The UNC-General Administration along with the Research Opportunity Initiative has expanded interdisciplinary research across the UNC System by awarding six three-year grants to different faculty research teams across the state.
The ROI provides funding for research projects and represents North Carolina’s first financial investment in the UNC System’s five-year strategic plan.
Faculty teams from NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, North Carolina Central University and East Carolina University will collaborate on the research.
Harald Ade, distinguished physics professor at NC State, is leading an initiative on carbon material design, processing and manufacturing for defense and energy needs.
Ade said that the primary goal of his project is to “create and find knowledge.” Ade said he plans to do so by using the majority of the grant money awarded to his project to hire more experienced personnel to encourage interdisciplinary thinking.
“The problem normally is that when faculty members get hired by a department, the view of the department ends up being very narrow, and then that [department] doesn’t necessarily appreciate what could be done if they would overlap and collaborate with other departments,” Ade said. “[Hiring these individuals] will be the immediate delivery and return on the investment. Contributions to industry will be a few years out.”
With support from the 2014-2015 NC General Assembly budget, nearly $9 million were awarded for investments in six areas: advanced manufacturing; data sciences; defense, military and security; energy; marine and coastal science; and pharmacoengineering, according to the UNC System website.
The Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program, announced by Chancellor Woodson, started the process of sending out proposal requests for interdisciplinary research in fall 2011.
Between these institutions, 73 pre-proposals were submitted for review by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, netting six final proposals.
“[The large amount of pre-proposals] shows a huge pent up demand for funding in these areas,” said Christopher Brown, vice president for Research and Graduate Education for the UNC System.
In terms of student impact, Ade said these grants offer students an exciting opportunity to participate in interdisciplinary research that will have impacts in society down the road.
“For the students, it would mean getting a broad education in a growing industry,” Ade said
The funds provided by the UNC-GA and ROI are meant to be used for recruiting faculty and project start-up costs.
“Whether it’s support for the time that faculty, postdoctoral or students spend, or equipment supplies or services, it’s all related,” Brown said. “It’s all needed to make a big project like this go forward.”
There are a number of places where success can manifest itself in relation to these projects, whether it be applications, invitation to conferences, research dollars and spin-off companies, according to Ade.
“Ideally, we want all of the above,” Ade said. “New relationships and new collaborations.”
In addition to providing funds dedicated to the research associated with each project, these grants provide funds for graduate student and post-graduate challenges, according to Michael Jay, UNC-CH distinguished professor and chair of molecular pharmaceutics.
“For the students who come up with really innovative ideas, we can provide funds to help them test those in the laboratory,” Jay said. “It is a way of stimulating innovation.”