AY25-26 MMRI UM Faculty Proposal Team Awards
Michigan Materials Research Institute (MMRI) is pleased to announce the AY25-26 cohort of 5 funded faculty teams. The awards are based on a call for proposals issued in Fall 2025, open to MMRI Faculty Affiliates.
The objective of the MMRI Incubator funding program is to build collaborative teams of faculty across disciplines and units to pursue externally sponsored multi-investigator grants and centers of research excellence in emerging topical areas involving engineered materials.
- Over 50 MMRI faculty affiliates from 18 departments in 4 colleges submitted a total of 21 proposals.
- Each proposal was peer-reviewed by at least two UM faculty members.
- Finalists were invited for oral presentation and Q&A with MMRI Directors.
- All proposal teams received constructive feedback from the review for future submissions.
The 2-year awards provide up to $100K (including $20K cost share from faculty/departments) for teams of 2–4 faculty. Several proposals also included unfunded faculty collaborators.
Funded Proposal Teams
| Proposal Title | PI / co-PIs |
|---|---|
| Ferroelectric Nitrides in Extremes: Atomic Origins of Giant Piezoelectricity and EnergyEfficient Computing | PI: Roozbeh Tabrizian (Electrical & Computer Eng.) Co-PI: Zetian Mi (Electrical & Computer Eng.) Co-PI: Robert Hovden (Materials Sci. & Eng.) |
| Transforming Critical Mineral Supply Chains through Electrochemical Innovation | PI: Wei Lu (Mechanical Engineering) Co-PI: Brian Ellis, (Civil and Environmental Engineering) Co-PI: Jiaqi Li (Civil and Environmental Engineering) |
| Reactive Interfacial Coatings Engineering (RICE) – A Unified Strategy for Biocompatibility and Biostability | PI: Anish Tuteja (Materials Science and Engineering) Co-PI: J. Scott van Epps (Medical School/Emergency Medicine) Co-PI: Michael Holinstat (Medical School/Pharmacology) Co-PI: Abdon Pena-Francesch (Materials Sci. and Eng.) |
| Mechanical characterization of soft living matter at the intersection of continuum and molecular interpretation | PI: John Kieffer (Materials Sci. and Eng.) Co-PI: Brendon M. Baker (Biomedical Engineering) |
| Single Atom Alloy Catalysts for the Electrochemical Conversion of Chemical Wastes to Valuable Products | PI: Charles McCrory (Chemistry) Co-PI: Nirala Singh (Chemical Engineering) Co-PI: Bryan Goldsmith (Chemical Engineering) |
— Amit Misra, Director, MMRI and (MC)²
— Max Shtein, Associate Director, MMRI
AY24-25 MMRI UM Faculty Proposal Team Awards
The Michigan Materials Research Institute (MMRI) is pleased to announce the AY24–25 cohort of six internally funded faculty teams. These awards were made following a competitive call for proposals in Fall 2024, open to MMRI Faculty Affiliates.
The MMRI internal funding initiative aims to build interdisciplinary teams across departments and colleges to pursue large-scale, externally sponsored research grants and centers of excellence in engineered materials.
- 16 proposals were submitted by over 40 faculty affiliates from 14 departments across 3 colleges.
- Each proposal underwent peer review by two or more UM faculty.
- Finalists were invited for oral presentations and Q&A with MMRI Directors.
- Six teams were selected for funding, involving 14 faculty from 13 departments and 3 colleges.
Awards range from $60K to $100K (including required cost sharing), and several funded projects included unfunded collaborators.
Funded Proposal Teams
| Proposal Title | PI / co-PIs |
|---|---|
| Designing Efficiency into Optimization Networks with Oxide Superparaelectrics | John Heron (MSE/CoE), PIWei Lu (ECE/CoE), co-PILu Li (Physics/LS&A), co-PI |
| Large Area Growth of 2D Materials for Optoexcitonics | Parag Deotare (ECE/CoE), PIAgeeth Bol (Chem/LS&A), co-PI |
| Towards a Center of Excellence in Optimal Co-Design of Material and Manufacturing Guided by Collaborative Machine Learning | Chinedum Okwudire (ME/CoE), PIWenda Tan (ME/CoE), co-PIRaed Al Kontar (IOE/CoE), co-PI |
| Innovating Double-Network Hydrogel Electrodes: Scalable, Self-Adhesive, and Efficient Solutions for Transcranial Electrical Stimulation | Xiwen Gong (ChE/CoE), PIBenjamin Hampstead (Psychiatry, Neurology/Med School), co-PI |
| Molecular-Level Understanding of Buried Interfaces in Situ for Developing Plastic/Metal Interfaces Capable of Joining, Unjoining, and Rejoining | Zhan Chen (Chem/LS&A), PIPingsha Dong (NAME/CoE), co-PI |
| Advancing Materials and Reactor Designs for Low-Cost Photocatalytic Solar Hydrogen Production | Rohini Balachandran (ME/CoE), PIBart Bartlett (Chem/LS&A), co-PI |
— Amit Misra, Director, MMRI and (MC)²
— Max Shtein, Associate Director, MMRI
AY23-24 MMRI UM Faculty Proposal Team Awards
The Michigan Materials Research Institute (MMRI) is also pleased to highlight the AY23–24 cohort of eight internally funded faculty teams, awarded through a Fall 2023 proposal cycle.
The program supports faculty teams pursuing major external research opportunities across engineered materials and related fields.
- 19 proposals from 50+ faculty affiliates across 15 departments and 4 colleges
- Each proposal peer-reviewed by at least two UM faculty
- 11 finalists were invited to present to MMRI leadership
- 8 projects funded, engaging 18 faculty from 13 departments in 5 colleges
Funding ranged from $60K (incubator teams) to $100K (multi-faculty proposals).
Funded Proposal Teams
| Proposal Title | Investigators |
|---|---|
| EMERGE: Eutectic Materials Design through Rational Generative Engineering | Venkat Viswanathan (Aerospace Engineering)Tim Cernak (Medicinal Chemistry–Pharmacy; Chemistry–LS&A)Vikram Gavini (Mechanical Engineering) |
| Early-Stage Evolution of Implanted Helium in Laser-Processed Metastable Grain Boundaries in Alloys | Yue Fan (Mechanical Engineering)Kevin Field (Nuclear Eng. & Radiological Sciences)Yang Zhang (Nuclear Eng. & Radiological Sciences) |
| Mycelium Bonding to Fibers for Stronger, Stiffer, and Integrated Biomaterials | Evgueni T. Filipov (Civil & Environmental Engineering)Glenn Wilcox (Architecture and Urban Planning) |
| Control of Lung Cancer by Magnesium Alloy Implants | Claudia Loebel (Materials Science & Engineering)Kiran Lagisetty (Surgery, Medical School) |
| Generative AI for Materials and 3D Printing Co-Design: Toward a Center for Additive Manufacturing and Material Advancements in Construction (CAMMAC) | Mania Aghaei Meibodi (Architecture and Urban Planning)Kira Barton (Robotics Engineering) |
| Organoid Digital Twins for Personalized Drug Responses | Geeta Mehta (Materials Science & Engineering)Analisa Difeo (Pathology, Medical School) |
| Integrating Intermetallic CoPc-PtZn Electrocatalysts with Colloidal Graphene Quantum Dots for Highly Selective CO₂ Upgrading into Methanol | Joshua Jack (Civil & Environmental Engineering)Albert Liu (Chemical Engineering) |
| Hybrid Photonic Integration: Enabling Nonlinear Molecular Crystals On-Chip | Chris Giebink (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science)Di Liang (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science) |