SyracuseCoE Awards Funding for Eight Research and Innovation Projects Led by Faculty Fellows

SyracuseCoE announced that eight research and innovations projects led by its faculty fellows were competitively selected to receive awards totaling $109,368. The new projects engage 15 cross-disciplinary faculty members from Syracuse University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), SUNY Oswego and SUNY Upstate. In addition, Density Inc., a SyracuseCoE industry partner company, is a co-investigator on one project.

The SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows Program supports seed projects that strengthen faculty scholarship in clean and renewable energy, indoor environmental quality and water resources. The program brings together a diverse community of faculty members from many disciplines. Researchers from four schools and colleges at Syracuse University, two at SUNY-ESF, one from SUNY Oswego and one from SUNY Upstate received awards.

The goal of faculty fellows program is to bolster collaboration and discovery, strengthening Syracuse University’s growing research portfolio. The program is critical to SyracuseCoE’s core mission to create innovations in environmental and energy technologies. In addition, projects are encouraged to strategically target research topics that contribute to economic development of local and New York state businesses.

“We are extremely proud of the momentum that the SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows Program has had in the past four years, growing to nearly 60 researchers,” says Laura J. Steinberg, SyracuseCoE interim executive director. “These awards can lead to a significant next step for faculty by fostering further exploration, allowing them to publish new findings or even by helping them to win additional funding.”

The projects, principal investigators (listed first) and their collaborators are:

A High-throughput Analytical Workflow for Identification and Quantification of Cyanobacterial Toxins in Environmental Water Samples

• Teng Zeng, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science

A New Approach to Evaluate Energy Savings, Thermal Comfort and IAQ from Occupant-Centric Building Controls 

• Bing Dong, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Meng Kong, Research Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Steven VonDeak, Co-founder and Chief of Staff, Density Inc.
• Jianshun Zhang, Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Development of Improved Poplar Lines for Biofuel Production

• Heather Coleman, Associate Professor, Biology and Biotechnology, College of Arts and Sciences

Establishment of Initial Exploratory Research for the Mycelium Research Group 

• Daekwon Park, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture
• Jeongmin Ahn, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Zhao Qin, Assistant Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Nina Sharifi, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture

Measuring the Vertical Profile of Air Pollution and Noise Near Interstate-81

• Jamie Mirowsky, Assistant Professor, Chemistry, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• Judy Crawford, Visiting Researcher, SUNY Upstate Medical University
• John Hassett, Professor, Chemistry, SUNY-ESF
• Meng Kong, Research Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Net Zero Retrofit Campus Housing Pilot Project

• Nina Sharifi, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture
• Bing Dong, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Production and Evaluation of Activated Biochar from Shrub Willow for Water & Wastewater Treatment Applications

• Nosa Egiebor, Professor, Environmental Resources Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• Tao Wendong, Associate Professor, Environmental Resources Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Synthesis of Silicon, Tin and Phosphorus Nanoparticles as Anode Materials for High-Performance Sodium Ion Battery for Grid Scale Energy Storage

• Mohammad Islam, Associate Professor, Physics, SUNY Oswego

Projects were selected based on responses to a request for proposals issued by SyracuseCoE earlier this year. Each faculty member who is involved in a project is appointed as a SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellow for a three-year term. Eight new faculty members have been appointed. The program has supported nearly 60 researchers to date.

SyracuseCoE is New York State’s Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, which is led by Syracuse University in collaboration with SUNY-ESF, SUNY Oswego, CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity and dozens of industry partners. To learn more visit the SyracuseCoE website.