Faculty Awards
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) Advanced Undergraduate Research Award (AURA) Faculty Awardees
Under INSPIRE-ND, Advanced Undergraduate Research Awards (AURAs) provided funding for faculty-mentors to work with undergraduate students on research projects. The goal of AURA was to mentor and encourage undergraduate students to consider a research career in STEM.
Year, Faculty Advisor/Mentor | Department | Student |
2016 | ||
Manu | Biology | David Fehr |
Archana Dhasarathy | Basic Sciences | Ifrah Ifrah |
Wayne Barkhouse | Physics | Lane Kashur |
Timothy Young | Physics | Elijah Mathnews |
Qianli Chu | Chemistry | Jenna Puttkammer |
Cai Xia Yang | Mechanical Engineering | Lucas Stanley |
2015 | ||
Naima Kaabouch | Electrical Engineering | Joseph Aymond |
Wayne Barkhouse | Physics and Astrophysics | Nathan Carlson |
Lucia Carvelli | Basic Sciences | Jessica Fairley |
Reza Fazel-Rezai | Electrical Engineering | Jeffrey Gendreau |
Manu | Biology | Ejazul Haque |
Alena Kubátová | Chemistry | Jasmine Kreft |
Cai Xia Yang | Mechanical Engineering | Tristan Plante |
Brian Darby | Biology | Alexandra Ptacek |
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) CRCS and CSMS Emerging Area/Seed Awards
Under INSPIRE-ND, in response to a recommendation made by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Reverse Site Visit panel in March 2016 to increase collaborative research efforts between North Dakota's two RII-Track-1 research centers (CRCS and CSMS), six Emerging Areas Seed awards were funded. To ensure collaboration, prior to being funded, each proposal was reviewed by the CRCS and CSMS Leads and Co-Leads. Status reports on these six awards were given to NSF's Site Visit panel in August 2017.
1. Ali Alshami (UND), Khwaja Hossain (Mayville) and Sima Noghanian (UND) Bio-Based Dielectric Substrate Based On Sunflower Seed Shells For Radio Frequency Antenna ($40,000)
- CRCS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: the proposed project targets measuring environmental parameters (agri-material moisture content and atmospheric humidity) using new antennas and wireless sensors that built on bio-based dielectric substrate. The sensor can be used along this objective of CRCS.
- CSMS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: this project aims at developing a dielectric substrate material from sunflower seed shells, a waste by-product of the edible oil industry, in a low cost method and evaluate its durability and efficiency in various environmental conditions.
- CRCS/CSMS Anticipated Output: the project output will be a functional sensor and external publication.
2. Dilpreet Bajwa (NDSU) and Kerry Hartman (NHSC) A Sustainable Approach for Improving Performance Characteristics of Biobased Poly (lactic acid) Polymer via Incorporating Functionalized Cellulose Nanocrystals ($25,000)
- CRCS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: the project explores the possible impact of using biobased and sustainable feedstocks on the climate changes. Results of the project will determine how the use of biobased cellulosic materials can help to reduce the use synthetic polymers which are tied to greenhouse gases that impact the climate.
- CSMS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: the project determines how the use of nano-sized cellulosic materials can improve the performance characteristics of biobased polymers. The resultant biobased composite materials are expected to be environmentally friendly, biodegradable, safe and strong. The information gained from this project will also help to design strategies that enable nano-sized material to uniformly blend with biopolymers and expand the product portfolio of sustainable materials.
- CRCS/CSMS Anticipated Output: the project output will be a conference presentation, peer reviewed publication or an external grant proposal.
3. Surojit Gupta (UND), Khwaja Hossain (Mayville) and Yun Ji (UND)
Collaborative Sustainable Materials Research Program in the University of North Dakota ($40,190)
- CRCS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: identify crop biomass yield using the data from CRCS researchers and select end use crop(s) in North Dakota for fundamental Materials Research.
- CSMS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: this project aims to create a “green design paradigm (GDP)” for a sustainable manufacturing initiative in North Dakota; and, in particular, to explore methods for synthesizing novel precursors and composites from selected crop feeds in ND.
- CRCS/CSMS Anticipated Output: the project output will be: fabrication and design of fibers and composites; peer review papers, presentations, and other derivatives; and proposals.
4. Eakalak Khan (NDSU) and Andre DeLorme (VCSU)
Fate of Biobased Materials in Aquatic Environments: Impact on Physical, Chemical, and Biological Characteristics of Receiving Waters ($25,000)
- CRCS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: the project explores possible impact of climate changes on the quality of feedstocks and in turn the characteristics of biobased materials. Results of the project will determine whether there is a linkage between climate variations and fate of biobased materials in surface waters.
- CSMS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: the project determines the fate of biobased materials in surface waters focusing on potential impact such as solubility, toxicity, and harmful product precursors. Knowledge gained from the project will expand on the benefits of biobased materials or will unveil their environmental drawbacks.
- CRCS/CSMS Anticipated Output: the project output will be a peer reviewed publication or an external grant proposal.
5. Long Jiang (NDSU) and Mafany Mongoh (SBC)
Novel Energy/Resource-Efficient Building Material Derived from Rapidly Renewable Materials ($25,000)
- CRCS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: this project links climate change induced variations in crop availability and suitability to the production of an agricultural residual based building material. Results of the project will determine the suitable crop(s) whose residuals can be utilized for the production of the material under changing climate.
- CSMS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: this project develops novel energy- and resource-efficient building materials using agricultural residuals as the feedstock via an environmentally friendly production method. The knowledge and products gained from this project will produce a new concept/prototype of building materials, expand the use of agricultural residuals, and reduce energy consumptions of buildings.
- CRCS and CSMS Output: the project output will be peer reviewed publications, an intellectual property and external grant proposals.
6. Feng Xiao (UND), Eric Brevik (DSU) and Khwaja Hossain (Mayville)
Development of A Novel Porous Carbonaceous Material Enhanced for Control of Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Agricultural Soils ($39,988)
- CRCS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: 1) study the effects of biomass char and the porosity modified OSA on the emission of the greenhouse gas (N2O) from soil, and 2) investigate the effects of water moisture and soil humic matter on the adsorption of N2O on char and OSA.
- CSMS Objective and Anticipated Outcome: 1) develop an innovative carbonaceous material (OSA) from biomass with superior N2O adsorption capacity, and 2) identify the specific porosities for which effective adsorption takes place.
- CRCS/CSMS Anticipated Output: the project output will be a new material, peer reviewed publications, external grant proposals.
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) Infrastructure Improvement Program (IIP) Seed Grant for Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs)
Under INSPIRE-ND, for the first time in ND EPSCoR history, competitive research seed awards were made available to PUI and MCU faculty. Two CRCS and two CSMS awards seed awards were issued in Y2 through Y7.
Year, Name | Institution | Department | EPSCoR Research Center | |
2016 | ||||
Joshua Steffan | Dickinson State University | Natural Sciences | Center for Regional Climate Studies | |
Eric Brevik | Dickinson State University | Natural Sciences | Center for Regional Climate Studies | |
Paul Barnhart | Dickinson State University | Natural Sciences | Center for Regional Climate Studies | |
Khwaja Hossain | Mayville State University | Biology | Center for Sustainable Materials Science | |
Mikhail Bobylev | Minot State University | Science - Chemistry | Center for Sustainable Materials Science | |
Andre DeLorme | Valley City State University | Science | Center for Regional Climate Studies | |
Casey Williams | Valley City State University | Science | Center for Regional Climate Studies |
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) New Faculty Start-Up Awardees
Under INSPIRE-ND, New Faculty Start-Up awards are available to department chairs and deans on a competitive basis so that attractive start-up packages may be offered to prospective faculty during the hiring process. New Faculty Start-Up Awards were usually available for two years.
First year of award | |
2016 | |
Laura Aldrich-Wolfe | NDSU - Biological Sciences |
Dante Battocchi | NDSU - Coatings and Polymeric Materials |
Meysam Haghshenas | UND - Mechanical Engineering |
Minou Rabiei | UND - Petroleum Engineering |
Sathish Venkatachalem | NDSU - Pharmaceutical Sciences |
2015 | |
Ali Alshami | UND - Chemical Engineering |
Jill Hamilton | NDSU - Biological Sciences |
I-Hsuan Ho | UND - Geology and Geological Engineering |
Brad Lindseth | UND - Electrical Engineering |
Taufique Mahmood | UND - Geology and Geological Engineering |
Stephan Nordeng | UND - Geology and Geological Engineering |
Chrysafis Vogiatzis | NDSU - Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering |
Zhongyu Yang | NDSU - Chemistry and Biochemistry |
2014 | |
Jason Boulanger | UND - Biology |
Dong Cao | NDSU - Electrical and Computer Engineering |
Nilanjan Ray Chaudhuri | NDSU - Electrical and Computer Engineering |
Yongki Choi | NDSU - Phsyics |
Manu | UND - Biology |
Cai Xia Yang | UND - Mechanical Engineering |
2013 | |
Pablo de Leon | UND - Space Studies |
Na Gong | NDSU - Electrical and Computer Engineering |
Timothy Greives | NDSU - Biological Sciences |
Britt Heidinger | NDSU - Biological Sciences |
Leah Irish | NDSU - Psychology |
Aaron Kennedy | UND - Atmospheric Sciences |
Zhibin Lin | NDSU - Civil and Environmental Engineering |
Jessica Striker | NDSU - Mathematics |
John Wilkinson | NDSU - Chemistry and Biochemistry |
2012 | |
Peter Bergholz | NDSU - Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences |
Tristan Darland | UND - Biology |
Stephanie Day | NDSU - Geosciences |
Ned Dochtermann | NDSU - Biological Sciences |
Daba Gedafa | UND - Civil Engineering |
Kegang Ling | UND - Petroleum Engineering |
Sergei Nechaev | UND - Anatomy |
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) Translational Seed Awardees
Under INSPIRE-ND, Translational Seed awards were made available to two INSPIRE-ND Emerging Seed awardees, whose projects had progressed to the translational stage and to projects that fit the CSMS mission. The intent of the seed awards was to move research and technologies towards private sector adoption.
2018 Translational Seed Awards | ||||||
Individuals Awarded | Institution - Department | Project | Supporting Company | |||
Ali Alshami | UND | Bio-Based Dielectric Substrate Based On Sunflower Seed | N/A | |||
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Dilpreet Bajwa | NDSU |
| N/A | |||
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Ghasideh Pourhashem | NDSU | Feasibility Analysis of Bio-Based Monomers for Latex Paint and Coating Industry. | MPD Chemical | |||
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Mijia Yang | NDSU | An Innovative Bio-based Self-Healing Concrete for Sustainable Constructions | Boral Construction Services, Inc. | |||
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) Women in Science and Education (WISE) and Advance Focus on Resources for Women's Advancement, Recruitment/Retention, and Development (FORWARD) Leap Awardees
Under INSPIRE-ND, seed awards were given to women in science and education (WISE). At the University of North Dakota, WISE Award awards were given to female faculty following their post third-year review for upgraded labs and equipment, a mentoring program, and graduate and post-doctoral researchers. At North Dakota State University, the Advance Focus on Resources for Women's Advancement, Recruitment/Retention, and Development (FORWARD) Leap Award was given to female faculty in STEM fields as a bridging grant that was intended to increase the retention and advancement of NDSU faculty.
Year, Name |
| Institution - Department |
| Award |
2018 | ||||
Susan Ellis Felege | UND - Biology | WISE | ||
2017 | ||||
Catherine Brissette | UND - Biomedical Sciences | WISE | ||
Alena Kubátová | UND - Chemistry | WISE | ||
Rebecca Simmons | UND - Biology | WISE | ||
2016 | ||||
Ying Huang | NDSU - Civil and Environmental Engineering | Advance FORWARD Leap | ||
2014 | ||||
Svetlana Kilina | NDSU - Chemistry and Biochemistry | Advance FORWARD Leap | ||
Student Awards
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) Advanced Undergraduate Student Research Awardees (AURA)
Under INSPIRE-ND, Advanced Undergraduate Research Awards (AURAs) provided funding for upper division undergraduate students on to work with faculty mentors on research projects. The goal of AURA was to mentor and encourage undergraduate students to consider a research career in STEM.
Year, Student name | Department | AURA Advisor |
2016 | ||
David Fehr | Biology | Manu |
Ifrah Ifrah | Basic Sciences | Archana Dhasarathy |
Lane Kashur | Physics | Wayne Barkhouse |
Elijah Mathews | Physics | Timothy Young |
Jenna Puttkammer | Chemistry | Oianli Chu |
Lucas Stanley | Mechanical Engineering | Cai Xia Yang |
2015 | ||
Joseph Aymond | Electrical Engineering | |
Nathan Carlson | Physics and Astrophysics | Wayne Barkhouse |
Jessica Fairley | Basic Sciences | Lucia Carvelli |
Jeffrey Gendreau | Electrical Engineering | Reza Fazel-Rezai |
Ejazul Haque | Biology | Manu |
Jasmine Kreft | Chemistry | Alena Kubátová |
Tristan Plante | Mechanical Engineering | Cai Xia Yang |
Alexandra Ptacek | Biology | Brian Darby |
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Assistantship Awardees
Under INSPIRE-ND, Graduate Student Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Assistantship awards were designed to 1) increase graduate students’ understanding of advance research computing - hardware and software, 2) provide CI support to NDSU and UND researchers, and 3) help develop CI educational modules for use in informing and training undergraduate and graduate students and faculty, at NDSU, UND, and the TCUs, PUIs, and MCU located in the state. Awardees work 10 hours per week in NDSU's Center for Computationally Assisted Science and Technology (CCAST) or UND Computational Research Center (CRC) and 10 hours per week under their major advisor.
Year, Student name | Department | Department Advisor |
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) CI Awardees | ||
2017 | ||
Xiaowei Chen | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Jinhui Wang |
Jonathon Edstrom | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Scott Smith |
Jingyan Fu | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Scott Smith |
Russell Hofmann | Chemistry and Biochemistry | Mukund Sibi |
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) Doctoral Dissertation Assistantship (DDA)
Under INSPIRE-ND Doctoral Dissertation Assistantships (DDA) provided up to two years of funding for STEM Ph.D. students, and were designed to 1) increase their completion rate and 2) increase the number of competitive proposals submitted to NSF.
DDA Awardees | ||
Year, Student Name | Institution - Department | DDA Advisor |
2019 | ||
Mu'ath Al-Tarawneh | NDSU - Civil and Environmental Engineering | Ying Huang |
Zachary Geeraerts | NDSU - Chemistry and Biochemistry | Kenton Rodgers |
Raquib Hasan | NDSU - Pharmaceutical Sciences | Amanda Brooks |
Sushant Lakkadwala | NDSU - Pharmaceutical Sciences | Jagdish Singh |
2018 | ||
Ala Alemaryeen | UND - Electrical Engineering | Sima Noghanian |
Andrew Barnas | UND - Biology | Susan Ellis-Felege |
Atrayee Bhattacharya | UND - Biomedical Sciences | Archana Dhasarathy |
James Froberg | NDSU - Physics | Yongki Choi |
Sayantani Ghosh Dastidar | UND - Biomedical Sciences | Sergei Nechaev |
Moriah Hovde | UND - Biomedical Sciences | James Foster |
Pragalv Karki | UND - Physics & Astrophysics | Yen Lee Loh |
Brett McGregor | UND - Biomedical Sciences | Junguk Hur |
Nicolas Negrin Periera | NDSU - Animal Science | Carl Dahlen |
Edirisuriya Siriwardane | UND - Physics & Astrophysics | Deniz Cakir |
Melissa Sisson | UND - Biology | Rebecca Simmons |
Nicole Snyder | NDSU - Biological Sciences | Timothy Greives |
Marvin Ssemadaali | NDSU - Microbiological Sciences | Sheela Ramamoorthy |
Arun Sukumaran Nair | UND - Electrical Engineering | Prakash Ranganathan |
Keshab Thapa | NDSU - Civil and Environmental Engineering | Dinesh Katti |
Srikanth Vijjamarri | UND - Chemistry | Guodong Du |
Mark Williamson | UND - Biology | Brian Darby |
2017 | ||
Karen Glover | NDSU - Biochemistry | Sangita Sinha |
Jessica Graham | NDSU - Biological Sciences | Timothy Greives |
Sahar Malekmohammadi | NDSU - Microbiological Sciences | Teresa Bergholz |
Mohsen Riahi Manesh | UND - Electrical Engineering | Naima Kaabouch |
MD Shahjahan Molla | NDSU - Civil and Environmental Engineering | Kalpana Katti |
Tara Slominski | NDSU - Biological Sciences | Jenni Momsen |
2016 | ||
Anastasia Andrianova | UND - Chemistry | Alena Kubatova |
Rasika Mohottige | UND - Physics | Nuri Oncel |
Sara Pourjafar | UND - Chemistry | Wayne Seames |
Anne Schaar | UND - Biomedical Science | Brij Singh |
Eric Serum | NDSU - Chemistry | Mukund Sibi |
Sandeep Reddy Vemula | NDSU - Chemistry | Gregory Cook |
2015 | ||
Sajid Asif | NDSU - Electrical and Computer Engineering | Benjamin Braaten |
Ivana Brzonova | UND - Chemical Engineering | Yun Ji |
Nicholas Cilz | UND - Basic Biomedical Science | Saobo Lei |
Jaime Jensen | NDSU - Biochemistry | Christopher Colbert |
Prajakta Kulkarni | NDSU - Pharmaceutical Sciences | Sanku Mallik |
Run Li | UND - Chemistry | Mark Hoffmann |
Riley McGlynn | UND - Biology | Brian Darby |
Siby Jose Plathottam | UND - Electrical Engineering | Hossein Salehfar |
Jonathan Richards | NDSU - Plant Pathology | Robert Brueggeman |
Jana Rousova | UND - Chemistry | Alena Kubatova |
Matthew Semler | NDSU - Physics | Erik Hobbie |
2014 | ||
Hannah Altmann | NDSU - Mathematics | Sean Sather-Wagstaff |
Corey Bergsrud | UND - Engineering | Sima Noghanian |
Bekele Gurmessa | NDSU - Physics | Andrew Croll |
Thomas McKenna | UND - Biology | Kathryn Yurkonis |
Yang Mei | NDSU - Chemistry | Sangita Sinha |
Kathryn Gruchalla Russart | UND - Biology | Turk Rhen |
Elizabeth Sattler | NDSU - Mathematics | Dogan Comez |
Minfei Su | NDSU -Chemistry | Sangita Sinha |
Xu Wu | UND - Biology | Julia Zhao |
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) Graduate Student Research Assistantship (GSRA)
Under INSPIRE-ND, the Graduate Student Research Assistantship (GSRA) provides up to two years of funding to increase opportunities for students from the TCUs, PUIs, and MCU to pursue STEM graduate degrees at NDSU and UND.
GSRA Awardees | ||
Year, Student name | Institution - Department | GSRA Advisor, Institution |
2018 | ||
Levi Bassett | NDSU - Range Science | Kevin Sedivec |
Maxwell Kollar | NDSU - Microbiological Sciences | John McEvoy |
2017 | ||
Alexis Archambault | UND - Geology and Geological Engineering | Taufique Mahmood |
Cherokee Durant | NDSU - Public Health | Rick Jansen |
Cheyenne Durant | NDSU - Natural Resources Management | Shawn DeKeyser |
Kelsey Morin | UND - Biology | Jefferson Vaughan |
Adam Mortenson | NDSU - Natural Resource Management | Jack Norland |
2016 | ||
Meyer Bohn | NDSU - Soil Science | David Hopkins |
Brett Nespor | UND - Chemistry | 1) Alena Kubátová (as of May 2017) |
2) Kathryn Thomasson (until May 2017) | ||
Elliot Peltier | 1) UND - Earth System Science and Policy | 1) Jeffrey VanLooy (as of January 2018) |
2) UND - Geography and Geographic Info. Science | 2) Christopher Atkinson (until December 2017) | |
Morgan Petersen | NDSU - Microbiology | Peter Bergholz |
Ann Vallie | NDSU - Industrial Engineering and Management | Om Yadav |
2015 | ||
Joseph Orr | NDSU - Range Science | Torre Hovick |
2014 | ||
Brian Chepulis | NDSU - Natural Resource Management | Edward DeKeyser |
Sara Smith | NDSU - Microbiological Sciences | 1) Teresa Bergholz |
2) Birgit Pruess | ||
2013 | ||
Jeffrey Berens | NDSU - Biological Sciences | Ned Dochtermann |
Joseph Biggane | UND - Basic Sciences Department | Van Doze |
Emily Evanoff | UND - Basic Sciences Department | Jane Dunlevy |
Erin McLean | NDSU - Entomology | Jason Harmon |
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) Distributed Research Experience for Undergraduates (dREU) Awardees
Under INSPIRE-ND, the distributed Research Experience for Undergraduates (dREU) program gives undergraduates from TCUs, PUIs, MCU, and RUs the opportunity to work alongside research center NSF RII Track-1 faculty on cutting-edge projects.
dREU Awardees | |||
Year, Student name | Home | Main dREU Location - | dREU Advisor |
INSPIRE-ND (NSF RII Track-1: 1355466) dREU Awardees | |||
2019 | |||
Karissa Bohn | DSU | DSU - CRCS | Joshua Steffan |
Creighton Pfau | Mayville | Mayville - CSMS | Khwaja Hossain |
2018 | |||
Karissa Bohn | DSU | DSU - CRCS | Joshua Steffan |
Amy Jackson | UTTC | NDSU - CRCS | Erin Gillam |
Creighton Pfau | Mayville | Mayville - CSMS | Khwaja Hossain |
Tess Skinner | Minot | Minot - CSMS | Mikhail Bobylev |
Yaritza Villanueva | VCSU | VCSU - CRCS | Lauren Dennhardt |
2017 | |||
Brittany Decker | DSU | DSU - CRCS | Joshua Steffan |
Noah Irby | UND | UND - CRCS | Xiaodong Zhang |
NDSU | NDSU - CSMS | Mukund Sibi | |
Hannah Torgerson | Mayville | 1) Mayville - CSMS | 1) Khwaja Hossain |
Kayana Trottier | TMCC | UND - CRCS | Cindy Juntunen |
Lee Voigt | NHSC | NHSC - CRCS | Kerry Hartman |
Hayden Zander | VCSU | 1) VCSU, NDSU, and UND - CRCS and/or | 1) Andre DeLorme |
2016 | |||
DSU | DSU - CRCS | Joshua Steffan | |
UND | UND - CSMS | Qianli Chu | |
Breanne Hatfield | Minot | Minot - CSMS | Mikhail Bobylev |
DSU | DSCU - CRCS | Erik Brevik | |
Hayden Zander | VCSU | VCSU - CRCS | Andre DeLorme |