ATLANTA, Ga. — Morehouse College has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to participate in a $457 million initiative to build one of the most powerful academic supercomputers in the Southeast—a move that positions the historically Black college at the forefront of advanced computing and artificial intelligence research.
The Morehouse Center for Broadening Participation in Computing has received an initial $5 million allocation to begin construction of a site that will house the cutting-edge supercomputer, known as Horizon. The system is part of the NSF’s Leadership-Class Computing Facility (LCCF), with additional funding expected to support long-term operations.
Horizon is designed to expand research capabilities in artificial intelligence, climate modeling, machine learning, and biomedical science. By hosting the system, Morehouse will provide its students and faculty (as well as HBCUs nationwide) access to world-class computational power traditionally concentrated at large research universities.
The project is led by the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas at Austin. As a primary partner in the LCCF initiative, Morehouse will play a central role in deploying and supporting the system. Beyond housing the supercomputer, the college will serve as a national hub for programming and training.
Planned initiatives include a summer enrichment program for middle and high school boys, a post baccalaureate program in artificial intelligence, and three weeklong faculty accelerator sessions in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Those accelerators will focus on research development, innovative teaching practices, and grant proposal writing.
“Morehouse College is honored to partner with the NSF and the University of Texas at Austin on this transformative project,” said Dr. F. DuBois Bowman, the college’s 13th president. “By hosting one of the Southeast’s most powerful academic supercomputers, we are providing HBCUs with unprecedented computational power to explore bold ideas, accelerate discovery, and unleash new frontiers of creativity and innovation.”
Dr. Kinnis Gosha, principal investigator of the grant and the Hortinius I. Chenault Endowed Professor and Chair of Computer Science, said the initiative solidifies Morehouse’s leadership in artificial intelligence among HBCUs.
“As a national resource provider, we will empower other HBCUs and non-research-intensive institutions to expand their research capacity and enhance student learning,” Gosha said.
The NSF partnership underscores Morehouse College’s growing influence in global STEM research and its commitment to expanding access within the technology sector, where diversity gaps remain significant. National labor statistics indicate that approximately 62% of technology jobs are held by White Americans.
Morehouse plans to share updates on the project at the annual Integrating Supercomputing-Powered Instruction, Research, and Entrepreneurship (InSPIRE) Workshop in Austin, Texas, which supports faculty and students incorporating AI research into teaching and entrepreneurial ventures.
College officials say the investment not only strengthens Morehouse’s academic infrastructure but also reinforces its broader mission of preparing the next generation of Black leaders to shape the future of science, technology, and global innovation.
