Research seed grants funded

The Division of Research and Economic Development is pleased to announce funding for three  Collaborative Research Seed Grants for 2012.  The projects funded are:

1)      An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Culture, Material Culture, Social Concerns, and Community Resilience in North Dakota’s Oil Field.   Investigators are Carenlee Barkdull and Bret Weber, Social Work; William Caraher, History; Ann Reed, Anthropology; and Sebastian Braun, Indian Studies.   Amount of the grant is $15,830.

2)      From Flue Exhaust to Spandex: Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion into Plastic.  Investigators are Qianli (Rick) Chu, Chemistry; Matthew Cavalli, Mechanical Engineering; Harry Tsang, Economics.  Amount of the grant is $74,500.

3)      Harnessing Crowd-Sourcing and Computer Vision for Video Analysis of Sharp-Tailed Grouse Nesting Ecology and Nest Predators.  Investigators are Susan Ellis-Felege, Biology, and Travis Desell, Computer Science.

Each of these grants will provide the opportunity for investigators to obtain initial data during 2012 that will allow them to submit a full proposal to a national funding agency.   The Division received 13 proposals this year, up from seven  last year, evidence of a growing interest in collaborative interdisciplinary research at UND.