Two years ago, the College of Engineering announced the Dean’s Research Initiative program and has seen great success in pursuing large research programs in three key areas. The program is now being expanded into the Accelerating Collaboration in Research (ACR) Initiative, and will provide support for cross-disciplinary research teams to establish programs in new research areas.
ACR will provide funding for teams looking to establish large, multi-year research programs. These teams will include a lead investigator who is a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in the College of Engineering, as well as a core group of faculty members and possibly collaborators from other academic institutions, national laboratories and industry. The funding provided by ACR will help the team compete for significant extramural funding.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to advance the research programs in Iowa State’s College of Engineering,” said Arun Somani, engineering’s associate dean for research. “The faculty here have great ideas and potential, and ACR gives us a way to support fundamental advancements, new discoveries, and technological developments that can have national impact.”
Somani explains that the program’s funding, which will range from $50k-$100k, can be used by teams for a variety of purposes that support the development of a successful proposal. For example, a team might need funds for post-doctoral/graduate student stipends or to attend a workshop to establish and grow important partnerships.
“ACR will review proposals on an ongoing basis, so faculty are continually being encouraged to network with one another to discuss innovative ideas,” he said. “Because we want this to be successful, we will require those who receive funds to submit technical and financial reports on a quarterly basis.”
For more information about ACR, please contact Julienne Krennrich, assistant director of research initiatives at the Engineering Research Institute.