03/17/2026
ND EPSCoR is pleased to announce the recipients of our FY26 STEM research seed awards. We received 57 proposals from North Dakota researchers. Nearly $500,000 will be awarded to the following eight projects. Funding will be provided to faculty for the purpose of generating preliminary data needed to support the preparation of a proposal for submission to a federal agency.
We offer our thanks to everyone who submitted a proposal, and our congratulations to these awardees. Visit our website to learn more about their projects.
Ali Alshami, Chemical Engineering, UND
Collaborator: Adetola Oke, Engineering, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
Project: AI-Driven Catalyst Discovery for North Dakota’s Hydrogen Future
Bappaditya Chandra, Chemistry and Biochemistry, NDSU
Collaborators: Archana Dhasarathy, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, UND; Motoki Takaku, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, UND; Emily Biggane, Intertribal Research and Resource Center, United Tribes Technical College
Project: Deciphering Estrogen receptor alpha - cofactor interactions in distinct cellular environments
Xiaodong Hou, Center for Process Engineering Research, UND
Collaborators: Deniz Cakir, Physics and Astrophysics, UND; Weixin Huang, Chemistry, UND
Project: Graphene-Intercalated Ultra-Stable 1T-MoS2 Heterostructures Catalyst for Green Hydrogen Production: Experimental and Simulation Studies
Inbae Jeong, Mechanical Engineering, NDSU
Collaborator: Youjin Jang, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, NDSU
Project: Energy-Aware Coordination of Heterogeneous UAV–UGV Fleets for Persistent Infrastructure-Free Operations
Maria Morrell, Chemical Engineering, UND
Collaborators: Julia Zhao, Chemistry, UND; Uwe Burghaus, Chemistry and Biochemistry, NDSU; Stefan Vetter, Pharmaceutical Sciences, NDSU; Susan Eliazer, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, UND; Audrey LaVallie, Chemistry, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College; Hilde van Gijssel, Science, Valley City State University
Project: Decoding How Cells Sense and Respond to Nanoparticles
Igor Ovchinnikov, Biology, UND
Collaborator: Paul Ullmann, Harold Hamm School of Geology & Geological Engineering, UND
Project: Genomic Drivers of Adaptation and Extinction in North American Megafauna: Implications for Contemporary Conservation Efforts and North Dakota Economy
Darshil Patel, Forensic Science, UND
Collaborators: Hannah Correia, Biology, UND; Alena Kubatova, Chemistry, UND
Project: PFAS and Microplastics in North Dakota Snowpacks and Their Implications for Agricultural Landscapes
Qifeng Zhang, Electrical and Computer Engineering, NDSU
Collaborator: Xiaodong Hou, College of Engineering and Mines, UND
Project: Engineering Polar Materials for Enhanced Sulfur Electrochemistry in Lithium–Sulfur (Li-S) Batteries
ND EPSCoR is pleased to announce the recipients of our FY26 STEM research seed awards. We received 57 proposals from North Dakota researchers. Nearly $500,000 will be awarded to the following eight projects. Funding will be provided to faculty for the purpose of generating preliminary data needed to...
