To help research that might result in important exterior funding, Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science has established a brand new program providing seed grants to school members working in key matter areas.
The Watson College Seed Grant Program for Major Research Proposal Development is designed as a catalyst for accelerating interdisciplinary research, addressing urgent scientific and technological challenges whereas demonstrating a path to main research funding from exterior sponsors.
Six initiatives will obtain $160,000 in funding from the Watson Dean’s Office and the Research Foundation for SUNY at Binghamton University. The awardees align with Watson College’s 4 strategic research clusters: Energy, Climate and Sustainability (ECS); Healthcare and Biotechnologies (HBT); Intelligent and Secure Systems (ISS); and Microelectronics, Manufacturing and Materials (M3).
“This program reflects Watson College’s strategic approach to research growth — investing early in high-potential, interdisciplinary ideas that address complex global challenges,” Dean Atul Kelkar mentioned. “Breakthrough solutions rarely emerge from a single discipline. By providing targeted seed funding within our research clusters, we are empowering faculty to form new collaborations, pursue bold ideas and position themselves for major external funding that can benefit society at large.”
A variety committee representing all 5 Watson faculties and departments reviewed 15 proposals from throughout the faculty. The six awardees stood out for his or her mental advantage, interdisciplinary scope, alignment with Watson’s strategic research priorities and potential for sustained influence.
“The high caliber of the proposals we received made the selection process incredibly competitive,” mentioned Kartik Gopalan, Watson’s affiliate dean for research, company engagement and entrepreneurship. “We commend all the proposal teams, which represent the depth and breadth of research talent across Watson College and highlight the very best of our interdisciplinary spirit. We are confident that the six selected projects will serve as a vital bridge between bold, early-stage concepts and externally sponsored research activity.”
The six chosen initiatives are:·
Establishing the Watson Quantum Hub: A World-First W-Triphoton Platform for Quantum Computing, Networking and
Sensing/Imaging, with Jianming Wen (Electrical and Computer Engineering) main the venture, and David Klotzkin (ECE), Vladimir Nikulin (ECE), Nitish Kumar Panigrahy (Computing), Ying Wang (Biomedical Engineering) and Yiming Zeng (Computing) as co-PIs. This venture goals to speed up quantum applied sciences that may allow safer communication, sooner computing and ultra-sensitive measurement by growing a world-first three-photon “W-state” mild supply, a particular form of entangled mild that may be extra resilient than conventional two-photon approaches.
From Brush to Brain: One-Step Brush Microprinting of AI-Integrated Multichannel Soft Neural Interfaces, with Siyuan Rao (BME) main the venture, and Qianbin Wang (BME), Wenfeng Zhao (ECE) and Jingzhou Zhao (Mechanical Engineering) as co-PIs. This venture goals to determine a transformative brush-based microprinting platform for the speedy, one-step fabrication of AI-integrated, multichannel gentle neural interfaces. By combining adaptive hydrogel supplies, precision micro-brush printing and clever sign processing, the proposed method addresses longstanding challenges within the scalable manufacturing and practical integration of soppy bioelectronics for neural functions.
Multi-Modal Physical Authentication for Trustworthy Autonomous AI Agents, with Yu Chen (ECE) main the venture, and Stephanie Tulk Jesso (Systems Science and Industrial Engineering), Xiaohua Li (ECE), Yukui Luo (ECE) and Ping Yang (Computing) as co-PIs. This venture will develop a novel framework that grounds AI agent identification verification in verifiable bodily actuality by means of environmental indicators, together with electrical community frequency evaluation, radio frequency fingerprinting, acoustic signatures and hardware-based bodily unclonable capabilities.
Industry-informed Rapid Discovery of Reliable Solder Materials utilizing AI-accelerated High-throughput Experimentation with Jingzhou Zhao (ME) main the venture, and Peter Borgesen (SSIE), Paul Chiarot (ME), Hyuna Kwon (ME) and Dehao Liu (ME) as co-PIs. This venture goals to develop a mechanistically knowledgeable reliability digital twin for Sn-based, multi-component solder alloys that may predict the time to first failure in fashionable electronics containing a whole bunch of 1000’s to hundreds of thousands of solder joints.
Safe, Collaborative, and Resilient Embodied Intelligence with Shiqi Zhang (Computing) main the venture, and Jayson Boubin (Computing), Adnan Siraj Rakin (Computing), Seiichi Takamatsu (SSIE), Ping Yang (Computing) and Kaiyan Yu (ME) as co-PIs. This proposal goals to analyze the protection of collaborative human-robot groups and embodied AI safety, in addition to foster training and coaching centered on robotics and autonomous programs.
AI-Driven Automated Disassembly and Recycling System for End-of-Life Lithium-Ion Batteries with Xiaotu Ma (SSIE) main the venture and Anwar Elhadad (ECE) as co-PI. This venture goals to develop a wise automated system that may safely establish, take aside and recycle end-of-life batteries with minimal human intervention. Instead of shredding batteries into combined waste, the proposal focuses on recognizing batteries hidden in on a regular basis merchandise, rigorously separating their elements and recovering helpful supplies for reuse.