Five research teams at Missouri S&T have received Kummer Ignition Grants for Research and Innovation to support their efforts to attract grants from funding organizations.

“The vision of these grants could ultimately meet stretch goals of targeting large programs, such as the NSF Engineering Research Center, the Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Initiative, and NIH Multi-Year Funded Awards,” says Dr. Kamal Khayat, interim vice chancellor for research and innovation.

The seed funding grant program is only one of many initiatives created by the $300 million gift from June Kummer and her late husband, Fred S. Kummer, a 1955 Missouri S&T graduate. The gift, which was received in October 2020, established the Kummer Institute to support Missouri S&T’s efforts to increase access to STEM education, strengthen the state’s economy, and establish new research and development partnerships.

Totaling $135,000, the five Kummer Ignition Grants for Research and Innovation projects and principal investigators are:

• “BigWave: Big Data Wirelessly Collection System Design and Optimization for Remote Area Sensing” led by Dr. Nan Cen, assistant professor of computer science
• “Clean Hydrogen Hubs Implementation Strategy at Missouri S&T,” led by Dr. Fatih Dogan, professor of ceramic engineering
• “High Power and High Energy Battery with Structured Electrodes via Additive Manufacturing,” led by Dr. Jonghyun Park, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering
• “Increasing Rural Access to Care with Mobile Radiation Oncology,” led by Dr. Casey Canfield, assistant professor of engineering management and systems engineering.
• “Resilient and Adaptive Transportation Ecosystem and Digital Twin (RATED-T) – The USDOT Region VII Center of Excellence,” led by Dr. Mohamed Elgawady, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.

The inaugural Kummer Ignition Grants for Research and Innovation were announced in January 2022.