Apr 21 2009
Six Arizona State University faculty members have earned Faculty Early Career Development (Career) awards for 2009 from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The Career program is a NSF-wide activity that is one of the most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. It provides five-year research grants to each recipient.
This year's ASU Career Award winners are Junseok Chae, assistant professor of electrical engineering; Yi Chen, assistant professor of computer science and engineering; Hanqing Jiang, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; Baoxin Li, assistant professor of computer science and engineering; Henry Sodano, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Arjan van der Vaart, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry.
The program will include the mentoring of minority undergraduate summer students, the development of new high school teaching modules, and the introduction of visualization labs in the classroom.
The Career awards are an example of the economic benefit a research university can bring to its state. Each year, Arizona universities contribute nearly $1 billion into the Arizona economy from their research, most of which is funded by the U.S. government and entities from outside the state. Research money brought in by universities is restricted money that can be used only for the research activity it supports. It cannot be used to compensate for cuts in other parts of the university's budget.