2010 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Awards

ORAU awards 32 research grants to junior faculty from the sponsoring institutions of its consortium

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2010
FY10-43

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—For the 20th consecutive year, ORAU is continuing its investment in the future of science and education by awarding competitive research grants totaling $160,000 to 32 junior faculty from sponsoring institutions of the ORAU consortium. The annual grants are made through ORAU’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program.

The recipients, each of whom are in the first two years of a tenure track, will each receive $5,000 in “seed money” for the 2010-2011 academic year to enhance their research during the early stages of their career. Each recipient’s institution also matches the ORAU award with an additional $5,000, making the total prize worth $10,000 for each winner.

Since the program’s inception, ORAU has awarded 430 grants totaling more than $2 million. Including the matching funds from member institutions, ORAU has facilitated grants worth more than $4.3 million.  

“ORAU is committed to the Powe awards program, as science and engineering research collaborations are imperative in furthering America’s research efforts and to positioning this country as a global research competitor,” Dr. Arlene A. Garrison, ORAU vice president of University Partnerships said.

Winners may use the grants to purchase equipment, continue their research or travel to professional meetings and conferences. This year’s winners were selected from more than 100 applications received by the Powe award committee.   

The awards recognize faculty members for their work in any of five science and technology disciplines: engineering or applied science; life sciences; mathematics and computer science; physical sciences; and policy, management or education.

Recipients of the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards for the 2010-2011 academic year are listed below:

Award Recipient	Sponsoring Institution
Magdalena Djordjevic	Arkansas State University
Lin Zhu	Clemson University
Makeba Wilbourn	Duke University
Xiaoping Pan	East Carolina University
Eduardo Leorri	East Carolina University
Vasubandhu Misra	Florida State University
Guru Prasadh Venkataramani	George Washington University
Ying Wang	Louisiana State University
Shiliang Wu	Michigan Technological University
Yingmei Liu	Oklahoma State University
Enrique Gomez	Pennsylvania State University
Johannes Bauer	Southern Methodist University
Tatyana Igumenova	Texas A&M University
Yuping Bao	University of Alabama
Dastgeer Shaikh	University of Alabama at Huntsville
Gang Li	University of Alabama at Huntsville
Holly Michael	University of Delaware
Wei Wei	University of Floriday
Peter Kner	University of Georgia
Yinan Wei	University of Kentucky
Jizhou Song	University of Miami
Eric Johnsen	University of Michigan
Blaise Boles	University of Michigan
Feifei Pan	University of North Texas
Anthony Bell, Jr.	University of Southern Mississippi
Fatemeh Hassanipour	University of Texas at Dallas
Mimi Engel	Vanderbilt University
Gary Seidel	Virginia Tech
Oana Jurchescu	Wake Forest University
Yinjie Tang	Washington University
Liviu Mirica	Washington University
Edward Sabolsky	West Virginia University

The awards are named for Ralph E. Powe, who served as the ORAU councilor from Mississippi State University for 16 years, participating in numerous committees and special projects during his tenure. He was elected chair of ORAU’s Council of Sponsoring Institutions prior to his death in 1996.

ORAU plans to offer the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program again for the 2011-2012 academic year. Faculty members at ORAU sponsoring institutions who are within two years of their initial tenure-track appointments as assistant professors are eligible to apply. The deadline to apply is Feb. 4, 2011.

For more information on fellowships, awards and grants offered by ORAU, visit www.orau.org/consortium/programs or contact Ann Farler at (865) 576-1898, ann.farler@orau.org.