ORAU awarded competitive research grants totaling $175,000 to 35 junior faculty from its member institutions. The annual grants are made through the company’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program that provides funds to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty.
The awards recognize faculty members for their work in any of five science and technology disciplines: engineering and applied science; life sciences; mathematics and computer science; physical sciences; and policy, management or education.
“As a research institution, ORAU is proud to recognize and support the research and professional development of the 35 emerging leaders who are receiving Powe awards this year,” said Ken Tobin, ORAU’s Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer. “The Powe Award program benefits our member universities and is always extremely popular, because it provides an opportunity for young faculty members to further their research careers and pursue new funding avenues.”
The Powe recipients, each of whom is in the first two years of a tenure track position, will receive $5,000 in seed money for the 2023-2024 academic year to enhance their research during the early stages of their careers. Each recipient’s institution matches the Powe award with an additional $5,000, making the total prize worth $10,000 for each winner. Winners may use the grants to purchase equipment, continue research or travel to professional meetings and conferences.
Since the program’s inception, ORAU has awarded 875 grants totaling more than $4 million. Including the matching funds from member institutions, ORAU has facilitated grants worth more than $8 million.
The awards, now in their 33rd year, are named for Ralph E. Powe, who served as the ORAU councilor from Mississippi State University for 16 years. Powe participated in numerous committees and special projects during his tenure and was elected chair of ORAU’s Council of Sponsoring Institutions. He died in 1996.
Recipients of the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards for the 2023-2024 academic year are listed below:
| Member Institution | ORAU Award Recipient |
| Arizona State University | Soyoung Seo |
| Berea College | Rashmi Shrestha |
| Duke University | Yuansi Chen |
| Duke University | Pardis Emami-Naeini |
| East Tennessee State University | Amanda Frasier |
| Florida International University | Anna Simonsen |
| George Mason University | Quentin Sanders |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | Noura Howell |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | Cristina Riso |
| Idaho State University | Leslie Nickerson |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | Ren Wang |
| John Hopkins University | Thi Vo |
| Lehigh University | Shan Li |
| Michigan State University | Seokhyoung Kim |
| Portland State University | Will Pazner |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | Fei Xue |
| University of Cincinnati | Chen Gao |
| University of Delaware | Alexandra Bayles |
| University of Florida | Janani Sampath |
| University of Kentucky | Xingsheng Sun |
| University of Louisville | Yash Chitalia |
| University of Maryland | You Zhou |
| University of Notre Dame | Xiaolong Liu |
| University of Oklahoma | Daniel Becker |
| University of Southern Mississippi | Tristan Clemons |
| University of Texas at San Antonio | Richard Anantua |
| University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Manohar Chakrabart |
| University of Utah | Connor Bischak |
| University of Utah | Tianli Feng |
| University of Virginia | Natasha Sheybani |
| University of Wisconsin - Madison | Hantang Qin |
| Vanderbilt University | David Hyde |
| Virginia Tech | Linbo Shao |
| Wake Forest University | Stephen Winter |
| Washington University in St. Louis | Jennifer Wang |