Provost's Collaborative Research Grant Recipients Announced

The University of Arkansas awarded Provost's Collaborative Research Grants to 10 projects led by 21 faculty members. The researchers address issues from COVID-19's impact on STEM educators to symptoms and predictors of aggression in youths with autism.

"This year's grant recipients proposed projects that solve real-world problems in collaborative and interdisciplinary ways," said Kathryn Sloan, vice provost for faculty affairs. "We are excited to fund such a diverse and impactful set of projects."

2020-21 projects and awardees

• "Improving Our New COVID Diagnostic Tool with Wireless IoT and Artificial Intelligence," Ryan Tian, associate professor of inorganic chemistry; and Han Hu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
• "The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on STEM Educators in K-12 Schools," Yuan Lu, assistant professor of human resources and workforce development; and Yi-Jung Lee, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction.
• "Multiple Health Behavior Changes and Novel Measure of Cognitive Function: A COVID-19 Natural Experiment," Erin Howie, assistant professor of health, human performance and recreation; Jamie Baum, associate professor of nutrition; Ivan Vargas, assistant professor of psychology; and Samantha Robinson, teaching assistant professor of mathematical sciences.
• "Genome-Wide Association Study and Genomic Prediction for Bacterial Wilt Disease Resistance in Tomato," Ainong Shi, associate professor of horticulture; Burt Bluhm, associate professor of entomology and plant pathology; Haizheng Xiong, program associate of horticulture; and Gehendra Bhattarai, post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Horticulture.
• "Aggression in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Symptoms, Predictors, and Family Characteristics," Lindsey Aloia, associate professor of communication; and Lauren Quetsch, assistant professor of psychology.
• "Membranes for Viral Separation Using Templated Chemical Vapor Deposition into Liquid Crystals," Karthik Nayani, assistant professor and the Louis Owen Professorship in Chemical Engineering; and and Ranil Wickramasinghe, professor and the Ross E. Martin Endowed Chair in Emerging Technologies.
• "Distress Intolerance Among Young Adult E-Cigarette Users," Page Dobbs, assistant professor of health, human performance and recreation; and Jennifer Veilleux, associate professor of psychology.
• "Professional Goals and Priorities for Children with IDD Across AAC Modes," Christine Holyfield, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders; and Elizabeth Lorah, associate professor of curriculum and instruction.
• "GED to College: Developing Effective Strategies to Postsecondary Education for African American Men with Alternative High School Credentials," Michael Miller, professor of higher education; Valerie Hunt, associate professor of political science; and Lona Robertson, associate dean of agricultural, food and life sciences.

The Provost's Collaborative Research Grant was established in 2015 to help faculty with research and scholarly production by incentivizing disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration. Faculty teams may receive up to $5,000, with preference given to projects involving collaboration between two or more researchers from different colleges. Applicants can be either junior or senior faculty (tenure-track, tenured, or non-tenure track in professorial positions) actively pursuing a research agenda.

More information can be found on the Faculty Affairs website.