Research Awards
May 2024
Dr. Kan Yang, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, was awarded an additional
$945,685 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project “CyberCorps: New
Scholarships for Service (SFS) Program at the University of Memphis.”
Dr. Rodrigo Villalpando Vizcaino, research assistant professor in the Center for Applied Earth Sciences and Engineering
Research, was awarded $542,380 from the State of Tennessee Megasite Authority of West
Tennessee (MAWT) for his project “MRM-SSOE Hydro Studies.”
Dr. Melanie Burgess, assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and
Research, was awarded an additional $479,616 from the U.S. Department of Education
for her project “ASPIRE: Advancing School Counseling Programs by Increasing Representation
and Experiences.”
Dr. Thomas Sutter, professor and W. Harry Feinstone Chair of Excellence in Molecular Biology, was awarded
an additional $362,500 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project
“Cellular Determinants of AH Receptor Signaling.”
Dr. Courtnee Melton-Fant, assistant professor in the Division of Health Systems Management and Policy, was
awarded $246,684.20 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for her project “Workers'
rights preemption, political power, and racial equity in the US South.” *Correction update from last month.
Dr. Sabyasachee Mishra, professor of Civil Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering, was awarded
$150,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project “Center: IUCRC
Phase I The University of Memphis: Center for Electrified and Automated Trucking (CEAT).”
Dr. Francisco Muller Sanchez, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Materials Science, was awarded
$118,459 from the Space Telescope Science Institute for his project “Unveiling the
Nature of CID-42. The Best Candidate for a Gravitational Wave Recoiling Supermassive
Black Hole” and $82,841 from the Space Telescope Science Institute for his project
“Probing SMBH/Galaxy Co-Evolution with Dual and Binary AGN.”
Dr. Kristoffer Berlin, professor Clinical (Child, Adolescent, and Family Studies in the Department of Psychology,
was awarded an additional $116,836 from Wayne State University with the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) for his project “Family mHealth Intervention to Improve Health Outcomes
in Black Youth with Type 1 Diabetes: A Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial,”
and $12,886 from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville with the National Institutes
of Health for his project “Effect of time-based energy intake goals on weight loss
during obesity treatment.”
Dr. Mohammadreza Davoodi, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was
awarded $47,484 from Columbia University with the National Science Foundation (NSF)
for his project “Intelligent control systems for soft artificial muscles.”
Dr. Chunrong Jia, professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health,
was awarded $42,000 from the City of Greenwood, Mississippi with the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for his project “Data and Impact Analysis for
Greenwood Healthy Homes Production (GHHP) Grant Program.”
Dr. William Jackson, assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, was awarded $41,223 from
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for his project “Geology of the Life 7.5-minute
quadrangle in Henderson and Chester counties, Tennessee.”
Dr. James Murphy, professor in the Department of Psychology, was awarded $40,769 from the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project “A Mixed Methods Study to Enhance Alcohol
Treatment Help-seeking and Engagement Among Gender Diverse Adults.”
Dr. Youngsang Kwon, associate professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, was awarded $39,837 from
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for his project “Advancing Spatio-Temporal Groundwater
Anomaly Mapping in US Principal Aquifers: Integrating High-Performance Computing and
Machine Learning for Enhanced Resolution and Analysis.”
Dr. Thomas Goebel, assistant professor in the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, was awarded
an additional $27,457 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project “CAREER:
From slow to fast, micro to macro, single events to cascades: A multi-scale study
of seismic event triggering in lab and nature.”
Dr. Rachel Lombardi, assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, was awarded $15,548 from
the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for her project “Landslide Investigation in Tennessee
River Gorge.”
Dr. Maxime Paquette, associate professor and Coordinator in the College of Health Sciences, was awarded
$14,600 from the American Athletics Conference for his project “The Use of In-field
Measures of Tibial Compressive Force using Wearable Devices and Marker-less Motion
Capture.”
Dr. Jamie Brunsdon, assistant professor in the College of Health Sciences, was awarded $12,000 from
Wake Forest University for his project “Ascend Health Sciences.”
Dr. Daniel Foti, assistant professor and Graduate Program Coordinator in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, was awarded $9,999 from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) for his project
“Cavitation Erosion Resistant Coatings Workshop.”
Dr. Brian Waldron, associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Director of the Center
for Applied Earth Science and Engineering, was awarded $9,500 from the City of Collierville
for his project “Collierville gw support.”
Dr. Abu Mohammed Naser Titu, assistant professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental
Health, was awarded $2500 from the American Heart Association (AHA) for his project
“AHA Travel Grant for Data Bootcamp to address cardiovascular disease disparity in
the Southeast United States.”
Dr. Bernie Daigle, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, was awarded an additional
$2,000 from New York University for his project “Leveraging systems pharmacology to
advance precision medicine for Gabapentin treatment of AUD.”