“Universities have always produced the ideas and innovations that have changed the world in which we live,” says Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement Dr. Sherine Obare.
As a researcher, Dr. Obare has received many awards including the National Science Foundation CAREER award, the Mary McLeod Bethune Award for Science and Technology, and the American Competitiveness and Innovation Fellowship of the National Science Foundation.
She’s also the former dean of the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN). Now, she’s heading up new efforts.
“There are ambitious goals for research laid out in our University’s strategic plan,” she says. “To this end, we introduce the Chancellor’s Initiative for Transformational Research.”
The initiative will welcome proposals with the goal of securing external funding, producing high quality scholarly publications, and supporting regional and national innovation.
“This program seeks to fund a new wave of groundbreaking projects that have the capacity to be scaled up to demonstrate long-term sustainability,” says Obare.
How to achieve this remarkable change? Fostering partnerships inside and outside the University.
Research awards will be distributed in amounts up to $75,000. The number of awards will depend on the quality of the submissions. Projects should focus on advancing new knowledge and finding new ways to solve societal problems, Obare adds.
For example, the initiative is interested in research that addresses societal challenges such as housing, poverty, education, and mental health; solves critical and urgent health and wellness needs; or, develops critical technologies in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, energy, and other innovations.
“By doing this we can elevate the stature of the campus and provide our students with the rich experiences that make our campus distinctive,” says Obare.
North Carolina has an opportunity to become a world leader in electrification and battery technologies.
— Dr. Hemali Rathnayake
BRIGHT is the Battery, Research, Innovation, and Green Energy Harvesting Technology Institute.
• new job creation
• domestic development of clean energy
• bright.uncg.edu
Learn more at UNCG research news.
Photography by Sean Norona ’13. Dr. Sherine Obare’s portrait by Bert Vanderveen.