Academics

College of Engineering awards seven Multidisciplinary Research Seed Grants

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State College of Engineering recently awarded funding to seven projects through its Multidisciplinary Research Seed Grants program.

The program supports research that will increase the competitiveness of faculty in attracting high-impact multidisciplinary and center-level research funding from the state and federal government, industry or foundations.

Thirty-seven submissions were reviewed by an ad-hoc committee of faculty members and external experts who then provided recommendations to the College of Engineering dean and associate deans.

“As always, there were many more high-quality applications than we could fund,” said Chris Rahn, associate dean for innovation in the College of Engineering. “The seven awarded projects have the potential to advance original, creative and transformative concepts. They form new collaborations and promise to provide preliminary results that can be leveraged to successfully compete for follow-on, external funding.”

The seven projects selected for funding are:

  • “eROS: In Situ Mapping of Reactive Oxygen Species Produced by Cancer Cells Using Integrated Sensor Arrays” by Aida Ebrahimi, assistant professor of electrical engineering and biomedical engineering; Esther Gomez, assistant professor of chemical engineering and biomedical engineering; and Mehdi Kiani, Dorothy Quiggle Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering
  • “Ultrasound-Enabled Strategies for Synchronous Imaging and Therapy of Venous Blood Clots” by Scott Medina, assistant professor of biomedical engineering; Julianna Simon, assistant professor of acoustics and biomedical engineering; and Keefe Manning, professor of biomedical engineering
  • “Impact of CAV Technologies on Driver Behavior” by Yiqi Zhang, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering; Ilgin Guler, assistant professor of civil engineering; and Sean Brennan, professor of mechanical engineering
  • “Machine Learning Approaches for Safe Geothermal Exploration” by Jing Yang, assistant professor of electrical engineering, and Chris Marone, professor in the Department of Geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
  • “Thermal Engineering and Chemistry Optimization for Metal Oxidation Warming Systems (MOWS) to Survive the Lunar Night” by Alexander Rattner, Dorothy Quiggle Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Michael Manahan, assistant research professor, Applied Research Laboratory; and Masten Space Systems
  • Will Boron Arsenide be the Next Silicon” by Sukwon Choi, Kenneth K. and Olivia J. Kuo Early Career Professor in Mechanical Engineering; Brian Foley, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; and Rongming Chu, associate professor of electrical engineering, assistant research professor, Applied Research Laboratory
  • “Novel Micro-Particle Neutron Detection Technology Based on Zinc-Sulfide-Coated Lithium-Fluoride Particles” by Marek Flaska, assistant professor of nuclear engineering; Azaree Lintereur, assistant professor of nuclear engineering; and Douglas Wolfe, research professor, Applied Research Laboratory

This cohort marks the second consecutive year in which awarded projects feature researchers from outside the College of Engineering.

“We want to encourage our faculty to think about how they can contribute to important problems motivated by faculty from other colleges,” said Rahn. “We are very pleased to see the number of cross-campus collaborations continue to grow and appreciate co-sponsorship by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences for one of our seed grants this year. This year is also the first time we co-sponsored seed grants with the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL). It is encouraging that ARL researchers are looking to their College of Engineering colleagues to help solve our nation’s important problems.”

Multidisciplinary Research Seed Grants provide up to $60,000 to support undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, small equipment, software, user facility fees and materials and supplies.

“I look forward to seeing the results from their seed grant research, and wish them the best of luck in obtaining the preliminary results that will help them compete for external grants,” Rahn said.

Last Updated March 25, 2019