McKelvey Engineering faculty members awarded Fall 2023 Here & Next Seed Grants

Six faculty members from the departments of Computer Science & Engineering and Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering have received awards from the Fall 2023 Here and Next Seed Grant Program, sponsored by the Research Development Office, housed within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. 

This program’s broad goal is to encourage novel and innovative interdisciplinary research excellence amongst Washington University researchers, aiding them in laying the groundwork to be competitive and successful in submitting proposals to external funding opportunities. Research must address five key areas of focus within the Here & Next agenda: public health, global health, environmental research, digital transformation, and research impacting the St. Louis community.

The awards to McKelvey Engineering faculty focus on artificial intelligence in various areas, including health and public health, which dovetail with the school's From Excellence to Impact strategic plan. In addition, CSE faculty will participate in the Geospatial Research Initiative, which is a highlight of the university's Here and Next strategic plan. 

The awards to the McKelvey Engineering faculty are as follows:

Tier 2: Interdisciplinary Project Support, Fall 2023 Cycle

The Tier 2: Interdisciplinary Project Grants are designed to support innovative collaborative teams for one year. After a rigorous review by an interdisciplinary panel of senior researchers, 10 awards were made across all H&N priority areas. 

• AI for Examining and Predicting Family Involvement with Child Protection Systems
  Here & Next Priority Areas: Digital Transformation, Public Health
  Co-PIs: Eunhye Ahn, Brown School; Yevgeniy Vorobeychik, McKelvey Engineering
• Using Mobile Health Technology to Assess Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy
  Here & Next Priority Areas: Digital Transformation
  Co-PIs: Jacob Greenberg, School of Medicine; Caitlin Kelleher, McKelvey Engineering; Brian Johnson, School of Medicine
• Measuring Spatial Inequities in urban communities
  Here & Next Priority Areas: Environmental Research, Public Health, Global Health, Research Impacting the St. Louis Community
  Co-PIs: Rodrigo Siqueria Reis, Brown School; Nathan Jacobs, McKelvey Engineering
• Leveraging AI to optimize mHealth’s Impact for reducing opioid-related overdose deaths in Missouri
  Here & Next Priority Areas: Digital Transformation, Public Health, Research Impacting the St. Louis Community
  Co-PIs: Hannah Szlyk, School of Medicine; Chenguang Wang, McKelvey Engineering
• Smart Kitchen to Support Independence for People with Subjective Cognitive Decline
  Here & Next Priority Areas: Digital Transformation, Public Health
  Co-PIs: Lisa Tabor Connor, School of Medicine; Chenyang Lu, McKelvey Engineering; M. Carolyn Baum, School of Medicine
• The environmental sources of the infant nasal microbiome
  Here & Next Priority Areas: Environment Research, Public Health
  Co-PIs: Leyao Wang, School of Medicine; Jian Wang, McKelvey Engineering

Tier 3: University-Wide Research Initiative Grant Program

The third tier of Here and Next Seed grants supports large, multi-project teams as they move towards securing external funding through competitive and complex federal proposals for centers and institutes.

There has been one funded University-Wide Research Initiative thus far.

• Geospatial Research Initiative
  Here & Next Priority Areas: Public Health, Environmental Research, Digital Transformation
  Co-Leads: Nathan Jacobs, McKelvey Engineering; Alex Bradley, Arts & Sciences; Michael Frachetti, Arts & Sciences; Jennifer Moore, Libraries/Arts & Sciences

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