Eight New Proposals Awarded Strategic Equipment Investment Program Funding

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NORMAN, OKLA. – Eight proposals have been funded by the Strategic Equipment Investment Program from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships. Equipment purchased under this program is expected to advance research and creative activities at the University of Oklahoma.

This program supports the purchase of strategic equipment that enhances a team’s capabilities and competitiveness at a national level, specifically, the equipment is expected to “provide new opportunities for advancing the team’s ability to achieve new goals in terms of creativity, discovery, innovation, and competitiveness in securing external funding.”

The funded proposals are:

• Acquisition of a high-magnification automatic elemental mapping scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectroscopy. This proposal is led by Michael Santos, the Charles L. Blackburn Professor in Engineering Physics in the OU Center for Quantum Research and Technology, and involves the Gallogly College of Engineering and the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.
• Precision machining tools for advanced microscopy and analysis sample preparation. This proposal is led by Andrew Madden, the Joe and Robert Klabzuba Chair in the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy, a professor of geosciences and director of the Samuel Roberts Noble Microscopy Laboratory. The project also includes the Gallogly College of Engineering.
• MiniSim™ Driving Simulator Acquisition for AI-Enhanced Connected and Autonomous Transportation. This proposal is led by Arif Sadri, an associate professor in the OU School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, and includes the Gallogly College of Engineering, the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy and the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture.
• Acquisition of a Solvent Purification System to Support Chemical Synthesis. This proposal is led by Shanteri Singh, an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.
• Acquisition of a gel permeation chromatograph for materials projects. This project is led by Brian Grady, the Douglas and Hilda Bourne Chair of Chemical Engineering Professor and director of the Institute for Applied Surfactant Research, and involves the Gallogly College of Engineering and the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.
• Acquisition of a Crystal Mark Micro-abrasion System for Enhanced Species Discovery and Paleobiological Informatics. This project is led by David Wright, an assistant professor of geosciences and an assistant curator of invertebrate paleontology at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History, and includes the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy.
• The Earle R. Gister Digital Sourcebook. This project is led by Joe Alberti, an associate professor of voice and diction in the OU Helmerich School of Drama, and includes the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts.
• LED Cyclorama RGBL+Indigo Lighting Fixtures for Theatrical Lighting Design. This project is led by Renee Brode, an assistant professor of lighting design in the OU Helmerich School of Drama, and includes the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts.

This is the seventh offering of the Strategic Equipment Investment Program. Proposals from Spring 2024 SEIP initiatives accounted for $4.5 million in new extramural funding. Learn more about SEIP and other internal seed funding opportunities at ou.edu/research.