Four junior faculty awarded seed grants
From the impact of a Universal Basic Income to safer nuclear fuel, scholarly and creative work by this year’s CAS recipients of New Faculty Seed Grant awards spans a range of topics and disciplines.
The grant program helps junior faculty build a foundation for their research and creative programs. This kick-start funding creates opportunities for professional growth and also provides a basis for faculty to apply for extramural funding.
The four CAS faculty and their projects for 2020–21 are:
Mariana Amorim
Sociology
Amorim will explore the impact of Universal Basic Income payments by studying the only such program existing in the western world today, the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. Amorim will analyze the financial decisions made by affluent and poor Alaskans after receiving payouts to help determine how scaling up such programs may help mitigate or exacerbate poverty and economic inequalities.
Xiaofeng Guo
Chemistry
Guo will study and improve a promising new type of fuel for nuclear reactors: molten salts. Using high temperature thermodynamic techniques coupled with spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray techniques, Guo will work to understand, predict and optimize the physical properties, structure and dynamics of chloride-based actinide fuel molten salts.
William Hall
Mathematics & Statistics
Hall will study how the conference experience influences the professional identity and preparation of students pursuing careers as mathematics teachers, particularly as it impacts their ability to persist in this high turnover profession.
Hallie G. Meredith
Fine Arts
Meredith will examine ancient Roman and Byzantine archaeological fragments with a focus on their production and use, taking a cross-disciplinary approach that combines archaeology, art history, classics and economic history. As part of this project, Meredith will visit archeological sites and conduct library and archival research in Europe, Turkey and the United States.
The program, which is funded through WSU’s Office of Research and the offices of the president and provost, awarded a total of $155,370 this year. Read about all eight 2020 seed grant recipients at WSU News.
Top image: Left to right, Amorim, Guo, Meredith, Hall.
Posted at WSU News