Announcements from the Office of Research
Research Announcements and Monthly Updates from the Office of Research
The Office of Research is pleased to announce and would like to congratulate our Dearborn faculty members on receipt of the following external funding:
U-M Principal Investigator: Lei Chen
Project Title: MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of an Accelerating Rate Calorimeter System for Multidisciplinary Research, Education and Outreach
Direct Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $432,400.00
The project establishes a new experimental facility at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. The main element of the facility, the accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC), will be provided to the participating universities new opportunities to conduct research, education, and outreach in the area of management of thermal behavior of automotive batteries. The thermal behavior is a significant concern for the ongoing transition of the automotive technology to electric vehicles. The problems of degradation of battery’s performance at low and high temperatures, the danger of battery thermal runaway, overheating of fast chargers, etc. continue to be major challenges.
The universities participating in the project are major feeders of engineering workforce and hubs of fundamental and applied research for the automotive industry in the Southeast Michigan, which includes the Big Three automakers and many of their suppliers. The new facility will stimulate growth of research in the area of vehicle electrification and battery technology. The facility will be incorporated in instruction of at least ten graduate and undergraduate courses, thus helping to build skills of future engineers, who will lead the nation’s transition to electric mobility. Expanded research opportunities for students will be created. The facility will also enable outreach activities to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the Detroit area to inspire STEM interest in K-12 students.
U-M Principal Investigator: Adam Sekuler
Project Title: Metro Detroit Community Engaged Filmmaking
Direct Sponsor: Community Foundation For Southeast Michigan
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $30,536
As part of a course at UM-Dearborn, this project engages students in the Dearborn community by producing a series of documentaries in collaboration with visiting filmmakers and Dearborn’s Arab American community.
U-M Principal Investigator: Michael Dabkowski
Project Title: Math Matches Summer Program
Direct Sponsor: City of Westland
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $3,000
Professor Dabkowski will provide Math Matches instruction for two weeks for the JBCVC Learning Lab.
Announcements
Competitive Campus Grants Fall Cycle Applications Due by 5 p.m. Oct. 16
UM-Dearborn tenured/tenure-track faculty can apply for the first cycle of Competitive Campus Grant programs for fiscal year 2024. The following Competitive Campus Grant applications are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 16.
- Research Initiation and Development (RID) Grants aim to assist faculty and research staff with the development of innovative, collaborative research proposals that will advance the UM-Dearborn mission. The program supports proposals which will help place the principal investigator (PI) and the research team in a strong position to receive additional, external funding from federal agencies, foundations and/or industry.
- Budget floor: $10,000; Budget ceiling: $20,000
- UM-Dearborn Scholars (SCH) Grants are intended to support research, scholarship and creative activities in the arts. This program is intended for projects with funding needs not usually addressed by other support programs within or outside the university.
- Budget floor: $6,000; Budget ceiling:$10,000
- Thematic Research Planning (TRP) Grants are open to teams working closely together to solve problems that transcend the traditional boundaries associated with research programs, departments and colleges. Single PI proposals will *not* be considered — at least two different UM-Dearborn academic units should be involved, in addition to external partners. The aim of the program is to provide support for the development of competitive proposals to preliminary identified (by the team) external funding opportunities.
- Budget floor: $15,000; Budget ceiling: $30,000
More information about the campus grants program and eligibility can be found on our Campus Grants webpage.
IRWG Funding Opportunities — Deadlines Extended to Nov. 1
The Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) hast extended the application deadline to Nov. 1 to their Faculty Seed Grant and Catalyze Research Award programs. University of Michigan faculty with research projects related to gender have the opportunity to apply for funding from IRWG through the following grant programs:
- Faculty Seed Grants (Open Topic) support disciplinary and interdisciplinary faculty projects on women, gender, and sexuality. Support may be requested for individual activities, such as research assistance, research-related travel, or research materials or used to support collaborative projects, such as pilot studies or initial research efforts. IRWG affiliated tenure-track, non-tenure track, clinical faculty, research faculty, and librarians at the University of Michigan are eligible to apply.
- Catalyze Research Award: Gender & Firearms grants invite applications for faculty research projects exploring gender and firearms, broadly understood. Funds may be requested for new projects or to add a gender or firearm injury prevention component to an existing study. Tenure-track, non-tenure track, clinical faculty, research faculty, and librarians at the University of Michigan are eligible to apply.
More information about funding opportunities from IRWG can be found on their funding webpage.
MICHR Funding Opportunity: Statewide Building Capacity for Research and Action Request for Proposals Fall 2023
The Community Engagement (CE) program within the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research at the University of Michigan provides funding to academic and community partners engaged in clinical and translational research. The CE Program is issuing an opportunity to fund community-engaged research partnerships and projects addressing community-identified health priorities within the state of Michigan, the Statewide Building Capacity for Research and Action (SBCRA).
Applicants may request 1) up to $5,000 for activities to develop or sustain partnerships, 2) up to $10,000 for pilot research projects with local impact, or 3) up to $15,000 for pilot research projects addressing regional and/or statewide needs. Regional projects should impact two or more counties in Michigan, and statewide projects should impact two or more regions. Examples of activities that can be funded under SBRCA include, but are not limited to:
- Building relationships between partners (e.g., exploring the involvement of potential partners, determining how the partnership will adopt and use CEnR5 or CBPR6 principles)
- Developing a steering committee (e.g., defining roles and responsibilities, developing communication, and decision-making guidelines)
- Conducting assessment(s) to inform research plans (e.g., collecting data through focus groups or community meetings to inform the research question)
- Analyzing existing data to help inform future research (e.g., conducting collaborative analysis, review, interpreting previously collected data)
View the application. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions mid-December 2023. For questions about this funding opportunity, please contact Community Engagement at MICHR-CommunityEngagement@umich.edu.
IRB Liaison & Upcoming Human Subjects Information Session
Effective Feb. 1, 2023, Elizabeth Molina became the new IRB-HSBS staff liaison for UM-Dearborn.
Elizabeth will hold regularly-scheduled virtual sessions for anyone interested in learning more about working with human subjects and/or the IRB application and approval process. The next session this fall semester will be held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 18. View the event page for full details.
Any UM-Dearborn faculty, staff, or students with questions about the IRB process can also contact Elizabeth by email at molinael@umich.edu, by phone at 734-936-1943 or by dropping into the monthly Zoom sessions offered. Additional information about working with human subjects can be found at the IRB Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences website.
MIDAS AI Summit and Tutorials
MIDAS and the Michigan AI Laboratory will jointly offer a training series to researchers across disciplines who are incorporating Generative AI in their research. Each half-day session will consist of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on tutorials for using Generative AI in research. Learn more on the Transforming Your Research with Generative AI - Tutorials webpage. Current planned sessions include:
- Oct. 18: Code Smarter, Not Harder: Harnessing Generative AI for Research Programming Efficiency
- Oct. 27: Integrating Generative AI into Your Research Workflow
- Nov. 29: Making Generative AI Better for You: Fine-tuning and Experimentation for Custom Research Solutions
Reminder: Resources for Using SciENcv
Effective Oct. 23, NSF will require all biosketch and current & pending support documents for senior personnel to be prepared using SciENcv. The fillable pdf forms will not be accepted after this date. We recommend that you take the time to register with ScieENcv and begin to create your documents in that system if you expect to be involved in a proposal to NSF in the near future.
U-M Library Services has put together this guidance page to help you get started. You can also request a one-on-one Zoom session with Dearborn Office of Research staff to walk you through this process. Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is a researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive or are associated with research investments from federal agencies. SciENcv allows researchers to document their education, employment, research activities, publications, honors, research grants, & other professional contributions to create multiple SciENcv profiles in official biographical sketch formats funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In addition, the SciENcv application can be used to create the official NSF Current and Pending Support document.
Any researcher can register for SciENcv and create multiple biosketches, for different research projects or different funding agencies. You can find much more information about how to use SciENcv on their FAQs page. The central Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and U-M Library have resources and previous workshops available on how to create a biosketch in SciENcv specifically focused on NSF and NIH. These resources are available linked below:
- U-M Library SciENcv Guide (including step-by-steps for creating NSF and NIH biosketches)
- NSF Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (July 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NSF Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- How to Create Your NSF Biosketch in SciENcv Step-by-step (MLibrary Handout)
- NIH Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (May 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NIH Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- Biosketch and SciENcv Step-by-Step (MLibrary Handout)
If you have questions about SciENcv, need additional support, or would like to schedule one-on-one assistance with setting up your SciENcv profile and documents, please email our office at DBN-research@umich.edu.
Research Events in October:
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U-M Library, “Digital Scholarship 101: Planning Your Project” - Wednesday, Oct. 11, 3-4:30 p.m., virtual
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Graham Sustainability Institute, “Clean Energy Mixer” - Wednesday, Oct. 11, 3:30-5 p.m., in-person at Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, 2000 Suite, 2301 Bonisteel Boulevard, Ann Arbor
- MIDAS, “Code Smarter, Not Harder: Harnessing Generative AI for Research Programming Efficiency” - Wednesday, Oct.18, 9:30 a.m.-noon, in-person at 10th Floor, Weiser Hall, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor
- IRB, “Virtual On-the-Road Session” - Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2-3:30 p.m., virtual
- MICHR, “The Hidden Curriculum: Preparing for a Study” - Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2-4PM, virtual
- MIDAS, “Integrating Generative Image AI into Your Research Workflow” - Friday, Oct. 27, 9-11:30 a.m., in-person at 10th Floor, Weiser Hall, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor
The Office of Research website is also updated regularly with research-related events and announcements, so we would encourage you to bookmark our landing page and subscribe to our Research News email list.
Research Resource Highlight: OVPR’s Visualization for Research Toolkit
Every month, the Office of Research will feature a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we are featuring the Office of the Vice President for Research’s Visualization for Research Toolkit.
Last month, OVPR’s Office of Research Development hosted a workshop, “Visualization for Research, Part I” presented by Steve Alvey that discussed best practices for developing conceptual figures and other visualizations that communicate research in clear, compelling ways. This was the first part in a series of research visualization workshops.
As part of the workshop, resources were shared that included a Visualization for Research Toolkit (requires UMICH Dropbox account to access). The toolkit includes starter samples of shapes & lines, text, colors and a six-color data viz palette that can be used in research visualizations. If you missed the workshop and want to learn more, you can watch the recording and/or view the slides (via UMICH Dropbox account). Subscribe to the Research Blueprint for future resources and events offered by OVPR.
The Office of Research is pleased to announce and would like to congratulate our Dearborn faculty members on receipt of the following external funding:
U-M Principal Investigator: Taehyung Kim, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project Title: PFI (MCA): Smart Monitoring and Fault Identification for Resilient and Reliable Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Direct Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $350,000
This Mid Career Advancement (MCA) project will provide a cost-effective and intelligent solution to accurately detect and recover from failures in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It will fill a current technology gap in the UAV industry by developing fault identification and compensation modules that offer economic value for potential commercialization. Upon completion, the next-generation UAVs could potentially implement intelligent fault detection and compensation techniques for electric propulsion systems to make sure that the UAVs can successfully complete their missions even with faults. The project will substantially improve the reliability of UAVs based on smart monitoring and fault mitigation techniques, minimizing additional hardware costs.
U-M Principal Investigator: Wencong Su, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project Title: PFI (MCA): Enhancing Grid Reliability and Stability with Distributed Energy Resources
Direct Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $349,897
This project seeks to develop multidisciplinary and integrated approaches to collectively improve low-inertia grid reliability and stability in the face of uncertainties and to explore a commercialization roadmap. The research will: (1) Establish a fundamental knowledge base of understanding the practical challenges of low-inertia power grids with high penetration of grid-forming inverter-based energy resources, (2) Design a holistic assessment framework and visualization tool to qualify the causal reliability relation between diverse grid-forming inverter-based energy resources and their collective impact on system reliability, (3) Develop a self-adaptive, robust, and stability-aware grid-forming controller capable of learning power grid behaviors, and (4) Leverage the existing power system testbeds to validate the real-world performance of the proposed stability-aware grid-forming controllers and enable research resource sharing among the resources-constrained research and education community in Southeast Michigan.
U-M Principal Investigator: Lei Chen, Mechanical Engineering
Project Title: Collaborative Research: Fundamental understanding of interface dynamics in solid electrolyte batteries with liquid metal anode
Direct Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $261,619
Dr. Chen and team propose an innovative approach to study a novel solid electrolyte lithium-ion battery, the first to utilize a liquid metal electrode and a solid electrolyte, forming a liquid-solid interface at room temperature. Their objective is to understand how the transition between this liquid-solid interface and the solid-solid interface occurs during lithium-ion insertion and removal processes. Insight gained from this investigation will foster the development of new techniques that incorporate liquid metal electrodes in solid electrolyte batteries.
Announcements
Competitive Campus Grants Fall Cycle Applications
The first cycle of Competitive Campus Grant programs for fiscal year 2024 are available to apply to by UM-Dearborn tenured/tenure-track faculty. The following Competitive Campus Grant applications are due by 5:00 PM, October 16, 2023:
- Research Initiation and Development (RID) Grants aim to assist faculty and research staff with the development of innovative, collaborative research proposals that will advance the UM-Dearborn mission. The program supports proposals which will help place the principal investigator (PI) and the research team in a strong position to receive additional, external funding from federal agencies, foundations, and/or industry.
- Budget floor: $15,000; Budget ceiling: $30,000.
- UM-Dearborn Scholars (SCH) Grants are intended to support research, scholarship and creative activities in the arts. This program is intended for projects with funding needs not usually addressed by other support programs within or outside the University.
- Budget floor: $6,000; Budget ceiling: $10,000.
- Thematic Research Planning (TRP) Grants are open to teams working closely together to solve problems that transcend the traditional boundaries associated with research programs, departments and colleges. Single PI proposals will *not* be considered- at least two different UM-Dearborn academic units should be involved, in addition to external partners. The aim of the program is to provide support for the development of competitive proposals to preliminary identified (by the team) external funding opportunities.
- Budget floor: $15,000; Budget ceiling: $30,000.
More information about the campus grants program and eligibility can be found on our Campus Grants webpage.
Graham Sustainability Institute’s Catalyst Grants - LOIs due Sept. 18
A new round of catalyst grant funding is available for faculty at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses to pursue projects that address critical sustainability challenges by:
- developing new, user-driven, collaborative research ideas, or
- translating existing research for real-world application.
Catalyst Grants provide up to $10,000 over eight months. Approximately four grants will be awarded per cycle. Projects may address any sustainability topic. Applications are welcome from STEM fields as well as the social sciences, professional schools, and the humanities.
Faculty from the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses are eligible to serve as Principal Investigator (PI) and should submit application materials through the online portal. A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required by Sept. 18. Learn more about the Graham Institute’s Catalyst Grants and apply.
U-M Arts Initiative Seeks Collaborative Project
The U-M Arts Initiative seeks large-scale collaborative projects to activate the campus; increase arts engagement for students, faculty, staff, and the region; and catalyze discovery through interdisciplinary partnerships. The Initiative is interested in a broad scope of projects that may be local, regional, national, or international and that reflect collaboration, involve multiple units/organizations, promote engagement and the growth of new and diverse audiences, and align with the mission of the University and Arts Initiative. Several projects will be selected each year that reflect a diversity of artistic, intellectual, and expressive modes, as well as audiences.
Grant amounts for this program range from $20,000 to $100,000. Applications will be accepted from all U-M personnel with authorization by their unit. Learn more about the U-M Arts Initiative & grant requirements.
MICHR’s Clinical and Translational Science Pilot Award - LOIs due Sept 25
The Clinical and Translational Science Pilot Award aims to support new and innovative research projects relevant to clinical & translational science (CTS). CTS is a field of investigation focused on understanding a scientific or operational principle that underlies a step of the translational process, with the goal of developing generalizable principles to accelerate translational research. This opportunity is open to faculty and staff from all campuses, schools, and colleges at the University of Michigan.
Projects should propose addressing a common cause of inefficiency or failure in research projects at any stage of translation (T1-T4). Many of these causes are shared across targets, diseases, and therapeutic areas; therefore, outcomes are expected to produce foundational knowledge that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of translational research and ultimately improve health. Full details are available on
A brief Letter of Intent (LOI) is required and can be submitted via UMMS Competition Space by September 25, 2023. Those with responsive LOIs will be invited to submit a full application.
To learn more about this funding opportunity, register for an informational webinar to be held on September 12th from 12-1 pm or visit the MICHR website for more details. If you have questions, please email the MICHR Pilot Grant Program at MICHR-PilotGrants@umich.edu.
OVPR Research Visualization Workshop Series
Researchers are invited to join Steve Alvey, graphics specialist in OVPR’s Office of Research Development, on September 19 from 12-1 pm, for a virtual presentation on the best practices for developing conceptual figures and other visualizations that communicate research in clear, compelling ways. This is the first in a series of research visualization workshops; future sessions will include tips on working with designers and how to maximize emotional impact (the “wow factor”) in research figures.
In the first workshop, learn the fundamentals of design, including effective use of color and typography, that help grant proposals or presentations come together. Simple and appealing visuals also help broad audiences better understand complex data, ideas and impact. The presenter will provide examples of proposal graphics that exemplify best practices. Register.
IRB Liaison & Upcoming Human Subjects Information Session
Effective February 1, 2023, Elizabeth Molina became the new IRB-HSBS staff liaison for UM-Dearborn.
Elizabeth will hold regularly-scheduled virtual sessions for anyone interested in learning more about working with human subjects and/or the IRB application and approval process. The first session this fall semester will be held on Sept. 20 from 2-3:30 PM. View the event page for full details.
Any UM-Dearborn faculty, staff, or students with questions about the IRB process can also contact Elizabeth by email at molinael@umich.edu, by phone at 734-936-1943, or by dropping into the monthly Zoom sessions offered. Additional information about working with human subjects can be found at the IRB Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences website.
MIDAS AI Summit and Tutorials
MIDAS and the Michigan AI Laboratory will jointly offer a training series to researchers across disciplines who are incorporating Generative AI in their research. Each half-day session will consist of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on tutorials for using Generative AI in research. . Learn more on the Transforming Your Research with Generative AI - Tutorials webpage. Current planned sessions include:
- Oct. 2: Writing, Planning and Literature Review: Enhancing Professional Productivity with Generative AI
- Oct. 18: Code Smarter, Not Harder: Harnessing Generative AI for Research Programming Efficiency
- Oct. 25: Integrating Generative AI into Your Research Workflow
- Nov. 2: Making Generative AI Better for You: Fine-tuning and Experimentation for Custom Research Solutions
Reminder: Resources for Using SciENcv
Effective Oct. 23, NSF will require all biosketch and current & pending support documents for senior personnel to be prepared using SciENcv. The fillable pdf forms will not be accepted after this date. We recommend that you take the time to register with ScieENcv and begin to create your documents in that system if you expect to be involved in a proposal to NSF in the near future.
U-M Library Services has put together this guidance page to help you get started. You can also request a one-on-one Zoom session with Dearborn Office of Research staff to walk you through this process. Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is a researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive or are associated with research investments from federal agencies. SciENcv allows researchers to document their education, employment, research activities, publications, honors, research grants, & other professional contributions to create multiple SciENcv profiles in official biographical sketch formats funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In addition, the SciENcv application can be used to create the official NSF Current and Pending Support document.
Any researcher can register for SciENcv and create multiple biosketches, for different research projects or different funding agencies. You can find much more information about how to use SciENcv on their FAQs page. The central Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and U-M Library have resources and previous workshops available on how to create a biosketch in SciENcv specifically focused on NSF and NIH. These resources are available linked below:
- U-M Library SciENcv Guide (including step-by-steps for creating NSF and NIH biosketches)
- NSF Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (July 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NSF Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- How to Create Your NSF Biosketch in SciENcv Step-by-step (MLibrary Handout)
- NIH Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (May 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NIH Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- Biosketch and SciENcv Step-by-Step (MLibrary Handout)
If you have questions about SciENcv, need additional support, or would like to schedule one-on-one assistance with setting up your SciENcv profile and documents, please email our office at DBN-research@umich.edu.
Research Events in September:
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UMMS Office of Research, “Researchpalooza 2023” - Wednesday, September 13, 11 - 2PM, in-person: 1150 West Medical Center Drive Driveway
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MICHR Workshop, “Conducting and Obtaining Valid Informed Consent” - Wednesday, September 13, 1:30 - 3:30PM, virtual
- Innovation Partnerships, “Celebrate Invention 2023” - Thursday, September 14, 3 - 6PM, in-person: Michigan Union, 2nd Floor, 530 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
- OVPR Office of Research Development Workshop, “Visualization for Research, Part I” - Tuesday, September 19, 12 - 1PM, virtual
- IRB, “Virtual On-the-Road Session” - Wednesday, September 20, 2-3:30PM, virtual
Research Resource Highlight: UM-Dearborn Office of Research
Every month, the Office of Research will feature a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we would like to remind faculty about the resources and services available from the UM-Dearborn Office of Research.
We encourage all faculty to familiarize themselves with the different resources and sections of our website, including:
- Research Development Services: The Research Development team and services aim to connect researchers to resources and increase the investigators’ competitiveness in obtaining extramural research funding. Faculty can make one-on-one consultation requests, utilize free Consultation and Writing Services, and explore resources for finding funding.
- Campus Grants Program: The Campus Grants program is an important part of research development efforts at UM-Dearborn, and supports a wide range of research and scholarly activities for our faculty. Campus Grants funds also provide investments for interdisciplinary research. The Campus Grants webpage is frequently updated with our available grant programs, guidelines and due dates, as well as a Frequently Asked Questions section and examples of Previously Funded Projects.
- Pre-Award Administration: The Pre-Award Administration team and services aim to provide the highest level of service possible in assisting faculty with assembling all the elements of their proposal package and ensuring there are no administrative errors. It is important for all faculty to submit a New Proposal Request Form at least 20 business days prior to a sponsor’s deadline. The webpage also provides an overview of the Proposal Routing & Submission process and Budget Preparation guidance.
- Post-Award Support: The Post-Award Support (PAS) team is charged with supporting the UM-Dearborn campus by providing and continuously improving post-award research administration efforts for all units who have federal and non-federal externally sponsored projects (and related cost-share), internally funded research grants, and other project/grants that are classed as research (e.g. gifts). Learn more about PAS and how to contact them on our webpage.
- More Help: This webpage is intended to provide basic information and guidance on common regulatory compliance requirements related to Human Subjects, Export Controls, and Disclosure of Outside Interests, and will continue to be developed to include other frequently asked about research topics.
Our website is also updated regularly with research-related events and announcements, so we would encourage you to bookmark our landing page and subscribe to our Research News email list. The Office of Research looks forward to assisting you on your future research endeavors!
Upcoming Funding Opportunities
The Office of Research publishes a list of selected funding opportunities, organized by college, every month on our website under Announcements. In addition, yearly grant calendars organized by subject area provided by Hanover Research are available there as well. Contact the UM-Dearborn Office of Research if you would like more information about submitting a proposal to any of the programs.
The Office of Research is pleased to announce and would like to congratulate our Dearborn faculty members on receipt of the following external funding:
U-M Principal Investigator: John Chenoweth, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Project Title: River Raisin Battlefield Archaeology Project
Direct Sponsor: Department of the Interior-National Park Service
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $107,321
This project seeks to provide a basis for the sustainable preservation and stewardship of the War of 1812 River Raisin Battlefield in Monroe, MI, through archaeological evaluation combined with community engagement and educational activities. Despite their enormous impact on the course of the war and events that followed, and their accounting for a fifth of all US combat casualties from the war, the January 1813 Battles of the River Raisin and the entire War of 1812 are often neglected and under-recognized, even by local populations. With potential development pending, analysis is needed to evaluate current subsurface preservation, locate features associated with the settlement where the battle took place, and lay groundwork for establishing its extent and layout, a vital step for preservation and development planning. These excavations will meet preservation and planning needs that would not be otherwise addressed, and will be supported by analysis of “orphaned” collections from previous but inconclusive excavations, archival work, and GIS analysis.
U-M Principal Investigator: Xuan Zhou, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project Title: Fuel Cell Short Stack Durability Testing Sample Analysis and Engineering Service on Fuel Cell System Development
Direct Sponsor: Hyzon Motors
Awarded Amount: $134,120
Hyzon Motors is a leading supplier of zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells work by converting hydrogen into electricity through a chemical reaction, producing only water as a byproduct. To ensure the optimal performance and reliability of its fuel cell systems, the company will work with researchers at UM-Dearborn to conduct extensive testing and diagnosis of its PEM fuel cell technology.
U-M Principal Investigator: Shan Bao, Associate Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project Title: User-Centered and Data-Driven Real-Time Charging Station Recommendation
Direct Sponsor: Ford Motor Company
Awarded Amount: $55,000
This project’s objective is to develop a novel user-centered charging station (CS) recommendation system. Dr. Bao will use data-driven methods to calculate and provide personalized charging station recommendations that minimize total charging time and account for user preferences.
U-M Principal Investigator: Xuan Zhou, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project Title: Fuel Cell bipolar plates examination and diagnosis
Direct Sponsor: Hyzon Motors
Awarded Amount: $9133
Hyzon Motors is a leading supplier of zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. To ensure the optimal performance and reliability of its fuel cell systems, the company will work with researchers at UM-Dearborn to conduct extensive examination and diagnosis of its bipolar plates material composition and thickness.
Announcements
Innovation Partnerships - Celebrate Invention Event on Sept. 14
Celebrate Invention is an annual event that honors University of Michigan inventors and the growing impact of U-M innovations hosted by Innovation Partnerships. The U-M community is invited to attend the Celebrate Invention event on Sept. 14 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Michigan Union, 530 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
The annual event will feature demonstrations from promising U-M projects and startups, a presentation of this year’s Distinguished University Innovator Award, networking opportunities and also kicks off this year’s Ann Arbor SPARK’s a2Tech360. Celebrate Invention is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Learn more and register.
Reminder: Resources for Using SciENcv
Effective Oct. 23, 2023 NSF will require all biosketch and current & pending support documents for senior personnel to be prepared using SciENcv. The fillable pdf forms will not be accepted after this date. We recommend that you take the time to register with ScieENcv and begin to create your documents in that system if you expect to be involved in a proposal to NSF in the near future.
U-M Library Services has put together this guidance page to help you get started. You can also request a one-on-one Zoom session with Dearborn Office of Research staff to walk you through this process. Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is a researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive or are associated with research investments from federal agencies. SciENcv allows researchers to document their education, employment, research activities, publications, honors, research grants, & other professional contributions to create multiple SciENcv profiles in official biographical sketch formats funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In addition, the SciENcv application can be used to create the official NSF Current and Pending Support document.
Any researcher can register for SciENcv and create multiple biosketches, for different research projects or different funding agencies. You can find much more information about how to use SciENcv on their FAQs page. The central Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and U-M Library have resources and previous workshops available on how to create a biosketch in SciENcv specifically focused on NSF and NIH. These resources are available linked below:
- U-M Library SciENcv Guide (including step-by-steps for creating NSF and NIH biosketches)
- NSF Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (July 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NSF Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- How to Create Your NSF Biosketch in SciENcv Step-by-step (MLibrary Handout)
- NIH Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (May 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NIH Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- Biosketch and SciENcv Step-by-Step (MLibrary Handout)
If you have questions about SciENcv, need additional support, or would like to schedule one-on-one assistance with setting up your SciENcv profile and documents, please email our office at DBN-research@umich.edu.
Research Events in August & September:
- Teaching and Technology Collaborative Workshop, “Help! I Have To Share My Data: Preparation For Sharing and Choosing a Repository For Long-Term Data Storage” - Thursday, Aug. 10, noon to 1 p.m., virtual
- The Ginsberg Center Learning in Community (LinC) Workshop, “Foundations of Community Engagement” - Thursday, Aug. 24, noon-1:30 p.m., virtual
- Save-the-Date! UMMS Office of Research, “Researchpalooza 2023” - Wednesday, Sept. 13, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., in-person: 1150 West Medical Center Drive Driveway
- MICHR Workshop, “Conducting and Obtaining Valid Informed Consent” - Wednesday, Sept. 13, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m., virtual
The Office of Research website is also updated regularly with research-related events and announcements, so we would encourage you to bookmark our landing page and subscribe to our Research News email list.
Research Resource Highlight: Mardigian Library Data Management Planning Support
Every month, the Office of Research will feature a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we are featuring the resources for data management planning available from the UM-Dearborn Mardigian Library.
Data management planning is often required by funders in the form of a document called a Data Management Plan (DMP) that will describe the handling (collection, storage and archiving) of data collected during your project. A DMP may also need to include plans for the dissemination of your data, (sometimes referred to separately as a Data Sharing Plan). To help faculty navigate data management planning, the UM-Dearborn Mardigian Library offers both a subject guide on Research Data Management as well as a DMP review service.
The UM-Dearborn Mardigian Library’s Research Data Management subject guide covers definitions, online tools for creating a DMP, guidance from ICPSR, example plans and more. Read the Research Data Management subject guide to learn more about DMPs.
UM-Dearborn librarians are also available to help answer questions and offer support to faculty improving their DMPs as a part of their DMP review service. To contact a librarian for a DMP review, fill in their DMP review request form.
External Awards Received
The Office of Research is pleased to announce and would like to congratulate our Dearborn faculty members on receipt of the following external funding:
U-M Principal Investigator: Youngki Kim, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering
Project Title: Development of a Heat Pump Control Algorithm for Enhanced Driving Range of Electric Vehicles
Direct Sponsor: Hyundai Motor Company and Kia
Awarded Amount: $158,541
The objective of this research is to develop a real-time implementable MPC-based control algorithm for the energy-efficient heat-pump operation of electric vehicles during cold ambient conditions. The goal is to improve the driving range of electric vehicles by reducing the energy consumption by the thermal management system (TMS) while satisfying operational constraints and passenger thermal comfort.
U-M Principal Investigator: Zhen Hu, assistant professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project Title: ERI: Design of Reliable Autonomous Engineering Systems with Active Failure Prevention
Direct Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Awarded Amount: $199,710
The objective of this project is to create a design framework using computer simulations to design reliable autonomous engineering systems (AES) that can proactively prevent catastrophic failures during operation. It is envisioned that AES in the future should have the capability of not only autonomously accomplishing a mission, but also proactively preventing failures in operation (i.e., active failure prevention). Through simulation-based design under uncertainty, this research will incorporate post-design active failure prevention into the early design stage of AES, thus reducing the probability of failure when the designed AES is put into operation. This research will enable the design of AES with assured reliability and accelerate the development of AES by reducing the reliability certification effort in the design process.
U-M Principal Investigator: Georges Ayoub, associate professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project Title: ERI: Durability of Biocompatible Elastomers under Extreme Environments: Unveiling the Aging Mechanisms
Direct Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Awarded Amount: $200,000
Growing use of plastic materials across many industries (medical, automotive, energy storage, etc.) has prompted the need to develop a knowledge base to support their successful use and processing. One issue with these materials is that their chemical and/or physical degradation, commonly known as aging, sets limits to their use in applications requiring good fatigue and/or impact performance. To avoid in-service failure, this research seeks to understand the endurance of biocompatible elastomers. The project goal is to find a correlation between the mechanical and dynamic properties resulting from in-service aging and from accelerated aging conditions for environmentally aged biocompatible elastomers. This project will work to discover the effect of thermal aging on the static, viscous, and fatigue behavior of elastomers; is the effect of aging on the fatigue induced crazing and cracking initiation, propagation, and coalescence; and how aging affects the chain reptation mechanism.
U-M Principal Investigator: Zhen Hu, assistant professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project Title: Likelihood-Free Calibration Approaches for Correlation of CAE Model and Tests with Incomplete Information
Direct Sponsor: Ford Motor Company
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $50,000.00
The goal of this research is to develop a method that improves the accuracy of predictions made by a computer simulation model called CAE. This method uses Bayesian statistics and doesn't rely on actual physical tests. Thus, we can reduce the number of tests needed to certify the CAE model and speed up the process of developing new products. One important part of this method is creating a mathematical function called the likelihood function. It connects the observations we make in the real world with the predictions made by the CAE model and takes into account the uncertainties in the model. Sometimes, it's difficult to calculate this function because we don't have all the necessary information. This research solves this problem by using a machine learning-based approach that doesn't require calculating the likelihood function directly.
U-M Principal Investigator: Areen Alsaid, assistant professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project Title: Estimating inattention in L3 through affect and context
Direct Sponsor: Ford Motor Company
Awarded Amount: $10,434
Monitoring systems can mitigate the consequences of drive inattention, however, existing systems will not be effective in highly automated vehicles. Signals that current monitoring systems rely on will become obsolete, so there is a need to monitor the driver’s state through other measures. An under-examined predictor of drivers’ inattention is affect, which has considerable influence on cognitive functions and is a very contextualized cognitive state that does not translate from one application domain to another. This research aims to discover how driving context impacts the affective state of the driver, and how affect influences drivers’ attention. The outcomes of this research will be a model utilizing physiological signals fused with context to detect affect, and consequently inattention.
U-M Principal Investigator: Abdallah Chehade, assistant professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project Title: Building dependencies between product failures using warranty data
Direct Sponsor: Ford Motor Company
Awarded Amount: $200,001
The objective is to utilize a historical database of warranty data to identify causal and sequential dependencies between component failures in order to support better design reliability and manufacturing reliability advancements for future components. This project will also explore real-time analysis models to help provide proactive maintenance requests and mitigation strategies to avoid expensive and/or unsafe sequential failures.
U-M Principal Investigator: Alireza Mohammadi, assistant professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project Title: Embedded Implementation of VRU Stability and Motion Predictors
Direct Sponsor: Ford Motor Company
Awarded Amount: $33,522
Dr. Mohammadi and his partners recently developed a method for predicting the stability of cyclists, who constitute a significant portion of the vulnerable road users (VRUs) in severe and fatal car-cyclist accidents. The objective of this project is to enable implementation of this novel stability prediction for the motion of VRUs in cell phone-based embedded applications for utilization in vehicle communication applications and driver assistance systems.
U-M Principal Investigator: Georges Ayoub, associate professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project Title: Leveraging AI Chatbot in Advance Manufacturing Engineering Technologies
Direct Sponsor: Ford Motor Company
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $33,278
The objective of this research is to explore potential use cases of AI chatbots in the field of manufacturing engineering, which could include office applications, data analysis, and coding applications in an industrial manufacturing environment. The investigation aims to comprehend the near-term potential usage of AI chatbots in these areas and establish a technical framework approach to mitigate any potential cybersecurity risks or IP-sharing concerns.
U-M Principal Investigator: Francine Dolins, associate professor of Psychology
Project Title: Development of simulated 3-D virtual reality testing for baboon AD/dementia and spatial cognition research
Direct Sponsor: Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Prime Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $33,389
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), other neurodegenerative disorders, and aging present with varying levels, patterns, and progressions of spatial cognitive decline. A frequent early symptom is getting lost, which may involve a failure to recognize, remember, or integrate information about landmarks or other cues to present location and intended target. Understanding the normative functioning and pathology is vital to identifying the “earliest diagnostic criteria” in AD and other neurodegenerative disorders, and to developing translational models to test real-world therapies. Nonhuman primates (NHPs), as human’s closest relatives, show numerous derived characteristics in brain physiology and cognitive abilities. They play a key role in translating animal findings to reliable AD diagnostics and therapeutics. Baboons reach geriatric ages sooner than humans. In relation to large-scale spatial and navigational problems, baboons are among the most terrestrial of NHPs, and thus experience the world in a more human-like manner. We will test a large number of baboons in their family groups, of all age-sex classes, in their home surroundings, and on a voluntary basis. The purpose of this project is to develop a non-invasive VR system for widespread use in the baboon model of spatial cognition, aging, and AD/dementia. The utilization of both VR and comparator real world platforms provides a strong indication of our commitment to naturalistic testing methods and ecological relevance, a common concern in both human and translational research.
Announcements
FY24 Open Invitation Campus Grants Accepting Applications
Fiscal year 2024 Open Invitation Campus Grants are now accepting applications. Faculty can apply for the following Open Invitation Campus Grants:
- Faculty Research Mini Grants provide up to $1,000 for non-salary resources that enable faculty research and other scholarly activities.
- Faculty Research Publication & Dissemination Grants provide up to $500 per year for peer-reviewed scholarly publication costs, limited to:
- Journal page charges (including surcharges for graphics)
- Publisher required expenses related to book publication
- Reprints (hardcopy or electronic) of your publication
- Conference poster and presentation printing costs
- Copy editing for peer-reviewed scholarly publications, limited to editing required by the publisher
- Research Assistant Grants provide funding to hire a student to assist full-time UM-Dearborn faculty members with work on research and scholarly projects. The program provides two levels of support:
- $750 for work leading to a scholarly product (data, book chapter, publication, etc.)
- $1,500 requires that a related proposal for external funding will be submitted within one year
- Special Circumstance Research Grants provide support for non-salary resources that enable faculty research and other scholarly activities *not* supported by the Faculty Research Mini Grant or other Open Invitation Grants.
Fiscal year 2024 Competitive Campus Grants will launch in the fall semester. For more information about all of our Campus Grants programs (competitive and open invitation) and eligibility information, please visit our Campus Grants webpage or email us at umdearborn-orsp@umich.edu.
U-M's Research Data Stewardship Policy
The recently announced Research Data Stewardship Policy providing guidance on management, retention, ownership, and sharing of U-M research data will go into effect beginning Jan. 1, 2024.
An accompanying procedural guidance document summarizes a number of resources and best practices for implementing the policy, such as defining the rights and responsibilities of researchers, providing guidance about what to do when researchers leave the university, and offering more detailed information about data reuse, storage and archiving.
More information on the policy and updated FAQs can be found on the FAQ page of the Research Data Stewardship portal.
Good to Know: Tools to Screen for Predatory Publishing & Conferences
Think. Check. Attend. and Think. Check. Submit. are online tools that aim to assist researchers and scholars to judge the legitimacy and academic credentials of conferences, publishers and journals.
Think. Check. Attend. provides guidelines that help researchers to differentiate between an authentic conference and the ones they should avoid. Their online tools and resources will help scholars to recognize the characteristics of a trusted conference to attend and submit their abstracts through a number of steps and a checklist.
Think. Check. Submit. helps researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research. Through a range of tools and practical resources, this international cross-sector initiative aims to educate researchers, promote integrity, and build trust in credible research and publications.
MTRAC Life Sciences Innovation Hub accepting applications
Made possible by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, U-M Innovation Partnerships and U-M Fast Forward Medical Innovation, MTRAC Awards offer mid-stage translational funding to enable biomedical researchers from non-profit universities, research institutions and hospital systems across the state of Michigan to develop innovative technologies with high commercial potential. Applicants are anticipated to be 12-24 months from a University “exit” in the form of a license into a start-up company or to an existing revenue-generating company. Technologies must have an invention disclosure on file with the Innovation Partnerships. Awards will be up to $250K in direct costs with a cost share requirement. Apply by Oct. 12.
Reminder: Resources for Using SciENcv
Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is a researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive or are associated with research investments from federal agencies. SciENcv allows researchers to document their education, employment, research activities, publications, honors, research grants, & other professional contributions to create multiple SciENcv profiles in official biographical sketch formats funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In addition, the SciENcv application can be used to create the official NSF Current and Pending Support document.
Any researcher can register for SciENcv and create multiple biosketches, for different research projects or different funding agencies. You can find much more information about how to use SciENcv on their FAQs page. The central Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and U-M Library have resources and previous workshops available on how to create a biosketch in SciENcv specifically focused on NSF and NIH. These resources are available linked below:
- U-M Library SciENcv Guide (including step-by-steps for creating NSF and NIH biosketches)
- NSF Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (July 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NSF Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- How to Create Your NSF Biosketch in SciENcv Step-by-step (MLibrary Handout)
- NIH Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (May 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NIH Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- Biosketch and SciENcv Step-by-Step (MLibrary Handout)
Research events in July:
- Teaching and Technology Collaborative Workshop, “Data, Data Everywhere! Managing and Organizing Data” - Thursday, July 13, noon-1 p.m., virtual
- MIDAS, “Generative AI for Research - a Faculty Workshop Faculty” - Tuesday, July 25 & Wednesday, July 26, Central Campus Classroom Building, Room 0460, 1225 Geddes Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
- Hanover Research Webinar, “Developing Great Proposal Aims and Objectives” - Thursday, July 27, noon, virtual
The Office of Research website is also updated regularly with research-related events and announcements, so we would encourage you to bookmark our landing page and subscribe to our Research News email list.
Research Resource Highlight: U-M Research Computing Package (UMRCP)
Every month, the Office of Research will feature a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we are featuring the University of Michigan Research Computing Package (UMRCP), provided by U-M’s Advanced Research Computing (ARC) division of ITS.
The U-M Research Computing Package (UMRCP) is a package of no-cost supercomputing resources for researchers on all U-M campuses. UMRCP was developed by ITS to meet needs across a diversity of disciplines and to provide options for long-term data management, sharing and protecting sensitive data, and more competitive cost structures that give faculty and research teams more flexibility to procure resources on short notice.
University researchers, including UM-Dearborn faculty, have access to:
- 10TB Turbo NFS & CIFS/SMB
- 100TB Data Den Archive
- 80,000 HPC Hours on Great Lakes or Armis (PHI).
- 16 GB of RAM for Secure Enclave Services.
View the UMRCP Requesting Resources Guide to learn how to request UMRCP services. You can also contact the ARC Help Desk at arc-support@umich.edu.
External Awards Received
The Office of Research is pleased to announce and would like to congratulate our Dearborn faculty members on receipt of the following external funding:
U-M Principal Investigator: Xuan (Joe) Zhou, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project Title: Electrical architecture design and testing for automotive lighting system
Direct Sponsor: HVA Electronics, Inc.
Awarded Amount: $84,799
HVA Electronics Inc. is a comprehensive high-tech enterprise, a collection of independent research and development, manufacturing, sales and service with its focus on automotive electronics for automotive lighting systems. HVA is partnering with UM-Dearborn in this project to improve electrical architecture design and testing for automotive lighting systems.
U-M Principal Investigator: Charu Chandra
Project Title: IPA agreement - Charu Chandra (Managing Priority Supply Chains)
Direct Sponsor: Small Business Administration
Awarded Amount: $126,640
This grant is in support of the recent announcement by the Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C., of a commitment to identify government-wide supply chains that should be prioritized due to diversity, economic, or national security risks. It is sought to establish general principles and a repeatable process for identifying priority supply chains and steps for strengthening them through the use of Federal procurement. Professor Chandra’s supply chain expertise will help them to identify priority supply chains for small businesses by analyzing the use of new and emerging technologies in SBA’s operations, and to identify areas of impact for SBA’s procurement programs.
U-M Principal Investigator: Jian Hu, Associate Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project Title: Machine learning misclassification error detection to enhance safety of Level 3 autonomous driving
Direct Sponsor: Ford Motor Company
Awarded Amount: $199,953
Self-driving cars highly rely on machine learning (ML) to learn from data and make predictions about the surrounding environment. Accordingly, any prediction failures endanger passengers and others on the road. The Safety of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF) requires recognizing the performance limitation of the ML components on self-driving cars, particularly facing unsafe-known and unsafe-unknown scenarios. It is highly likely that ML algorithms fail when meeting exceptions uncovered with the training and test datasets. A critical issue to consider in our research is to reduce hazards due to inadequate performance functionality and insufficient situational awareness of the ML components. This project aims to develop an online error detector to monitor the ML components, find their misclassifications, trigger appropriate warning, and inform drivers to take back control in a timely manner. The achievement of this project can greatly improve the safety of level 3 autonomous driving systems.
U-M Principal Investigator: Yulia Hristova, Associate Professor of Mathematics & Hyejin Kim, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Project Title: GirlsGetMath@Dearborn
Direct Sponsor: Mathematical Association of America Inc.
Awarded Amount: $6,000
This funding will supports the GirlsGetMath@Dearborn summer program which is open to rising 10th to 12th grade students who live in the Metro Detroit area, and allows them to explore topics in applied mathematics such as image processing, graph theory, mathematics of voting, recommendation systems, and cryptography. Engaging and expert mathematical instruction expands participants' understanding and knowledge of mathematics through fun games, interactive lectures, experimentation and daily computer lab activities. In addition, the non-competitive and affirming environment supports participants' confidence and interest in the mathematical sciences. Students are introduced to a variety of career opportunities in which sophisticated mathematical ability plays a key role. The program provides a support group and expert mentors who are successful undergraduate, graduate students, and professionals from the STEM workforce.
U-M Principal Investigator: Xuan (Joe) Zhou, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project Title: Solid state battery fabrication and testing
Direct Sponsor: Camel Energy, Inc.
Awarded Amount: $69,984
Solid-state batteries offer excellent properties including high safety and high energy density, and the technical strategies for developing these batteries have been well-documented. However, the development and research of solid-state batteries are still very mysterious to the public in the industry. Dr. Zhou will lead this work in the battery laboratory to provide data for future judgment on the strategic investments of solid-state battery technology by exploring and verifying the manufacturing scheme and process flow of all-solid-state Li-ion batteries.
U-M Principal Investigator: Michael Dabkowski, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Project Title: Math Corps Summer Camp UM-Dearborn 2023
Direct Sponsor: Math Corps
Awarded Amount: $15,000
The UM-Dearborn Math Corps Summer Camp serves students who will be entering the 7th or 8th grade, providing them with instruction from University faculty and a variety of learning activities in both fundamental and advanced math. High school students entering the 10th, 11th, or 12th grade serve as paid Teaching Assistants and serve as role models for the middle school students.
Announcements
Competitive Campus Grants Update
Congratulations to the winter cycle Competitive Campus Grant awardees! For a list of the awardees and projects that were funded, visit our Previously Funded Projects webpage.
Funding for FY23 Campus Grants has been exhausted. Fiscal year 2024 Competitive Campus Grants will launch in the fall semester and FY24 Open Invitation Campus Grants will open in July 2023. For more information about all of our Campus Grants programs (competitive and open invitation) and eligibility information, please visit our Campus Grants webpage or email us at umdearborn-orsp@umich.edu.
Consultation & Writing Services Available
As a reminder, free Consultation and Writing Services are available to all UM-Dearborn faculty provided through the Office of Research by a third-party consulting company.
The full list and descriptions of the consultation and writing services are available to view on the Office of Research website. Services are intended to strengthen research proposals and documents. Please note services may require an application, have limitations and time requirements in order to be provided.
Services include:
- Proposal Content Review: The review is designed to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas requiring improvement or clarification with a focus on the alignment with the funding opportunity and the funder’s priorities.
- Copy Edit/Proofreading: The edit will identify any typos, errors or other items that need correction.
- Graphic Design: The graphic designer will work on images or graphics that require edits, redesign or creation. (Limited to graphics for proposals submitted to external funders).
- Professional Writer (limited availability, approval required): If approved, the professional writer will work collaboratively with a PI and team to write the project description/narrative with consideration of the funder’s requirements. (Limited service, requires application for prior approval).
- Coach: The team will receive guidance, support and feedback on general proposal questions or drafts of the proposal components and will create them on their own.
For detailed information, service terms and minimum time requirements, please review the service descriptions on our Consultation and Writing Services page.
Reminder: Resources for Using SciENcv
Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is a researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive or are associated with research investments from federal agencies. SciENcv allows researchers to document their education, employment, research activities, publications, honors, research grants, & other professional contributions to create multiple SciENcv profiles in official biographical sketch formats funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In addition, the SciENcv application can be used to create the official NSF Current and Pending Support document.
Any researcher can register for SciENcv and create multiple biosketches, for different research projects or different funding agencies. You can find much more information about how to use SciENcv on their FAQs page. The central Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and U-M Library have resources and previous workshops available on how to create a biosketch in SciENcv specifically focused on NSF and NIH. These resources are available linked below:
- U-M Library SciENcv Guide (including step-by-steps for creating NSF and NIH biosketches)
- NSF Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (July 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NSF Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- How to Create Your NSF Biosketch in SciENcv Step-by-step (MLibrary Handout)
- NIH Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (May 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NIH Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- Biosketch and SciENcv Step-by-Step (MLibrary Handout)
Research Events in June & July:
-
Teaching and Technology Collaborative Workshop, “Be Prepared! Writing a Data Management or Data Sharing Plan” - Wednesday, June 14, noon-1 p.m., virtual
-
NIH Webinar, “NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15)...What You Need to Know!” - Thursday, June 15, 2:30 p.m., virtual
- Teaching and Technology Collaborative Workshop, “Data, Data Everywhere! Managing and Organizing Data” - Thursday, July 13, noon-1 p.m., virtual
- Hanover Research Webinar, “Developing Great Proposal Aims and Objectives” - Thursday, July 27, noon, virtual
The Office of Research website is also updated regularly with research-related events and announcements, so we would encourage you to bookmark our landing page and subscribe to our Research News email list.
Research Resource Highlight: Alternative Metrics
Every month, the Office of Research will feature a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we are featuring the U-M Library’s research guide on Alternative Metrics.
Alternative metrics (altmetrics) are public engagement indicators that measure interactions with publications in non-scholarly venues like blogs, tweets, article downloads, and shares. Altmetrics can help researchers to tell a story about how people are engaging with their research outside of traditional academic paths such as citations and conferences. Altmetrics, such as mentions of research articles in YouTube videos, Wikipedia pages, tweets, or major news outlets, provide a qualitative complement to traditional quantitative measures like citation counts.
There are many resources to track alternative metrics, such as:
- Paperbuzz: Enter a paper's DOI to see how a paper is being talked about online. Note that results are incomplete for articles published before 2017.
- ImpactStory Profiles: Track your buzz on Twitter, blogs, news outlets and more.
- Plum Analytics: Now owned by Elsevier and integrated into their platforms, Plum Analytics gathers data about usage of data sets, open access publications, presentations, blogs, and other types of scholarly communication.
- Snowball Metrics: A research metrics initiative led by research universities around the world working to establish global standards to enable institutional benchmarking. The University of Michigan is a member of the Snowball Metrics United States Working Group.
- Altmetric Explorer: Browse, search, and query "mentions" on the web of publications etc. by researchers at U-M and elsewhere.
For more information about altmetrics and how they can inform research impact, visit the U-M Library’s Alternative Metrics Research Guide page.
Chancellor Grasso and Chancellor Dutta Initiate a New Collaboration between UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint Campuses.
2023 Information:
Register for the 2023 UM-Dearborn – UM-Flint Collaborative Research Series hosted by the University of Michigan-Dearborn Office of Research and the University of Michigan-Flint Office of Research & Economic Development.
The series’ three events include research lightning talks by faculty from both campuses and networking, to help participants find potential research collaborators. At the conclusion of the series, teams led by PIs from both campuses (one PI from Dearborn and one PI from Flint) will have an opportunity to apply for collaborative research grants ranging from $20,000 to $40,000. The award criteria will focus on developing cross-campus research collaborations with potential for external funding. The grant guidelines and application portal are now available.
Please use the RSVP form to register to attend any of the networking events and/or to create a research profile. A Research profile database of other participants is available to help find collaborators. Attendance to one of the networking events is strongly encouraged but not required to apply for a grant. To attend one of the events registration is required and only registered participants will receive the events' call-in information.
Networking Events:
- Recording of February 24 Event: Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cognition, Learning and Communication
Lightning Talks Speakers:- Bochen Jia, Associate Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, UM-Dearborn
- Jeffrey Yackley, Assistant Professor of Information Technology and Informatics, UM-Flint
- Marie Waung, Professor of Psychology, UM-Dearborn
- Jeyoung (Jenny) Oh, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, UM-Flint
- Feng Zhou, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, UM-Dearborn
- Syagnik Banerjee, Professor of Marketing, UM-Flint
- Recording of March 17 Event: Health, Engineering and Analytics. Lightning Talks Speakers include:
- Alireza Mohammadi, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UM-Dearborn
- Khalil Khanafer, Assistant Professor of Engineering, UM-Flint
- Mathumai Kanapathipillai, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UM-Dearborn
- Charlotte Tang, Associate Professor of Computer Science, UM-Dearborn
- Antonios Koumpias, Assistant Professor of Economics, UM-Dearborn
- Amy Yorke, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, UM-Flint
- Recording of March 24 Event: Community Engaged Research, Equity, Education and Urban Living. Lightning Talks Speakers include:
- Jennifer LaCosse, Assistant Professor of Psychology, UM-Flint
- Jacob Napieralski, Professor of Geology and Geographic Information Systems, UM-Dearborn
- Heather Dawson, Professor of Biology, UM-Flint
- Fred Feng, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, UM-Dearborn
- Kazuko Hiramatsu, Associate Professor of Linguistics, UM-Flint
- DeLean Tolbert Smith, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, UM-Dearborn
2022 Information:
A new collaborative research initiative supported by Chancellor Grasso and Chancellor Dutta will be hosted by the University of Michigan Dearborn’s Office of Research and the University of Michigan Flint’s Office of Research & Economic Development. The initiative will include a series of four Zoom events, each one consisting of lightning talks & networking opportunities, to help participants find potential research collaborators. At the conclusion of the series, teams led by PIs from both campuses (one PI from Dearborn and one PI from Flint) will have an opportunity to apply for collaborative research grants ranging from $20,000 to $40,000. The award criteria will focus on developing cross-campus research collaborations with potential for external funding.
Attendance of one or more events is strongly encouraged but *not* required to apply for a grant. There are *no* topic limitations for this program- applications in all areas of research will be accepted. Research profiles of interested collaborators from both campuses is now available to view. Submit a Contact Card to be added to the Research profile database.
View here the UM-Dearborn – UM-Flint Collaborative Research Grants Program Guidelines. The program application window is January 28, 10 AM - April 25, 2022, 5:00 PM. Applications will be accepted via InfoReady.
Event Recordings:
(NOTE: available only to UM community & requires log in with UM credentials)
- Urban Arts & Culture and Sustainability Recording: January 28, 2022
- Health and Engineering Recording: February 18, 2022
- Educational Innovation, AI and Computer Science Recording: March 11, 2022
- Social Justice & Community Engagement: March 25, 2022
Questions? Contact us at Dearborn-FlintCollaborativeResearch@umich.edu
Subscribe to our Research News email list to receive updates by email.
Selected Solicitations Monthly Lists
The Office of Research publishes a list of selected funding opportunities, organized by college, every month. Check out the most recent selection below.
Hanover Research Grants Calendars
Please find yearly grant calendars organized by subject area provided by Hanover Research below. Click on the image for a full size view and list view of the funding opportunities. The full documents also include hyperlink to the funder's website and/or solicitation if you click on the Program name.
Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Grants Calendar
Early Career Research Grants Calendar

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Research Grants Calendar
STEM Research Grants Calendar
Student Success Research Grants Calendar
Environmental Sustainability Research Grants Calendar
Education Research Grants Calendar
