Engineering Faculty Research Initiative Fund

The Engineering Faculty Research Initiative Fund (EFRIF) is a new program at the College of Engineering that provides micro grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 to the faculty in the College to initiate new sponsored research projects and increase their ability to conduct scholarly work by providing them with funding to: 

  1. collect data for preliminary results sections of external grants (for example by partially funding a graduate student to produce preliminary results),
  2. acquire, build, or improve capabilities in their individual labs (such as an add on to an existing equipment in the PI’s lab, a stand-alone, relatively low-cost experimental equipment or access to high-performance/cloud computing tools), or
  3. initiate interdisciplinary collaboration with other labs on campus or at other institutions (collaboration is not a requirement for parts 1 and 2).

For the first year (2024-25), pilot program, the College anticipates dedicating $100,000 to the EFRIF program to potentially fund approximately 4-8 projects. Continuation of this program is subject to availability of funds. Funding is non-renewable.

Process to apply

  • A one-page project description and a one-page detailed budget must be submitted through this form  A quotation should be included in the budget for when any equipment is requested.
  • The project description should highlight (i) the novelty of the project, (ii) the expected impact for the PI’s lab, and (iii) the potential future external funding that will be enabled by the funding from the EFRIF program, including a timeline of the specific external funding proposal submission(s).
  • PIs with an active startup funding account at the due date of this application are not eligible to apply.
  • PIs with more than $10,000 in their RTF accounts at the due date of this application are not eligible to apply.
  • Items more than $25,000 can be proposed, however the amount exceeding $25,000 must be provided from the faculty and/or department RTF, or other appropriate non-grant sources.
  • The funds cannot be used for travel or additional compensation.
  • The funds that are not used within a year will return to the College.
  • At the end of the project, the PI must submit a report to the College on the use of the fund and document submitted proposal(s) for external funding initiated through the EFRIF program.

Timing

  • The applications are due by Thursday November 14, 2024.
  • The anticipated time to announce the recipients is the first week of February.
  • The funds must be spent by the end of January 2026.

Evaluation Process

The applications will be evaluated internally at the College of Engineering, and the Dean will make the final selection.

Please direct questions to Yahya Modarres-Sadeghi.