PCEC 2021-22 Faculty Research Seed Grant Awards Announced

October 6, 2021

The Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing is proud to announce the winners of the 2021-22 Faculty Research Seed Grants (FRSG). The purpose of the FRSG is to stimulate research for tenured or tenure-track faculty within the College by supporting activities that will lead to submission of external grants — for example, to enable faculty to conduct preliminary experimentation and obtain results that become the basis of proposals to federal or state agencies or industry.

The Dean’s Office supports these awards for PCEC tenured or tenure-track faculty once a year; deliverables include a summary, a list of proposal efforts derived from the research, and a formal presentation to the College’s faculty. Funding may be allocated for equipment, materials and supplies, travel (e.g., meeting with the director of an external funding agency or travel to a conference), training, student support, or other expenses necessary for the research.

Civil Engineering and Construction

Dr. Francisco Cubas-Suazo and Dr. L. Stetson Rowles will work on Unraveling Microplastic Fate and Transport in Aerobic and Anaerobic Sediment Condition. Dr. Rowles is a newly hired Assistant Professor in the department; Dr. Cubas has received funding from the FRSG program before, which has resulted in over $1.2M in external funding and several high-quality publications since 2014.

Computer Science

Dr. Yao Xu will study New Data Collection Schemes in Wireless Sensor Networks with Mobile Data Collectors. Dr. Xu is a newly hired Assistant Professor in the department.

Information Technology

Dr. Atef Mohamed will research CodeVis: Interactive Software Architecture Visualization and Code Analytics Framework. Dr. Mohamed was hired in 2020 as an Assistant Professor in IT.

Manufacturing Engineering

Dr. Jingjing Qing will investigate Revealing the Mechanism behind Extra Graphite Size Distribution in Ductile Iron. Dr. Dean “Drew” Snelling and Dr. Mahmoud Baniasadi will study the Design, Manufacture, and Characterization of Novel Polymer Matrix Composites. Dr. Lianjun Wu will develop A Smart, Strong, Silent, and Soft (4S) Gripper for Delicate Grasping. Dr. Yue Zhang and Dr. Wu will research Multiple-ingredient Hybrid Ink for Additive Manufacture of Soft Robots. Dr. Qing, Dr. Wu, and Dr. Zhang have received funding from the FRSG program before, which has resulted in funded and pending proposals as well as numerous publications.

Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Hayri Sezer and Dr. Prakashbhai Bhoi will investigate Polarization and Impedance Characterization of Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion Devices. Dr. Mingzhi Xu will study Development of Novel Composite Castings with Steel and Cast Iron. Dr. Sezer is a newly hired Assistant Professor in the department. Dr. Xu has received FRSG funding previously, which has resulted in an industry award, several grants, and publications.