The University of Missouri’s Division of Research, Innovation and Impact awarded the second round of Research Council grants in December to 16 faculty members.
This internal funding of up to $15,000 supports research, scholarship and creative endeavors that lead to book contracts, juried theatre and music performances, art exhibits, peer-reviewed articles and the generation of pilot data to bolster proposals for external funding.
Gavin King, professor in physics and astronomy, biochemistry and the Materials Science and Engineering Institute, said Research Council funding helped him develop a new research area and nanofabrication method at MU called ice lithography.
“The funding helped relocate, refurbish, install and commission an ice lithography apparatus at MU,” King said. “This instrument, which we moved from Harvard University, was the first dedicated ice lithography system in the world. With the help of the RC grant, we acquired preliminary data that was instrumental in us landing two new federal grants.”
French horn player Amanda Collins, an assistant professor in the School of Music, is passionate about inclusion, diversity and equity (IDE) in music education and performance. She performs with IDE-focused groups, such as the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, and supports the work of diverse composers.
“I applied for the Research Council grant to manifest my longtime dream of commissioning works by underserved and underrepresented composers,” Collins said. “As a student of color, it was a rare occasion that I had the opportunity to perform music by someone I could identify with. Representation is everything for young people. This is one step toward my lifelong goal of equity and access in classical music."
During the 2023-24 academic year, faculty will have two more opportunities to apply for Research Council funding through InfoReady. Deadlines are Jan. 16 and March 12.
For more information, email Internal Funding staff.
Second round of funded faculty
Chosen from Research Council grant proposals submitted by the Oct. 9, 2023, deadline. Read about first-round grant recipients.
ARTS, HUMANITIES, SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
| Investigator |
| Bill Horner Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor, Government and Public Affairs |
| Jennie Ikuta Assistant Professor, Government and Public Affairs |
| Antoinette Landor Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science |
| Trudy Lewis Professor, English |
| Brian MacNeel Assistant Teaching Professor, Film Studies |
| Laura Morett Assistant Professor, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences |
| Moshe Naveh-Benjamin Professor, Psychological Sciences |
| Nancy West Professor, English |
| Andrea Wycoff Assistant Professor, Psychiatry |
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS
| Investigator |
| Lesa Beamer Professor, Biochemistry |
| Wes Bernskoetter Professor of Chemistry |
| Anand Chandrasekhar Professor, Biological Sciences |
| Samniqueka Halsey Assistant Professor, Natural Resources |
| Kimberly Laffey Assistant Research Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology |
| Neekun Sharma Assistant Research Professor, Endocrinology |
| Zipei Zhang Assistant Professor, Food Science |