New Research Equipment Fund awards $3M to further innovation
From mass spectrometers to Medicaid data, IU’s newly expanded Research Equipment Fund has awarded more than $3 million to nine recipients to support their research.
The Research Equipment Fund supports the purchase or development of research equipment by groups of investigators, working together or separately, on innovative projects that already have or will have the potential for sustainable external support. It helps faculty purchase research equipment, instrumentation or datasets in any field.
“The new and substantially expanded IU Research Equipment Fund is a critical investment in the tools and data needed to conduct life-changing research and to help attract and retain top-tier faculty,” said Kay Connelly, IU associate vice president for research development. “My colleagues and I were thrilled with the quality of applications and look forward to how this first round of funding will propel research to reduce carbon dioxide pollution, develop new medications and treatment strategies and employ both Hoosier students and residents in the laboratories conducting this extraordinary work.”
With support from IU President Pam Whitten, the fund was expanded to $4 million in fiscal year 2023 and $5 million in fiscal year 2024.
The next deadline for submissions is March 1, 2023. More information, including details about proposal submissions, can be found online.
Fall 2022 Research Equipment Fund recipients:
- Jose Luis Antinao Rojas, research geologist with the Indiana Geological and Water Survey, will acquire a luminescence reader to detect minute amounts of energy trapped in sand grains after periods of burial ranging from hundreds to thousands of years.
- Giovanni Gonzalez-Gutierrez, assistant scientist in the IUB Electron Microscopy Center, crystallization screen builder for the Automation Crystallography Facility to help develop new drugs and therapeutical strategies.
- Benjamin Perrin, associate professor in the IUPUI School of Science, state-of-the-art super resolution laser scanning confocal microscope to better study cellular structures.
- Matthew Shepherd, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, ability to build custom machines with computer-controlled fabrication capabilities to enhance departmental infrastructure.
- Kosali Simon, Distinguished Professor and Herman B Wells Endowed Professor in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, healthcare and health research data from the U.S. Medicaid and Medicare programs for improved health outcomes by providing evidence to guide better policies.
- Jiliang Li, associate dean for research and graduate education in the IUPUI School of Science, acquisition of 2-D cabinet x-ray system to visualize bone healing with precision.
- Daniella Chusyd, assistant professor in the School of Public Health, SMCxPRO™ immunoassay system to quantify proteins from elephants to electronic cigarette vapor.
- Sara Skrabalak, James H. Rudy professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, differential electrochemical mass spectrometer to conduct research on the reduction of carbon dioxide.
- David Baxter, professor and chair of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, building a nanofabrication center to enhance research in quantum science, engineering and materials research, and play a pivotal role in attracting top-flight faculty to campus.
Proposals for the research equipment fund are reviewed competitively twice per year with off-cycle applications being considered in exceptional circumstances. Principle investigators may submit only one proposal per funding cycle but may indicate support for others.