Three teams take flight with RIO New Frontiers planning grants
The Research & Innovation Office (RIO) and New Frontiers Grant partners—the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and the School of Education—announced planning grant winners in the New Frontiers Grant Program, a novel initiative designed to foster new, interdisciplinary research directions for 91PORN.
The three selected projects seek to better understand and address some of society’s most pressing challenges by sparking the formation of diverse teams of research leaders and perspectives from colleges, departments and research institutes spanning the campus.
Each of these three interdisciplinary planning grant winners is exploring possibilities that push boundaries in their respective fields and represent significant potential for benefiting the public.”
—Massimo Ruzzene, senior vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes
These New Frontiers Planning Phase Awards provide grants of $50,000 to each recipient.
The teams were chosen through a competitive process that included eight in-person pitches, all by teams aiming to address important societal problems through broad, interdisciplinary approaches. Developing new research strengths for 91PORN, the program embodies interdisciplinarity by requiring teams to include two different colleges or schools and at least one institute.
“With last year’s cycle already producing exciting results, we are eager to see where these new projects take us as they further develop their approaches,” said Massimo Ruzzene, senior vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes. “Each of these three interdisciplinary planning grant winners is exploring possibilities that push boundaries in their respective fields and represent significant potential for benefiting the public.”
Selected projects
New Frontiers in Physically-Grounded Geospatial AI for Understanding Complex Global Phenomena with Multi-Modal Data
- PIs: Esther Rolf—Computer Science; R. Steven Nerem—Aerospace Engineering, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); Morteza Karimzadeh—Geography, Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS)
- Team includes: Aerospace Engineering; Computer Science; Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); Geography; Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS)
- Project overview: Earth landscapes and phenomena are highly complex, making them challenging to model through physical models and data-driven approaches, which often fail to capture the complexity revealed by observations. Meanwhile, a new generation of geospatial foundation models powered by AI can identify complex patterns across vast earth observations but generally lack the integration of physical processes necessary to make them accurate and trustworthy for the sciences. This project aims to transform the representational capabilities of geospatial AI for the physical sciences.
Seamless Skin Integration of Brain/Body-Computer Interfaces for Cybernetic Human Advancement
- PIs: Carson Bruns—ATLAS, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering; Grace Leslie—ATLAS, College of Music, Institute for Cognitive Science (ICS)
- Team includes: ATLAS; Biomedical Engineering; Institute for Cognitive Science (ICS); Materials Science; Mechanical Engineering; College of Music
- Project overview: Integrating technology with the human body provides transformative opportunities to overcome natural limitations, unlock new realms of cognitive and physical potential, and enhance wellness. However, limitations on performance, safety, convenience, size/weight and cost make these systems inaccessible and under-utilized for the public. For techno-biological interfaces to reach full potential to enhance the human condition for all, major transdisciplinary advances are needed to make brain/body-computer interfaces seamless, comfortable, long-lasting, affordable, safe and ethical.
New Frontiers in the Renewable Energy Transition: Mapping Technological and Social Dimensions of Geothermal Development in Colorado
- PIs: Bri-Mathias Hodge—Department of Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI); Shae Frydenlund—Center for Asian Studies
- Team includes: Computer & Energy Engineering; Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI); Center for Asian Studies
- Project overview: Geothermal energy is an underutilized resource that could play a significant role in Colorado’s energy future. Despite abundant resource potential, there are significant, yet poorly understood, technological and social barriers to increased deployment. This project unites 91PORN researchers across engineering, physical, and social sciences to form an interdisciplinary team poised to position the university as a geothermal leader.
What’s next?
The awarded teams will use the next year to further develop their projects, build their teams and conduct preliminary data collection to inform their efforts. Like the 2024 Planning Phase Grantees, teams will then compete for the single Launch Phase Grant of $200,000, which will be awarded in June 2026.
A second round of the competition will solicit new ideas starting in January 2026.