The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) on Thursday awarded nearly $240,000 in seed grants to eight research teams focused on projects that include using renewable technologies to design equitable STEM education programs, making construction materials from wastes and industrial byproducts, developing a game-like energy career exploration platform, and creating high-performance computing simulation tools for additive manufacturing.
The funding is part of IIN’s Sustaining Illinois program, which is designed to increase collaborative research among the state’s public universities, focusing on the economy, health and social well-being, while addressing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. Sustaining Illinois now includes 32 funded projects, and 12 of the 15 IIN hubs have been lead recipients of funding.
IIN is a network of 15 university-based hubs across the state working to boost Illinois’ economy through entrepreneurship, research and workforce development. It is part of the University of Illinois System. The funding was provided by the U of I System and Northern Illinois University (NIU).
“This group of projects builds on the foundation laid by previous Sustaining Illinois research,” U of I System Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation Jay Walsh said. “They also are a great example of utilizing our public university research strengths to address some of our state’s key needs, including education and training, advanced manufacturing and next-generation agriculture.”
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.
“The collaborative efforts in these projects show the power and promise of the IIN,” said Gerald Blazey, chair of the IIN Council and NIU vice president for research and innovation partnerships. “Researchers at the IIN hubs are addressing critical issues facing our state, nation and world.”
The eight newly funded projects and researchers are:
AI- and vision-enabled plant health monitoring system in vertical farms
Kevin Martin, associate professor of engineering technology, NIU; Pratool Bharti, assistant professor of computer science, NIU; Keith Cadwallader, professor of food chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
Career/switch: gamified energy career exploration
Rebecca Darner, director of the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Illinois State University (ISU); Matthew Hagaman, STEM instructional designer, ISU; Colin Wilson, instructor and curriculum writer at the Center for STEM Research, Education, and Outreach, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE).
Data-driven process modeling of advanced manufacturing systems
Jida Huang, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, University of Illinois Chicago (UIC); Niechen Chen, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering, NIU.
Designing equitable and sustainable STEM education with renewable technologies (DESSERT)
James Mathias, associate professor of mechanical, aerospace and materials engineering, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC); Matthew Aldeman, associate professor of technology, ISU.
iGAIT-ASD: data-driven application to predict autism spectrum disorder (ASD) index for children living in underserved, underrepresented and low-income communities
Sinan Onal, associate professor of industrial engineering, SIUE; Ziteng Wang, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering, NIU; Allison Gladfelter, associate professor of speech-language pathology, NIU; Milijana Buac, assistant professor of speech-language pathology, NIU.
Introducing student-centered flipped teaching to faculty in the rural nursing program
Melodie Rowbotham, associate professor of family health and community health nursing, SIUE; Chaya Gopalan, professor of applied health, SIUE; Kelli Whittington, assistant professor of nursing, SIUC
Sustainable software for sustainable manufacturing: developing and training of open-source, high-performance computing simulation tools for additive manufacturing
Jifu Tan, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, NIU; Sandra Gesing, scientific outreach and DEI lead, Discovery Partners Institute (DPI).
Transforming wastes and industrial byproducts into sustainable construction materials
Prabir Kolay, associate professor of civil, environmental and infrastructure engineering, SIUC; Krishna Reddy, professor of civil, materials, and environmental engineering, UIC.
