By connecting brilliant researchers from different disciplines and applying their unique skills and insights to real-world problems affecting the Palmetto State, five USC Research Institutes are working for a brighter future.
In spring 2023, the University of South Carolina offices of the President and the Vice President for Research came together to make an unprecedented investment in the future of the university’s research community. Through the Research Institutes Funding Program, USC is investing $10 million over four years into five competitively selected interdisciplinary research institutes, each of which is taking on a different challenge facing the Palmetto State.
The goal of this effort is to give interdisciplinary faculty research teams the robust seed funding they need to make impactful progress on their SC-centric research so they can build up a strong portfolio of success to attract major external funding, including federal research center grants. Along with research funding of $500,000 per year over four years, faculty working in the USC Research Institutes will receive mentorship through the STAR Program, which was piloted in 2021-2022 by the Office of the Vice President for Research. With this practical and funding support, the USC Research Institutes will contribute to the well-being of South Carolina while enhancing the profile of its flagship research institution on the national research stage.
These projects truly represent what a flagship research university does best: bring together experts from multiple disciplines to take on some of the biggest scientific and societal challenges of our time.
Rural school districts need a unique approach for incorporating STEM education and healthy development methodologies into their classrooms. Our collaborative, iterative research allows us to develop and measure new methods in conjunction with educators. Together, we expand on their school's strengths while working with their available resources to support students' futures.
Extreme semiconductor chips play a critical role in boosting the economy and improving national defense. They have the potential to positively impact a multitude of areas, like the electric grid, space travel, electric vehicles, military threat warning systems, health monitoring and health care equipment.
Novel epidemics are forecasted to increase in intensity and frequency in our lifetime. As the first infectious disease institute in South Carolina, we have united prominent researchers from multiple disciplines and fields of study to discover stronger solutions for predicting, preventing, and mitigating the transmission of emerging and re-emerging infectious disease.
By better understanding the contributing factors of water quality from a scientific and socioeconomic standpoint across the state of South Carolina, we seek to help residents and visitors at the state, county and individual level solve current and emerging challenges to sustained sources of clean water.
Chronic, unpredictable stress impacts various areas of the body, causing inflammation and high blood pressure that leads to cardiovascular disease. We seek to understand those connections for new treatments and health care applications that reduce the number of heart and vascular disease cases nationwide, and right here at home.
The University of South Carolina is investing in SC’s future with five new research institutes. The institutes, which were competitively selected, will include faculty from seven different USC colleges and represent a wide range of research expertise.
The highest impact research today involves leveraging multiple perspectives, skillsets and areas of expertise to come up with the most comprehensive possible understanding of or solution to a significant issue. These institutes hold great promise as both centers of innovation and a major investment in the bright future of interdisciplinary research at USC.
Matthew Irvin, Ph.D., directs the Institute for Rural Education and Development. Irvin’s research focuses on the academic, social, and behavioral development of adolescents from rural communities. This includes students’ risk and resilience, motivation and engagement, learning in online courses, youth with disabilities, and peer relations.
Asif Khan, Ph.D., is the director of the Institute for Extreme Semiconductor Chips. Khan pioneered research in gallium nitride (GaN) material systems and related technologies, which now are indispensable in many power electronics including all major electric vehicle and computer power supplies.
Melissa Nolan, Ph.D., serves as the director of the Institute for Infectious Disease Translational Research. Nolan’s research interests revolve around infectious diseases and health disparities. Her work focuses on patient-oriented public health approaches to tackle diseases that disproportionately affect the impoverished.
Tammi Richardson, Ph.D., directs the Institute for Clean Water. Richardson’s research interests center around aquatic ecosystems, looking at questions of how light, nutrients and temperature influence phytoplankton growth and taxonomic composition, including the development of harmful algal blooms known as red tides.
Clinton Webb, Ph.D., is the director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Disease Research. His research interests focus on the physiology of smooth muscle, with particular emphasis on specific systems including vascular reactivity in hypertension and diabetes and intercellular communication between smooth muscle cells, among others.