NC State’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation (ORI), in collaboration with the Kenan Institute, developed and launched the NC State Research and Innovation Seed Funding (RISF) Program in 2009. The purpose of the RISF Program is to stimulate NC State faculty and staff professionals to investigate multidisciplinary research initiatives, involve undergraduate and graduate students in research programs, and to enable and encourage corporate and government support of large research projects.
For reported outcomes since 2010, the RISF program has received 456 proposals and awarded 80 projects. These RISF projects have generated approximately 183 follow-on proposals to external organizations of which 50 received awards totaling $39,437,959 and leveraged the total ORI/KIETS awards of $2,256,327 during the corresponding period. In addition, 109 students were supported, 323 publications or presentations made, and 41 workshops/symposia held during that period. KIETS Director Ruben Carbonell and Associate Director Raj Narayan served on the RISF selection committee.
For FY 2023-24, 58 proposals were submitted to the RISF program, and 8 awards were made, totaling $600,000. The FY 23-24 RISF brought a change in per award amount of up to $75,000 from ORI/KIETS. Consistent with pre-pandemic RISF guidelines, FY 23-24 proposals could encompass research focused on any topic area. Projects were particularly encouraged that align with NC State’s strategic research areas.
The FY 2023-24 RISF proposals in progress include the following:
- Dr. Orlando Arguello-Miranda, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, FungA.I.: Algorithms and Frameworks to Mitigate Fungal Spore Risks;
- Dr. Veljko Dubljevic, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Embodied Social AI: Personal Robots for Aging at Home;
- Dr. Ke Huang, College of Veterinary Medicine, Vortex-Ultrasound Facilitates Cardiomyocyte Uptake of Cardiac-Targeting MSC-Exosomes for Heart Repair;
- Dr. Arion Kennedy, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Molecular Mechanisms of Fructose Induced Metabolic Disease;
- Dr. Edgar Lobaton, College of Engineering, AI-Driven Digital Twin of Human Gait for Prosthesis Control and Rehabilitation;
- Dr. Natalie Nelson, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engaging Oyster Growers to Expand Coastal Monitoring;
- Dr. Hao Su, College of Engineering, Improving Safety and Efficacy of Minimally Invasive Endovascular Surgery via Robotics;
- Dr. Liming Xiong, College of Engineering, Architecting the Microstructure in Chemically Modified Cellulosic Nanocomposites Towards Tunable Mechanical and Biodegradable Performance: Multiscale Simulations and Experiments.
FY 2024-25 support for the RISF program is being paused by ORI and will be revisited for FY 2025-26. In July 2024, Dr. Mladen Vouk retired as Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at NC State University and Dr. Alyson Wilson was appointed as the Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.