Grant Program 2021 Awardees

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has awarded 2021 Minnesota Futures Grants to two projects. This program offers funding each year to promote research that incorporates new, cross-disciplinary ideas.

MSI PI Kathryn Cullen (Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) is the Principal Investigator on the project entitled “Measuring and Enhancing Creativity and Brain Flexibility in Adolescents With Depression.” MSI PI Mark Fiecas (Biostatistics) is a co-investigator on the project.

Professor Cullen uses MSI resources to analyze multi-model neuroimaging data related to studies of adolescent depression. Professor Fiecas uses MSI to develop sophisticated statistical methodologies for analyzing large-scale spatio-temporal MRI and fMRI data.

MSI PI Uwe Kortshagen (Mechanical Engineering) is a co-investigator on the project “Nonthermal Plasma Processes for Sustainable Extraction and Processing of Minnesota Titanium Resources,” which is led by David Poerschke (Chemical Engineering and Materials Science).

Professor Kortshagen uses MSI for numerical modeling of the properties of plasmas and nanomaterials.

Descriptions of both projects can be found on the OVPR’s Inquiry website: 2021 Minnesota Futures Awards Announced.