UofL internal grants fund research in AI, equity and more

Dozens of University of Louisville researchers have been awarded internal grant funding to explore topics ranging from artificial intelligence to COVID-19 and more.

The funding comes via two annual internal grants programs through the UofL Office of Research and Innovation: the Jon Rieger Seed Grants and Programmatic Support programs. 

“This internal funding provides critical support for groundbreaking research and scholarship,” said Will Metcalf, associate vice president for research and innovation. “I’m excited for the strong and diverse projects funded in this round, and look forward to seeing what these researchers accomplish.” 

Jon Rieger Seed Grants provide up to $7,500 to assist full-time, active-status early career researchers in the initiation of new scholarship, creative activities and other research approaches. Winners this round were: 

• Collaborative multimodal sensor fusion with edge intelligence for connected and autonomous vehicles (Sabur Hassan Baidya, J.B. Speed School of Engineering);
• Assessing and responding to psychosocial and health equity needs of immigrant and refugee communities through library partnerships (Rebecka Bloomer, Kent School of Social Work);
• Evaluation of the physicochemical properties of a new bioceramic endodontic sealer: an initial approach (Eduardo Antunes Bortoluzzi, School of Dentistry);
• Emotions, context and alcohol use (Konrad Bresin, College of Education and Human Development);
• Developing 3D-printed lattice nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 tests (Yanyu Chen, J.B. Speed School of Engineering);
• The impacts of drought on hemp physiology, chemistry, and the microbiome (Natalie Christian, College of Arts and Sciences);
• Multi-pathogen wastewater surveillance system to improve health and stop pathogenic outbreaks within low- and middle-income country communities (Rochelle Holm, School of Medicine);
• Reactions to experiencing discrimination (RED) study (Yara Mekawi, College of Arts and Sciences);
• Quantifying the controls of streamflow permanence and sediment connectivity in urban headwater streams (Tyler Mahoney, J.B. Speed School of Engineering);
• A physics-based machine learning framework for smart self-adaptable multi-stage manufacturing systems (Luis Segura Sangucho, J.B. Speed School of Engineering);
• Homing in: community engaged research on LGBTQ+ youth houselessness in Louisville, Kentucky (Cara Snyder, College of Arts and Sciences); and
• Eliciting expert knowledge in empirical selection of machine learning methods (Xiaomei Wang, J.B. Speed School of Engineering).

The Programmatic Support grant provides up to $3,000 of funding to assist full-time, active-status faculty with the completion of a project where other funding sources are not available. Winners this round were: 

• Human mate-copying and the popularity of Halo in an online venue (Michael Cunningham, College of Arts and Sciences) 
• Development of a gastric reflux simulator for the analysis of teeth and dental materials (Grace DeSouza, School of Dentistry)
• Youth/young adults of color responding to racial inequities and COVID-19 in listening sessions (Melanie Gast, College of Arts and Sciences)
• Validating techniques for collecting vocal and listening effort during remote and in-person speech-language intervention (Maria Kondaurova, College of Arts and Sciences)
• On the border, between empires: A bioarchaeological examination of health, diet, and biological relatedness in individuals from the cemetery of Oymaağaç during the Roman to Byzantine transition (Kathryn Marklein, College of Arts and Sciences) 
• Chance designs recording (John Ritz, School of Music)
• Development of expertise in perception of speech and music (Christian Stilp, College of Arts and Sciences)
• Automating emotional safety and post-traumatic growth: An exploratory study to investigate gender-based violence survivors’ user experiences on social media (Heather Storer, Kent School of Social Work)
• Campus sustainability, community context (Angela Storey, College of Arts and Sciences)
• Antibiotic bone cement intramedullary nails for treating orthopaedic infections (Michael Voor, School of Medicine) 
• Exploring the relationships between student behaviors and special education teachers' physical well-being and instruction: a pilot study (Jeremy Whitney, College of Education and Human Development) 
• Effect of powder feedstock on the material characteristics of small-size Ti6Al4V geometries fabricated by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (Li Yang, J.B. Speed School of Engineering)
• Translation of the Chinese fashion industry: an ethnographic approach (Jianhua Zhao, College of Arts and Sciences)

In addition to the programmatic and Rieger grants, two more internal grants programs accept applications annually in fall: Collaborative Mentoring Grants (up to $10,000) and Capacity Building Grants (up to $25,000). Open applications will be announced in September with application deadlines in late October. More information is available on the Office of Research and Innovation website.