Three proposals have been funded by the Strategic Equipment Investment Program from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships. Equipment purchased under this program is expected to advance research and creative activities at the University of Oklahoma.
The SEIP supports funding for the purchase of strategic equipment that enhances a team's capabilities and competitiveness at a national level. Specifically, the equipment is expected to "provide new opportunities for advancing the team's ability to achieve new goals in terms of creativity, discovery, innovation and competitiveness in securing external funding."
The funded proposals are:
GM24 3D Printing Robot Acquisition for Interface Enhancement in Binders - This proposal is led by Shreya Vemuganti, an assistant professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, and researchers from the Gallogly College of Engineering, Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, and Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy. Additional users include the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences and the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture.
This SEIP award, which aligns with the Environment, Energy and Sustainability research vertical, will be used to cost-share the purchase of a state-of-the-art GM24 3D printing robot to print binders with a wide range of additives for tailored fit-for-purpose applications.
Small Unoccupied Aerial System with LiDAR and Thermal Sensors for Spatially Explicit Environmental Data Collection - This proposal is led by Robert Nairn, the director of the Center for Restoration of Ecosystems and Watersheds and the David L. Boren Professor and Sam K. Viersen Family Presidential Professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. Co-principle investigators include researchers from the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and the Gallogly College of Engineering.
Aligning with the Energy, Environment and Sustainability research vertical, this SEIP award will cost-share the purchase of a LiDAR-and thermal-sensor equipped small, unmanned aircraft system, or sUAS, to collect site-specific three-dimensional and thermal data.
Acquisition of an advanced nanoindentation system enabling high-temperature, fast-speed, and multiscale material characterization - This proposal is led by Yijie Jiang and Shuozhi Xu in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and researchers from the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, Mewbourne College of Petroleum and Geological Engineering and the Gallogly College of Engineering.
This SEIP award will advance research capabilities across all four of OU's strategic research verticals and will be used to cost-share the purchase of a nanoindenter, an instrument required in applications of characterization and investigation of aerospace and automotive materials, polymers and plastics, soft biomaterials, semiconductor wafers and packaging, and hard coatings.
Proposals from past SEIP initiatives have resulted in approximately $4.5 million in external funding, a 19.9-fold return on investment to date, and the publication of seven journal articles. Learn more about the SEIP awards and see past recipients at ou.edu/reseach.
