Twelve projects were chosen for funding under the Office of Research and Engagement’s 2019 Research Seed Program. The program, launched in October 2017, serves as a catalyst for UT Knoxville and UT Space Institute faculty to help generate proposal submissions to specific sponsors or around a particular initiative.
Projects receiving funding for 2019 are:
Biomedical Research Seed Program
- Steven Abel, assistant professor of chemical and biomedical engineering, for his project, “Designing compliant macromolecular nanostructures for probing and actuating biomembranes”
- Michael Best, director of graduate studies and professor of chemistry, for his project, “Enzyme-responsive liposomes for targeted drug delivery”
- Dustin Crouch, assistant professor of mechanical, aerospace, and biomedical engineering, for his project, “Muscle reattachment and implanted prostheses for limb reconstruction following amputation”
- Tian Hong, assistant professor of biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology, for his project, “Interrogating reversible epithelial-mesenchymal transition with single cell resolution”
- Xiaopeng Zhao, associate professor of mechanical, aerospace, and biomedical engineering, for his project, “Improving memory retrieval with real-time neural modulation in older adults”
Community Engaged Research Seed Program
- Joshua Rosenberg, assistant professor of STEM education, for his project, “Planting the seeds for computer science education in East Tennessee through a research-practice partnership”
- Jon Shefner, department head and professor of sociology, for his project, “Collaborative Engagement: Enhancing Community-University Capabilities through Social Science Research”
Interdisciplinary Research Seed Program
- Dustin Gilbert, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, for his project, “Thermoelectricity in High-Entropy Alloys”
- David Keffer, associate department head and professor of materials science and engineering, for his project, “Force-energy Atomic Landscapes through Computationally Optimized Numerics (FALCON)”
- Shuai Li, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, for his project, “Trust-Aware Human-Robot Interface for Occluded and Uncertain Space Search”
Mission Agency Research Seed Program
- Alex Bentley, department head and professor of anthropology, for his project, “Advanced Warning of Evolving Media Effects (AWESoME)”
- Timothy Truster, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, for his project, “Transient Coupling of Peridynamics and Classical Continuum Mechanics for Dynamic Fracture Modeling”
This is the second year ORE has awarded internal funding through the Research Seed Program. Grant recipients were selected by evaluation panels comprised of UT faculty and external program officers (if appropriate) related to each category. The panels then scored and recommended proposals for funding.
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Contact Erin Chapin (erin.chapin@utk.edu, 865-974-2187)