UofM Showcases Research Strength Through CAREER Success

Continued achievements with the Institutions CAREER cohort-based program.

Beginning in Fall 2019, the University of Memphis Division of Research & Innovation began strategically supporting the pursuit of National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) grant applications for faculty. The CAREER program is designed to help junior faculty succeed in launching their research careers by providing an initial grant that awards an average of $500,000 over five years. This premier program emphasizes the importance the Foundation places on the early development of academic careers dedicated to stimulating the discovery process in which the excitement of research is enhanced by inspired teaching, enthusiastic learning, and disseminating new knowledge. Effective integration of research and education generates a synergy in which the process of discovery stimulates learning and assures that the findings and methods of research and education are quickly and effectively communicated in a broader context and to a large audience. The CAREER awards are among the most prestigious awarded by the NSF, and the success of these awards is a good measure of the overall quality of research at a university.

The cohort-based program for the UofM CAREER program has provided resources and support to faculty for several years now, and the benefits are beginning to be seen in the success rate of our faculty. Between 2019 and 2023, the University of Memphis was awarded nine CAREER awards in six departments. Those faculty are (in order of award date): Nate DeYonker (Chemistry), Amber Jennings (Biomedical Engineering), Thomas Watson (Computer Science), Maryam Salehi (Civil Engineering), Ana Doblas (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Thomas Goebel (Center for Earthquake Research and Information), Kensha Clark (Chemistry), Aaryani Sajja (Biomedical Engineering), and Carl Herickhoff (Biomedical Engineering).

The CAREER Program at the University of Memphis is run collaboratively between the Division of Research & Innovation and Tn Consulting, LLC, and features an intensive multi-stage review, accompanied by workshops which are designed to acclimate faculty to the NSF CAREER call specifically. It is designed to help develop grant writing skills for faculty and to establish a funding trajectory that will lead to future success, regardless of whether the CAREER is awarded. By providing enhanced support for obtaining research funding through these programs, the University of Memphis is establishing a culture of funding pursuit that will continue to strengthen overall research infrastructure at the University.

The strength of the program has seen the UofM become competitive at a national level in recipients for this award, with two CAREER awards per year over the last two years of the program. In Tennessee, during the same period, Vanderbilt received three awards per year. These data demonstrate the outstanding growth of the University of Memphis as a research institution in the State of Tennessee and nationally.

To learn more about the NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER), see the current program description on the NSF CAREER website. For more information on this program, contact Research Development at researchdev@memphis.edu.