Research Awards
August 2022
Dr. Steven West, professor in the department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research, was awarded $1,136,516 from the Health Resources and Services Administration for his project “Memphis Disadvantaged Student Scholarship.”
Dr. Marian Levy, associate dean and professor in the division of Social and Behavioral Sciences was awarded $448,872 from the Shelby County Health Department with the Centers For Disease Control for her project “COVID-19 Health Disparities in Communities that are at High-Risk and Underserved.”
Dr. Daniel Foti, assistant professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering, was awarded $406,825 from the University of Central Florida with the United States Army Research Laboratory for his project “High energy laser targeting.”
Dr. Kan Yang, assistant professor in the department of Computer Science, was awarded $397,084 from FedEx Corporate Services, Incorporated for his project “Designing Machine Learning-based Solutions for APT Detection.”
Dr. Kathryn Ramsey, assistant professor and director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic in the department of Law, was awarded $350,000 from The Urban Child Institute for her project “MLP/Memphis CHiLD.”
Dr. Irena Lasiecka, distinguished university professor and chair in the department of Mathematical Science, was awarded $340,000 from the National Science Foundation for her project “PDE Control of 3D Fluids, Flow/Fluid-Structure interactions: Finite dimensional strategies for flutter/turbulence suppression.”
Dr. Melissa Hirschi, assistant professor in the department of Social Work, was awarded $331,508 from the Health Resources and Services Administration for her project “Peers Engaging and Empowering Recovery.”
Dr. Kevin Berisso, assistant professor and AutoID Lab director in the department of Engineering Technology, was awarded $255,000 from the GS1 U.S. Incorporated for his project “GS1 U.S. Bar Code Test Lab.”
Dr. Sabyasachee Mishra, associate professor and Faudree professor in the departments of Civil Engineering, was awarded $250,000 from the Tennessee Department of Transportation with the Federal Highway Administration for his project “Strategies for Improved Behavior within Work Zones;” $149,932 from the National Science Foundation for his project “FW-HTF-P: Science of Hazard Identification and Evasion of Laborers and Drivers (SHIELD) for Building Human-Technology Safety Partnerships in Roadside Work Zones;” $99,000 from the Florida Atlantic University with the U.S. Department of Transportation for his project “Modeling household e-commerce delivery rates and assessing their equity and freight travel impacts;” $20,000 from the National Science Foundation for his project “IUCRC Preliminary Proposal Planning Grant The University of Memphis: Center for Electric and Autonomous Transportation in Agile Freight Supply-Chains;” and $20,000 from the National Science Foundation for his project “IUCRC Preliminary Proposal Planning Grant University of Memphis: Center for Autonomous Transportation in Agile Freight Supply-Chains.”
Dr. Michail Gkolias, faculty in the Department of Civil Engineering, was awarded $225,000 from the Tennessee Department of Transportation for his project “Identification of Simulation Calibration Parameters using Urban Freeway Data,” $121,243 from the Florida Atlantic University with the U.S. Department of Transportation for his projects “Data Analytics and Support Tools for Inland Waterways” and “2022 UTC FMRI Admin.”
Dr. Brian Waldron, associate professor in the department of Civil Engineering and director if the Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research, was awarded $181,295 from the Tennessee Department of Transportation with the Federal Highway Administration for his project “TDOT Pollinator Habitat.”
Dr. Mitchell Withers, associate research professor in the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, was awarded $154,194 from the U.S. Geological Survey for his project “Operation of the Mid-America Integrated Seismic Network 2020-2024-CERI.”
Mr. Scott Schoefernacker, associate director of Water in the Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research, was awarded $96,313 from the City of Millington for his project “Millington Wellhead Protection, Education Outreach and Water Quality.”
Dr. Richard Bloomer, dean and professor in the College of Health Sciences, was awarded $79,574 from Liquid IV for his project “Randomized trial to assess the safety and tolerability of a novel amino-acid based hydration drink in healthy volunteers,” and $18,000 from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for his project “Substance Use Prevention Among Vulnerable Youth.”
Dr. Duane McKenna, William Hill professor in the department of Biological Sciences, was awarded $24,999 from the National Science Foundation for her project “Investigating chemosensory evolution in longhorned beetles using a comparative phylogenomic framework that integrates genomic, morphological, and biochemical data.”
Dr. Velma Zahirovic-Herbert, professor and Martha and Robert Fogelman Family Chair in Sustainable Real Estate and department of Finance, was awarded $20,000 from the Land Economic Foundation for her project “A Barrier to Affordability: How Current Property Tax Policies Impact Land Development.”
Dr. Amaia Iratzoqui-Greenfield, associate professor in the department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, was awarded $14,994 from the City of Memphis Police Department with the U.S. Department of Justice for her project “LEV Mini-Grant.”
Dr. Matthew Smeltzer, associate professor in the division of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, was awarded $11,934 from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center with the National Institutes of Health for his project “Predicting Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease in Sickle Cell Anemia Using Machine Learning Models.”
Dr. Lan Wang, department chair and Dunavant Professor in the department of Computer Science, was awarded $26,613 from the Peraton Labs Inc with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for his project “Mission-Integrated Network Control.”
Dr. Wendy Griswold, associate professor and director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education, was awarded $25,000 from Kansas State University with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for her project “Technical Assistant to Brownfields - Yr. 5.”
Dr. Jamie Brunsdon, assistant professor in the College of Health Sciences, was awarded $5,000 from the Spectrum Institute for Teaching and Learning for his project “Flourishing Through the Spectrum: Toward an Affective Spectrum Model?”