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CSUF Receives Nearly $8 Million in Funding for Research, Student Programs

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Programs that support student research, and encourage and support higher education endeavors are among the recipients of more than $7.8 million in grants and contracts awarded during the July-September quarter.

Sudarshan Kurwadkar, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering: $1,496,967 National Science Foundation award for “Building Capacity: Advancing Student Success in Undergraduate Engineering and Computer Science”project.

Evelyn Soqui, assistant director of GEAR UP: $1,116,440 U.S. Department of Education award in support of the Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP).” The program follows seventh-grade students through their junior high and high school studies, providing academic support and encouragement to develop a college-going culture and ensure that college is within reach. Related: Local High School StudentsGEAR Up for College. In addition, Adriana Badillo, director of the GEAR UP program: $54,491 from the Santa Ana Unified School District for the “SAUSD College Success Initiative.”

Dawn Macy, director of the Center for Internships and Community Engagements, and Chris Perez, director of the Titan After School Education and Safety program: $929,647 from the Tustin Unified School District for the “After School Education and Safety (ASES)” program  and an additional $81,213 award from the district for the “Titan Tutors” after-school program.

David Chenot, chair and professor of social work: $635,872 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, award for the Health Careers Opportunity Program, a program that encourages students to consider allied health careers in such fields as physical and occupational therapy, communicative disorders, counseling, social work and public work. 

Katherine Powers, associate professor of music and director of Strengthening Opportunities, Access and Resources (SOAR): $583,519 U.S. Department of Education award for “Latina/o Graduate Students: SOAR at CSUF.” Related: Helping Graduate Students SOAR

Kelvin Billingsley, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry: $319,500 National Institutes of Health award for “Hyperpolarized 13C Probes for Imaging Warburg Metabolism in Cancer.”

Beverly Quaye, assistant professor of nursing: $258,521 in third-year funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for the Orange County Community Health SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) program. Related: CSUF to Provide Training  in Substance Abuse Intervention

Sara Johnson, professor of anthropology: $250,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture award for “U-ACRE 3.0 Partnership Across HSIs (Hispanic Serving Institutions) to Enhance the Student Research Experience.” Related: U-ACRE Wins Statewide Award for Sustainability in Academics

Archana McEligot, professor of public health: $214,396 year-four funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, for “Big Data Discovery and Diversity Through Research Education Advancement and Partnership.” Related: Grant Opens Doors for Big Data Research 

Physics faculty members Geoffrey Lovelace and Jocelyn Read, both associate professors, and Joshua Smith, professor: $211,283 National Science Foundation award for “CR: The Next Generation of Gravitational Wave Detectors.” Related: CSUF Scientists Contribute to First Detection of Gravitational Waves From Colliding Neutron Stars.  Smith also received a $103,554 National Science Foundation award for the “RUI: Improving LIGO Optics and Data Quality to Increase the Rate and Accuracy of Gravitational-Wave Observations” project. The two-year grant is expected to total $299,538.

Rachel Fenning, associate professor of child and adolescent studies: $201,489 award from Loma Linda University for the “Mindfulness and Parent Stress Reduction: Improving Outcomes for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder” project.

Laura Gil-Trejo, director of the Social Science Research Center: $189,805 contract from Mid City Research, LLC, for the “Greater Denver Jewish Community Study: A Portrait of Jewish Life in the Seven-County Region” project. Gil-Trejo also received:

  • a $45,079 contract from Harder+Company Community Research for the “Bridge Housing Corporation Household Telephone and Mail Survey” project;
  • a $17,295 award from the Tuolumne River Trust for the 2018 Survey of San Francisco Registered Voters project.

Christopher Ryu, chair and professor of computer science: $157,159 Regents of the University of California award for “Demonstration of Smart Combustion Technology Using Natural Gas Fuel Quality Sensor” project.

Heidi Fearn, professor of physics: $144,588 from the Space Studies Institute for the “Mach Effect for In-Space Propulsion: Interstellar Mission” project. Related: NASA Grant Supports Physics Researchers’ Interstellar Space Study

Gina Passante, assistant professor of physics: $137,494 National Science Foundation award for the “Collaborative Research: Student Things About Measurements Across the Physics Curriculum.”

Hope Johnson, associate professor of biological science: $82,350 National Science Foundation award for “EAGER Collaborative Research: Manganese Phototrophy in Cyanobacteria.” The projected total grant funding is $172,258.

Brady Heiner, associate professor of philosophy: $69,823 San Francisco State University award for the third year of CSU Project Rebound, a program the supports the higher education and successful reintegration of the formerly incarcerated on campus.

Michele Wood, associate professor of public health: $61,217 California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services award for “Earthquake Early Warning Messaging and Community Engagement.”

Adrian Fleissig, professor of economics: $57,500 County of Orange contract for “Revenue Forecasting Services.”

Allyson Fry-Petit, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry: $55,000 award from the American Chemical Society for the “Optimization of Oxygen Exchange Membranes Through Unraveling the Contribution of Structural Rigidity via Neutron Diffraction Studies” project.

C. Jessie Jones, professor emeritus of health science: $52,000 St. Jude Hospital award for “CSUF Social Work Interns 2018-19” and $40,000 from the Kaiser Foundation Hospital for “A Sustainability Plan to Improve the Health and Welfare of Immigrant Latinos.”

Sheryl Fontaine, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences: $40,000 continuation grant from the Regents of the University of California for the “California Global Education Project – STATE (formerly FIRST) 2018-19.”

Michael Boytim, lecturer in nursing: $39,056 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, for the “Nurse Anesthetist Traineeships” program.

Danielle Zacherle, professor of biological science: $33,422 Merkel & Associates Inc. award for the “San Diego Native Oyster Restoration Project – 2018 Field Studies” project. Zacherle also received $19,360 from Orange County Coastkeeper for the “Upper Newport Bay Living Shoreline” project.

Shana Charles, assistant professor of health science: $28,000 from UCLA for “California Health Benefits Review Program Policy Analyses.” 

Murtadha Khakoo, professor emeritus of physics: $27,832 in supplemental funding from the National Science Foundation for the “Electron Scattering From Fundamental Gaseous Targets” project.

Phillip Gedalanga, assistant professor of health science: $21,121 from the South Orange County Wastewater Authority for the project “Identification of Optimal Microbial Community Structure for Improved Biogas Production in an Anaeronic Digester.”

Minjung Kim, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders: $20,000 from MediaZen for the “IOT (Internet of Things) Project.”

Kwangping “Patricia” Cheng, professor of physics: $19,981 Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory award for “Participation in the Observational Constraints and Tests for Dynamos in Solar-Like Stars Program.”

David Pagni, professor of mathematics: $16,000 from the University of California Office of the President for the “California Mathematics Project at CSU Fullerton.”

Natalie Navar, archivist, Lawrence de Graaf Center for Oral and Public History: $10,000 from the Cal State Dominguez Hills Foundation for the CSU Japanese American Digitization project.

Guadalupe Espinoza, assistant professor of child and adolescent studies: $7,500 from the Society for Research in Child Development for the “Longitudinal Links Between Daily Witnessed Cyberbullying Experiences and School Adjustment: Do Patterns Differ for Asian-American, Latino and White Adolescents” project.

Nina Robson, associate professor of mechanical engineering: $7,000 in supplemental funding from the National Science Foundation for “ARWED-Augmented Perception for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation” project. Related: Faculty-Student Engineering Research to Aid Stroke Patients

Yinfei Kong, assistant professor of information systems and decision sciences: $6,009 University of Southern California award for “Detection, Understanding and Reduction of Latino Health Care Disparities.”

Stacy St. James, director of the South Central Coastal Information Center: $1,000 award from the California Department of Parks and Recreation in support of the South Central Coastal Information Center.