Professor Abate is a co-founder and president of a non-profit organization (www.scifro.org) working on empowering the African youth to solve local problems through scientific research and innovation. The organization is generously supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, National Science Foundation, American Physical Society, and others.

The Abate Lab, through SciFro organizes and provides opportunities for the lab members and the broader MIT community to engage in educational outreach in Africa and underrepresented minority communities in the United States. This will include summer schools, boot camps, hosting research in the lab, online lectures, developing teaching kits, and recruiting for graduate studies.