Research News & Updates

All Office of Research SharePoint forms to be replaced with Cognito Forms

Because Microsoft is retiring InfoPath, UNO must replace all SharePoint forms with new solutions and procedures.

Beginning July 1, 2023, you will no longer be able to create new Office of Research SharePoint forms. Replacement Cognito Forms will be available throughout our website and in the Resource Library. Help guides are in development and will be embedded in the forms as they are finalized.

You will not need to create an account—but we recommend adding notifications@cognitoforms.com to your Safe Senders list in Outlook. Do not share any custom links you receive from this email address with any other users.

If you have any questions about the new forms, or if you encounter technical issues upon launch, contact Julie Landry at jelandr1@uno.edu.

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Office of Research invests more than $55,000 into innovative activities at UNO

On Friday, the Office of Research wrapped up the eleventh annual InnovateUNO with the Achievements in Research, Creativity and Scholarship (ARCS) awards ceremony. By the end of the ceremony, the department announced more than $55,000 of investments into the innovative activities of UNO students, faculty, and staff.

ARCS

UNO's Internal Grant Program

The internal grant program managed by the Office of Research includes several funding opportunities for various creative, competitive and interdisciplinary research projects on campus. Applicants are encouraged to work collaboratively with other professors and to consider the process an opportunity to hone their grant-writing skills.

Proposals are reviewed and scored by the UNO Research Council.

Creative Endeavor Opportunity (CEO)

The goal of the Creative Endeavor Opportunity program is to provide support for faculty members launching programs of research, scholarship, exhibition or performance that will ultimately result in increased research and creative activity on campus. Proposal budgets are capped at $10,000.

The 2023 recipients are:

• John Gery
• Kalo Gow
• Andrea Mosterman

Stimulating Competitive Research (SCoRe)

The goal of the award for Stimulating Competitive Research is to enhance faculty’s ability to successfully compete for extramural sponsored research funding.

The SCoRe award is intended as seed money for faculty to develop a new area of research activity, and it is expected that a SCoRE award will result in a proposal being submitted to an external funding agency. Proposal budgets are capped at $15,000.

The 2023 recipient is:

• Xueyan Liu

Award for Building Research or Artistic Development (ABROAD)

The goal of the Award for Building Research or Artistic Development (ABROAD) is to stimulate research collaborations between UNO and institutions in other countries. The award funds one or more collaborative visits of 1-6 weeks by a UNO PI to an institution in another country, during which the PI will develop collaborations and/or conduct research with an appropriate professor or professional collaborator. Proposal budgets are capped at $5,500.

The 2023 recipients are:

• Mahdi Abdelguerfi
• D'Lane Compton

Tolmas Scholars

UNO offers two flagship programs that introduce undergraduate students to research opportunities: the Privateer Undergraduate Research & Scholarly UNO Experience (PURSUE) and the College of Sciences Undergraduate Research Program (CoSURP).

Through these programs, undergraduates are awarded student worker positions with UNO faculty members. As these programs are generously funded in part by the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust, undergraduate students who receive these positions are known as "Tolmas Scholars."

Tolmas Scholars are awarded student worker positions paying $15 per hour at a maximum of 10 hours per week. PURSUE awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work starting in the spring semester. CoSURP awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work in the spring semester and another 100 hours in the fall.

To view the list of 2023 Tolmas Scholars, visit the Tolmas Scholars website.

InnovateUNO

Over the course of the two-day event, 73 presentations were given engaging nearly 112 presenters, co-presenters, and judges. Presenters included UNO students, faculty, and staff from every discipline. This was the sixth year it has been open to all students, faculty, and staff—and the first year it included an InnovateUNO Art Gallery hosted after-hours in the UNO Fine Arts Gallery.

The presentations were evaluated by 29 volunteer judges including UNO faculty, staff, and graduate students.

The best-ranked presentations were awarded a total of $3,000 by the Office of Research. Both undergraduate and graduate students were awarded prizes.

For a list of winners and prizes, visit the InnovateUNO website.

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UNO student artists paint on-campus mural to draw attention to climate change

In Spring 2022, Keep UNO Beautiful and the UNO Office of Research funded a student art project that transformed an otherwise nondescript set of utility doors into a vibrant and poignant art installation drawing attention to local birds affected by climate change.

The collaboration was inspired by the National Audubon Society’s Audubon Mural Project and spearheaded by Carol Lunn, UNO’s assistant vice president for research & economic development in the Office of Research. She is also the university affiliate coordinator for Keep UNO Beautiful.

"In the fall of 2021, I was on a Zoom with a co-worker, and she had a beautiful image of birds as her background, with the logo for the Audubon Mural Project," Lunn said.

The co-worker was Elizabeth Sigler, assistant to the vice president for research & economic development and director of the Center for Undergraduate Research & Creativity.

"After the meeting, we spoke about the mural project, and later I researched it online," Lunn said. "The more I reviewed the site, the more passionate I became about implementing something similar on UNO’s campus!"

As noted on their website, the Audubon Mural Project is informed by Audubon’s groundbreaking science report "Survival By Degrees," which found that climate change threatens 389 birds species—at least half of all North American birds—with extinction.

Lunn hoped that a mural similar to Audubon’s on UNO’s campus would generate attention for UNO’s sustainability initiatives while getting students involved in an in-person project, once classes came back on campus following the COVID-19 shutdown.

Working together with partners nationwide

But realizing this idea required extensive collaboration with various partners. Lunn identified the best location for the mural by walking campus with staff members on her team, and the planned location was approved by Deborah Hadaway, associate vice president for UNO’s Facility Services.

Next, Lunn needed to find UNO artists who could take her concept and implement it. She reached out to Kathy Rodriguez, assistant professor of fine arts at UNO. Rodriguez offered to incorporate the mural as a class project in her spring Painting II course.

As part of the Painting II curriculum, students researched the topic, submitted designs in a competitive selection process, then collectively implemented the selected mural design.

Rodriguez said, "Working collaboratively with so many moving parts on this mural, the first of its kind in Louisiana, has given not only the class but all members of the UNO community a rich and expansive opportunity for learning. I’m grateful to be able to share my experience painting in this format with our students and to learn from them."

With a plan in place, Lunn and Rodriguez reached out to the Audubon Mural Project in New York—and they were quickly connected to several experts who agreed to speak with Rodriguez’s students.

Avi Gitler, one of the co-founders of the Audubon Mural Project, joined Rodriguez’s Painting II class remotely and gave a presentation on the original project. Dr. Erik Johnson, director of bird conservation for Audubon Delta, joined remotely and discussed the importance of the region to local and migratory bird populations as well as the threats posed by climate change.

"Erik is also a talented photographer, and our art students had as many questions about his camera and lenses as they did about the birds!" Lunn laughed.

Nic Dixon, an outreach associate with Audubon Delta, joined the class on-site to document the painting process and interview the students and staff members involved.

Student painters included Lydia Barbry, Zen Castro, Trinity Jackson, Rowan Lambert, Jamie Risbourg, Larrencia Smit, Rebekah Tomblin, Estelle Vanthier, and Daneia Williams.

Julie Landry, office manager for the Office of Research, also photographed and videoed the painting process. She further assisted with the administrative efforts of acquiring the painting supplies.

"So, there is obviously a lot of networking occurring here," Lunn said. "This was all done very organically and in a relatively short amount of time, thanks to technology that enabled free exchange of ideas and dedicated people who love what they do. The hours spent coordinating and sharing knowledge go well beyond what is mentioned here."

Student-driven mural installation features threatened pine warblers

After listening to the guest speakers from Audubon, Rodriguez’s students set to work researching the birds listed in "Survival by Degrees." Each student designed and painted a small-scale idea for a mural. Lunn worked with a committee including the university’s President John Nicklow to select the winning design from all submissions.

Jamie Risbourg, a junior majoring in studio arts, submitted the winning design.

"When I enrolled in this class, I had no idea that we would be doing a mural," Risbourg said. "I have done murals in the past, but on my own. I have never gotten a chance to be a part of a group project for a mural. So, this is really exciting, to not only be involved but, now that this design of mine has been chosen, I get to maybe help oversee some of what is happening as well."

And she did! Throughout the collaborative painting process, Risbourg advised and directed her fellow students, all of whom participated in painting the mural Risbourg designed.

The mural features three pine warblers, one of the bird species listed in "Survival by Degrees" with the highest vulnerability to climate change in Louisiana.

In Risbourg’s mural, the pine warbler is shown in its natural habitat of pine trees along with some of the insects it eats. The pine warbler is a bird commonly found on UNO’s campus—but it is at risk of disappearing.

According to the report, if action is not taken to hold off climate change, a quarter of the pine warblers’ range will be lost as the average temperature warms by 1.5 degrees. 38% of their range could be lost with two degrees of warming, and 59% could be lost with three degrees of warming.

For more information about Risbourg and her experience with painting the mural, watch the Office of Research’s video spotlight on her.

At this time, UNO’s pine warbler mural stands in tribute to the national Audubon Mural Project—but Keep UNO Beautiful has been working with project coordinators to explore opportunities for an official partnership.

Improving ecosystems with native plant gardens

Even so, the mural on its own did not satisfy Lunn’s ambitious plans for the area.

"To create a complete project, I committed to installing a native plant garden next to the mural, so we could tie in art with a complete eco-system," Lunn said. "I met with Dan Scheiman, a Plants for Birds program manager with Audubon Delta in Arkansas. He gave me some great information, and he set UNO up in the Spring 2022 Louisiana Native Plant Sale, so people could donate plants right to our garden!"

According to the Audubon website, the Plants for Birds program is "designed to help inform and encourage individuals and communities to grow native plants that benefit wildlife. By adding native plants in one’s yard, balcony, container garden, or public space, individuals can not only attract more birds but give them the best chance of survival in a modern landscape of fragmented habitat, and in the face of climate change."

In addition to receiving the native plant donations, Lunn worked with Tammany Baumgarten, a licensed horticulturist, owner of Baumgardens, Inc., and president of the Native Plant Initiative of Greater New Orleans. Thanks to their partnership, the landscaped area on the eastern side of the UNO Administration Annex is now a native plant garden designed to attract birds, bees, and butterflies.

"Audubon helped make UNO’s campus a living lab—that allowed students to implement what they learned in the classroom—all while beautifying campus and bringing attention to environmental issues," Lunn said. "This was a successful semester with amazing teamwork!"

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Office of Research invests nearly $270,000 into research and scholarly endeavors

On Wednesday, the Office of Research broadcasted its virtual awards ceremony, Achievements in Research, Creativity and Scholarship (ARCS) live over YouTube. By the end of the ceremony, the department announced nearly $270,000 of investments into the innovative activities of UNO students, faculty and staff.

Faculty Creativity, Research & Scholarship Awards

The Faculty Creativity, Research and Scholarship Awards are the most prestigious awards bestowed by the Office of Research. They are presented to innovative faculty members who have distinguished themselves in their fields and at the University of New Orleans.

The awards are divided into two tracks: (1) traditional research and (2) creativity and scholarship. Nominations are reviewed and scored by the UNO Research Council. Winners receive a one-year fixed price award of $10,000 for career awards.

President John Nicklow announced the following 2022 winners of the career Creativity, Research and Scholarship awards:

Creativity, Research & Scholarship Award

• Mahdi Abdelguerfi
• M.O. Walsh

Early-Career Creativity, Research & Scholarship Award

• Viktor Poltavets

Undergraduate Mentor Awards

The Undergraduate Mentor Award is a new offering this year, one which we hope to promote and expand in years to come. The award recognizes those who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to mentoring undergraduate students.

Nominations were submitted by students and reviewed by the Undergraduate Research & Creativity Council. The Undergraduate Mentor Award comes with a one-year fixed price award of $2,500.

The 2022 recipients are:

• Kalo Gow
• Ting Wang

UNO's Internal Grant Program

The internal grant program managed by the Office of Research includes several funding opportunities for various creative, competitive and interdisciplinary research projects on campus. Applicants are encouraged to work collaboratively with other professors and to consider the process an opportunity to hone their grant-writing skills.

Proposals are reviewed and scored by the UNO Research Council.

Creative Endeavor Opportunity (CEO)

The goal of the Creative Endeavor Opportunity program is to provide support for faculty members launching programs of research, scholarship, exhibition or performance that will ultimately result in increased research and creative activity on campus. Proposal budgets are capped at $10,000.

The 2022 recipients are:

• Anna Mecugni
• Dan Rule
• David Rutledge

Stimulating Competitive Research (SCoRe)

The goal of the award for Stimulating Competitive Research is to enhance faculty’s ability to successfully compete for extramural sponsored research funding.

The SCoRe award is intended as seed money for faculty to develop a new area of research activity, and it is expected that a SCoRE award will result in a proposal being submitted to an external funding agency. Proposal budgets are capped at $15,000.

The 2022 recipients are:

• Charles Bell
• Han Chen
• Tara Tolford
• Mark Trudell

Interdisciplinary Grant Development (IGD)

Many federal agencies stress the importance of interdisciplinary research, and the Interdisciplinary Grant Development opportunity is designed to support a team focused on writing competitive, interdisciplinary, federal proposals—or comparable non-federal proposals.

An IGD grant requires collaboration between two different departments or two different colleges. The aim of the program is to stimulate fundable, interdisciplinary research across disciplines that are substantially distinct. Proposal budgets are capped at $17,500 per PI.

The 2022 recipients are:

• Steven Rick and Christopher Summa
• Brandon Taravella and Traci Erin Cox

Innovation Challenge

The Innovation Challenge program is new this year. It funds environmental sustainability projects on UNO’s campus. The program requires participation from a faculty mentor and a team of students from two or more colleges.

The 2022 recipient is:

• Chris Belser

Tolmas Scholars

UNO offers two flagship programs that introduce undergraduate students to research opportunities: the Privateer Undergraduate Research & Scholarly UNO Experience (PURSUE) and the College of Sciences Undergraduate Research Program (CoSURP).

Through these programs, undergraduates are awarded student worker positions with UNO faculty members. As these programs are generously funded in part by the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust, undergraduate students who receive these positions are known as "Tolmas Scholars."

Tolmas Scholars are awarded student worker positions paying $15 per hour at a maximum of 10 hours per week. PURSUE awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work starting in the spring semester. CoSURP awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work in the spring semester and another 100 hours in the fall.

To view the list of 2022 Tolmas Scholars, visit the Tolmas Scholars website.

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Deadlines extended for UNO Grant Program and Research Council Awards

To better accommodate our UNO staff and faculty members, the Office of Research and the Research Council have decided to extend the deadlines for both UNO's internal grant program and for the Research Council Awards.

Applications for the Internal Grant Program and nominations for the Research Council Awards are now due by December 31, 2021.

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InnovateUNO showcases research, creativity, and scholarship at UNO

Presentations were evaluated by 50 volunteer judges including UNO faculty, staff and graduate students.

"Our presenters, mentors and judges all showed great dedication to participating in our InnovateUNO program this year," said Matthew Tarr, vice president for research and economic development. "The ongoing efforts in research, scholarly and creative endeavors are as impressive as ever, despite the many challenges faced by our university community this year. The University is impressed with the great work done and honored to have such talented participants in our program."

The best-ranked presentations were awarded a total of more than $2,600 by the Office of Research and the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust. Both undergraduate and graduate students were awarded prizes.

Undergraduate students who ranked in the top five presentations within their categories were invited to present at the University of Louisiana System’s annual Academic Summit, held virtually this spring. The first-place presenters will be invited to present at the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research, also held virtually this spring. Attendance at these events will be sponsored by the Office of Research.

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Old Mint art exhibit features faculty work funded by UNO grant

"Face Value: The Illusions of Power and Money" opened on November 7, 2021 at the New Orleans Old Mint and Jazz Museum. The exhibition is a collaborative effort from the art duo Generic Art Solutions, Tony Campbell & Matt Vis. Tony Campbell currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Printmaking at the University of New Orleans. The show examines the power structures surrounding money and the trust that we place in those institutions.

The work was funded in spring 2021 by an internal Creative Endeavor Opportunity grant from the UNO Office of Research. Applications for 2022 grants are now open.

The exhibit is currently up at the New Orleans Jazz Museum and will run until January 29. The Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and closed on Mondays.

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UNO collaborates with Scale Innovations to design and engineer electric boat

The University of New Orleans Boysie Bollinger School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and Scale Innovations, a New Orleans industrial design firm, are rethinking work vessels by designing and engineering an electric boat.

“Maritime and related industries have been an important part of the New Orleans economy for many years,” said Matt Tarr, vice president for research and economic development at UNO. “Further developing new technologies to keep our region nationally and internationally competitive is critical for our economic growth. Electric boat technology is one key development that can continue to support sustainable economic development around our maritime sector and stimulate job growth in the region.”

The genesis of this collaboration came in early 2020, when UNO naval architecture and marine engineering student Nigel Watkins was working as an intern with Scale Innovations through the UNO Office of Research—in a position funded by the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing.

Watkins had previously completed a summer internship at an electric yacht company in Europe, and he believed in the possibility that electric boats could be viable in New Orleans. This gave the Scale team a vision that electric boats could be used for surveying and conservation, rather than just recreation.

“This project provides us the chance to explore the impacts of an all-electric propulsion system on the overall design of the boat,” said Brandon Taravella, professor of naval architecture and marine engineering. “It will also give us the opportunity to engage students in state-of-the-art concepts in naval architecture and marine engineering.”

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UNO's Internal Grant Program (IGP) now accepting proposals

The Office of Research is pleased to announce the opening of the 2021-2022 Internal Grant Programs (IGP). Eligible UNO faculty and research employees are encouraged to apply for one of these grants as a means of honing their grant-making skills and developing new areas of research or scholarly endeavors.

The available grants include:

• Creative Endeavor Opportunity (CEO) — provides support for faculty to launch programs that result in increased research and creative activity on campus
• Stimulating Competitive Research (SCoRe) — enhances UNO faculty's ability to successfully compete for external research funding
• Interdisciplinary Grant Development (IGD) — requires participation from two or more colleges or departments; stimulates fundable, interdisciplinary research across disciplines that are substantially distinct
• Leveraging External Expertise Program (LEEP) — supports visits to UNO by external scholars, researchers, or artists in order to enrich campus, improve scholarly productivity, or enhance the university's reputation
• Award for Building Research or Artistic Development (ABROAD) — funds one or more collaborative visits of 1-6 weeks by a UNO PI to an institution in Austria, Colombia, Egypt, or France
• Innovation Challenge — NEW! funds environmental sustainability projects on UNO's campus

Apply as directed by December 10.

All applications will be reviewed by the Research Council. Awardees will be announced at the Achievements in Research, Creativity, & Scholarship (ARCS) Award Ceremony.

For more information, visit the Research Council's website.

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Nominations for Faculty Awards now open

The Office of Research is pleased to announce the opening of the 2021-2022 Faculty Creativity, Research, & Scholarship Awards. Associate Professors and/or Professors may be nominated for awards in research or creativity/scholarship; Assistant Professors who have passed their third-year review may be nominated for Early Career awards in research or creativity/scholarship.

Submit your nomination(s) to research@uno.edu by December 10.

All nominations will be reviewed by the Research Council. Winners will be announced at the Achievements in Research, Creativity, & Scholarship (ARCS) Award Ceremony.

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UNO receives grant to create urban bird habitat on campus

The University of New Orleans has received a $34,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to create an urban bird habitat on campus and support educational programming connected to environmental conservation. The grant will fund habitat restoration, the creation of a birding trail on campus and educational experiences for UNO TRiO Upward Bound students.

The project will establish a 1-mile birding trail at UNO—with interpretive signage, designated parking and an accompanying website—and initiate regular bird counts to monitor populations along the route. The Greater New Orleans chapters of the Native Plant Initiative and Louisiana Master Naturalists will work with volunteers to plant 120 native trees and shrubs at two sites along the trail—totaling 4 acres, enhancing campus canopy and providing birds with needed refuge.

Assistant Professor of Philosophy Dan Shahar is the lead principal investigator; John Bishop and Elizabeth Sigler from the UNO Office of Research are co-principal investigators.

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Center for Undergraduate Research & Creativity opens Tolmas Scholars applications

The University of New Orleans offers two flagship programs that introduce undergraduate students to research opportunities:

• Privateer Undergraduate Research & Scholarly UNO Experience (PURSUE)
• College of Sciences Undergraduate Research Program (CoSURP)

Through these programs, undergraduates are awarded student worker positions with UNO researchers. Undergraduates who receive these positions are known as "Tolmas Scholars."

The student worker positions pay $15 per hour at a maximum of 10 hours per week, and students begin working in the spring semester. All Tolmas Scholars are expected to participate in InnovateUNO in the fall semester following their initial award.

PURSUE awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work starting in the spring semester.

CoSURP awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work in the spring semester and another 100 hours in the fall.

Review the list of mentors and apply by October 4 to be considered.

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InnovateUNO registration opens

Register!  2021 Presenter Manual  Share

UNO grant program funds initial research now impacting conservation policy

Analysis of sheepshead bones by researchers at the University of New Orleans has unearthed information they say can help guide policymakers facing the critical challenge of overfishing in the Gulf of Mexico, which is an important fishery that provides food and livelihoods to many in Louisiana and beyond.

The research, conducted by UNO anthropology professor Ryan Gray, earth and environmental sciences professor Martin O’Connell and anthropology research associate Ryan Kennedy, uses size estimation and stable isotope analysis of archaeological sheepshead bones from New Orleans to identify two previously unknown, but important, overfishing events in Gulf waters.

The recent study is part of ongoing research by Gray, O’Connell and Kennedy using archaeological fish bones to examine changes in fishing practices over the past 2,500 years in the New Orleans area. It was conducted in conjunction with researchers at the University of Leicester in England and Trent University in Canada.

Initial funding for the research was provided by the UNO Office of Research and the UNO Research Council, when Ryan Gray and Martin O'Connell were awarded Interdisciplinary Grant Development funding in 2017.

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Office of Research invests nearly $250,000 into research and scholarly endeavors

On Thursday, the Office of Research broadcasted its virtual awards ceremony, Achievements in Research, Creativity and Scholarship (ARCS) live over YouTube. By the end of the ceremony, the department announced nearly $250,000 of investments into the innovative activities of UNO students, faculty and staff.

Faculty Creativity, Research & Scholarship Awards

The Faculty Creativity, Research and Scholarship Awards are the most prestigious awards bestowed by the Office of Research. They are presented to innovative faculty members who have distinguished themselves in their fields and at the University of New Orleans.

The awards are divided into two tracks: (1) traditional research and (2) creativity and scholarship. Nominations are reviewed and scored by the UNO Research Council. Winners receive a one-year fixed price award of $10,000 for career awards.

President John Nicklow announced the following 2021 winners of the career Creativity, Research and Scholarship awards:

Creativity, Research & Scholarship Award

• Linda Flynn-Wilson

Early-Career Creativity, Research & Scholarship Award

• David Podgorski

UNO's Internal Grant Program

The internal grant program managed by the Office of Research includes several funding opportunities for various creative, competitive and interdisciplinary research projects on campus. Applicants are encouraged to work collaboratively with other professors and to consider the process an opportunity to hone their grant-writing skills.

Proposals are reviewed and scored by the UNO Research Council.

Creative Endeavor Opportunity (CEO)

The goal of the Creative Endeavor Opportunity program is to provide support for faculty members launching programs of research, scholarship, exhibition or performance that will ultimately result in increased research and creative activity on campus. Proposal budgets are capped at $10,000.

The 2021 recipients are:

• Anthony Campbell
• Laszlo Fulop
• Ariya Martin

Stimulating Competitive Research (SCoRe)

The goal of the award for Stimulating Competitive Research is to enhance faculty’s ability to successfully compete for extramural sponsored research funding.

The SCoRe award is intended as seed money for faculty to develop a new area of research activity, and it is expected that a SCoRE award will result in a proposal being submitted to an external funding agency. Proposal budgets are capped at $15,000.

The 2021 recipients are:

• Shaikh Arifuzzaman
• Leszek Malkinski
• Martin O'Connell
• Bethany Stich
• John Wiley

Interdisciplinary Grant Development (IGD)

Many federal agencies stress the importance of interdisciplinary research, and the Interdisciplinary Grant Development opportunity is designed to support a team focused on writing competitive, interdisciplinary, federal proposals—or comparable non-federal proposals.

An IGD grant requires collaboration between two different departments or two different colleges. The aim of the program is to stimulate fundable, interdisciplinary research across disciplines that are substantially distinct. Proposal budgets are capped at $17,500 per PI.

The 2021 recipients are:

• Thomas Soniat and Tamjidul Hoque

Tolmas Scholars

UNO offers two flagship programs that introduce undergraduate students to research opportunities: the Privateer Undergraduate Research & Scholarly UNO Experience (PURSUE) and the College of Sciences Undergraduate Research Program (CoSURP).

Through these programs, undergraduates are awarded student worker positions with UNO faculty members. As these programs are generously funded in part by the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust, undergraduate students who receive these positions are known as "Tolmas Scholars."

Tolmas Scholars are awarded student worker positions paying $15 per hour at a maximum of 10 hours per week. PURSUE awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work starting in the spring semester. CoSURP awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work in the spring semester and another 100 hours in the fall.

To view the list of 2021 Tolmas Scholars, visit the Tolmas Scholars website.

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Virtual research symposium showcases more than 100 presentations

On Tuesday, the University of New Orleans’s Office of Research wrapped up the ninth annual InnovateUNO with an awards ceremony recognizing the winners of the first-ever virtual research symposium.

Over the course of the week-long event, attendees viewed more than 100 oral, art, theater, music, and film presentations. Presenters included UNO students, faculty, and staff from every discipline. This was the fifth year it has been open to all students, faculty, and staff.

The presentations were evaluated by 55 volunteer judges including UNO faculty, staff, and graduate students.

The best-ranked presentations were awarded a total of $2,500 by the Office of Research and the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust. Both undergraduate and graduate students were awarded prizes.

Awards Ceremony  2020 Winners  Share

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InnovateUNO registration opens

Register!  Presenter Manual  Share

UNO's Internal Grant Program (IGP) now accepting proposals

The Office of Research is pleased to announce the opening of the 2020-2021 Internal Grant Programs (IGP). Eligible UNO faculty and research employees are encouraged to apply for one of these grants as a means of honing their grant-making skills and developing new areas of research or scholarly endeavors.

The available grants include:

• Creative Endeavor Opportunity (CEO) — provides support for faculty to launch programs that result in increased research and creative activity on campus
• Stimulating Competitive Research (SCoRe) — enhances UNO faculty's ability to successfully compete for external research funding
• Interdisciplinary Grant Development (IGD) — requires participation from two or more colleges or departments; stimulates fundable, interdisciplinary research across disciplines that are substantially distinct
• Leveraging External Expertise Program (LEEP) — supports visits to UNO by external scholars, researchers, or artists in order to enrich campus, improve scholarly productivity, or enhance the university's reputation

Apply as directed by December 11.

All applications will be reviewed by the Research Council. Awardees will be announced at the Achievements in Research, Creativity, & Scholarship (ARCS) Award Ceremony.

For more information, visit the Research Council's website.

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Nominations for Faculty Awards now open

The Office of Research is pleased to announce the opening of the 2020-2021 Faculty Creativity, Research, & Scholarship Awards. Associate Professors and/or Professors may be nominated for awards in research or creativity/scholarship; Assistant Professors who have passed their third-year review may be nominated for Early Career awards in research or creativity/scholarship.

Submit your nomination(s) to research@uno.edu by December 11.

All nominations will be reviewed by the Research Council. Winners will be announced at the Achievements in Research, Creativity, & Scholarship (ARCS) Award Ceremony.

Learn More  Share

Center for Undergraduate Research & Creativity opens Tolmas Scholars applications

The University of New Orleans offers two flagship programs that introduce undergraduate students to research opportunities:

• Privateer Undergraduate Research & Scholarly UNO Experience (PURSUE)
• College of Sciences Undergraduate Research Program (CoSURP)

Through these programs, undergraduates are awarded student worker positions with UNO researchers. Undergraduates who receive these positions are known as "Tolmas Scholars."

The student worker positions pay $15 per hour at a maximum of 10 hours per week, and students begin working in the spring semester. All Tolmas Scholars are expected to participate in InnovateUNO in the fall semester following their initial award.

PURSUE awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work starting in the spring semester.

CoSURP awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work in the spring semester and another 100 hours in the fall.

Review the list of mentors and apply by September 25 to be considered.

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UNO-funded trip to Costa Rica supports chair’s efforts to finalize novel translation

Elaine Brooks, professor and chair of the UNO English & Foreign Languages department, translated Fernando Contreras Castro’s novel “Cierto Azul” from Spanish to English. On July 1, the English translation was published by Lavender Ink, a small press located in New Orleans.

Brooks traveled to San José, Costa Rica, in the summer of 2019 to finalize her translation with the novel’s author. Her trip was supported by a Creative Endeavor Opportunity (CEO) grant from the UNO Office of Research.

“I worked 25 days in Costa Rica completing the last chapter of my translation of ‘Cierto Azul’ and editing the entire manuscript with Fernando Contreras Castro,” Brooks said. “The discussions and the editing experience with [the author] were essential to the completion of my translation project, and I am grateful for the financial support that I received from the UNO Office of Research.”

During her time in Costa Rica, Brooks worked extensively with Contreras Castro to update the title of his book for an English-speaking audience.

“The title in Spanish pays homage to Miles Davis’ signature jazz album, ‘Kind of Blue,’” Brooks said. “As we discussed the intricate storylines from the novel, we decided that the English version of ‘Cierto Azul’ would be ‘Blue Note,’ which is the note on the blues scale added to the pentatonic scale.”

Contreras Castro’s novel uses the history of jazz music and improvisation to approach the history of slavery and the oral traditions of enslaved people.

Brooks explained that the blue note in Contreras Castro’s novel “also represents the music of Africa that was retained in the oral traditions of slaves, whose music became a code for communicating while in the presence of the slave masters. Since the novel follows more than one storyline, and weaves the story of the birth of jazz with the story of slavery in the United States, Fernando felt that the title Blue Note would emphasize this integration of history for readers in the U.S.”

“Blue Note” is available through Lavender Ink and other online booksellers. Brooks previously translated Contreras Castro’s novel “Única mirando al mar,” also published by Lavender Ink under the English title “Única Looking at the Sea.”

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UNO professor leads study on the state of Louisiana nonprofits during COVID-19

Political science professor Steve Mumford and a team of student researchers produced a study on the state of nonprofits in southeastern Louisiana. The report, funded by the Greater New Orleans Foundation, shows that many organizations have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and struggle to continue providing services to the public.

"The Office of Research was hugely helpful throughout the study," Mumford said. "First, I worked with Kendy [Martinez] to create the budget, fill out paperwork, process the grant agreement, etc.—for each of the two grants from GNOF that funded the research. Jesse [Sherrell] was always helpful with purchases as well."

Mumford's team included graduate assistant DeVante Starks and three undergraduate Tolmas Scholars: Kielee Clement, Ariane Dent and Mckenzie Howell.

"Through the Tolmas Scholars program, I was able to bring on three students working a total of 300 hours over the semester," Mumford said. "We all figured out Zoom together and kept each other’s morale up during the worst of the pandemic. I called them my 'team' and sincerely meant that."

The Tolmas Scholars worked 8-10 hours per week, helping with tasks like preparing data collection equipment and technology, conducting phone calls and surveys with nonprofit leaders, engaging in qualitative analysis and creation of maps displaying survey data, presenting preliminary findings to GNOF, and preparing the survey contact list, "through an exhaustive search of public records," Mumford said.

To read more about the study and its findings, see the full story below.

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UNO marketing professor Kyeong Sam Min publishes study funded by UNO CEO grant

On June 5, UNO marketing professor Kyeong Sam Min published a study in "Marketing Letters: A Journal of Research in Marketing." The study was funded by a Creative Endeavor Opportunity grant from the UNO Office of Research.

The goal of the Creative Endeavor Opportunity grant is to provide support for faculty to launch programs of research, scholarship, exhibition or performance that will ultimately result in increased research and creative activity on campus. Proposals are ranked by the UNO Research Council, with preference given to interdisciplinary projects that involve multiple researchers from diverse colleges and departments.

Min’s proposed project outlined collaboration between UNO’s Management & Marketing and Film & Theatre departments. The original $6,600 grant awarded to Min in 2011 supported research efforts, travel and other expenditures associated with working on his study.

"The CEO grant gives faculty an excellent opportunity to explore a new stream of research," Min said. "[It] enabled me to reach out to large scale consumer panel data to confirm and generalize my initial findings. It also supported my conference travel to disseminate the findings and interact with experts in the topic area. While it took a few more years to collect additional data and have the paper published in a journal, I owe a big thanks to the generous financial support from the UNO Office of Research that helped me not give up on my original idea."

As a consumer psychologist, Min "love[s] to study novel phenomena that help understand consumer response to creative marketing activities." He knows many journal publications expect researchers to document "new phenomena that are reliable, valid and generalizable." As a result, Min said, "researchers need to conduct multiple studies to demonstrate that their findings are the real thing."

Min's paper "Timing of apology after service failure: the moderating role of future interaction expectation on customer satisfaction" is available through SpringerLink. Co-authors and -researchers included Jae Min Jung, Kisang Ryu, Curtis Haugtvedt, Sathiadev Mahesh and John "Hamp" Overton.

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UNO recently awarded $2M in federal research grants

Peter Bierhorst: $600,000 from Department of Defense

Peter Bierhorst, assistant professor of mathematics, is using his expertise in quantum physics to address practical problems in cryptography—the study of secure communication. Bierhorst’s proposal was one of only six chosen nationally by Department of Defense subject-matter experts from more than 200 white papers. Each collaborative team receives up to $600,000 over a three-year period.

Wendy Schluchter: $521,578 from NSF Biology Division

Wendy Schluchter, biological sciences professor and department chair, is studying how a group of widespread marine phytoplankton called Synechococcus succeed in photosynthesis by matching their pigment composition to the light environment. The research will also train graduate students, undergraduate students, high school teachers and high school students in genetics, biochemistry and structural biology.

Viktor Poltavets: $475,682 from NSF Division of Materials Research

Viktor Poltavets, chemistry professor, is studying the properties of nickelates with the hopes that his findings could lead to the design of new superconductors. Superconducting materials can transmit electric current without temperature losses and create high magnetic field, which has led to their applications in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), high-speed rail trains, electric motors and generators.

John Wiley: $450,000 from NSF Division of Chemistry

John Wiley, chemistry professor and director of UNO's Advanced Materials Research Institute, is studying the modification of nanoparticles confined within scrolled capsules. The techniques developed will allow the production of unique hetero nanoparticles and nanowires not accessible by standard methods. Potential applications could include next-generation electronic devices, magnetics, energy storage, and environmental remediation.

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How to apply for and manage grant funding during COVID-19 outbreak

The Office of Research is a vital campus service for faculty, staff, and students. As a result, please note that the Office of Research remains available to assist you. Our staff members are working remotely, but they can be accessed via email; they are also accessible via telephone or digital conference. We ask for your patience during this time as we all work through the technical challenges that accompany any abrupt change in operating procedure.

Determine your service team or visit our staff directory for full contact information.

For additional information regarding proposal and award management, please see below.

Proposal Stage

Grant Writing

Our grant writers are working remotely, but they remain available to assist you. If you would like to submit a grant proposal in the coming weeks, please contact your applicable grant writer and fill out a Grant Writing Services Request form. If you'd like to set up a meeting with a grant writer, they can accommodate you through Zoom.

Grant Writing Services Request

Proposal Submission

To apply for funding, you must fill out the UNO Routing Form. The routing form will function as usual to collect all necessary signatures. Contact Kendy Martinez with any questions.

Routing Form

If you are seeking funds for time-sensitive work from programs with fast-approaching deadlines, contact your service team as soon as possible to coordinate your submission.

Award Stage

Travel Changes/Budget Adjustments

At this time, international travel is not authorized by UNO.

If you budgeted for travel in your proposal but cannot travel—or cannot use other funds as originally projected—due to the COVID-19 outbreak, you may need to submit a Budget Adjustment Request Form to spend those funds on other items. The Office of Research will review your request and contact you regarding next steps.

Travel arrangements (for airfare, hotel rooms, etc.) must be cancelled as soon as possible, and appropriate documentation must be collected. Contact UNO Accounts Payable for guidance.

Budget Adjustment Request Form

No Cost Extensions

If you need additional time to complete your research, or cannot comply with your reporting deadline due to COVID-19-related closures, you may need to request a No Cost Extension. Contact Kendy Martinez with any questions. Contact your program officer for guidance on re-budgeting and on no-cost extensions.

No Cost Extension

Your productivity is vital to the University of New Orleans, and we do not wish to limit it while taking the necessary precautions to protect our community. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out; we will remain available to you through phone, email, and digital conference throughout the University's social distancing period.

Thank you for your patience and your precaution —The Office of Research

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Office of Research invests more than $330,000 in innovation at UNO

On Tuesday, the Office of Research hosted its annual awards ceremony, Achievements in Research, Creativity and Scholarship (ARCS). By the end of the ceremony, the department announced more than $330,000 of investments into the innovative activities of UNO students, faculty and staff.

Faculty Creativity, Research & Scholarship Awards

The Faculty Creativity, Research and Scholarship Awards are the most prestigious awards bestowed by the Office of Research. They are presented to innovative faculty members who have distinguished themselves in their fields and at the University of New Orleans.

The awards are divided into two tracks: (1) traditional research and (2) creativity and scholarship. Nominations are reviewed and scored by the UNO Research Council. Winners receive a one-year fixed price award of $10,000 for career awards.

President John Nicklow announced the following 2020 winners of the career Creativity, Research and Scholarship awards:

Creativity & Scholarship Focus

• Allan Millett

Research Focus

• Wendy Schluchter

UNO's Internal Grant Program

The internal grant program managed by the Office of Research includes several funding opportunities for various creative, competitive and interdisciplinary research projects on campus. Applicants are encouraged to work collaboratively with other professors and to consider the process an opportunity to hone their grant-writing skills.

Proposals are reviewed and scored by the UNO Research Council.

Creative Endeavor Opportunity (CEO)

The goal of the Creative Endeavor Opportunity program is to provide support for faculty members launching programs of research, scholarship, exhibition or performance that will ultimately result in increased research and creative activity on campus. Proposal budgets are capped at $10,000.

The 2020 recipients are:

• Woohyun Cho
• Henry Griffin
• Marc Landry
• Jeffrey Rinehart
• Cherie Trumbach

Stimulating Competitive Research (SCoRe)

The goal of the award for Stimulating Competitive Research is to enhance faculty’s ability to successfully compete for extramural sponsored research funding.

The SCoRe award is intended as seed money for faculty to develop a new area of research activity, and it is expected that a SCoRE award will result in a proposal being submitted to an external funding agency. Proposal budgets are capped at $15,000.

The 2020 recipients are:

• Nicola Anthony
• Joel Atallah
• Vincent Xiaochuan Yu
• Weilie Zhou

Interdisciplinary Grant Development (IGD)

Many federal agencies stress the importance of interdisciplinary research, and the Interdisciplinary Grant Development opportunity is designed to support a team focused on writing competitive, interdisciplinary, federal proposals—or comparable non-federal proposals.

An IGD grant requires collaboration between two different departments or two different colleges. The aim of the program is to stimulate fundable, interdisciplinary research across disciplines that are substantially distinct. Proposal budgets are capped at $17,500 per PI.

The 2020 recipients are:

• Gianna Cothren and Dimitrios Charalampidis

Tolmas Scholars

UNO offers two flagship programs that introduce undergraduate students to research opportunities: the Privateer Undergraduate Research & Scholarly UNO Experience (PURSUE) and the College of Sciences Undergraduate Research Program (CoSURP).

Through these programs, undergraduates are awarded student worker positions with UNO faculty members. As these programs are generously funded in part by the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust, undergraduate students who receive these positions are known as "Tolmas Scholars."

Tolmas Scholars are awarded student worker positions paying $15 per hour at a maximum of 10 hours per week. PURSUE awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work starting in the spring semester. CoSURP awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work in the spring semester and another 100 hours in the fall.

To view the list of 2020 Tolmas Scholars, visit the Tolmas Scholars website.

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Pivot search tool now available for all UNO investigators

UNO researchers now have access to Pivot, an intuitive search tool designed to send investigators weekly updates on funding opportunities that meet their search criteria. UNO's Pivot subscription includes other valuable database functions as well, including the ability to help identify research collaborators.

All faculty, staff, and students may create a Pivot account and receive weekly funding alert emails based on their individualized search criteria.

If you have any questions, contact your grant writer for more information or to schedule a training session.

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InnovateUNO engages more than 500 members of UNO's research community

Presenters included UNO students, faculty, and staff from every discipline and area high school students engaged with UNO programs. This was the fourth year it has been open to all students, faculty, and staff.

The presentations were evaluated by 63 judges including UNO faculty, staff, graduate students, alumni, and business partners. More than 20 volunteers and room moderators staffed the event.

In all, the symposium engaged nearly 500 people—not counting attendees!

More than 40 students took home awards and cash prizes.

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Office of Research updates website content and structure

The University of New Orleans Office of Research has updated the content and structure of its website to better serve its audiences. The new layout prioritizes ease of use and spotlights the exciting research activity always in progress at UNO. With these new tools, the Office of Research can better communicate with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the Greater New Orleans community and beyond.

Take a look, and don't forget to follow us on social media to stay informed!

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11 new faculty members awarded $1.5 million in startup funds

The University of New Orleans welcomed 11 new faculty members to campus this fall! The new professors and assistant professors teach economics, management, accounting, sociology, political science, African American literature, psychology, computer science, counseling and civil and environmental engineering.

Each of these new faculty members will receive funding from the New Faculty Startup Program, a UNO grant program supporting new faculty's innovative activities. This program keeps UNO competitive in hiring the highest quality faculty with the greatest research potential.

To support our faculty's research, art, and scholarship, UNO has made more than $1.5 million in startup funds available from the faculty members' colleges, their departments, and the Office of Research. In order to secure continued funding, faculty members must submit at least one proposal to an outside sponsor in both the first and second years of employment. Faculty members must also attend a new faculty orientation program co-hosted by the Office of Research and Academic Affairs.

A total of $2.38 million was awarded to all 14 new faculty members, including three who were previously employed at UNO in other capacities.

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InnovateUNO registration opens

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UNO's Internal Grant Program (IGP) now accepting proposals

The Office of Research is pleased to announce the opening of the 2019-2020 Internal Grant Programs (IGP). Eligible UNO faculty and research employees are encouraged to apply for one of these grants as a means of honing their grant-making skills and developing new areas of research or scholarly endeavors.

The available grants include:

• Creative Endeavor Opportunity (CEO) — provides support for faculty to launch programs that result in increased research and creative activity on campus
• Stimulating Competitive Research (SCoRe) — enhances UNO faculty's ability to successfully compete for external research funding
• Interdisciplinary Grant Development (IGD) — requires participation from two or more colleges or departments; stimulates fundable, interdisciplinary research across disciplines that are substantially distinct
• Leveraging External Expertise Program (LEEP) — supports visits to UNO by external scholars, researchers, or artists in order to enrich campus, improve scholarly productivity, or enhance the university's reputation
• Award for Building Research or Artistic Development (ABROAD) — funds collaborative visits of 1-6 weeks by a UNO PI to an institution in Austria, Colombia, Egypt, or France

Apply as directed by December 6.

All applications will be reviewed by the Research Council. Awardees will be announced at the Achievements in Research, Creativity, & Scholarship (ARCS) Award Ceremony.

For more information, visit the Research Council's website.

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Nominations for Faculty Awards now open

The Office of Research is pleased to announce the opening of the 2019-2020 Faculty Creativity, Research, & Scholarship Awards. Associate Professors and/or Professors may be nominated for awards in research or creativity/scholarship; Assistant Professors who have passed their third-year review may be nominated for Early Career awards in research or creativity/scholarship.

Submit your nomination(s) to research@uno.edu by December 6.

All nominations will be reviewed by the Research Council. Winners will be announced at the Achievements in Research, Creativity, & Scholarship (ARCS) Award Ceremony.

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Center for Undergraduate Research & Creativity opens Tolmas Scholars applications

The University of New Orleans offers two flagship programs that introduce undergraduate students to research opportunities:

• Privateer Undergraduate Research & Scholarly UNO Experience (PURSUE)
• College of Sciences Undergraduate Research Program (CoSURP)

Through these programs, undergraduates are awarded student worker positions with UNO researchers. Undergraduates who receive these positions are known as "Tolmas Scholars."

The student worker positions pay $15 per hour at a maximum of 10 hours per week, and students begin working in the spring semester. All Tolmas Scholars are expected to participate in InnovateUNO in the fall semester following their initial award.

PURSUE awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work starting in the spring semester.

CoSURP awards allow for up to 100 paid hours of scholarly work in the spring semester and another 100 hours in the fall.

Review the list of mentors and apply by September 25 to be considered.

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NCAM grant funds robotic eel engineering camp

Thanks to grant funding from the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing (NCAM), the UNO School of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering (NAME) hosted local middle and high school students at an engineering summer camp focused on constructing robotic eels (PrivatEELs!) then testing their abilities to swim underwater. Over the course of the week, the students used 3-D modeling, additive manufacturing such as 3-D printing, mechanical and hydrodynamics design, and electrical engineering.

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June 2019 Research Roundup

Tara Tolford, a research associate in the University of New Orleans Transportation Institute, was awarded a $248,000 grant from the Louisiana Transportation Research Center to collect and study data on bicyclists and pedestrians across the state.
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UNO’s Advanced Materials Research Institute (AMRI) and InnoGenomics Technologies, which is housed on campus, sponsored a forensic genetics workshop.
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A $75,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation will allow the University of New Orleans to provide more students with targeted support through its partnership with College Beyond.
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Psychology professor Christopher Harshaw is studying developmental reactions to acetaminophen.
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Undergraduate researcher represents UNO at the University of Innsbruck

Catalina Rubiano, an undergraduate researcher in Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of New Orleans, spent five days in Austria while the University of Innsbruck celebrated 350 years of history, research, and instruction. Thanks to UNO's Innsbruck Travel Award, she participated in Innsbruck's international Science Festival, presenting research that won her a first-place award at InnovateUNO! She was able to tour the campus and network with peers from all over the world. We are #UNOPROUD!

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Faculty Spotlight, Dr. Sarah Black

Psychology professor Dr. Sarah Black has been researching the biological and environmental factors in adolescent depression and affective disorders. As a new faculty member at UNO, she is working with the Office of Research to navigate the processes for submitting grant proposals—and she just received a $19,670 early career grant from the American Psychological Foundation!

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May 2019 Research Roundup

David Podgorski and Phoebe Zito have been awarded nearly $250,000 in grants over the last 18 months. These funds have allowed them to offer paid fieldwork research experience to graduate and undergraduate students.
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The founders of biotech research companies LaCell LLC and its spin-off company Obatala Sciences are moving their lab to the UNO Advanced Materials Research Institute (AMRI) in July.
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A $60,000 donation from retired professor and founder of AMRI Charles O'Connor and his wife, Sally E. O’Connor, will help establish an endowed professorship in chemistry. The University will pursue a $40,000 match from the Louisiana Board of Regents.
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Carol Lunn named system-wide Workday facilitator for grants

As the University of New Orleans, Louisiana Tech University, and Southeastern Louisiana University prepare for the transition to Workday, the three systems have been coordinating a massive restructuring of business and operating procedures. The collaborative effort demands dedicated oversight, and the University of Louisiana System has named facilitators at each university to champion the integration of crucial component systems.

Carol Lunn, assistant vice president for research and economic development, was named the system-wide facilitator for the grants component of Workday.

Lunn and her staff are working with their counterparts at Louisiana Tech and Southeastern to ensure Workday supports business procedures vital to all three universities. They host regular meetings with their respective teams and phone calls with the Workday consultant, facilitating conversation and advocating for the groups' priorities.

In May, Lunn and the UNO Office of Research will host a system-wide demonstration of Workday's grant administration and management functionality, providing documentation to support user training at all three universities.

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Student Spotlight, Jacob Frick

Jacob Frick has been researching cyanobacteria with mentor Dr. Wendy Schluchter, chair of the University of New Orleans Department of Biological Sciences. Thanks to UNO's support of undergraduate research, Jacob is #UNOPROUD to be pursuing a career in scientific exploration.

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Office of Research restructures staff members into service teams

The University of New Orleans's transition to Workday has prompted the Office of Research to restructure our pre-award and post-award staff members into teams managing specific academic and non-academic units. This new method of serving the scholars and researchers at the University of New Orleans should streamline communications about grants, contracts, and sponsored programs throughout the application and award process.

The Office of Research transitioned to the below team structure:

Pre-Award

• Rebecca Drake serves the College of Science.
• Kendy Martinez serves all other academic and non-academic units.
• Burt Neal manages all sub-awards and internal award programs.

Post-Award

• Jesse Sherrell serves the College of Business Administration and the College of Liberal Arts, Education, and Human Development.
• Bing Leng serves the College of Science except the Department of Computer Science.
• Charles Chaisson serves the College of Engineering; the Department of Computer Science; and all other non-academic units.

Visit the Faculty & Staff Research page to learn more about the UNO Office of Research service teams.

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