Below is a list of past recipients of the UMBC Strategic Awards for Research Transitions (START) internal award program. Before FY2017, the program was known as SRAIS, and before that, it was known as SRIS-RAS).
FY2027 START Awards
- Songon An (Chemistry and Biochemistry): Decoding Hypoxia-Driven Metabolic Signatures of Cancer Cells
- Mirela Cengher (Psychology): The Snowball Effect: Enhancing Bilingual Language and Social-Communication in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Eric Dyer (Visual Arts): UV-reactive Audio-enabled Animated Sculpture
- Jeffrey Gardner (Biological Sciences): Substrate specificity of nutrient transporters in Gram-negative pathogens
- Alok Ghanekar (Mechanical Engineering): Developing Complex Disordered Nanocomposites for Thermophotovoltaic Energy Conversion
- Dong Li (Computer Science and Electrical Engineering): Securing Smartphones Against Voice Scams with Real-Time Vocal-Acoustic Watermarking
- Susan McCully (Theatre): Visualizing Climate Science in Community-Based Theatre, Merlin: Developing Theatrical Animations for Mutual Aid Performance Practice
- Carmen Muñoz-Ballester (Biological Sciences): Defining the ERα–STAT3 Signaling Axis in Astrocytes as a Regulator of Neuroinflammatory Responses
- Tracy Smith (Biological Sciences): Uncovering the Genetic Basis of Idiopathic Epilepsy in Siberian Huskies
- Eric Stokan (Political Science): Bridging the AI Digital Divide in Local Governance: Capability, Vulnerability, and the Future of Public Service
- Xiaoguang Xu (Earth and Space Institute): Bridging the Gap in Satellite Validation: Establishing a High-Altitude Polarimetric Benchmark via UMBC’s ALPACA Dataset
- Roberto Yus (Computer Science and Electrical Engineering): Optimizing AI Workflows for Reliable, Low-Cost Agentic Systems
FY2026 START Awards
- Guenet Abraham (Visual Arts): Crafting The Future: Exploring and Bridging Ethiopia’s Indigenous Art, Design, and Innovation
- Sayantan Bhattacharya (Mechanical Engineering): In-vitro assessment of commissural angle variation on bicuspid aortic valve hydrodynamics
- Maria Celleri (Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies): Expanding the Role of Community Museums and Critical Pedagogy in Decolonial Knowledge Production
- Sarah Fouts (American Studies): Disaster Foods: How People are Fed in Times of Disaster and Recovery
- Lisa Kelly (Chemistry and Biochemistry): Photochemical Degradation of PFAS
- Daniel Lobo (Biological Sciences): Synthetic Developmental Biology: Towards Programmable Cell Circuits for Pattern Formation
- Brent McBride (GESTAR-II/ESI): Polarimetric characterization of the lunar surface with UMBC’s HARP2 on the NASA PACE mission
- Lulu Mwangi (Music): Through Perspectives INjustice
- Paul Smith (Chemistry and Biochemistry): Modified Heterocycles as Inhibitors of Metallo-β-lactamases to Combat Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria
- Kai Sun (IS): Machine Learning Guided Clinician Well-being Metrics and Scheduling Tools Combining Electronic Health Record (EHR) Data and Surveys
- Fernando Vonhoff (Biological Sciences): The role of the APP intracellular domain in neuronal development and degeneration
- Gabriella Weiss (CSST): Culturing microorganisms with distinct growth strategies
FY2025 START Awards
- Henrique Barbosa (Physics): Vegetation-Climate Dynamics in Africa Through the Lens of Machine Learning
- Marie-Christine Daniel (Chemistry and Biochemistry): Targeted Nanotheranostics with High-payload for Metastatic Prostate Cancer
- Ankit Goel (Mechanical Engineering): A Novel Learning-based Quantum Control System
- Tejas Gokhale (CSEE): A Framework for Quantifying Typicality of AI-Generated Images
- Michael F. Lane (Ancient Studies): Kopaic Cultures, Economies, and Landscapes: Integrating Chronologies (K-CELIC)
- Soobum Lee (Mechanical Engineering): Stretchable Electronics Design Strategy for Mechanical and Electrical Performance Enhancement
- Weihong Lin (Biological Sciences): An innovative organoid approach for investigating taste disorders associated with vaping
- Molly Y. Mollica (Mechanical Engineering): Sex and Hormone Effects on Platelet Mechanical Activation and Function
- Thu Thi Le Nguyen (Mathematics and Statistics): Deep Learning Based TEchniques for Trauma Data
- Denny Oliveira (Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute (GPHI)): Benchmarking Satellite Orbital Drag During Extreme Magnetic Storms: A Look to the Future With an Eye in the Past
- Cornelius Csar Jude H. Salinas (GESTAR-2): Space Weather Effects on Ionospheric E-region Electron Density as observed by Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation Missions
- Lei Zhang (Information Systems): Fix Flakiness in Quantum Software using Large Language Models
- Weidong Zhu (Mechanical Engineering): Dynamic Modeling, Analysis, and Testing of Tensegrity Structures
FY2024 START Awards
- Molly Franz (Psychology): Integrating Community Voices into the Development of a Virtual Peer Support Group Intervention for Mothers with Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms
- Andrea Kalfoglou (SAPH): Addressing the gaps in the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008
- Ravi Kuber (Information Systems): Supporting Entrepreneurship among Individuals with Visual Impairments
- Ye Lu (Mechanical Engineering): A Novel Computational Framework for Digital Image Correlation Analysis
- Philip Mann (Music): World Premiere Recording Project with Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Kim Walker
- Helena Mentis (Information Systems): Privacy Approaches of Adaptive Assistive Technologies
- Herana Seneviratne (Chemistry and Biochemistry): Understanding nucleotidase-mediated drug dephosphorylation using mass spectrometry imaging
- Allison Tracy (Marine Biotechnology): A reciprocal transplant experiment to advance knowledge on the role of the oyster microbiome in Chesapeake Bay oyster health and disease
- Justin Webster (Mathematics and Statistics): Periodic Solutions in Fluid-Structure Interaction Problems
- Noorzehra Zaidi (History): Translations of Zaynab: Gender, Sectarianism, and Citizenship in Shi’a Islam
FY2023 START Awards
- Can Ataca (Physics): Computational Material Growth at Chemical Accuracy: Bridging Scales
- Charles Bieberich (Biology): Illuminating neurobiological functions of Protein Kinase R: Providing new insights into an enzyme linked to Alzheimer’s Disease
- Osman Gani (Info Sys): A Causal Inference Framework to Translate COVID-19 Observational Data to New Knowledge
- Erin Green (Biology): Identifying Therapeutic Strategies for Targeting Cancers Reliant on the Lysine Methyltransferase SMYD3
- Jennifer Maher (English): Infrastructure Rhetorics and the Building of Baltimore
- Eileen Meyer (Physics): Polarimetry Experiments with the UMBC Observatory
- Pamela Rakhshan Rouhakhtar (Psychology): Culture, Context, and Racialized Identity in the Assessment of Clinical High-Risk for Psychosis
- Brian Reed (CBEE): Improvements to the PO4-based Acellular Assays to Mitigate Artifacts from Metal Precipitation
- John Stolle-McAllister (MLLIC): Intercultural Strategies for Understanding and Adapting to Global Climate Change in Latin America
FY2022 START Awards
- Irina Golubeva (MLLI): Exploring the effectiveness of immersive Virtual Reality experience for developing empathic concern and intercultural sensitivity
- Deepak Koirala (Chemistry/Biochemistry): Roles of structured RNA elements in viral cap-independent translation
- Ronghui Ma (Mechanical Engineering): Experimental and numerical study of freeze casting process towards microstructure optimization and materials design
- Achuth Padmanabhan (Biological Sciences): Role and regulation of ZNF217 in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
- Maryam Rahnemoonfar (Information Systems): Real-time Scene Understanding after Natural Disasters with Drones
- Adriana Rocha Lima (Physics): Assessing the Size-resolved Mineralogy and Grain Density of Atmospheric Particles
- Ramana Vinjamuri (CSEE): An integrated system for real-time detection and management of substance abuse disorder using wearable biosensors
- Xiaoguang Xu (JCET): Determining Atmospheric Aerosol Properties from the UMBC HARP CubeSat in Space
- Yaxing Yao (Information Systems): Third-Person Privacy: Towards Respectful Privacy Designs for Unmanned Aircraft Systems
- Lira Yoon (Psychology): Bouncing Back: The Role of Emotion Regulation in Asian Americans’ Psychological Well-Being Following Incidents of Racial Discrimination
FY2021 START Awards
- Joseph Bennett (Chemistry/Biochemistry): Data-Enabled Discovery of New Chalcogenides for Energy Harvesting and Storage
- Lisa Cella (Music): The Low Flutes Project
- Jeffrey Gardner (Biological Sciences): Identifying the essential features of plastic-degrading bacteria for bioremediation applications
- Laura Girling (SAHAP): The Forgotten: Aging Gay Men and Lesbians with Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias
- Naghmeh Karimi (CSEE): Security of Integrated Circuits’ Supply Chain: Threats and Countermeasures
- Tara LeGates (Biological Sciences): Neuronal circuit mechanisms underlying circadian regulation of reward behavior
- Susan McCully (Theatre): New Play Development: Preparing “Lady MacBeth Meets Lady MacDuff Tuesday Mornings at Weight Watchers” for Professional Production and Securing Its Place in the Contemporary American Repertoire
- Shimei Pan (Information Systems): Understanding Racism and Resilience in the Context ofAcute Disease Outbreaks with Social Media Analysis
FY2020 START Awards
- Mark Allen (Chemistry/Biochemistry): Identifying solid binding polypeptides that may uncover a link between prebiotic minerals and the first living organisms
- Mercedes Burns (Biological Sciences): Divergent genome-subgenome evolution in a facultative parthenogen
- Charissa Cheah (Psychology): Psychological, Cognitive, and Neurological Regulatory Processes Underlying Food Choice in a Virtual Reality Buffet Environment
- Stephen Guimond (JCET): Understanding the Physics of Turbulence in Hurricanes: Remote Sensing and Numerical Modeling
- Mike Hayden (Physics): Carrier Dynamics in 2-D Materials using Terahertz Time-Resolved Spectroscopy
- Tasneem Khambaty (Psychology): Relations of Glucose Variability with Cognitive Function and Functional Status among Older Adults at Risk for Diabetes.
- Matthew Pelton (Physics): New Molecular Materials for Solar Energy Conversion Inspired by Photosynthesis
- Jules Rosskam (Visual Arts): Embodiment Without Bodies
- Meilin Yu (Mechanical Engineering): Data-driven Physics-informed Stochastic Modeling of Biotransport in Tissues with Uncertain Heterogeneous Material Properties
FY2019 START Awards
- Kathryn Bell (Visual Arts): Metempsychosis
- Sarah Chard (Sociology, Anthropology, & Health Administration and Policy): Physical Activity Among African-American Older Adults Living with Diabetes in Baltimore
- Theodosia Gougousi (Physics): Nonlinear optics with thin films and nanolaminates
- Christine Mair (Sociology, Anthropology, & Health Administration and Policy): Socio-Cultural Environments of Aging and Health in Underrepresented Global Regions: Establishing Conceptual, Empirical, and Collaborative Research Foundations
- Kathy Marmor (Visual Arts): Mid-Life: a series of art installations
- Cynthia Matuszek (CSEE): Language and Use Cases for Robotics in Gerontechnology
- Curtis Menyuk (CSEE): Computational Modeling of Diffusion-Weighted Imaging of Cerebral White Matter
- Timothy Nohe (Visual Arts): Water Flowing Underground – Immersive Sound and Immersive Video Imaging
- Carlos Romero-Talamas (Mechanical Engineering): Flexible Plasma Science Facility
- Anne Rubin (History): Slave Streets, Free Streets: Visualizing the Landscape of Slavery and Freedom in Early Baltimore
- Sarah Sharp (Visual Arts): Off The Press
FY2018 START Awards
- Tom Cronin (Biological Sciences): The brain’s central complex: Its role in sensory integration, spatial memory, and behavior
- Brian Kaufman (Music): UMBC Wind Ensemble Album Research Project
- Michael Lane (Ancient Studies): Mycenaean Northeast Kopaïs Stratigraphy and Dating Program (MYNEKO S&D)
- Ed Larkey (MLLI): The Transcultural Orbit of Israeli TV: Hu V’Hi (He and She) – A Comedy Series Adaptation
- Deepa Madan (Mechanical Engineering): Performance Enhancement of Flexible Thermoelectric Devices for Powering Wireless Sensor Networks
- Corrie Parks (Visual Arts): Black Butterfly
- Peggy Re (Visual Arts): A Designed Life (Containers & Packaging)
- Sarah Shin (Education): Promoting School Success through an Intergenerational Partnership
- Aaron Smith (Chemistry/Biochemistry): The Mechanism of Fe2+ Transport in Pathogenic Bacteria
- Chris Swan (Geography & Environmental Systems): The Role of Plant Diversity on Ecosystem Services on Urban Vacant Land
FY2017 START Awards
- Rachel Brewster (Biological Sciences): Role of olfactory receptors in anoxia-induced developmental arrest
- Felipe Filomeno (Political Science): Evaluating the outcomes of local immigration policies: a pilot case study of Baltimore
- Erin Green (Biological Sciences): Molecular investigation of a novel epigenetic modifier linked to the regulation of stress response pathways
- Marcela Mellinger (Social Work): How did it all begin? The grassroots history of advocacy in the domestic violence movement and implications for future advocacy efforts
- Derek Musgrove (History): The Black Nationalist Resurgence
- Hamed Pirsiavash (CSEE): Modeling Uncertainty in Predicting the Future in Videos
- Meilin Yu (Mechanical Engineering): High-Order Hybrid RANS-LES Methods for Turbulence Simulation in Efficient Fish Locomotion