NC State faculty members recently received recognition through two international seed funding programs, securing support for nine innovative research projects with partners in Japan, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
UGPN Research Collaboration Fund Awards
Six outstanding NC State proposals were selected for University Global Partnership Network (UGPN) research collaboration funding this past summer.
This year’s projects span seven colleges and involve 20 community members—including 16 faculty, 2 research scholars, and 2 staff members. Four projects are trilateral collaborations involving all three member universities, while two are bilateral partnerships with the University of Surrey.
The selected projects, chosen from 21 proposals, will receive a combined $58,836 in support. The winning projects showcase NC State’s interdisciplinary research excellence:
The selected projects, chosen from 21 proposals, will receive a combined $58,836 in support. The winning projects showcase NC State’s interdisciplinary research excellence:
- Enhancing Integrated Water Resources Management with Earth Observation and Environmental Projections – Dr. Sankarasubramanian Arumugam (COE) – Trilateral with University of Surrey and Universidade de São Paulo
- Alternative Proteins – Food Innovation and Emerging Technologies for Health and Wellbeing – Dr. Fernanda Santos (CALS) – Trilateral with University of Surrey and Universidade de São Paulo
- Urban Air Quality Health Machine Learning – Dr. H. Christopher Frey (COE) – Trilateral with University of Surrey and Universidade de São Paulo
- BREATH-AI – Breathing Through Fire: Unravelling Wildfire Pollutant Dispersion and Health Impacts with AI – Dr. Katia Fernandes, North Carolina State Climate Office (COS) – Trilateral with University of Surrey and Universidade de São Paulo
- Engaging the Arts and Humanities to Understand Human-Animal Relationships – Dr. Sid Thakur, Executive Director, Global One Health Academy (CVM) – Bilateral with University of Surrey
- Fisheries Research in the U.S. South Atlantic: A Factorial Ecological-Economic Modeling Approach – Dr. Cao Jie (CALS) – Bilateral with University of Surrey
“These awards reflect NC State’s excellence in building global, interdisciplinary research partnerships with strong potential for long-term impact,” said Vice Provost for Global Engagement Amy Conger.
NC State – Nagoya University Seed Funding Awards
Three NC State faculty teams have also been selected for funding through the joint NC State–Nagoya University Research Collaboration Seed Grant Program. The program celebrates the 40-year partnership
The three selected projects demonstrate NC State’s research excellence across cutting-edge technology and agricultural sciences:
- AI-Native 6G Edge Intelligence with RDMA-Optimized Wireless and Optical Infrastructure – Dr. Shih-Chun Lin, Associate Professor (COE) and Dr. Takuma Kuno, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering (Nagoya University)
- Diversity of Flooding Tolerance in the Genus Zea – Dr. Rubén Rellán-Álvarez, Associate Professor (CALS) and Dr. Hirokazu Takahashi, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences (Nagoya University)
- Domain Dynamics in Ferroelectric Thin Films for AI Semiconductor Devices and Quantum Photonics – Dr. Jong Eun Ryu, Assistant Professor (COE) and Dr. Tomoaki Yamada, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering (Nagoya University)
Each team received $7,000 from NC State and 1 million JPY from Nagoya University to launch early-stage research projects in fields ranging from agricultural resilience to semiconductor technology.
“These seed grants not only mark an important milestone – four decades of collaboration with Nagoya University – but also lay the groundwork for future discoveries in areas of global significance,” Conger said.
Both programs highlight NC State’s commitment to advancing international research collaborations that foster innovation and address pressing global challenges.
