By Gabby Benedict, CEC Student Intern

Miami University recently received approximately $600,000 in funding from the State of Ohio and the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s FY23 Choose Ohio First (COF) scholarship program in order to create a Biotechnology, Bioscience, and Assistive Technology (COF-BBA) Scholars program.

Miami’s COF-BBA Scholars program is being created to increase the amount of skilled technical graduates of biotechnology, bioscience, and assistive technology-related programs and to facilitate the continued growth of this industry in Ohio.

"Choose Ohio First is a tremendous program to build Ohio's pipeline of STEM talent and to attract individuals from diverse backgrounds and communities to pursue promising STEM careers, said Jessica Sparks, associate dean in the College of Engineering and Computing.

She added, "CEC and other divisions at Miami have had great success through the Choose Ohio First program. This industry sector is growing rapidly in Ohio and elsewhere, and we're excited to be able to support scholarships for students pursuing degrees in eligible programs in these disciplines."

Choose Ohio First awards competitive scholarship funding to colleges and universities in Ohio to support undergraduate and qualifying graduate students in innovative academic programs. Choose Ohio First has committed more than $161.3 million over the past four years to STEM and STEM Education scholarships in developing STEM talent in Ohio.

Members from Miami’s College of Engineering and Computing will lead the scholarship initiative. Serving as co-directors are: Jessica Sparks, associate dean, and professor in the department of Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering (CPB), and Keith Hohn, chair of the CPB department. Co-directors are Jennifer Blue of the department of Physics and Kumar Singh of the department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.