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Faculty Research Support Funds

Tenure-track University of Houston-Clear Lake faculty members are invited to submit research proposals for the Faculty Research Support Funds (FRSF) spring and fall competitions.

Upcoming Submission Deadlines:

  • Spring 2025 - (Tentative) March 15, 2025

Check our Events page for the next FRSF Info session, download the PowerPoint, or watch the recording.

Application Process

FRSF Application Process

Important Notes

1. Prepare your Proposal Submission Packet

Complete and submit a Conflict of Interest for Investigators form (separate from the application).

Create one PDF with all required documents placed in the following order (refer to FRSF Policy (PDF), section 4): 

Included in 10-page limit:

  • FRSF Cover Page (DOCX, updated July 2023)
  • Purpose and Objectives of Proposed Request
  • Background and Hypothesis
  • Significance of the Request
  • Procedures/General Work Plan/Methodology
  • Duration of Request/Time Frame
  • Equipment/Facilities
  • Dissemination/Use of Results and Project Sustainability
  • Budget Summary (See template, XLSX/Excel)
  • Budget Justification
  • Cost Share Support from Program/College

Excluded from 10-page limit:

2. Request Dean's Support

First, verify whether the dean of your college has an earlier deadline to review FRSF proposals. If not, allow at least five (5) business days for the dean to review your proposal submission packet.

  • Send one email requesting the dean of your college to support the project.
  • Attach the entire proposal submission packet to the email.
  • Copy ORSP at sponsoredprograms@uhcl.edu and the dean's administrative assistant on the email.

3. Completed Submission

  • The dean's support email should be sent to ORSP, sponsoredprograms@uhcl.edu, by 5 p.m. on the due date.
  • The submission process will be complete once ORSP electronically acknowledges the dean's support email.

4. Proposal Review

  • ORSP will send the proposal submission packet and dean's support email to the FRSF committee member for review and consideration.
  • FRSF committee members will review and rate the proposal. Click here to see a sample review form (DOCX).
  • The committee will discuss the proposals and submit their funding recommendations to the provost.
  • Faculty will be emailed about their proposal's status after the committee meeting and will receive copies of the reviewer ratings/comment forms.
Final Reports

Final Reports

Recipients of Faculty Research and Support Funds must submit a final report in electronic form to the Executive Director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs 90 days after the project is completed or one year after the project is funded, whichever is sooner.

The report should acknowledge that the project was funded by the Faculty Research and Support Funds.  The report may be brief, should summarize accomplishments of the project and may optionally take the form of a scholarly article, scholarly conference paper, or grant proposal connected with the FRSF project.

The final report must be submitted before further FRSF funding will be considered.

Review Committee

Review Committee

College Term Ending 8/31/26 Term Ending 8/31/28 Alternate to 8/31/26
College of Business

Barry Marks, Ph.D.
Professor of Accounting
marks@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3214; Office B3237

Timothy Michael, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Finance
michael@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3193; Office B3121

Clifton Mayfield, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Management
mayfield@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3258; Office B3321

College of Education

Jane Cooper, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Qualitative Methods
cooperja@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3511; Office B1111

Felix Simieou, Ed. D.
Associate Professor of Educational Leadership
simieou@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3589; Office B1125

Sheila Baker, Ph.D.

Professor of Curriculum and Instruction
browna@uhcl.edu 
Ext. 3627; Office B1119

College of Science & Engineering

Kazi Md Masum Billah, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
billah@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3826

 

Balzur Rashid, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
rashid@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3756; Office B3521

Yi Su, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Chemistry
su@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3752; Office ST2250

College of Human Sciences & Humanities

Christine Kovic, Ph.D.
Professor of Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Studies
kovic@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3365; Office B2617

Amanda Johnston, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
johnston@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3393; Office S2109

Anne Marcoline, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Literature
marcoline@uhcl.edu
Ext. 3448; B1508

If you are interested in serving on the FRSF Committee, contact your dean.

Past Winners

Thank you to all who participated in the competition and congratulations to those whose projects received funding.

2023-2024

Fall 2023

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Jennifer Grace, Ph.D. Education Community Perspectives on the State Takeover of HISD
Thais R. S. de Sant' Ana, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Imagining the United States' Presence in Urban Amazonia
Pearl J. Young, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Defying the Status Quo: Southern White Women, Faith, Patriarchy, & the Clamor for Secession
Clay Leonard, M.F.A. Human Sciences and Humanities Investigating the Mold-made Terra Cotta figurines of Old Babylonia - Collaboration with Dr. Stephanie Langin-Hooper, Associate Professor Southern Methodist University, and Dr. Sarah Graff, Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Scott Buckel, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Characterization of Extracellular Matrix
Jugal Saharia, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Development of a Low-Cost, Miniaturized Nanopore Fabrication Device for Single Molecule Biosensing

Spring 2024

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Sofia Georgiadou, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Advancing Marriage and Family Therapy Education: A Learner-centric Survey on Students' Perceived Connections between Learning Gaps and Teaching Methods
Charuska Walgama, Ph.D. and Jack Lu, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Detection of Heavy Metal using Metal-Organic Frameworks/Carbon Nanotube Composite Electrodes
Nisha Mathews, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities A Mixed Methods Approach to Cultural Competence, Health Disparity Knowledge, and South Asian Culture Knowledge among Nursing Professionals
Ruaa Al Mezrakchi, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Additive Manufacturing of Composites and Advanced Materials Towards Sustainable Engineering Applications
Tej Limbu, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Fabrication of Ti3C2TX MXene/Bi2O2S Quantum Dot Hybrid Material for Photodetection Applications
Samina Masood, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Plate-reader Purchase for Students to Study the Weak Magnetic Fields on Bacterial Growth
Soma Datta, Ph.D. Science and Engineering A Framework to Develop a Virtual Reality Lab for Microbiology Students
Michael Van Wie, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Bidirectional Effects of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health

2022-2023

Fall 2022

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Barbara Hales, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities "Life Undeserving of Life": Eugenics Cinema in Weimar and Nazi Germany
Sarah Griffin, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Capturing the Interplay of Impulsivity and Alcohol Use in Daily Life
Jane McIntosh Cooper, Ph.D. Education Impacts of Peer-driven Professional Learnign Communities on Novice Teacher Practices
Michael Brims, M.F.A. Human Sciences and Humanities Graduate Student Worker Hours to facilitate relations with local High Schools & Community Colleges to create sustainability-related content to be screened in the 2023 edition of the Sustainable Stories Film Fest
Mohsen Daghooghi, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Analytical Solution for Two-Dimensional Composite Fins with Locally-Variable Heat Transfer Coefficient

Spring 2023

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Sofia Georgiadou, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Students as Educational Partners: Exploring Consumers' Perception of Competency and Skill Development to Improve Marriage and Family Therapy Master's Education
Michael McMullen, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Persian-American Baha'i Oral History Project
Roberta Raymond, Ed.D. Education Writing toolkits: Building writing self-efficacy with preservice teachers
Charitha Hettiarachchi, Ph.D. and Naveed Saleem, Ph.D. Business Efficient Water Management System for Small-Midsize Farming: A Fuzzy Inference Based Approach
Steven Sutherland, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Creating Firebots Virtual Environment for Studying Human-Automaton Interaction
Neal Dugre, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Confederation and Commonwealth in an English Atlantic Region
Roberta Leal, Ph.D. and Maria Wilson, Ed.D., LMSW, LVN Human Sciences and Humanities Not Enough Funding for Us: Latinx-Serving Organizations Perceived Facilitators and Barriers in the Greater Houston-Galveston Area

2021-2022

Fall 2021

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Xiaokun Yang, Ph.D. Science and Engineering FPGA Design and Verification on Neural Networks
Clay Leonard, M.F.A. Human Sciences and Humanities Research and Creation of a New Body of Artwork for National Exhibition, "Bare Essentials" at prestigious Lodge Clay Center Gallery, May 6-8, 2022
Barbara Hales, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Women and "Euthanasia" in the Third Reich: The Eglfing-Haar Asylum and Ich klag an (1947)
Dervis Demirocak, Ph.D. Science and Engineering The Effect of Thermal Performance Degradation of Windows on Building Energy Use
Ariful Bhuiyan, Ph.D. Science and Engineering The Whole Body Vibration Effect of 3D Printed Bio-medical Devices in Lumber Interbody Fusion Application
Michael LaMontagne, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Tracking the Source of Microbial Contamination of Western Galveston Bay
Xiaojun "Gene" Shan, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Identification and Prioritization of Factors Associated with Health Workforce Resilience with Analytic Hierarchy Process

Spring 2022

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Jeremy Piercy, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Social Networks in Early English Charters
Kewei Sha, Ph.D. Science and Engineering An Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence Supported Training System for Autism Kids
Charuska Walgama, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Optimization of an Electrochemical Detection Strategy for Novel Point-of-care Biosensor Platforms
Dongmin Sun, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Impact of Climate and Human Activity on the Long-Term Streamflow Evolution in Brazos River
Kazi Md Masum Billah, Ph.D. Science and Engineering 3D printed molds for fiber-reinforced composite manufacturing
Serkan Caliskan, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Tailoring the Band Gap and Spin Polarized Transport Through Graphene-Like Materials
Tessa Kritikos, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Development of the MAGICC Support Group for Youth with Spina Bifida
Erik Reinbergs, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Developing a measure of perceived suicide stigma: A modern psychometric approach augmented by lived experience insights.
Tej Limbu, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Surface-Engineered MXenes for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection of Molecules
Cengiz Sisman, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Early American and the Middle Eastern Encounters: Protestant Missionaries
among the Ottoman Religious Minorities in the Nineteenth Century

2020-2021

Fall 2020

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Ariful Bhuiyan, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Designing and Testing 3D Printed Scaffolds for Bio-medical Applications
Dongmin Sun, Ph.D. Science and Engineering The impact of Land Use and Urbanization on Water Quality and Flooding Risk in Houston Area
Van E. Mayes, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Models of Neutrino Masses and Mixing Angles
Isabelle S. Kusters, Ph.D., M.P.H. Human Sciences and Humanities The state of COVID-19 communication in languages other than English by local
health departments
Khondker S. Hasan, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Digital Image Steganography Techniques for concealing secret data in 2D and 3D Images

Spring 2020

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Stephen Cherry, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Importing Care, Faithful Service
Jennifer Grace, Ph.D. Education School Leader Perceptions of Anti-Racism and its Role in Educational Leadership
Brian Wasko, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Interplay Between Cellular Proton Pumps
Xinying Liu, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Cultural Effects and the Interplay between Extrinsic Motivation and Intrinsic Motivation
Soma Datta, Ph.D. Science and Engineering A Framework to develop Virtual Laboratory for Microbiology
Michael Brims, M.F.A. Human Sciences and Humanities Student Worker for Sustainable-Stories Film Fest
Julianna Dean, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Understanding Research Faculty’s and Students’ Attitudes and Barriers Towards Learning R, a
Programming Language and Environment
Jana Willis, Ph.D. and Michelle Giles, Ph.D. Education Game On: Interactive Syllabus Development
Georgina Moreno, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Investigating psychomotor and cognitive equivalency in virtual environments during sleep
deprivation

2019-2020

Fall 2019

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Xiaojun "Gene" Shan, Ph.D. Science and Engineering A Three-Player Game Theoretic Model of North Korea Denuclearization
Kewei Sha, Ph.D. Science and Engineering An Efficient Framework for Biometrics‐Based User Identification and Authentication
Jiang Lu, Ph.D. Science and Engineering An Intelligent Monitoring System for In-vehicle Safety and Security
Xiaokun Yang, Ph.D. Science and Engineering OpenIC: A Real-Time Automatic Music Transcription (AMT) System with Zync FPGA
Lorie Jacobs, Ph.D., M.A.T.E Human Sciences and Humanities Employer Expectations of Written Communication Abilities in UHCL’s Top Major-Professions,
Part Two
Sheila Baker, Ph.D. and Denise McDonald, Ed.D. Education Examination of the Metis Classification System in an Elementary School Library: Teacher, Student, and Librarian Perspectives and Implications on Access, Circulation, and Use
Thomas Cothern, Ed.D., John Decman, Ed.D., Renee Lastrapes, Ph.D., and Felix Simieou III, Ph.D. Education Perceptions of the Implementation and Sustainability of Professional Learning Communities on School Campuses among District and School Administrators
Shreerekha Subramanian, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Reflections on Time: Humanities Within Bars

Spring 2020

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Ivelina Pavlova-Stout, Ph.D. Business Performance Dispersion among Target Date Funds
Kirk English, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Evaluation of Exogenous Ketone Supplementation on Substrate Utilization During Prolonged Cycling and Subsequent Time Trial Performance
Stephen Cotten, Ph.D. Business Group Identity and Social Preferences
Dina Abdelzaher, Ph.D. Business Expansion in Conflict Zones and the Ethical profile of those corporations who do that.

Summer 2020

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Angela Kelling, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Developing and Testing Stimuli for Learning Lab Software
Barbara Hales, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Black Magic Woman: Gender and the Occult in Weimar Germany, book
Haeyoung Shin, Ph.D. Business Financial statements analysis using non-financial disclosure information – an examination of oil & gas and pharmaceutical industry using DEA analysis
Kevin R. McNamara, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities The City in American Literature and Culture (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming)
Christal Seahorn, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Words of War: 16th C Military Manuals TypeWright Transcription Project

2018-2019

Fall 2018

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Ahmed Abukmail, Ph.D., Michelle Peters, Ed.D., and Jana Willis, Ph.D. Science and Engineering, Education Investigating Familial Factors in Women’s Decision to Pursue Computing and other STEM-Related Careers
Kirk English, Ph.D., William Amonette, Ph.D., and Nicholas Kelling, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Development and Validation of a Rowing Ergometry Virtual Reality Software Interface to Improve Exercise Performance and Enjoyment
Leslie Gauna, Ed.D. and Judith Marquez, Ph.D. Education Bilingual Education Candidates Failing the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test: Examining Reasons Beyond Language Proficiency Requirements
Emre Kirac, Ph.D. Science and Engineering The Dynamic Team Orienteering Problem
Elizabeth Klett, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Research Support for Choreographing Shakespeare
Anna Klyueva, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities Trolls, Bots and Whatnots: A Network Analysis of Deceptive Online Content
Arcadus Krivoshein, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Antiepileptic Drugs: Bridging the Gap Between Solution Chemistry and Solid-State Chemistry
Sandy Watson, Ed.D. Education Evaluation of Primary School Level Science Trade Books

Spring 2019

Faculty Investigator(s) College Project Title
Michelle Giles, Ph.D. Education Environmental Education Curriculum as a Model for Increasing the Mastery and Self-Efficacy of Teacher Candidate’s in Technology Integration Strategies and Development of Integrated Lessons/Activities
Brian Wasko, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Investigating Age-Associated Defects Related to Cellular pH
Unal Sakoglu, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Finding an Optimal Ordering of 3D Brain Imaging Data to 1D for Better Participant Classification
Maria Curtis, Ph.D. Human Sciences and Humanities The Skaff Family Arab American Archive: Communities, Traditions, and Institutions on the Gulf Coast and in Houston
Anton Dubrovskiy, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Synthesis of Nitrogen-Containing Heterocycles Mediated by PIDA
Youssef Hamidi, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Can Silk be the Next Reinforcing Material in Advanced Composites?
Michael LaMontagne, Ph.D. Science and Engineering Identifying Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
Clay Leonard, M.F.A. Human Sciences and Humanities International 1-month Ceramics Residency, Research, Networking, and Solo Exhibition in Rome, Italy

 

Contact

  • Sponsored Programs

    sponsoredprograms@uhcl.edu
    Phone: 281-283-3015
    Fax: 281-283-2143

    Bayou Building, 2531
    2700 Bay Area Blvd, Box 44
    Houston, TX 77058-1002