PULLMAN – Ten Washington State University faculty members have received internal research grants totaling $150,000 through the university’s seventh annual New Faculty Seed Grant competition.
The grants are funded through the WSU Foundation and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. The purpose of the program is to help new faculty members launch their research careers and improve their chances at receiving major funding from a federal or state agency or private foundation in the future.
The individual grants awarded range from $3,801 to $18,680.
Faculty members receiving the grants and their projects are:
* Michael Alfaro, School of Biological Sciences, “The Influence of Genome Evolution on Rates of Morphological Diversification in Tetraodontiform Fishes”
* Stephen Chalmers, Fine Arts, “Photographing Snowbirds”
* Kim Christen, Comparative Ethnic Studies, “Changing the Default:
Aboriginal Archives and the Production of Cultural Material”
* Sylvie Cloutier, VCAPP Dept./College of Veterinary Medicine, “Characteristics of Handling Affecting Responses of Laboratory Rats in Standard Behavioral Tests Used”
* Su Ha, Chemical Engineering, “ Investigating the Use of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNT) as Novel Supports for Electrically Connecting the Active Site of Glucose Oxidase (GOx)”
* Michiyo Hirai, Psychology, “An Evaluation of an Online Intervention Program for Female Victims of Sexual Assault”
* Jessica Lynch-Alfaro, Anthropology, “Biological and Cultural Evolution of Capuchin Monkeys”
* Carolyn Ross, Food Science and Human Nutrition, “Learning About Applications of Novel Analytical Chemistry Techniques to Sensory Evaluation”
* Brenda Schroeder, Plant Pathology, “The Development of a Molecular Marker for the Detection of the Causal Agent of Onion Bulb Decay Occurring on Storage Onions in Washington State”
*Jinwen Zhang, Wood Materials, “Investigation of Manufacturing Microcellular Natural Fiber Reinforced Biopolyester Composites”
Thirty-one proposals were received by the Research and Arts Committee.
After a review of the proposals by peer faculty at WSU, these ten proposals were selected for funding.
James Petersen, WSU vice provost for research, said that “as the state’s land-grant, research university, it is essential that our faculty are involved in cutting edge scholarly activities. The New Faculty Seed Grant program, which is designed to help new faculty initiate their scholarly careers, is an important part of that process.
“We have seen a great success rate from awarding these grants. In the six years since its inception, $587,000 has been invested, with about $6.5 million returned from outside funding sources directly related to these projects. I am very proud of the quality of the projects selected for funding and know that this program will help ensure that our students are educated by world-class scholars.”
