The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) awarded nearly $240,000 in seed grants to six research teams in its eighth round of funding this week, with projects including measuring and mapping contaminants in Illinois’ water supply, virtual training for informal caregivers of cancer patients, developing an electricity consumption analysis that enables equitable energy distribution, and developing new electrolyzers that produce hydrogen from water.

The funding is part of IIN’s Sustaining Illinois program, which is designed to increase collaborative research among the state’s public universities. It focuses on the economy, health, and social well-being while addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This funding cycle is the program’s first under its new annual structure, with each project receiving $40,000 instead of the previous $30,000 amount. Sustaining Illinois now includes 46 funded projects, and all 15 IIN hubs have been a recipient of funding.

IIN is a group of 15 university-based hubs across the state working to boost Illinois’ economy through entrepreneurship, research and workforce development. The seed funding was provided by the University of Illinois System and Northern Illinois University (NIU).

“We continue to see a rich, robust base of research throughout Illinois and these six projects represent the leading edge of discovery,” U of I System Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation Jay Walsh said. “Many of these concepts align with state and federal priorities and represent an opportunity for our researchers to build from their Sustaining Illinois activities to ever larger, more impactful programs.”

A previous seed grant recipient - an innovative layperson training tool to stop opioid overdoses - recently gained the spotlight.

The proposals were required to include researchers from at least two IIN hubs and be completed within one year of receiving funding. Proposals were evaluated on their alignment with IIN principles, how well they address their stated areas of sustainability, the scope of their work and level of collaboration, as well as their potential for further work.

“I am consistently impressed with the depth and breadth of the seed grant proposals we receive for this program,” said Leslie Roundtree, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs at Chicago State University and IIN Council chair. “Our state’s researchers continue to lead the way in discovery around critical societal issues.”

The six newly funded projects and researchers are: 

Sustaining Illinois through Safe Drinking Water for All: A Detailed Chemical and Geospatial Analysis of Agricultural and Pharmaceutical Contaminants in Drinking Water Across Illinois 

Carolyn Butts-Wilmsmeyer, associate professor of biological sciences, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE); Kevin Tucker, associate professor of chemistry, SIUE; Nicholas Heller, assistant professor of crop sciences, Illinois State University (ISU)

Using a Virtual Community of Practice to Build Capacity for Informal Cancer Caregivers in Rural Illinois 

Tamara Hamlish, research assistant professor of medicine, University of Illinois Chicago; M. Courtney Hughes, associate professor of public health, NIU; Hana Hinkle, assistant dean for rural health professions, University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford

Analysis and Prediction of Electricity Consumption in Chicago Region Using Graph Informer Grey Model 

Liang Kong, associate professor of mathematical sciences and philosophy, University of Illinois Springfield (UIS); Maria Amarakristi Onyido, assistant professor of mathematical sciences, NIU; Shuwen Xue, assistant professor of mathematical sciences, NIU; Yifei Li, assistant professor of mathematical sciences and philosophy, UIS

Tweeting to Sustain Illinois Communities: Using Machine Learning to Understand and Improve Social Media Outreach

Colin Kuehl, assistant professor of political science, NIU; Nic Guehlstorf, professor of political science, SIUE; Bethany Friedrich, research fellow, SIUE

Humanities Futures

Margaret Smith, research assistant professor of digital humanities and social sciences, SIUE; Vida Owusu-Boateng, assistant professor of English, Governors State University; Laura Fowler, associate professor of history, SIUE

Development of New Electrolyzers for Producing Green Hydrogen from Water

Hong Yang, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Yong Gao, professor of chemical and biomolecular sciences, Southern Illinois University Carbondale