(Sept. 4, 2018) -- The UTSA Office for Research Support (ORS), part of the Vice President for Research, Economic Development, and Knowledge Enterprise (VPREDKE), awarded its annual seed grants (INTRA, GREAT, Connect, and SALSI) to 33 UTSA faculty members and seven external collaborators to fund innovative ideas. More than $495,000 was given, along with another $325,000 from our research partners, to fund 32 projects from a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from college access to sustainable lighting, from climate politics to biodegradable, 3D-printed implants.
The seed grant programs support the knowledge enterprise by awarding faculty members funding to explore new areas of research. There is a number of considerations which are evaluated and weighted in order to maximize the research investment. Faculty can work out new ideas, create new collaborations, either in a different or complementary field or obtain preliminary data that can be cited in applications for extramural funding, all to enhance the breadth of scholarly and creative activity on campus.
“One of the institution’s key performance indicators, per the Presidential Initiative on Research Excellence, are faculty awards. These seed grants help our faculty spark ideas and initiate or expand their research, which will ultimately lead not only to increased research expenditures but also faculty being recognized for their achievement,” said Bernard Arulanandam, UTSA interim vice president for Research, Economic Development and Knowledge Enterprise.
In addition to the INTRA, GREAT and Connect seed programs, UTSA partners with UT Health San Antonio to fund innovative healthcare-related projects under the San Antonio Life Sciences’ (SALSI) auspices, and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to fund research projects that address great societal challenges.
“Our seed grants have funded not only basic and applied research in the areas of science and engineering but also arts, humanities, and social sciences research projects that adds to the cultural fabric and elevates creative achievement. In the past, we have funded in part a cantata from the Department of Music celebrating the cultures of South Texas, to assisting in bringing a world-class conference of historical linguists from over 40 countries to San Antonio last summer,” explained Jaclyn Shaw, UTSA director for research support, who oversees the programs.
Guan Saw, assistant professor with the Department of Educational Psychology, has been successful with his applications, receiving a GREAT grant this year and an INTRA grant in 2017, for different projects related to STEM education, his research focus.
“As an early career faculty member, I cannot stress how helpful this funding has been, and I highly recommend it particularly to new faculty members to take advantage of these programs,” added Saw.
While seed grants are very impactful, the trend in federal grants awards continues to be larger, now transdisciplinary approaches with a number of faculty collaborating across departments and colleges. These teams and applications can take months to assemble, and the UTSA Office of Research Support team can help faculty members identify researchers outside their departments and colleges for collaboration.
The next funding round of applications for INTRA, GREAT and Connect grants will be posted in December 2018.
INTRA FY 2019 Awardees
September 1, 2018 - August 31, 2019
College of Architecture, Planning and Construction
Architecture
Jae Yong Suk
Investigation of Electric Lighting Energy Savings by Daylight Harvesting in Dynamic Sky Condition
Architecture
John Alexander
History of Tortona's Piazza del Duomo with Information from Ground-Penetrating Radar
Construction Science
Sandeep Langar
Knowledge, Perceptions, and Decisions for Resilient Facilities
College of Business
Accounting
Jennifer Yin
The Alignment between Stewardship and Valuation Roles of Revenues
Accounting
Juan Mao
Roles of Audit Firm Networks and Their Consequences in Audit Services: Evidence from US Small Audit Firms
Accounting
Zhongxia (Shelly) Ye
The Risk Committee Process for US Publicly Traded Firms
Management
Matthew McCarter
Constellation Interdependence, Trust, and Cooperation in Alliance Partnerships: An Experimental Approach
Management Science & Statistics
David Han
Bayesian Design Optimization of a Non-specific Sensor System for Calibration of Analyte Responses, and a New Measure of Analytical Selectivity
Management Science & Statistics
Kefeng Xu
Consumer Reference Dependency, Loss Aversion and Sources of Blame in Service Competition
Management Science & Statistics
Victor De Oliveira
Bayesian Analysis of a Multivariate Density Ratio Model
College of Education and Human Development
Education Leadership
Vanessa Sansone
College access and geography: The Experiences of Rural Youth in Texas
Kinesiology, Health, and Nutrition
Langston Clark
Black Student Athletes and Social Movements: A Pilot Study
Kinesiology, Health, and Nutrition
William Land
Optimal Psychophysiological States during Police Officer Use-of-Force Scenarios: A Multiple Case Study Analysis
College of Liberal and Fine Arts
Anthropology
Patrick Gallagher
Social Narratives of Climate Change in the Greater Caribbean: New Ecologies of Arrival and Incorporation
Communication
Sara DeTurk
Refugee Advocacy and Coalition Building in the U.S. Southwest
Communication
Seok Kang
Going Beyond Just Watching: The Fan Adoption Process of Virtual Reality Sports
English
Kenneth Walker
Climate Politics on the Border
Political Science & Geography
Boyka Stefanova
A Blessing in Disguise? The Dual Failure of Gorbachev’s Template for Economic Reform and China’s Model of State Capitalism in Eastern Europe (1985-1989)
Psychology
David Pillow
Predictors of Bariatric Surgical Outcomes and the Process of Negotiating a New Self
Psychology
Paul Romanowich
Quantifying the association between risky smartphone use and impulsivity
GREAT FY 2019 Awardees
September 1, 2018 - August 31, 2019
College of Engineering
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Lide Duan
A Full-Stack Solution for NVM-Based Deep Learning Acceleration
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Sara Ahmed
Enhanced stability, protection and control for low-interia power grids
College of Education and Human Development
Educational Psychology
Guan Saw
PreFreshman Engineering Program (PREP) and Student STEM Academic and Motivational Factors
Kinesiology, Health and Nutrition
Eunhee Chung
The Role of Maternal Exercise on Microbiota and Inflammation in Pregnant Dams and Their Offspring
College of Public Policy
Criminal Justice
Megan Augustyn
College Crime Victimization Survey: Examining Traditional and Cybervictimization among College Students at a Hispanic Serving Institution
College of Sciences
Biology
Nicole Wicha
Localizing arithmetic in the developing bilingual brain
Connect FY 2019 Awardees
September 1, 2018 - August 31, 2019
Lyle Hood, UTSA COE Mechanical Engineering
Albert Zwiener, Southwest Research Institute
A Biodegradable, 3D-Printed Implantable for Minimally-Invasive Controlled Delivery
Vikram Kapoor, UTSA Civil Engineering
Ronald Green, Southwest Research Institute
Development and Deployment of a New Class of Environmental Tracers
SALSI FY 2019 Innovation Challenge Awardees
June 1, 2018 - May 31, 2019
Jenny Hsieh, UTSA COS Biology
Daniel Lodge, UT Health SA, Pharmacology
Modeling addiction-related interneuron dysfunction in human cerebral organoids
Matthew Wanat, UTSA COS Biology
James Lechleiter, UT Health SA Long School of Medicine
Targeting astrocytes as a novel strategy to reduce cocaine self-administration
SALSI FY 2019 Clusters in Research Excellence Awardees
June 1, 2018 - May 31, 2019
Qian"Guenevere" Chen, UTSA COE Electrical Engineering
Shouhuai Xu, UTSA COS Computer Science
Kathleen Stevens, UT Health SA Long School of Medicine
Azizeh Sowan, UT Health SA Long School of Medicine
Enhancing Safety and Security of Clinical Alarm Systems: An interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical-Human Analysis
SALSI FY 2019 Pilot Awards for Opioid Epidemic Research Awardees
August 1, 2018 - July 31, 2019
Sandra Morissette, UTSA COLFA Psychology
Jennifer Sharpe Potter, UT Health SA, School of Medicine, Psychiatry
Mindfully Adherent: A Tailored mHealth Intervention to Optimize Medication Adherence for Opioid Use Disorder
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The UTSA Office of Undergraduate is proud to celebrate National Undergraduate Research with an annual event sponsored by the (OUR) featuring students will showcase undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from all disciplines across campus.
Various LocationsThis community event is hosted by the UTSA Mexican American Studies Program. It is a lecture/performance that examines the contributions of Tejana musicians to the evolution of Mexican American music.
Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, 922 San Pedro Ave.Asian Fanfair is an event that highlights our APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) identities on campus. The event will feature performances from our AAPI interest Student Organizations, a tabling fair, and some cultural cuisine.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusJoin us for a day dedicated to supporting and empowering our UTSA veterans! We're excited to announce our upcoming resource fair, designed specifically to ensure that our veteran students have access to the resources and networking opportunities they need to thrive in their academic and post-military lives.
Student Union Lawn, Main CampusThis workshop will introduce participants to the basics of text analysis using Python and Jupyter Notebook on the Constellate Lab platform. We will create datasets in Constellate to analyze patterns, trends, and relationships of contents and more.
John Peace Library (JPL 3.02.32), Main CampusWhat would award-winning writing professor Diane Abdo say if it were her last lecture? Join us for our annual Last Lecture series on Wednesday April 17.
Multipurpose Room (BSE 2.102), Main CampusDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
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