Jerald Dumas is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Hampton University (HU). He graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. in chemical engineering and received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University. He teaches junior level chemical engineering courses, while serving as PI and Co-PI on several NSF grants. His wet bench research focuses on the development of bioinspired polymeric materials for tissue engineering, disease detection, and equipment performance. As the NSF I-Corps lead at Hampton University, he facilitates courses and workshops (for both undergraduates and faculty) to introduce lean startup and customer discovery concepts to the HU community. He desires to continue establishing a track record in studying the effects of research and entrepreneurship learning on the engineering identities of HBCU students to improve the recruitment and retention of underrepresented engineering students.