Karl Zelik, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is one of three inaugural awardees for the February 2022 cycle of the Scaling Success Grant, which is the first cycle of this internal funding opportunity. Yuankai Huo, assistant professor of computer science and computer engineering, is co-PI on a SSG grant. The announcement was made by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.
- Karl Zelik, associate professor of mechanical engineering, “Taking a Load Off: Novel Wearable Device to Reduce Soldier Back Injuries from Heavy Body Armor.”
- Steven Wernke, associate professor of anthropology, “Scaling GeoPACHA: Geospatial Platform for Andean Culture, History and Archaeology.” Co-PI: Yuankai Huo, assistant professor of computer science and computer engineering.
- Ann Kaiser, Susan W. Gray Professor of Education and Human Development, “Building a culturally derived early language intervention for young children with Autism who speak Spanish.” Co-PI: Tatiana Peredo, special education
The Scaling Success Grant supports faculty as they leverage their research into larger, more competitive awards from federal, foundation or industry sponsors. This program is neither a seed fund for new directions nor a bridge fund for faculty in between external sponsor awards. Instead it specifically seeks faculty who have developed competitive proposals for projects that have already generated interest and encouragement from external sponsors.
Research Development and Support, within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, can work closely with interested faculty on developing sponsor interest and will assist Scaling Success awardees to develop their proposals for submission to the targeted external sponsor.
“All three of these faculty members’ projects brilliantly exemplify the goal of this new internal funding program, namely, to support faculty in scaling up their research and external sponsorship to the next level relative to their current work,” said Vice Provost for Research Padma Raghavan. “I am so grateful to the Scaling Success Review Committee that helped select these highly deserving awardees among the nine competitive proposals that were submitted, and to all the faculty members within and outside that committee who offered useful recommendations for how we can refine this program further in future iterations.”
All applicants to the Scaling Success program receive tailored feedback from reviewers, regardless of whether their proposals are funded. The Scaling Success Grant accepts applications every two months to maximize opportunities for faculty to submit proposals that match the goals of this program, and to encourage those applicants who were not funded in one round to revise and resubmit promising proposals for the next round.
Applications for the next cycle are due on May 4, 2022, at 11:59 p.m., with the subsequent cycle deadline on July 6, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. A town hall will be held in advance of both deadlines to provide updates on refinements in the application process and enable faculty to ask questions and learn more about the program. The town hall for the May cycle will be on Tuesday, April 26 at 11:00 a.m. over Zoom. Please register in advance of the meeting and direct any questions to Charlotte Forstall at ovprfunding@vanderbilt.edu.