Eight faculty members at the University of Oklahoma have received funding from the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program this year, a record number for the university to have received in a single year. Known as CAREER awards, the grants support early-career faculty who “have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.” The five-year grants are among the most prestigious awards issued by the National Science Foundation. They are intended to support early-career faculty in developing the foundation of their research activities while developing educational outreach that brings up the next generation of scholars.
Among the reasons for OU’s record year of awards is an effort led by the Center for Faculty Excellence, hosting regular training sessions to help faculty prepare competitive proposals and establish cross-departmental collaborative relationships to expand existing educational outreach and support services into new fields or areas of study related to these early career projects.
“The Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships and the Center for Faculty Excellence, along with the university’s deans, are working together to support faculty in building the teams, getting pilot data to test their theories, and develop strong proposals that gain external funding and recognition of the caliber of research happening across our campus,” said OU Vice President for Research and Partnerships Tomás Díaz de la Rubia. “We congratulate each of this year’s recipients and look forward to the continued growth of our early-career faculty.”
Cai will develop consumer behavior models from data collected through a custom-designed energy demand game and sociotechnical experiments to better understand the interplay of an individual’s financial and environmental goals in shaping their energy use behaviors.
Jay W. McDaniel for “CAREER: UAV-Based Radar Suite for Bulk-Snow Characterization and Risk Management.”
McDaniel will develop a custom UAV-based radar suite with sophisticated signal processing techniques to measure the depth and distribution of snow and ice to support actionable risk management strategies and socioeconomic resiliency from snow-related weather events.
Paul Moses for “CAREER: Untangling Chaotic Electromagnetic Transient Phenomena in Power Systems Mixed with Volatile Inverter-Based Renewable Energy Resources.”
Moses will study how chaotic grid disturbances, like electromagnetic disruptions from solar flares or storms in space, impact power grids as more renewal energy sources are added to legacy power grid infrastructure. The information gained from the five-year project could improve mitigation strategies to prevent grid failures.
Qinggong Tang for “CAREER: Intelligent Multi-Contrast Imaging Platform for Needle-Based Interventions.”
Tang will develop novel endoscopic optical imaging techniques to provide real-time visualizations to successfully improve clinicians’ ability to administer needle-based medical interventions.
Gavin Woodruff for “CAREER: The genetic and developmental basis of body size evolution in nematodes.”
Woodruff will study how a roundworm, C. inopinata, regulates cell size and how that information could inform scientists’ understanding of cellular growth.
Tiantian Yang for “CAREER: CAS-Climate: Forecast-informed Flexible Reservoir System Modeling Enabled by Artificial Intelligence Algorithms Using Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Hydro-climatological Forecasts.”
Tiantian Yang will develop a novel artificial intelligence and data mining tool to aid water reservoir operators’ decision-making in response to variable and climate-impacted precipitation forecasts.
Yuan Yang for “CAREER: Neuro-navigation guided non-invasive brain stimulation for individualized precision rehabilitation in stroke.”
Yuan Yang will develop technology that can personalize rehabilitation strategies for patients following a stroke, reducing recovery times and health care and nursing costs.
Xiaochen (Angela) Zhang for “CAREER: Transactive Resilience: Uncovering the Effects of Social Network and Communal Capacity on Disaster Community Resilience.”
Zhang will study how relationships among non-profits, community groups and local government agencies can improve disaster resilience, resource allocation, and emergency management by enabling direct organizational interactions rather than top-down responses.
