Announcing our Grand Challenges Grants 2.0 Awardees

Dear Colleagues, 

 

In 2023, the Provost’s Office in partnership with the Division of Research launched the Grand Challenges Grants Program, a signature initiative of our Fearlessly Forward strategic plan designed to catalyze bold, interdisciplinary research projects that address society’s most pressing issues and advance solutions for the public good.

 

The inaugural program demonstrated extraordinary impact due to the breadth of expertise and collaborative spirit across our research enterprise. Through Grand Challenges 1.0, faculty developed innovative approaches to issues from climate resilience to food insecurity to educational equity and more. These projects strengthened partnerships across disciplines and in the community, engaged students in new experiential learning opportunities, and positioned the university for greater external funding, scholarly impact and public engagement.

 

Building on that momentum, we were excited to launch Grand Challenges Grants 2.0 earlier this year to support ambitious new collaborations to advance high-impact research. We received nearly 80 proposals involving 400 researchers representing every college and school. Today, we are pleased to announce an investment of nearly $15 million over three years across 11 projects with faculty representing more than 40 disciplines across campus. The projects will receive a 50% matching in-kind and/or cash investment from their college or unit. 

 

Institutional Awards

• IN-PLACE: Interdisciplinary Network for Place-Based Learning, Action, & Community-Engaged EnvironMental Health (PI: Jessica Magidson, BSOS; Co-PIs: Byoung-Suk Kweon, AGNR; Alexander Chan, AGNR; Jana VanderGoot, MAPP; Jayson Porter, ARHU; Andrea Lopez, BSOS; Amy Green, EDUC; Jennifer Roberts, SPHL; Noah Triplett, SPHL)
• Women’s Health Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative (WHIRC) (PI: Marie Thoma, SPHL; Co-PIs: Jioni Lewis, EDUC; Alisa Clyne, ENGR; Ang Li, ENGR)

 

Impact Awards

• Predictive Biology Hub for Human and Environmental Health (PI: Joshua Weitz, CMNS; Co-PIs: Evan Economo, AGNR; Meredith Gore, BSOS; William Fagan, CMNS; Nikolas Francis, CMNS; Michelle Girvan, CMNS; Philip Johnson, CMNS; Haizhao Yang, CMNS; Nan Xu, ENGR)
• Sustainable and Ethical AI Infrastructure (PI: Eric Wachsman, ENGR; Co-PIs: Paul Albertus, ENGR; Anand Patwardhan, PLCY; Yueming Lucy Qiu, PLCY; Wedad Elmaghraby, BMGT; Joshua Linn, AGNR)

 

Team Awards

• Maryland Initiative Against Superbugs (MAS) (PI: Norberto Gonzalez-Juarbe, CMNS; Co-PI: Seth Dickey, AGNR)
• Gut Healing Smart Pill (PI: Younggeon Jin, AGNR; Co-PIs: Reza Ghodssi, ENGR; Justin Stine, ENGR; Katharina Maisel, ENGR)
• Belonging for Immigrants and Refugees with Disabilities (BIRD) (PI: Veronica Kang, EDUC; Co-PIs: Julie Park, BSOS; Sehrish Shikarpurya, EDUC)
• AI for Precision Cancer Treatment (PI: Teng Li, ENGR; Co-PIs: Lianping Wu, ENGR; Xiaodi Wu, CMNS)
• The Air We Share, A Public Health Revolution for the 21st Century (PI: Donald Milton, SPHL; Co-PIs: Jelena Srebric, ENGR; Kathleen McPhaul, SPHL; Huang Lin, SPHL; Maureen Cropper, BSOS; Anna Alberini, AGNR; Abba Gumel, IHC)
• Land-Sea Exchange Network for Salinity (LENS): An Early Warning System for Detecting and Managing Salinity Risks (PI: Kate Tully, AGNR; Co-PIs: Becky Epanchin-Niell, AGNR; Sujay Kaushal, CMNS)
• Sustainable Precision Aquaculture Network for Shellfish (SPANS) (PI: Miao Yu, ENGR; Co-PIs: Nikhil Chopra, ENGR; Yang Tao, ENGR; Hemendra Kumar, AGNR; Matt Parker, AGNR; Don Webster, AGNR)

 

These projects exemplify the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to generate new ideas, accelerate discovery and address the grand challenges facing communities in Maryland, across the nation and around the world. We are inspired by the vision and innovation reflected in these projects, and grateful to everyone who submitted proposals. 

 

The Grand Challenges Grants Program represents an important investment in the people and partnerships that drive transformative scholarship and innovation at the University of Maryland. 

 

Please join us in congratulating this year’s award recipients.