The McNair Scholars Program was established in honor of Dr. Ronald E. McNair, who died in the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986.
A native of North Carolina, Dr. McNair completed a BS in Physics at North Carolina A&T State University, graduating magna cum laude, and a Ph.D. in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The McNair Scholars Program maintains the spirit of its namesake by encouraging highly talented scholars to pursue advanced degrees.