Announcements from the Office of Research
Research Announcements and Monthly Updates from the Office of Research
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:
Principal Investigator: Zhen Hu, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Project Title: Innovative Technologies in Structural Health Monitoring for Condition Assessment and Future Reliability Prediction
Funded by: Department of Defense, Army, through the University of California-San Diego
Award Amount: $106,051
Inland waterway structures are essential elements to allow navigation in inland waterways. More than half of these structural assets have surpassed their 50-year economic design life. This project aims to develop novel reliability assessment techniques for inland waterway structures using physics-based modeling, online health monitoring, and human inspection data. It plays an essential role in enhancing the reliability and resilience of inland waterway infrastructures.
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Principal Investigator: Wencong Su, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project Title: I-Corps: Machine-Learning-enhanced Automated Circuit Configuration and Evaluation of Power Converters (ML-ACCEPT)
Funded by: National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $50,000
The broader potential of this project is the development of power electronics to automate complex circuit design. While significant progress has been made in advancing modeling simulation and verifying electrical power converters, the process of designing such devices remains inefficient in terms of time and cost. The proposed software may help power electronics engineers consider a wide range of novel concepts more rapidly and cost-effectively before selecting an engineering-optimal architecture for high-fidelity design and evaluation. This project is based on the development of technology that integrates recent breakthroughs in machine learning, power electronics, data analytics, simulation software, and optimization to automate the circuit design of electrical power converters. The technology may also facilitate the integration of the proposed software tools into existing power-converter design workflows. The technology seeks to automatically generate and evaluate power converter designs with physics-based Reduced Order Models: automatically evolving architecture concepts toward the optimal system configurations and automatically generating, evaluating and optimizing architectures within acceptable performance uncertainties while satisfying the desired outputs.
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Principal Investigator: Yulia Hristova, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Project Title: GirlsGetMath@Dearborn
Funded by: JetBlue Foundation through Brown University
Award Amount: $5,300
This funding supports costs for 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.
Announcements
Competitive Campus Grants Update
Congratulations to the fall cycle Competitive Campus Grant awardees! For a list of the awardees and projects that were funded, visit our Previously Funded Projects webpage.
The winter cycle of Competitive Campus Grants will begin accepting applications on Jan. 11, with a Feb. 15, 2023 (5 p.m.) submission deadline. This will be the final application cycle for the Research Initiation & Development and the UM-Dearborn Scholars Grants for this fiscal year. If funding remains available, Thematic Research Planning Grants will have a third cycle with a June 15, 2023 (5 p.m.) submission deadline.
We will continue to accept applications for the Open Invitation Campus Grants until the end of the fiscal year, through June 30, 2023 or until all funding is awarded (whichever comes first). To apply to an Open Invitation Campus Grant, go to our InfoReady portal and log in through the University of Michigan Weblogin.
For more information about all of our Campus Grants programs (competitive and open invitation) and eligibility information, please visit our Campus Grants webpage. For questions about the Competitive Campus Grants, please view our Frequently Asked Questions webpage, or email us at umdearborn-orsp@umich.edu.
Research Events in January:
- Teaching and Technology Collaborative, “Digital Scholarship 101: Managing Your Data” – Thursday, Jan. 19, 1-2:30 p.m.
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: OVRP RDPS Webinar Recordings
Every month, the Office of Research will feature a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we are featuring the OVPR Research Development & Proposal Services (RDPS) Webinar Recordings that are available for on-demand viewing on the RDPS website.
The OVPR Research Development & Proposal Services (RDPS) team presents dozens of workshops and webinars each year. Many of the team’s events have been recorded and are available for anyone in the U-M community to watch on their own time. These include valuable sessions for early career researchers, including the Grantsmanship 101 series covering topics such as planning a competitive grant proposal and understanding the review process, and webinars on how to search for funding opportunities presented by U-M Library experts.
Webinar recordings can be found on the RDPS website under “Workshops” or at this Dropbox link. Please note you will need to log into your UMICH authenticated Dropbox account to access the webinars.
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:
Principal Investigator: Amanda Esquivel, Mechanical Engineering
Project Title: The application of injury biomechanics in sports to automotive related injury
Funded by: Toyota Motor North America
Award Amount: $49,158
This study will analyze research related to sports injury and determine how this information can be applied to examining injury caused in automotive collisions. Within the sports injury biomechanics community, it is well known that female athletes have significantly higher injury rates compared with males in the same sport when specifically examining concussions and lower extremity injuries. The mechanisms of injuries, causes of disparity, and prevention strategies will be reported and discussed. Based on these findings, Dr. Esquivel’s team will propose a methodology for examining automotive related injuries through the lens of what is already known about injury disparity in sports.
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Principal Investigator: Junho Hong, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project Title: Cyber Resilience for Substation Automation
Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy through Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Award Amount: $352,067
Dr. Hong’s team will provide technical guidance and assist with research to develop technologies that defend against attacks attempting to disrupt electricity services. The research partners will analyze and test the security layer to achieve robust performance in a utility substation. The outcome of this project will be a cyberattack-resilient operation that is designed to detect attempts to disrupt performance, mitigate the impact of such efforts, and sustain critical functions.
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Principal Investigator: Mengqi Wang, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project Title: Prototype development for a 50 kW, 400 V – 800 V fast charging converter for 800 V EV traction battery
Funded by: Ford Motor Company
Award Amount: $96,091
Dr. Wang aims to develop a highly efficient DC-DC converter which interfaces the 400 V DC fast charging station, and the 800 V traction battery bank, with the purpose of enabling the high voltage traction battery being charged by the available DC charging station.
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Principal Investigator: Samir Rawashdeh, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Project Title: Mobile application for physical therapy exercise adherence assistant
Funded by: The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living through the Shepherd Center, Inc.
Award Amount: $70,000
This project builds on Dr. Rawashdeh’s prior work, supported by the National Science Foundation, to develop a wearable system to track exercise performance and provide corrective feedback to improve patient outcomes and provide an objective assessment of exercise adherence. Dr. Rawashdeh will develop a physical therapy assistance app that uses inertial motion sensors available in modern smartwatches to provide exercise feedback to ensure exercises are done with the correct number of repetitions, to the full range of motion, and along the correct arc of motion. His approach is unique in that it is agnostic to which body part is being exercised and to the sensor mounting orientation. This project will allow us to further develop the system and publish it to the Android play store, usable with commercial sensors, namely Android Wear devices that contain a full Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU).
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Principal Investigator: Carmel Price, Behavioral Science
Project Title: Dearborn Safe Routes to Schools 2022-2023
Funded by: Department of Transportation through State of Michigan and Michigan Fitness Foundation
Award Amount: $98,896
This project supports a Walk n Roll Jr Challenge multi-pronged program for approximately 9,000
elementary public school children. Building on the Healthy Environments for Physical Activity (HEPA) Action Team of the Healthy Dearborn Coalition (HDC) and advanced in partnership with Dearborn Public Schools, this program supports efforts to bring physical activity opportunities to the community by improving the built environment, particularly spaces for transportation and recreation. The Walk n Roll Jr Challenge is a multi-faceted program that will integrate physical activity into the everyday lives of children and their families, and build support for active community transportation infrastructure.
Announcements
Season Days/Holiday Impact on Proposal Deadlines
Please be aware that the upcoming holiday and season days will impact internal proposal submission timelines. Research administrative offices for all three campuses will be closed from Friday afternoon, Dec. 23 through Jan. 2, 2023, and will re-open on Jan. 3, 2023. Any proposals due to the sponsor between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, 2023 must be received by ORSP in Ann Arbor no later than Monday, Dec. 19, 2022 (in final, ready-to-submit form) to meet the deadline for Full Review. Please plan accordingly, and recognize that staff work on proposals will be paused during the season break.
NSF RUI Eligibility
NSF’s Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) designation is offered for predominantly undergraduate institutions (PUIs) that have awarded 20 or fewer Ph.D./D.Sci. degrees in all fields supported by NSF during the combined previous two academic years. UM-Dearborn has now exceeded the threshold for eligibility to submit under the RUI designation. However, the Office of Research can provide guidance for conveying the ongoing unique circumstances under which many of our faculty conduct research given that we remain a primarily undergraduate institution. Please check with your proposal specialist.
Competitive Campus Grants Update
The Office of Research is currently reviewing Competitive Campus Grant Applications submitted by the 5 p.m. Oct. 17, 2022 deadline. Award decisions are anticipated in by mid-January. If you submitted an application, we appreciate your patience as we go through our review process.
The next cycle of Competitive Campus Grants will become available in January with a Feb. 15, 2023 (5 p.m.) submission deadline. This will be the final application cycle for the Research Initiation & Development and the UM-Dearborn Scholars Grants for this fiscal year. If funding remains available, Thematic Research Planning Grants will have a third cycle with a 5 p.m. June 15, 2023 submission deadline.
We will continue to accept applications for the Open Invitation Campus Grants until the end of the fiscal year, through June 30, 2023. To apply to an Open Invitation Campus Grant, go to our InfoReady portal and log in through the University of Michigan Weblogin.
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.
Research Events in December:
- ARC, “Listening sessions with ARC Director Brock Palen” - Wednesday, Dec. 14, 10–11 a.m. and Friday, Dec.16, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., virtual
- Hanover Research, “Breaking Into Mission-Driven Funders” - Thursday, Dec. 15, noon-12:45 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: Consultation & Writing Services
Every month, the Office of Research will feature a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we are featuring the free Consultation & Writing Services available to all faculty working on proposals and publications.
The following services are available:
- Proposal Content Review: The reviewer will provide feedback on the content of the proposal with a focus on the alignment with the funding opportunity and the funder’s priorities. The review is designed to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas requiring improvement or clarification. For best results, it is recommended (but not required) that the PI submits the full proposal package for review. A Review requires at least 6-week notice and typically takes about 5 business days to complete.
- Copy Editing/Proofreading: The editor will do a final check of the document draft submitted for edit. The edit will identify any typos, errors or other items that need correction. The editor does not review the technical content of the document and will NOT provide any feedback on its strengths or weaknesses. In addition, the editor will not check or shorten the length of the documents to conform to the funder/publisher page limits. A Copy Edit/Proofreading service requires at least 5-week notice and takes about 5 days to complete, depending on the length and complexity of the materials.
- Combined Proposal Content Review & Copy Edit: You may request both a Proposal Content Review & Copy Edit/Proofreading service. A combined service requires at least 9-week notice and typically takes about 5 business days for the review and 5 business days for the copy edit to complete. The review is completed first, returned to the PI to incorporate feedback and create the final draft, then submitted for the copy edit.
- Graphic Design (requires submission to external funder): The free graphic design service is available to UM-Dearborn Faculty preparing proposals for submission to external funders. The graphic designer will work on images or graphics that require edits or redesign. Graphics should be sent in a format that can be modified. Depending on the complexity of the graphic, or if a graphic needs to be created from scratch (no sketch or a draft graphic available) this may require direct communication to discuss the vision and approach. The graphic design service requires at least 4-week notice and will take about 1-4 weeks to complete. This timeline will largely depend on the number of drafts required for the graphic.
- Professional Writer (limited service, requires application): The professional writer service is limited and requires an application and prior approval. 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. A writing project requires at least 3-months advance notice, with certain agencies (e.g. NIH and DOD) and subject areas requiring longer lead time. Before confirmation of the writing service, the PI will have a discussion with the service provider about the project details to determine readiness, scope and timing.
Eligibility:
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- The team leader/s (PIs) must be members of the tenured or tenure-track faculty of UM-Dearborn
- Proposals with budgets above $600K are encouraged but proposals with budgets in the $200- $600K range will also be considered
- The team/PI applying for support should have a clear idea of the research they would like to propose and a specific funding opportunity to pursue
- Coach: The coach will work directly with the PI and team to provide an external perspective on the proposal. Coaching does not include writing the proposal. Instead, 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. The scope of work will depend on the specific needs of the team. Before confirmation of the coaching service, the PI will have a discussion with the service provider about the project details to determine readiness, scope and timing. The coaching service requires at least 3-months advance notice.
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: Alex YaSha Yi
Project Title: Chip scale science and technology development
Sponsor: Invictus Innovation EV Technology LLC
Award amount: $525,417
The goal of this project is to enhance existing chip research programs, facilitate and promote new multidisciplinary research, and enrich the educational curriculum. The project will have great potential to bring more students to engineering and science areas reflecting interests in Michigan and nationally. It will serve as a unique resource to the institute’s constituencies in the heartland of the Southeastern Michigan area. Furthermore, the project is also an effort to respond to the increasing demands of emerging sciences, engineering, and technologies in an area where conventional industries are heavily populated. Due to our unique location and industrial collaborations, we are confident that this chip technology development will make a measurable contribution to the economy of Southeast Michigan, especially the greater Detroit metropolitan area.
Announcements
Apply to the Public Engagement Faculty Fellowship Program (PEFF)
Applications for the 2023 cohort of the Public Engagement Faculty Fellowship are now open.
Led by the Office of the Vice President for Research in partnership with other public engagement units on campus, the Public Engagement Faculty Fellowship aims to enable exploration into the wide variety of avenues available to translate scholarly work into public impacts and support faculty in considering how their research, teaching, and engagement can align. The Fellowship involves a five-week intensive Studio Experience focused on community-building, exploration, and learning, and a Project Support phase with the opportunity to request in-kind support and up to $10,000 for an ambitious public engagement project.
Faculty from all three campuses and all disciplines, schools and colleges, career stages, and interests in public engagement are welcome to apply—including clinical and curatorial faculty, lecturers, librarians, research faculty, and tenured/tenure-tenure track faculty.
Applications will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. More information about this opportunity, including the application form, can be found on the Public Engagement Faculty Fellowship website.
Questions can be directed to peff.admin@umich.edu.
TOME Publishing Grants Available
TOME, a joint initiative of the Association of American Universities, the Association of Research Libraries and the Association of University Presses, promotes the digital dissemination of humanities scholarship by providing academic publishers with up to $15,000 to produce and distribute an open access edition of long-form scholarly works. TOME is supported by OVPR, the Library and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and open to faculty on all three campuses.
Learn more about eligibility and how to apply for TOME.
Competitive Campus Grants Update
The Office of Research is currently reviewing Competitive Campus Grant applications that were submitted by 5 p.m. Oct 17, 2022. Award decisions are anticipated in December/January. If you submitted an application, we appreciate your patience as we go through our review process.
The next cycle of Competitive Campus Grants will become available in January with a 5 p.m. Feb. 15, 2023 submission deadline. This will be the final application cycle for the Research Initiation & Development and the UM-Dearborn Scholars Grants for this fiscal year. Thematic Research Planning Grants will have a third cycle with a 5 p.m. June 15, 2023 submission deadline if funding remains available.
We will continue to accept applications for the Open Invitation Campus Grants until the end of the fiscal year, through June 30, 2023. To apply to an Open Invitation Campus Grant, go to our InfoReady portal and log in through the University of Michigan Weblogin.
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.
Research Events in November:
- Research Data Stewardship Initiative, “RDSI November Seminar featuring Maggie Levenstein & Ricardo Punzalan” - Friday, Nov. 4, noon - 1 p.m., virtual
- Teaching and Technology Collaborative, “The new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy: what does it mean for me?” - Wednesday, Nov. 16, noon - 1 p.m., virtual
- IRB, "Working with Human Subjects and IRB Overview" - Friday, November 18, 1:00 pm, virtual
- IRB, "Virtual Meet & Greet Sessions" - Tuesday, November 29 and Wednesday November 30, 3 p.m.
- U-M Foundation Relations, “W.M. Keck Foundation - Information Webinar Session Fall 2022” - Tuesday, Nov. 29, 3 - 4 p.m., virtual
The Office of Research website is also updated regularly with research-related events and announcements, so we encourage you to bookmark our landing page and subscribe to our Research News email list to stay up to date on research news, opportunities and events.
Research Resource Highlight: Innovation Partnerships
Every month, the Office of Research will feature a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we are featuring Innovation Partnerships.
Innovation Partnerships, a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Research and formerly known as Tech Transfer, serves as the primary gateway for researchers seeking to increase the impact of their work. They provide this service to U-M faculty on all three campuses by connecting with the private sector through corporate-sponsored research collaborations, licensing discussions, or connections with entrepreneurs and investors to support startup company formation. Their team of licensing, business development, and investment professionals provide comprehensive step-by-step service to faculty starting with invention assessment and intellectual property support, followed by business mentoring and connections to early-stage capital from the Accelerate Blue Fund.
Innovation Partnerships can help faculty and researches with:
- Alliances by connecting faculty with commercial research opportunities, negotiating corporate sponsored research agreements and managing ongoing research alliances.
- Licensing through invention intake support, Intellectual Property strategy and funding, and license agreement negotiation.
- Ventures, including translational research funding, business mentorship, venture capital investors and connections to entrepreneurial talent.
Contact Innovation Partnerships to ask any questions about their work with Alliances, Licensing, and Ventures.
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: Jaerock Kwon
Project Title: MRI: Acquisition of Autonomous Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle Platform for Multidisciplinary Research and Education at the University of Michigan-Dearborn
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award amount: $244,610.00
This award supports the acquisition of a high-performance Autonomous electric Vehicle Platform that will advance fundamental science and engineering research and education at UM-Dearborn. The project will enable acceleration of the development of critical algorithms in machine learning and analysis methods tailored to the safety and stability of autonomous vehicles while enabling transformative research on cybersecurity by providing real-world scenarios, and will substantially enhance the current capabilities at UM-Dearborn.
U-M Principal Investigator: Doohyun Kim
Project Title: Electrical and Thermal Modeling of a Battery Pack for Analysis of Electric Vehicles
Sponsor: Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc.
Award amount: $53,570
Market penetration of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) has been rapidly growing primarily due to reduced battery cost and increasing charging infrastructure. Efficiency of BEV strongly depends on thermal condition of the battery during operation, which significantly varies depending on ambient conditions, vehicle speed, and thermal management strategies. This project aims to develop a battery pack model capable of accurately capturing the electrical and thermal dynamics of a battery pack of BEV. The model will be used to design improved battery control methods for higher efficiency and performance.
U-M Principal Investigator: Carmel Price
Project Title: Collaborative Planning for Clean Air in Detroit and Wayne County
Sponsor: Ecology Center Inc.
Award Amount: $4,000.00
This project will support youth outreach and engagement in community-wide planning for the Collaborative Planning for Clean Air in Detroit and Wayne County project. Youth participants will receive a stipend for their participation in project planning meetings, work group meetings, meetings of the Air Quality Sensor Learning Collaborative, and other community-wide meetings.
U-M Principal Investigator: Lara Rusch
Project Title: Organizing and Mobilizing Student Engagement
Sponsor: Menlo College
Award Amount: $15,000.00
This project supports activities that will advance the goals of the Student Vote Research Network through two paths: first by engaging students as grassroots leaders, embedded in campus and community networks, and second, by supporting student activities staff in civic engagement planning and programming through faculty involvement.
Announcements
Professional Writer Support Available for Research Proposals
(Application Required)
The Office of Research, through a third party service provider, offers support with the writing and submission of (collaborative) research proposals. The professional writer service is limited and requires an application and prior approval. 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.
Teams and individual PIs with interesting and fundable proposal ideas and meet the eligibility criteria are encouraged to apply. The service will be offered free of charge to approved applicants. Please read the complete eligibility and application instructions below.
Eligibility
- The team leader/s (PIs) must be members of the tenured or tenure-track faculty of UM-Dearborn
- Proposals with budgets above $600K are encouraged but proposals with budgets in the $200- $600K range will also be considered
- The team/PI applying for support should have a clear idea of the research they would like to propose and a specific funding opportunity to pursue
- Applicants can list funding opportunities of interest with dues dates at least 3 months from the time of their application. Before confirmation of the writing service, the PI will have a discussion with the service provider about the project details to determine readiness, scope and timing.
How to Apply
Faculty must submit this application form to be considered for a professional writer. For more information and other services available, please visit our Consultation & Writing Services webpage.
Competitive Campus Grants Fall Cycle Applications Due Oct. 17
As a reminder, the application deadline for the first cycle of Competitive Campus Grant programs for fiscal year 2023 is 5 p.m., Oct. 17, 2022. Applications are open for the following grants:
- Research Initiation and Development (RID) Grants provide financial support of up to $25,000 for research projects. This program supports projects designed to lead to a proposal for external funding with a strong potential of being awarded.
- Budget floor: $10,000; Budget ceiling: $25,000.
- UM-Dearborn Scholars (SCH) Grants are intended to support research and scholarship, including creative activities in the arts. This program is primarily for projects with funding needs not addressed by other support programs within or outside the University.
- Budget floor: $8,000; Budget ceiling: $15,000.
- Thematic Research Planning (TRP) Grants will support the development of collaborative cross-disciplinary research proposals that address the FY 23 priority research areas:
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- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Sustainability
- Biomedical, Health and Healthcare
- Budget floor: $15,000; Budget ceiling: $30,000.
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More information about the campus grants program and eligibility can be found on our Campus Grants webpage or you can email umdearborn-orsp@umich.edu with questions.
Research Events in October and November:
- Teaching and Technology Collaborative, “Introduction to Deep Blue Documents and Data” - Wednesday, Oct. 12, noon-1 p.m., virtual
- Teaching and Technology Collaborative, “Digital Scholarship 101: Planning Your Digital Project” - Monday, Oct. 17, 2-3:30 p.m., virtual
- College of Arts, Sciences & Letters “Eighth Annual CASL Faculty Research Slam” - Thursday, Oct. 20, 3-4:30 p.m., virtual
- Teaching and Technology Collaborative, “The new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy: what does it mean for me?” - Wednesday, Nov. 16, noon-1 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. The Office of Research looks forward to assisting you on your future research endeavors!
Research Resource Highlight: Foundation Relations
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 Foundation Relations website & services.
The mission of the U-M Foundation Relations (FR) team is to serve as trusted colleagues who bridge campus and foundation partners to secure grant support for projects, programs and research that create social and economic impact in society, advance innovation, serve communities and patients, and tackle wicked problems.
Foundation Relations can help faculty:
- Edit and review proposals with a focus on foundation readers Identify potential foundation funders for projects
- Develop strategies for approaching foundations
- Share insights on particular foundation funders
- Make initial introductions to foundations and program officers
The U-M FR website is a great resource for faculty. The website was redesigned last fall for the research community, with a focus on helping faculty identify and apply for foundation funding. It includes a sortable database of foundation grant opportunities and a Grantwriter’s Toolkit that provides resources for documents commonly needed for grant applications and general advice on writing proposals using foundation-friendly language.
Dearborn faculty interested in foundation funding should contact Blythe Murphy, the Director of Foundation Relations for UM-Dearborn, at blythem@umich.edu. Blythe works to connect faculty and programs in all four colleges and centers of the campus with private foundation funding opportunities.
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:
Aditya Viswanathan, assistant professor of Mathematics, was awarded a grant of $93,600 by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in support of his collaborative project (with Dartmouth College) "Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Imaging with Phase Retrieval and Uncertainty Quantification". SAR imaging - which has been used in applications such as remote sensing, sea ice monitoring, disaster relief, defense and intelligence gathering, and archaeology - allows us to build detailed and accurate images of a scene of interest by transmitting pulses of radio waves from a moving platform (such as an aircraft or satellite) and processing their delayed and attenuated echos. The process of constructing these images, however, is challenging - with the acquired data often being highly incomplete, corrupted by high levels of measurement error, and subject to artifacts such as motion and out-of-focus blurs. This project seeks to utilize contemporary mathematical and statistical techniques to develop new state-of-the-art SAR image reconstruction algorithms which are computationally efficient, robust to errors and artifacts, and compatible with the next generation of enhanced, extreme-scale imaging hardware.
Shan Bao, associate professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, received $65,794 from Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America for her project “How to Improve the Safety of Children on the U.S. Road? Insights from a Crash Data Analysis.” Injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in children and adolescents, and this problem has become an increasing concern for U.S. society with a growing trend. This project is designed to perform a comprehensive analysis on identifying typical children-involved crash scenarios and examining the relevant factors describing the context and potential causes of these crashes on the U.S. road when the involved child(ren) was either a passenger in a motor vehicle or a pedestrian/cyclist on the road. The results of this study will provide a systematic summary of the typical crash scenarios involving children and the relevant causation factors, as well as potential crash mitigation technology design recommendations.
Matthew Heinicke, associate professor of Biology, received $20,238 for his project Assessing the systematics and diversity of Haemosporida in African reptiles. The project, funded by the National Science Foundation and awarded through a collaboration with Villanova University, will study how host/parasite interactions affect the biodiversity of a particular type of parasitic organism and a major host organism it commonly affects. Haemosporidians are microscopic single-celled organisms that live as symbionts or parasites infecting a wide variety of vertebrates. A few types that cause diseases are well-known, including those causing malaria in humans. However, the group is otherwise poorly studied. This project will study interactions between haemosporidians and a major group of host organisms, reptiles in Angola. Angola is the focal region because it has a wide range of environments from desert to rainforest, and many species of reptile live there. Work at UM-Dearborn will focus on the reptile side of this relationship. DNA samples obtained from Angolan reptiles will be used to determine the evolutionary history, levels of genetic diversity, and number of unique species of Angolan reptiles. Colleagues at other universities will generate complementary data for the haemosporidians that infect these reptiles. With data from both groups the researchers can test whether unique haemosporidian strains infect each reptile species, and whether the two groups are co-evolving, meaning that closely related reptile species have closely related haemosporidian parasites.
Hugo Casquero, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering, was awarded $70,000 by Honda Motor Co., Ltd for his study “Crashworthiness simulations using thin-walled solid BEXT meshes.” Dr. Casquero-Penelas will work to develop isogeometric analysis to achieve a seamless integration between computer-aided design and finite-element analysis. This fundamental research will be applied to the design and analysis of the structural skeleton of vehicles to maximize occupant safety.
Announcements
Competitive Campus Grants Fall Cycle Applications
The first cycle of the Competitive Campus Grants for fiscal year 2023 are available to apply to by UM-Dearborn tenured/tenure-track faculty. The following Competitive Campus Grant applications are due by 5 p.m., Oct. 17, 2022:
- Research Initiation and Development (RID) Grants provide financial support of up to $25,000 for research projects. This program supports projects designed to lead to a proposal for external funding with a strong potential of being awarded.
- Budget floor: $10,000; Budget ceiling: $25,000.
- UM-Dearborn Scholars (SCH) Grants are intended to support research and scholarship, including creative activities in the arts. This program is primarily for projects with funding needs not addressed by other support programs within or outside the University.
- Budget floor: $8,000; Budget ceiling: $15,000.
- Thematic Research Planning (TRP) Grants will support the development of collaborative cross-disciplinary research proposals that address the FY 23 priority research areas:
-
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Sustainability
- Biomedical, Health and Healthcare
- Budget floor: $15,000; Budget ceiling: $30,000.
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More information about the campus grants program and eligibility can be found on our Campus Grants webpage.
Research Events in September & October:
- MICHR, “Conducting and Obtaining Valid Informed Consent” - Thursday, Sept. 15, 12 - 2 p.m., virtual
- Teaching and Technology Collaborative, “Crafting Research Impact Statements” - Friday, Sept. 16, 12 - 1 p.m., virtual
- RDSI, “Research Data Stewardship Initiative Informational Webinar” - Wednesday, Sept. 21, 1 p.m., virtual
- Mardigian Library, “Using Library Materials in Your Classroom” - Thursday, September 22, 1PM and Monday, Sept. 26, 2 p.m., in-person located in Mardigian Library, ML 1211. Registration not required
- Research Data Stewardship Initiative Fall 2022 Seminar Series, “RDSI October Seminar” - Friday, Oct. 7, 12 - 1 p.m., virtual
- MICHR, “MICHR Mock Study Section” - Wednesday, Oct. 19, 3 - 5:30 p.m., virtual. Registration closes on Sept. 26.
Research Resource Highlight: The Office of Research
Every month, the Office of Research will feature a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers!
This month we are featuring our very own UM-Dearborn Office of Research website to remind you of the information and services available to UM-Dearborn faculty.
Over the past year, the Office of Research has reorganized and updated many of our webpages with updated information, services and new initiatives. 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. One-on-one consultation requests, Consultation and Writing Services, and resources for finding funding are just a few examples of the services available to UM-Dearborn faculty.
- 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).
- More Help: This newly developed 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 such as animal care & use, indirect costs and intellectual property. We encourage faculty to check back in on this page as more topics are added.
Our website is also updated regularly with research-related events and announcements, so we encourage faculty 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.
Chancellor Grasso and Chancellor Dutta Initiate a New Collaboration between UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint Campuses.
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.
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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
