ND EPSCoR STEM research seed awards announced

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.

Ali Alshami

Chemical Engineering, UND

Collaborator: Adetola Oke, Engineering, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College

AI-Driven Catalyst Discovery for North Dakota’s Hydrogen Future

This project addresses the global transition to clean energy that is currently restricted by reliance on the world’s rarest and most expensive metals to produce green hydrogen. The PI proposes a paradigm shift by developing earth-abundant Nickel-ligand electrocatalysts as superior and precise alternatives. The project will generate the preliminary data necessary to resubmit a high-impact, competitive proposal to the DOE and NSF.

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

Deciphering Estrogen receptor alpha - cofactor interactions in distinct cellular environments

This pilot project will identify differences in ERα nuclear organization and the downstream effect on gene regulation between breast and ovarian contexts. The PI expects to identify fundamental differences in ERα nuclear assembly dynamics and chromatin engagement between breast and ovarian cells.

Xiaodong Hou

Center for Process Engineering Research, UND

Collaborators: Deniz Cakir, Physics and Astrophysics, UND; Weixin Huang, Chemistry, UND

Graphene-Intercalated Ultra-Stable 1T-MoS2 Heterostructures Catalyst for Green Hydrogen Production: Experimental and Simulation Studies

This project investigates how intercalant chemistry dictates phase selectivity, how graphene modifies the electronic density of states at edge sites, and the mechanisms conferring exceptional thermal stability to the metastable 1T phase. The project has great potential applications in green hydrogen production for ND’s rapidly growing wind power energy storage. Utilizing lignite-derived humic acid creates a high-value market for ND’s coal industry beyond solid fuel. Additionally, the work advances state goals regarding nanomaterials and low-dimensional systems through theory-guided synthesis.

Inbae Jeong

Mechanical Engineering, NDSU

Collaborator: Youjin Jang, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, NDSU

Energy-Aware Coordination of Heterogeneous UAV–UGV Fleets for Persistent Infrastructure-Free Operations

This seed project develops a coordination layer for fully autonomous, long-duration UAV-UGV operations in dynamic, infrastructure-free environments where battery depletion and recovery logistics interrupt missions. The framework treats energy recovery, role handoff, and gateway support as coupled routine decisions. It will develop and integrate energy-aware handoff and recovery scheduling, gateway-aware UGV mobility that maintains continuous reporting to a designated gateway, and decentralized event-driven coordination with compact state sharing. The project will generate time-synchronized mission logs capturing trajectories, role transitions, energy/recovery traces, and gateway reachability, providing preliminary evidence and benchmarks for a follow-on federal proposal.

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

Decoding How Cells Sense and Respond to Nanoparticles

The project aims to conduct a comprehensive study of nanoparticle-cell interactions through an interdisciplinary approach spanning nanoparticle synthesis, surface chemistry, cellular biology, and toxicology. At its core, the research addresses a fundamental yet largely unexplored scientific question: how do cells sense and respond to nanoparticles at the cellular and molecular levels? Using lignin-derived carbon dots as a model nanoparticle system, the study will generate critical proof-of-concept data linking nanoparticle properties to biological activity. The effort brings together an interdisciplinary team of seven researchers from four universities across North Dakota.

Igor Ovchinnikov

Biology, UND

Collaborator: Paul Ullmann, Harold Hamm School of Geology & Geological Engineering, UND

Genomic Drivers of Adaptation and Extinction in North American Megafauna: Implications for Contemporary Conservation Efforts and North Dakota Economy

To identify both successful and insufficient genetic adaptations to environmental change in mammalian megafauna, this project will comprehensively compare genetic mechanisms of adaptation to drastic ecological shifts in historical bison (Bison sp.) against those of mammoths (Mammuthus sp.), the latter of which went extinct in mainland North America ~10,000 years ago. Expected outcomes include annotated genetic polymorphisms in ancient bison and mammoth nuclear and mitochondrial (mtDNA) genome sequences and identification of ancestral single nucleotide polymorphisms and other variants in nuclear genomes of bison that lived prior to the 19th century anthropogenic decimation.     

Darshil Patel

Forensic Science, UND

Collaborators: Hannah Correia, Biology, UND; Alena Kubatova, Chemistry, UND            

PFAS and Microplastics in North Dakota Snowpacks and Their Implications for Agricultural Landscapes

The goal of this project is to develop a solvent‑free, high‑throughput workflow and to apply that workflow to generate the first baseline inventory of volatile PFAS and MP in ND’s agricultural snowpacks. To detect the targeted emerging contaminants, the PI will employ advanced separation methods with high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HRTOFMS), enabling high-accuracy detection. The resulting workflow will enable rapid, solvent‑free detection and provide an open-source data processing pipeline, while the baseline data will identify exposure hotspots and inform risk assessments for human health and agricultural production.

Qifeng Zhang

Electrical and Computer Engineering, NDSU

Collaborator: Xiaodong Hou, College of Engineering and Mines, UND

Engineering Polar Materials for Enhanced Sulfur Electrochemistry in Lithium–Sulfur (Li-S) Batteries

This project will investigate three advanced polar materials: layered VS₂, Ti₂N MXene, and highly porous Fe–N–C single-atom catalysts, selected for their strong polarity, high electronic conductivity, and engineered nanostructures, plus integrated polysulfide confinement, catalytic activity, and efficient electron/ion transport, offering a promising pathway toward high-performance and durable Li-S batteries.