Opportunities for Faculty and Students
The Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems was established through a grant of $350,000 from the World Heritage Foundation - The Prechter Fund. It currently offers support to faculty through its IAVS Research Seed Grant, which awards funding to many faculty projects each year.
IAVS Research Seed Funding Grant Program
The vision for the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS) is to be the research engine within the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) by creating a supportive research environment for faculty. This includes facilitating the:
- Development of faculty expertise and ideas in areas that are relevant to external collaborators and funding sources and benefiting our industry and government partners, students, and faculty.
- Formation and collaboration of Working Group Thrust Areas in order to identify and attract large research funds.
- Faculty support for research administration and compliance.
A key mechanism for developing faculty expertise and ideas that can be leveraged to secure external support is the IAVS Research Seed Funding Grants Program. Grants for up to $20,000 can be applied for through IAVS, with the goal of developing and submitting research grant proposals to external funding agencies. The external proposal must be submitted within one year (12 months) from the award start date of the seed funding grant. Research seed grant requests can only be submitted by members of the governing faculty of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
- The call for proposals is sent out twice annually. The proposal deadlines are typically in early December and early March.
- The call for proposals should be sent out at least 6 weeks before the deadline.
- The Faculty Research Committee will review and recommend awardees to the director of IAVS. The committee is comprised of one representative from each academic department, the director of IAVS, and it is chaired by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research.
- If a member of the committee is a PI or co-PI on a submitted proposal an alternate representative from their department will be identified by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research to serve for all IAVS Seed Grant business in the funding period.
- An annual report will be required from awardees no later than 4 weeks after the end of the project period.
- The committee recommends the creation of an annual seminar featuring short presentations (10-15 minutes each) from awardees to showcase their research to faculty, staff, and students. This would be held twice annually at the end of each project period (approximately March/April and December/January).
Student Opportunities
IAVS does not hire students directly. Instead, students are supported by faculty members through grants awarded through IAVS. Students looking for hands-on experience are encouraged to talk with their professors or connect with one of the college's student teams.
We have nearly two dozen clubs, teams, and professional organizations that will challenge you to problem solve, make connections, and prepare you for a fulfilling career in engineering.