by Jason Moody
The Center for Global Engagement and the Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development, have announced the awardees of the 2022-23 Global Catalyst Faculty Research Grants.
Global Catalyst Grants provide partial support in building Tennessee’s connections to international colleagues, institutional partners and opportunities abroad. The funds interlink Tennessee with the world beyond U.S. borders and support international activities on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus.
The Global Catalyst Faculty Research Grants are available to all tenured or tenure-track UT faculty including the Institute of Agriculture.
The research portion of this grant program supports faculty-led partnerships with international universities, institutions of higher education and research institutes. The funds are intended to create a strong foundation for or directly support globally-engaged collaborative research, scholarship and creative activities.
Jamie McGowan, director of the Global Research Office at the Center for Global Engagement, says the goal of the faculty research grants are “to take [faculty’s] work to the next level.”
McGowan hopes this funding will advance research opportunities and strengthen relationships between UT faculty and the global research community saying, “Ultimately, we seek to support faculty developing external funding proposals such that they launch deeper international partnerships that serves their research goals and establish mutually beneficial collaborations with partners abroad.”
The 2022-23 Global Catalyst Faculty Research Grant awardees are Dimitris Herrera, Jill Mikucki and Janice Musfeldt from the College of Arts and Sciences; Gregor Kalas and Hojung Kim in the College of Architecture and Design; Andrea Lear in the College of Veterinary Medicine; Vandana Singh in the College of Communication and Information; and Xiaopeng Zhao in the Tickle College of Engineering. A full list of awardees, project titles and award amounts can be found below.
| Research Grant Proposal Title | Awardee | College | Department | Award Amount |
| Healthcare Robotics | Xiaopeng Zhao | Tickle College of Engineering | Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering | $25,000 |
| US-Canada Catalyst—development and implementation of novel intelligent sensing systems to forecast and mitigate cascading microbio-geohazards | Jill Mikucki | College of Arts and Sciences | Microbiology | $21,000 |
| The University of Tennessee and the University of Poitiers Partnership on the Aftermath of Crisis | Gregor Kalas | College of Architecture and Design | Architecture | $13,070 |
| Validation of blood based pregnancy test in South American Camelids | Andrea Lear | College of Veterinary Medicine | Large Animal Clinical Sciences | $10,800 |
| Using High-Resolution Climate Data to Improve Drought Projections and Resilience in the Caribbean | Dimitris Herrera | College of Arts and Sciences | Geography and Sustainability | $5,000 |
| Invisible City in South Korea | Hojung Kim | College of Architecture and Design | Interior Architecture | $5,000 |
| Optical properties of inorganic nanotubes under high pressure | Janice Musfeldt | College of Arts and Sciences | Chemistry | $5,000 |
| Comparing the Retention, Coping, and Mental Health of Women in Computing Professions Globally | Vandana Singh & Laura Miller | College of Communication and Information | Information Sciences | $5,000 |
UT’s Global Catalyst Faculty Research Grant Program is a joint effort of the Center for Global Engagement and the Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development. Deadlines for proposals are typically in the fall semester each year. Learn more about the Global Catalyst Grants Program at https://globalgrants.utk.edu/
CONTACT:
Jason Moody (865-974-5752, jmoody9@utk.edu)