and national-security related careers.
“We need more talent. We need more hands on deck. We need to figure out how to upskill people not only to develop the AI technology, but also in what ways can we apply the AI technologies and how do we have the infrastructure, materials and resources?” said Talitha Washington, executive director of the Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics (CADSA) at Howard University (HU). “The talent doesn’t start at age 18, it can happen before that. Just having younger people in the pipeline— through hands-on engagement and experiences that really resonate with them and give them agency, is urgent and paramount.”
During the discussion, panelists shared their strategies for engaging students before college. Anshu Arora, professor of marketing, AI and social robotics at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), outlined initiatives that work directly with public high schools, including a robotics program that serves students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other learning disabilities. The program uses social robotics and behavioral research to make AI education accessible and hands-on.
Amit Arora, professor of supply chain management and AI at UDC, highlighted summer academies at the HBCU, which bring current research students into the programs to help make lessons more approachable and relatable for high school participants.
“Through the summer academy, we got a few students who were really interested in doing some work in social robotics and national security projects that we have,” said Amit Arora. “Putting our current college students in direct contact with K-12 students really helps break down the barriers.”
Beyond highlighting points of K-12 engagement, the panel also addressed two concerns surrounding AI: the potential for automation to replace existing jobs and AI’s environmental impact
Amit Arora said the conversation often comes up in his classroom. He emphasized that—like previous technological revolutions— AI is here to stay, but it can be embraced rather than feared.
Drawing parallels to the introduction of ATMs, he noted that technology often shifts human roles rather than eliminating them entirely, with employees taking on more skilled responsibilities alongside automation.
“People adopt the technology, and we get used to it. It’s the same thing now. AI is here, and there’s a little bit of fear,” said Amit Arora. “But, once that adoption rate goes up, we’ll understand that AI is here to help us. We need to use those tools to reach better productivity levels.”
Expanding on the idea that humans remain essential in an AI-driven workforce, Anshu Arora emphasized that understanding how to use AI is imperative to staying competitive in today’s job market.
“It’s not AI replacing our jobs, it’s people with AI replacing people without AI,” said Anshu Arora.
When it comes to the environmental impact of AI, Washington noted that the technology relies on energy-intensive data centers and called for more efficient systems, renewable energy and thoughtful resource management to make AI development sustainable.
She also proposed exploring synthetic materials as an alternative to mined resources, suggesting that repurposing, retooling and recycling could help meet the growing demand for AI hardware.
“People like AI technology. They like to use it for searches, and that machinery is done in a data center,” Washington. “So, how do we have eco-friendly data centers? How can we have algorithms that are more efficient? How can we have more efficient machinery? How can we use different sorts of energy sources?”
Federal support for HBCU innovation
The second HBCU-focused panel on day one highlighted federal research funding opportunities and how schools can position themselves as leaders in national security research and STEM innovation. Panelists represented the U.S. Department of Navy (DON), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and Department of Energy (DOE), each outlining programs designed to connect HBCU faculty and students with hands-on projects.
Anthony Smith, director of the DON’s HBCU and Minority Institutions program, explained that opportunities range from student internships to faculty fellowships.
“We try to encourage faculty to interact with the Office of Naval Research and Department of Navy program officers to ensure that the work they are doing is considered Navy-relevant,” said Smith. “The big focus going forward is ensuring your research will be related to a program of record for the Department of Navy— whether what you’re working on will benefit a sailor or Marine in a short time frame or be able to be used in a warfare environment for the Navy to better themselves.”
Robinson Pino, program manager in the DOE’s Office of Science, said he supports research in AI competition, neuroscience, advanced wireless, applied mathematics, hardware development and computer science in his role.
“We are the largest funder of basic research in the physical sciences, and we store 10 of the DOE’s national laboratories,” said Pino. “Our annual budget is just over $8 billion per year, which is 100 percent basic research.”
He noted that his office is in the process of creating funding opportunities as part of the recent launch of the Genesis Mission, a coordinated national effort to accelerate scientific discovery using AI.
Panelists also emphasized that HBCUs can strengthen their position by identifying their distinct research strengths, networking with program officers, attending workshops and partnering with federal labs or small businesses. These strategies can help the institutions ensure that faculty and students are ready to compete for grants and fellowships.
They also highlighted an April 2025 executive order from the 47th president, which directed federal agencies to expand support for HBCUs through increased funding, research opportunities and public-private partnerships. Smith stressed the institutions must determine a speciality to effectively leverage these opportunities.
“As government agencies, I think what we have to do is help HBCUs by finding their niche. Each school has something that they can offer,” said Smith. “What we do now is go to HBCUs to find out what they are really good at and then expand the opportunity to meet the needs that have been identified in the executive order.”
