15 projects boosted by KU Research GO

LAWRENCE — Fifteen projects have been selected for funding through KU’s 2022 Research Grant Opportunity program. KU Research GO aims to expand the university’s research enterprise by providing seed funding for projects poised to compete for external funding opportunities with application deadlines in the near future. The Office of Research received 52 proposals, which underwent peer review by 57 KU faculty experts. Recipients represent STEM, social science and humanities fields in departments and research centers across the university.

Projects are listed alphabetically by principal investigator:

1. Ana Colaco-Morais, assistant professor, chemical & petroleum engineering
   Mechanist Understanding of Direct Hydrodeoxygenation of Carbohydrates into High-carbon Alkanes Toward Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production

2. Susan Harvey, assistant professor, health, sport & exercise science; and Dietrich Earnhardt, professor, economics
   An Evaluation of the Purposeful Plates of Food Waste Reduction and Food Recovery Program

3. Morteza Hashemi, assistant professor, electrical engineering & computer science
   Development of X-Planet: An Experimental Testbed for Advanced 5G and 6G Wireless Research at KU

4. Dwight Irvin, assistant research professor, Life Span Institute
   Using Data to Build the Capacity of Teachers to Support Preschool Children Not Making Progress in Learning Literacy

5. Lyndsie Koon, assistant research professor, Life Span Institute
   Effects of Functional Fitness for Adults with Mobility-related Disability: A Pilot Study

6. Gibum Kwon, assistant professor, mechanical engineering; and Xianglin Li, associate professor, mechanical engineering
   All-in-one Electrode Assembly for Single-step Electrochemical Conversion of CO2 and In Situ Collection of the Produced Alcohols

7. Ben Sikes, associate professor, ecology & evolutionary biology
   Space Stress Resistance of Microbial Communities

8. Hui Zhao, professor, physics & astronomy
   Electron Transfer in Artificial Mixed-dimensional Heterostructures

9. Dave Tell, professor, communication studies
   The Emmett Till Memory Project

10. Haiyang Chao, associate professor, aerospace engineering
    Fire Fuel Load Estimation Using Multiscale Satellite and UAS Data Fusion

11. Allison Kirkpatrick, assistant professor, physics & astronomy
    Observing Supermassive Black Holes with the James Webb Space Telescope

12. Wendy Picking, professor, pharmaceutical chemistry
    A Vaccine to Prevent MRSA in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

13. Robert Unckless, associate professor, molecular biosciences
    Hidden Avenues of Natural Selection in Drosophila Melanogaster: Selection on Sperm

14. Nicolette Grasley-Boy, postdoctoral researcher, Life Span Institute
    Development of the Caregiver Report of Early Language Interactions (CRELI) Measurement Tool

15. Daniel Tapia Takaki, associate professor, physics & astronomy
    Quantum-aware On-board Devices for Multiple Applications in Fundamental and Applied Research