FUNDED PROPOSALS: (1/1/13 – 2/28/13)
CONGRATULATIONS
The following UTC faculty and staff recently attracted $448,339 in external grant and contract awards:
Dr. David Aborn, Associate Professor of Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences, attracted $7,000 from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to research the Saw-whet owl population in South Cherokee National Forest. The study will provide information about the population and distribution of this poorly understood species, which is listed as threatened in Tennessee.
Drs. Jennifer Boyd, Assistant Professor, and Joey Shaw, Associate Professor, both faculty members in the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science, attracted $7,398 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to research the influence of light and soil moisture availability on the growth and reproduction of the white fringeless orchid. A better understanding of these factors could lead to effective management of this rare species.
Ms. Susanne Burgess, Director of Music Education at UTC’s Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, attracted $600 from the Hamilton County Department of Education for a kindergarten music residency at Battle Academy for Teaching and Learning. Dr. Burgess will meet with all kindergarten teachers in March and will teach lessons to kindergarten students in April.
Ms. Dianne Cox, Director of Financial Aid, secured $8,350 from the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation to continue the Tennessee Rural Health Loan Forgiveness Scholarships. The scholarships provide support for students pursuing a Master’s Degree in Nursing who agree to practice in a rural health shortage area after graduation.
Dr. Lucien Ellington, UC Foundation Professor of Education and Co-Director of the UTC Asia Program, attracted $70,728 from the Association for Asian Studies to continue the publication of the Education About Asia Journal in 2013. This journal, founded in 1996, is published three times per year and features issues in Asian studies ranging from ancient cultures and literatures to current events.
Dr. Frank Jones, UC Foundation Professor and Program Coordinator of Chemical Engineering, secured $19,018 from the NSF-funded TN-SCORE program to continue his research on the abilities of nano and micro scale structures to increase the efficiency of biofuel production. The desired outcome of this research is the production of biofuels with lower processing times, lower energy use, and higher product purity than biofuels created using other industrial techniques.
Drs. David Levine and Robert Dale (Physical Therapy) secured $3,270 from LiteCure for research on the effects of laser therapy on muscle endurance. The study will investigate if lasers can improve the exercise capacity and performance on the rotator cuff, an important muscle for shoulder stability.
Drs. Wilfred McClay , SunTrust Chair of Excellence in Humanities, and Lucien Ellington (School of Education) attracted $25,000 from the Earhart Foundation for a weekend institute centered on the theme of “Citizenship, Economic Literacy, and the History Classroom.” The institute is an offering of the UTC Center for Reflective Citizenship, which was co-founded by Drs. McClay and Ellington to foster regional and national improvement of the quality of instruction provided to K-12 students in both public and private schools in matters relating to civic education.
Dr. Barbara Medley (Sociology and Center for Applied Social Research – CASR) attracted $5,500 from the City of Chattanooga to develop a comprehensive action plan based on the data findings of the Chattanooga Gang Assessment. The action plan will develop strategies that focus on gang reduction within the Hamilton County school system and Chattanooga community.
Dr. Nicky Ozbek, Professor of Psychology, attracted $ 50,319 from Dialysis Clinic Inc. via UT College of Medicine Chattanooga to investigate whether melatonin deficiency correlates with the onset of depression among dialysis patients. The study will measure depression, quality of life, and olfactory sensitivity before and after treatment of sleep disorders with melatonin.
Dr. Valerie Rutledge (School of Education) attracted $232,956 from Tennessee State University to continue the work of the Strengthening Tennessee Elementary Schools – Focus on Mathematics (SITES-M) project at UTC. The SITES-M consortium was formed to address the issue of low performance of minority students in mathematics. Project activities for in-service teachers include weekend math workshops and a two-week summer math institute.
Mr. Kim Wheetley (Southeast Center for Education in the Arts – SCEA) attracted $18,200 from Syracuse Arts Academy, a charter school in Syracuse, Utah, to review and analyze the school’s arts integration program. The SCEA will then recommend a professional development program to strengthen the school’s arts education program.
SUBMITTED PROPOSALS: (1/1/13 – 2/28/13)
GOOD LUCK!
The following UTC faculty and staff members submitted proposals with the potential to generate over $7,272,651 in external funding, if awarded:
Drs. Jennifer Boyd, Stylianos Chatzimanolis, Hope Klug, Henry Spratt, Joey Shaw, Thomas P. Wilson (Biology, Geology and Environmental Science) and Dr. Gretchen Potts (Chemistry) requested $342,945 from the National Science Foundation for controlled-environment growth chambers to be used for research and research training through inquiry-based experimental learning. The growth chambers will allow opportunities for faculty and both undergraduate and graduate students to research topics related to global change biology.
Ms. Sandy Cole (Center for Community Career Education) requested $1,500 from the Hamilton County Department of Education to expand the Postsecondary Awareness With Success (PAWS) program to 4th and 5th grade students at Brown Academy during the 2013 spring semester. The students will have the opportunity to learn the importance of their academic success in elementary school and how that strong foundation will serve them well going into middle and high school.
Ms. Lisa Darger (Facilities Planning and Management) requested $275 from RecycleMania to provide stipends to student coordinators of UTC’s second annual RecyleMania Tournament. This year’s tournament will also include the “TechnoTrash” campaign, which will expand recycling efforts to include electronic waste.
Drs. Martina Harris, Chris Smith and Robin Pearlstein (School of Nursing) – $1,379,748 from the Health Resources and Services Administration for the InterProfessional Collaborative for Homeless Healthcare Education, Learning, and Practice (IPC-HHELP) program. IPC-HHELP is a collaboration project that will advance interprofessional preparation in the tremendously medically underserved region of southeast TN while addressing the health care needs of the homeless.
Drs. Linda Hill and Chris Smith (School of Nursing) submitted a proposal to the Health Resources and Services Administration to continue the Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship program, which provides scholarships for students in the MSN Nurse Anesthesia program. The goal is to increase the number and diversity of nurse anesthetists and to encourage graduates to practice in health professional shortage areas.
Dr. Robin McWilliam (School of Education), in partnership with the Siskin Children’s Institute, requested 392,353 from The National Institutes of Health for a project aimed to improve families’ quality of life and the quality of interventions that infants and toddlers with disabilities receive. The study will investigate whether Routines-based surveys are effective in providing family-centered intervention strategies.
Dr. Roger Nichols (Mathematics) requested $5,000 from Oak Ridge Associated Universities for mathematical and physical related research on the Schrödinger equation. Funds will also support a collaborative aspect of the project as well as a presentation of work at an American Mathematical Society meeting in Kentucky.
Dr. Nicky Ozbek (Psychology) submitted a Letter of Intent to the Alzheimer’s Association for a pilot study on the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease symptoms and b-amyloid plaques found in retinas. The research aims to find a human biomarker that is a specific and cost effective measure for early detection of Alzheimer’s.
Ms. Sara Peters (Women’s Center) requested $5,000 from the Avon Foundation for development and implementation of an online training module and peer education curriculum that addresses issues of dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The program will serve approximately 4,000 students, domestic violence victims, and young women.
Dr. Irven Resnick (Chair of Excellence in Judaic Studies) requested $191,592 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to hold a five week summer institute in 2014. Participants will learn about changes in the legal status, economic conditions, cultural stereotypes and depictions of Jews as “the Other” -the most visible and problematic minority group in medieval Christendom.
Dr. Mina Sartipi (Computer Science and Engineering) requested $384,747 from the National Institutes of Health to develop a wearable, smart system monitor for post-stroke patients. A mobile health stroke management system proactively provides patients, caregivers, and health professionals with real-time data where patient progress and rehabilitation can be monitored.
Dr. Mina Sartipi and the SimCenter Research Team (College of Engineering and Computer Science), in partnership with SimCenter Enterprises, UT Knoxville, and Lucent Technologies Bell Laboratories requested $518,924 from the National Science Foundation for collaborative research on smart grid networks. The ultimate goal of this research is to provide thermal prediction of the street level Chattanooga area to enable a critical element for predicting Electrical Power Demand Response.
Dr. Michael Sherr (Social Work) requested $447,684 from the Templeton Foundation for a collaborative project with the On Point youth development organization. The project will study the replication of a youth character education program, emphasizing the role of implementation instead of simply measuring outcomes. The aim is to bridge the gap between scientifically-proven evidence based programs that have limited scalability and grass roots organizations that lack the capacity, abilities, and community context to scale these programs with fidelity.
The SimCenter Research Team submitted a number of proposals recently:
- A letter of intent requesting $24,000 Intent from Optimal LLC to assist with a Small Business Innovation Research proposal to the Army. The SimCenter’s role will be to test Optimal LLC’s simulation software on UTC’s high performance computer cluster.
- In collaboration with SimCenter Enterprises, a preliminary proposal to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to reduce vehicle pollution and increase fuel efficiency by improving traffic flow.
- in collaboration with SimCenter Enterprises, Johns Hopkins University, and UT Knoxville, a proposal requesting $800,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop/enhance capabilities of powerful computational systems for use in managing hazardous events such as floods or toxic gas leaks.
- a proposal requesting $268,881 from the National Science Foundation for a computational investigation of the physics of engines embedded in the airframes of wide-bodied jets.
- in collaboration with MIT, a proposal requesting $2,500,000 from the Air Force Research Lab to establish a Collaborative Center for Aeronautical Sciences. Research would focus on simulation of fluid dynamics and electromagnetics to address practical applications of interest to the Air Force.
Dr. Min Wang (Mathematics) requested $5,000 from Oak Ridge Associated Universities for research on fractional boundary problems and differential equation theory. Funds will also support Dr. Wang’s presentation on his findings at the 2014 American Mathematical Society meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Kim Wheetley (Southeast Center for Education in the Arts – SCEA) requested $5,000 from the Tennessee Arts Commission to fund the 7th National Arts and Education Forum in May 2014. Funding will support honoraria for nationally known experts in education, integrative learning, and professional development who will help plan, present keynotes and panel presentations, and facilitate participants’ discussions.