FUNDED PROPOSALS: (8/1/12 – 8/31/12)
CONGRATULATIONS!
The following UTC faculty and staff recently attracted $1,226,234 in external grant and contract awards:
Dr. Yu Cao, Assistant Professor, Dr. Joseph Kizza, Professor and Department Head, and Mr. Craig Tanis, Lecturer, all faculty members of Computer Science and Engineering, attracted $305,494 from the National Science Foundation for a high performance computing infrastructure to support biomedical informatics research. Their efforts will seek to improve the quality of healthcare while reducing healthcare costs by developing new computer-aided techniques for analyzing large amounts of clinical data. Research teams from UTC and five other universities will use the new instrumentation in their studies.
Mr. Matt Greenwell, UC Foundation Professor acquired $45,345 from the Hunter Museum of American Art to engage a faculty member to serve as the Museum’s Contemporary Curator during the 2012-2013 year. As the Contemporary Curator, Nandini Makrandi, Clinical Associate Professor of Art History at UTC, will organize exhibitions and manage the museum’s permanent collection of contemporary art.
Dr. Cherry Guinn, Associate Professor of Nursing, secured $29,201 from the Health Resources and Services Administration to continue the Applying Knowledge to Practice for Rural Public Health Nurses program for the 2012-13 year. The program funds an annual three-day conference that provides continuing education opportunities for regional public health nurses.
Ms. Cynthia Wallace Long, Director of UTC’s Educational Opportunity Center, attracted $263,047 from the U.S. Department of Education to continue the work of the Educational Opportunity Center. The EOC assists adult residents in the region as they enroll in GED programs and complete the college admissions process.
Dr. Wilfred McClay, SunTrust Chair of Excellence in Humanities, secured $2,000 from the Jack Miller Center (JMC) to support a Constitution Day Lecture on the UTC campus in September. This lecture will serve as a kick-off function for the Center for Reflective Citizenship at UTC. James Ceaser, author, Chairman of the JMC Academic Council, and distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia, will speak on “Gratitude and Patriotism.”
Dr. Barbara Medley, Associate Professor of Sociology, attracted $5,000 from the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga to fund a component of the Chattanooga Youth Gang Violence Prevention Assessment. The project examines gang influence and student vulnerability to gangs within the Hamilton County school system. The results from the assessment will assist in forming a comprehensive plan in addressing gang issues within schools and within the community.
Dr. Will Sutton, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the SimCenter Team acquired $133,266 from the U.S. Department of Education to grow the Computational Engineering PhD program at UTC. Grant funds will support several PhD students and help the Graduate School of Computational Engineering extend its research from defense and space related research to real-world energy utilization and advanced manufacturing applications. The award funds the first year of what is expected to be a three-year grant.
Ms. Karen Vann, Director of the Center for Community Career Education’s Talent Search Program, secured $230,000 from the U.S. Department of Education to continue the Talent Search Program, which gives academic and social support to economically disadvantaged, potentially first-generation college-bound middle and high school students. Some areas of support include academic counseling, connections to tutoring services, assistance with college applications and preparation of entrance exams, understanding student aid programs and applying for financial aid.
Mr. Kim Wheetley, Director of the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, acquired $2,900 from the Tennessee Arts Commission to fund the 6th National Arts and Education Forum in May 2013. Funding will support honorariums for nationally known experts in education, integrative learning, and professional development who will help plan, present keynotes and panel presentations, and facilitate participants’ discussions.
Drs. Li Yang, Associate Professor, and Joseph Kizza, Professor and Department Head, both faculty members of Computer Science and Engineering, attracted $209,981 from the National Science Foundation for collaborative research focused on curriculum and faculty development on mobile security. Project leaders will develop effective, engaging, and investigative teaching approaches/materials to mobile security courseware in computer science and information assurance education. Tuskegee University, Southern Polytechnic State University, and the University of Cincinnati will participate in the project as collaborating institutions.
SUBMITTED PROPOSALS: (8/1/2012 – 8/31/2012)
GOOD LUCK!
The following UTC faculty and staff members submitted proposals with the potential to generate over $2,237,976 in external funding, if awarded:
Drs. John Graef and Lingju Kong along with Drs. Min Wang and Andrew Ledoan (Mathematics) requested $296,543 from the National Science Foundation to engage undergraduate students in research in the areas of differential and difference equations, mathematical modeling in biology, number theory, and probability. The collaborating mathematics faculty will work with students for three consecutive summers with the hope of encouraging them to pursue careers in the mathematical sciences.
Ms. Katherine Harrell (Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences) requested $19,742 from the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga. Ms. Harrell applied for funds to improve the learning experience of the anatomy lab by purchasing new anatomical models, specifically of human musculature.
Dr. Loren Hayes (Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences) requested $479,283 from the National Science Foundation to conduct a three-year study of reproductive success and stress responses in the degu (Octodon degus), a plurally breeding Chilean rodent that communally cares for offspring. Undergraduate and graduate students from UTC will be involved in the proposed study by designing experiments, analyzing data, learning genetics and neuroendocrine (hormonal) methods, and developing educational and research activities to be conducted at the Chattanooga Zoo with faculty and students in UTeaChattanooga
Dr. Loren Hayes (Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences), Dr. Sandy Watson (UTeaChattanooga), and Dr. Cecelia Wigal (Engineering and Computer Science) requested $249,801 from the National Science Foundation to engage students in field and lab work to determine some of the behavioral, geographical, and genetic factors underlying direct fitness variation in the degu, a Chilean rodent. A major goal of the program is to develop the professional skills and cultural understanding of students, increasing the likelihood for success of projects and the international competitiveness of students.
Dr. Gregory Heath (Assistant Provost for Research and Engagement) and Mr. Phil Pugliese (Health and Human Performance) requested $27,304 from the Johns Hopkins Global Center on Childhood Obesity to measure current physical activity levels among children, youth, and adults living in and around the proposed site of the Riverwalk west extension. The researchers’ long-term plan is to compare these baseline measures of physical activity to physical activity levels among children, youth, and adults following the completion of the trail extension.
Dr. Gary Liguori (Health and Human Performance) requested $562,339 from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association to support the relocation of the Journal of Athletic Training editorial offices to UTC.
Dr. Wilfred McClay (SunTrust Chair of Excellence in Humanities) and Dr. Lucien Ellington (School of Education) requested $25,000 in a preliminary proposal to the Earhart Foundation for a weekend institute centered on the theme of “Citizenship, Economic Literacy, and the History Classroom.”
Drs. Li Yang, Joseph Kizza, Jack Thompson, and Ms. Kathy Winters (Computer Science and Engineering) requested $577,964 from the National Science Foundation to fund scholarships for academically excellent and financially needy undergraduate students majoring in Computer Science and Computer Engineering. This program will serve as a model for a living learning community at UTC and in STEM higher educational environments and will involve the local business community in the professional development of the scholarship recipients.