Grant total tops $36 million
May 20, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- More than $7.7 million in grant funding was generated by Western Michigan University during March and April, according to a report presented to the WMU Board of Trustees at its May 17 meeting.
A total of $7,724,944 was received during the two-month period, bringing the total of grants received by the University since the July 1 start of the fiscal year to $36,463,922.
The largest grant received during this period was a $3 million award from Engineering Methods Inc., to Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, which will provide a site license for the company's ANSYS/Multiphysics software. The engineering simulation software is used in a number of industries, including power generation, aerospace, biotechnology and Micro-Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS).
A number of grants were received to support established programs or projects at WMU. Dr. C. Dennis Simpson, director of WMU's Specialty Program in Alcohol and Drug Abuse and professor of community health services, and James Kendrick, assistant professor of community health services, received $1,464,000 from the Michigan Department of Corrections to continue providing substance abuse treatment services for prisoners, parolees and probationers at state correctional facilities. In addition, British Airways awarded the University's College of Aviation $514,000 for ab initio pilot training of the airline's cadets through the college's International Pilot Training Centre.
The National Science Foundation awarded WMU researchers a number of grants totaling more than $870,000. Dr. Arlen R. Gullickson, chief of staff at the Evaluation Center, received $569,612 to continue assessment efforts of the NSF's Advanced Technological Education Program, which promotes improvement in technological education at the undergraduate and secondary school levels.
Dr. Robert J. Leneway, principal research associate in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Leadership, was awarded $149,995 to continue his research efforts into the viability of utilizing an e-learning Internet site to prepare community college students with disabilities for careers in information technology. Grants to fund programs that provide research experiences for undergraduates were awarded to Dr. Osama Abudayyeh, associate professor of construction engineering, materials engineering and industrial design, and Dr. Susan R. Stapleton, associate professor of chemistry, and Dr. Stephen B. Malcolm, associate professor of biological sciences.
Other grants received during the report period include the following.
A $256,875 award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services went to Dr. William F. Jackson, professor of biological sciences, to continue his research into the role oxygen plays in controlling human microvascular function. The Department of Health and Human Services also awarded $119,151 to Dr. Donna M. Weinreich, assistant professor of community health services, to prepare allied health students to work with an aging and culturally diverse population.
A grant for $200,000 from Ithaca College was awarded to Dr. Christian R. Hirsch, professor of mathematics, for the implementation of a secondary school mathematics curriculum for five national curriculum projects.
An award for $175,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to Dr. Nora Berrah, professor of physics, will support her continued research into the interactions of x-ray photons with atoms, molecules and ions.
A grant for $104,127 from the Michigan Department of Education to Dr. Laura R. VanZoest, associate professor of mathematics, and Dr. Allison Young, assistant professor of teaching, learning and leadership, will be used for a collaborative effort with the Kalamazoo Public Schools to develop a cadre of practicing and prospective teachers who will explore effective instructional practices for diverse populations.
Media contact: Marie Lee, 269 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu