2022 Research Projects and Media News
Dr. Jennifer Mandel secures $2.2 million grant from NSF to study sunflowers
Sept. - UofM’s Dr. Jennifer Mandel, associate professor in the Department of Biological
Sciences, and her collaborative team comprising researchers Daniel Jones at Auburn
University and John Burke of the University of Georgia, have been awarded a $2.2 million
grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Integrative Organismal Systems
– Plant Genome Research Project to study the genomics of inflorescence development
and evolution in the sunflower family.
The project, entitled “Comparative genomics of the capitulum: deciphering the molecular basis of a key floral innovation,” will use the latest genomic technologies to discover the genes that control how the sunflower head inflorescence, or capitulum, develops and evolved. The iconic sunflower capitulum is not just a single flower but actually a composite of many small flowers (sometimes hundreds) that appear and ecologically function as one large flower. Evolutionary biologists hypothesize that the capitulum is key to the success of the sunflower family which makes up ca. 10% of the world’s flowering plant biodiversity and includes numerous species of horticultural, medicinal and industrial value plus economically important food crops such as artichoke, lettuce and safflower. Read More About the Project >>>
Institute for Gambling Education and Research's MHSAS grant will fund two clinics
and expand services for all Tennesseans
Aug - The Institute for Gambling Education and Research (T.I.G.E.R.) was recently awarded a $1.2 million grant by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (MHSAS) to expand gambling research and treatment services for all Tennesseans.
With Dr. James Whelan, research professor in the Department of Psychology and Institute Director, at the helm, T.I.G.E.R. has earned an international reputation for research on prevention and treatment for gambling disorders since its establishment more than 20 years ago. The partnership with MHSAS has also afforded T.I.G.E.R. the opportunity to maintain a clinic on campus to treat more than 1,000 people whose lives have been significantly harmed by gambling. Read more about the grant >>>
Li using NSF CRII funding for city-scale traffic simulation
Aug - Will address and assist with management of traffic systems
Dr. Weizi Li, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, was recently awarded a Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research Initiation Initiative (CRII) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) starting July 1, 2022.
Li’s award for $174,789, entitled “Towards Effective and Efficient City-scale Traffic Reconstruction,” will develop effective and efficient city-scale traffic reconstruction methods for the purpose of: 1) estimating travel time of individual road segments using time information of mobile data and subsequently estimate other macroscopic traffic states; 2) developing novel map-matching techniques for low-sampling rate mobile data; 3) using simulation-based optimization to reconstruct microscopic traffic dynamics while ensuring consistent traffic flows at the boundaries of data-sufficient and data-lacking areas; and finally 4) developing a hybrid simulation to achieve highly-efficient reconstruction through the study of various intelligent transportation systems applications’ requirements on efficiency and reconstruction fidelity and an effective conversion method between macroscopic and microscopic traffic simulation. Full Details >>>
Researchers working with FedEx as part of the FRONTIERS program
Aug - Focusing on solving company challenges utilizing UofM faculty and students
Launched by the UofM FedEx Institute of Technology in Spring 2021, the FRONTIERS program enables research engagement that aligns with FedEx goals and priorities by focusing on emerging technologies in major areas as outlined in the FedEx Investor Report, or other requested areas. Early stage innovations, pilot projects and ideas that need expert leaders in cutting-edge disciplines to overcome internal challenges to execution at FedEx are eligible for this program. Several College of Arts & Sciences faculty are involved in the program.
Building on a core of innovation and collaboration, the Institute works directly with FedEx via the FRONTIERS program to engage faculty and students with FedEx team members to tackle specific issues to that team or op-co. And, by utilizing UofM students on these projects, this program creates a large-scale, sustainable ecosystem for the development, recruitment and retention of top talent.
UofM’s Dasgupta and McGinnis Work with NCPC to Create Cybersecurity Legislation
July - New law authorizes DHS to increase response efforts nationwide
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can now work with the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium (NCPC) to increase its cybersecurity preparedness and incident response initiatives nationwide after Congress adopted and sent the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act (NCPC) to President Biden to sign into law.
NCPC efforts at the UofM have been led by Dr. Dipankar Dasgupta (Computer Science) and Dr. James Andrew McGinnis Jr. (Engineering Technology), Co-Directors of the Center for Information Assurance (CfIA).
“As the core member of NCPC, the University of Memphis developed several web-based cybersecurity training courses which are hosted at FEMA/TEEX site and reached to more than 50,000 people nation-wide,” according to Dasgupta. Full Details of the project >>>
Muller-Sanchez Leads Two Projects Funded by NASA
Will be used to observe and analyze supermassive blackhole activity using the James Webb Space Telescope
June - Dr. Francisco Muller-Sanchez, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Materials Science, recently received two awards from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The awards will fund 1) General Observer (GO) time on the James Webb Space Telescope and 2) Archival Research (AR) on Early Release Science observations made by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Muller-Sanchez’s award for $118,459 for General Observer time on the James Webb Telescope is for the project “Unveiling the Nature of CID-42. The Best Candidate for a Gravitational Wave Recoiling Supermassive Black Hole.” Muller-Sanchez’s second award for $119,128 research using archival James Webb Space Telescope NIRSpec data is “AGN Feeding and Feedback in NGC 4151.” NGC 4151 is an intermediate spiral Seyfert galaxy with weak inner ring structure and is one of the nearest galaxies to Earth to contain an actively growing supermassive black hole. Read the full UofM Media Release >>>
The James Webb Space Telescope is the biggest and most advanced telescope ever, Dr. Muller Sanchez is one of the lucky few to get to use it. He was interviewed by ABC24 Memphis regarding his research programs that utilized the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope. Watch video interview on YouTube >>>
Prestigious J.O. Westwood Medal 2022 Awarded to Clarke & McKenna
June - Selection for faculty’s research was unanimous
Department of Biological Sciences faculty, Dr. Dave Clarke (lecturer), and Dr. Duane McKenna (professor) were recently notified their research The Weevil Fauna Preserved in Burmese Amber: Snapshot of a uniguw, extinct lineage (Coleoptera: Coculionoidea) has been awarded the Royal Entomological Society’s J.O. Westwood Medal 2022 for excellence in taxonomy. Award criteria includes the best comprehensive taxonomic work on a group of insects, or, related arthropods (including terrestrial and freshwater hexapods, myriapods, arachnids and their relatives) and typically, this will be a taxonomic revision or monograph. Award is open to authors from any country who demonstrate the highest standards of descriptive taxonomy in the work nominated. To be eligible for this annual award, an individual or group’s work must meet the criteria and is/are living at the time the work is submitted for consideration. News and Impact announcement >>>
St. Jude, UofM partner with local organizations to expand STEM opportunities in Memphis
June - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the University of Memphis, the Tennessee Department of Education, Memphis-Shelby County Schools and other area colleges and universities, have created a new partnership to expand access to STEM education to provide educational opportunities to students who have been historically underrepresented in science-related careers.
Jaime Sabel, Ph.D., a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Memphis, sees the importance of providing guidance and assistance for students interested in science and technology-based careers. “My goals are to enhance opportunities and understanding of concepts to best support students in reaching their goals,” Sabel said. “The STEMM Ecosystem is providing partners and resources to help advance additional research to understand the issues, to broadly share existing opportunities for students, and to work collaboratively to create new opportunities for students interested in STEMM.” Read full news release >>>
Clark Receives NSF CAREER Award
March - Funds research focused on synthetic strategies, and increase STEM opportunities
Dr. Kensha Clark, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, was recently awarded a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) starting July 1, 2022.
Clark’s award for $700,000, entitled “Exocyclic Imine Ligands for Electron Transfer,” capitalizes on redox noninnocence in transition metal complexes for the purpose of: (1) predicting electronic and magnetic behavior, (2) exploring ligand facilitated intermetallic interactions, and (3) the design of new functional molecules. This research will develop new synthetic strategies for metal ions with tailored electronic and magnetic properties to produce rationally designed multimetallic complexes that are engineered to manifest desired behavior. Development of these novel synthetic strategies will have an impact on a variety of applications, including sustainable chemical processes via artificial photosynthesis, computing, medical devices, and grid energy storage.
ASPIRED Project Milestones
March - Growing gender equality
Since the launch of this project, we took a moment to reflect on the role ASPIRED has played on campus with its implemented programs. We are thrilled to celebrate the milestones with you. Through ASPIRED project’s UM-Intersect, UM-Connect, and UM-Integrate programs, the University of Memphis has adapted gender equity initiatives in recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement for STEM women faculty. The principal investigator of this project is Dr. Esra Ozdenerol, professor of Earth Sciences and directors of the GIS Certificate Program as well as SAGE (Spatial Analysis and Geographic Education) Laboratory. UofM Media News and Impact >>>
Highly Cited Faculty: March Spotlight
Dr. Irena Lasiecka, Department of Mathematical Sciences
It was a good day for the University of Memphis back in 2013, when Dr. Irena Lasiecka decided to leave an endowed professorship at the University of Virginia after 26 years and become a Distinguished University Professor and Chair of Memphis’s Department of Mathematical Sciences. According to one of her academic peers, her move “jolted the professional community and instantaneously brought world-wide visibility and reputation to the … University of Memphis.”
“Partial differential equations involve a lot of pure mathema tics, and that was what I was trained for very early in my studies,” she said. Lasiecka grew up in Poland, and decided on a career in mathematics after her father convinced her that she wasn’t suited for the architecture career she first thought she would pursue. She earned both her Masters and PhD (in three years) in the early 1970s at the University of Warsaw. University media release >>>
Washington Leads South City Digital Inclusion Project
Phase 2 funding will increase tech access for those with the highest rate of dysconnectivity
Dr. Gregory Washington, director of the Center for Advancement and Youth Development (CAYD) and professor in the School of Social Work, has been awarded a research contract by the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis. Washington will be the lead principal Investigator.
The award funds Phase 2 of the Digital Inclusion in South City project, which seeks to provide financial, technological, and educational support to ensure students' achievement isn't limited by their technology access. The South City Digital Inclusion (SCDI) project, as a solution, is focused on youth and their families in communities who suffer from the highest rates of internet dysconnectivity. At its core SCDI about getting more households online with the right skills for success. Full Details on the project >>>
UofM Receives $3.8M Cybersecurity Education Grant from National Science Foundation
Feb. - The University of Memphis Department of Computer Science has received a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to address the growing national demand for cybersecurity professionals.
The five-year project, titled “CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Developing the Cybersecurity Workforce in West Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas” will recruit four cohorts of scholars from the Department of Computer Science, Department of Business Information Technology, College of Engineering, Department of Criminal Justice and other UofM units. Priority will be given to underrepresented students such as women, minorities and veterans. Full Media Release >>>
UofM Receives $3.8M Cybersecurity Education Grant from National Science Foundation
Feb. - The University of Memphis Department of Computer Science has received a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to address the growing national demand for cybersecurity professionals.
The University of Memphis Department of Computer Science has received a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to address the growing national demand for cybersecurity professionals. The five-year project, titled “CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Developing the Cybersecurity Workforce in West Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas” will recruit four cohorts of scholars from the Department of Computer Science, Department of Business Information Technology, College of Engineering, Department of Criminal Justice and other UofM units.
Principal investigator Kan Yang is leading the project with fellow professors Dipankar Dasgupta, Myounggyu Won and Amy Cook as co-PIs. Full Details on this grant >>>
Research roundup: U of M faculty members continue project, grant push after gaining R1 status
By John Klyce - Reporter
Feb. - Over a month-and-a-half has passed since the University of Memphis gained R1
status from the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, and
school officials haven’t been bashful about reveling in the achievement.
Drive down Central Avenue, and you can see an R1 advertisement plastered on a billboard. But while U of M’s leadership and faculty are proud of the distinction, they haven’t grown complacent — and they’re continuing to score sizable grants in the new year, according to the U of M’s Research and Innovation newsletter. Biz Journal >>>