The Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) is an NSF-funded program with the objective of enhancing diversity in materials research and education by stimulating the development of formal, long-term, collaborative research and education partnerships between minority serving colleges and universities and the NSF Division of Materials Research (DMR)-supported centers and facilities.

Through generous support by the National Science Foundation, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has newly established in September 2009 the University of Puerto Rico–Mayaguez – University of Wisconsin MRSEC & NSEC PREM. This proposal partners the universities of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (UPRM) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) to create richer educational and research opportunities for Hispanic students in Materials Science and Engineering and, thereby, increase their representation in the Materials community. It will also provide a strong research underpinning for the first Puerto Rican graduate degree in Materials Science and Engineering, which has been proposed at UPRM.