Fall 2022 Research and Programming Awards

In Fall 2022, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at Albany State University (ASU) assisted in securing 11 grants of more than $7.6 million to pursue research and external funding endeavors. Please join the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs in extending Golden Ram congratulations to:

Dorene Medlin, Principal Investigator
College of Business, Education, and Professional Studies

Richard Foreman and Lauren Mueller, Co-Principal Investigators
College of Arts and Sciences

  • Received new funding in the amount of $349,271 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the project ‘Genre Theory as a Catalyst for Broadening Underserved Students' Participation in STEM Discourse Communities.’

  • The project goal is to develop a process that applies the genre theory through a combination of instructional interventions, research mentorship, and hands-on experiences, allowing students to decipher the academic language code in STEM and apply it to individual research projects.

 

Kathaleena Edward Monds, Principal Investigator
Founding Director, Center for Educational Opportunity (CEO)
College of Business, Education & Professional Studies

  • Received new funding in the amount of $100,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in partnership with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for the HUD Housing and Financial Literacy Grant.

  • The overall goal of this 2-year project is to provide comprehensive, evidence-based, results-driven programming designed to improve the financial well-being of community constituents. The grant aims to expand HBCUs' roles and effectiveness in addressing their local communities' housing and financial needs and expand partnerships with housing counseling agencies.

 

Kathaleena Edward Monds, Principal Investigator
Founding Director, Center for Educational Opportunity (CEO)
College of Business, Education & Professional Studies

  • Received new funding in the amount of $825,079 from the National Science Foundation (NSF)-Racial Equity in STEM for the project ‘Understanding Persistence through the Lens of Interruption: A Framework for Transformation (UPLIFT).’

  • This 5-year project is an exploratory, sequential, mixed methods, longitudinal study focusing on the undergraduate experiences of interruption by forty-five (45) Black women in STEM at Spelman College, Albany State University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

 

Peter Ngwafu, Principal Investigator
College of Business, Education & Professional Studies

Sherryl Johnson and Sandra Handwerk, Co-Principal Investigators
College of Business, Education & Professional Studies

  • Received continued funding of $958,032 from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs for the project ‘Stronger Together: Community Partnerships for Youth Health Innovations.’

  • The project's overall goal is to develop innovation hubs across Southwest GA and utilize trauma-informed, patient-centered approaches for training, technical assistance, collaboration, and electronic networking to improve health outcomes for expectant and parenting teens.

 

Anthony Ansah-Owusu, Principal Investigator
College of Business, Education & Professional Studies

  • Received new funding in the amount of $34,998 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, IDEAS Program for the project ‘Building Capacity for Pre-Service Teachers with Rural and SOS Ghana Schools.’

  • The project’s overall goal is for pre-service teachers at Albany State University to study abroad and complete a practicum through classroom observation, teaching, and investigation of the unique needs of disadvantaged youths in rural schools in Ghana. This will develop their global competency and increase their understanding of culturally and linguistically diverse students, similar to the students in Southwest Georgia.

 

Robert Owor, Principal Investigator
College of Business, Education & Professional Studies
Founding Executive Director, Center for Innovation and Emerging Technologies

  • Received continued funding, in the amount of $10,000, from Google for the project ‘Using Tensorflow to detect and classify Craters on Mars.’

  • The project aims to utilize TensorFlow, an open-source deep learning software library for defining, training, and deploying machine learning models developed by Google. This year, students will investigate the use of TensorFlow in designing navigation algorithms to be used on Mars.

  

Erica Decuir, Principal Investigator
Associate Professor of Education
College of Business, Education, and Professional Studies

  • Received new funding in the amount of $225,000 from General Motors for the project ‘Aspiring Teacher Academy: Preparing a Diversified Teaching Force to Meet the Needs of Southwest Georgia.' 

  • The project is a Teacher Education Initiative to address the most critical teacher shortage areas in special education, English-language learners/ESOL, STEM/STEAM, and African American males specializing in all certification fields.

 

A.L Fleming, Principal Investigator
Vice President of University Operations & Strategic Initiatives 

  • Received new funding in the amount of $2,997,777 from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, for the project ‘Albany State University: Connecting Minority Communities.'

  • The overall goal of the project is; 1) to plan, develop, and expand ASU Global (an ASU fully online college) to extend the university’s online reach to remote students; 2) to expand broadband internet access, connectivity, and digital inclusion in the community, including for ASU remote learners and 3) to build the institution’s capability to provide asynchronous and synchronous educational instruction and learning opportunities.

 

Dorene Medline, Principal Investigator
Chair, Professor of Education 
College of Business, Education & Professional Studies

  • Received new funding in the amount of $600,677 ($2.4 million for up to 4 years) from the U.S. Department of Education, Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program (CCAMPIS) for the project ‘Albany State University: Caring for the Next Generation of Golden Rams.'

  • The proposed CCAMPIS program will provide high-quality childcare at no cost for the 2-year-old, 3-year-old, and 4-year-old children of Pell-eligible student-parents who attend classes or use ASU study resources during weekday evenings or on Saturdays. 

 

Arun Saha, Principal Investigator
Professor of Physics & Engineering
Department of Mathematics, Computer Science & Physics
College of Arts and Sciences 

  • Received continued funding in the amount of $10,000 from the NASA-funded Georgia Space Grant Consortium: National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program for the project, ‘Experimental Verification of Material Dielectric Constant Enhancement with Metal Patches.'

  • In this project, a systematic study will be conducted using a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) to verify experimentally that circular metal patches printed periodically on a dielectric substrate would enhance the overall dielectric constant of materials, as was demonstrated previously by simulation.

 

Louise Wrensford, Principal Investigator
Professor of Chemistry

Kenya Lemon, Co-Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor of Biology

Uzoma Okafor, Co-Principal Investigator
Associate Professor of Forensic Science

Seong Seo, Co-Principal Investigator
Department Chair
College of Arts and Sciences 

  • Received continued funding of $1,499,993 from the National Science Foundation for the project ‘It Takes A Village: Communities Leveraged to Advance Scholars’ Success.'

  • This project aims to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need. Specifically, the program seeks to recruit, retain, and graduate academically talented students majoring in Biology, Chemistry, and Forensic Science.