Congratulations to Dean Sherine Obare and her array of collaborators at NC A&T State University, UNC Greensboro, Fayetteville State University, and Winston-Salem State University on receiving a UNC System Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) Award worth $1.5 million for a project entitled “Next Generation Protective Materials for Soldier Empowerment (NextGen Promise)”. This is a significant accomplishment since only three such awards have been made across the entire UNC System in Fiscal Year 2024 to promote some of the state’s most innovative projects in advanced manufacturing, data sciences, energy, and defense, military & security applications, among other strategic areas of research.