Engineering faculty earn Impact Research Grants to address community needs

Four College of Engineering faculty have earned Impact Research Grants from The Ohio State University Office of Outreach and Engagement in support of their community-engaged scholarship.

Impact Research Grants seek to identify faculty or faculty-led teams that turn their attention outward to the community, addressing a pressing public issue or shared problem. From 56 applications, 12 faculty have been awarded $10,000 grants to continue their work focusing on education, health, food security, learning outcomes, and/or models for university-community partnerships. The following faculty were selected from the College of Engineering.

Assistant Professor David Delaine
Department of Engineering Education

Delaine’s project aims to complete a collaborative inquiry research process toward documenting and enhancing a national model for a cross-disciplinary university community partnership at the intersection of engineering, education and food security. Funding will also support the writing of a National Science Foundation proposal to advance the collaboration in the future.

Assistant Professor Tijs Van Maasakkers
City and Regional Planning, Knowlton School of Architecture

Van Maasakkers will conduct an in-depth assessment of the capacities and activities associated with the South Jackson Community Garden in Lima. The assessment would result in a series of recommendations to local stakeholders to ensure stability and potential growth of programming and maintenance of the garden. The assessment would also inform future peer-reviewed publications about the long-term effects of the OH/LEX model for collaborative site planning in a context of urban decline.

Professor Lingying Zhao and Associate Professor Qian (Victoria) Chen
Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Zhao and Chen’s grant will help assess and extend the Green Home Technology Center (GHTC) project impacts. Funding will support the development of impact assessment tools for the GHTC program, the creation of a cohort program to support homeowners' needs in planning and building a green home, and future research for development of innovative green home technologies.

View the full list of 2020-21 Impact Research Grant recipients.