THE 13 THEMES

RISE awards went to the following proposals, each listed with the theme leader. More information on each theme is available online; each theme presentation includes a listing of all the participants.  

Structural Biochemistry of Plant-Pathogen Interactions to Promote Healthy Crops and Enhance Global Food Security — George Bruening, professor emeritus, Department of Plant Pathology

UC Davis Center of Excellence in Translational Molecular Imaging — Simon Cherry, professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering

ANSWER: Amyloids for Nanoparticle Synthesis, Wiring, Energy and Remediation — Daniel Cox, professor, Department of Physics

Protecting the Fragile Intestine: Integrating Microbiota and Mucosal Health — Satya Dandekar, professor, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology

RNA-Based, Amplification Free, Pathogen Identification Using Nano-Enabled Electronic Detection (RAPID-NEED) — Bryce Falk, professor, Department of Plant Pathology

Center for Content Rich Evaluation of Therapeutic Efficacy (cCRETE) — Katherine Ferrara, professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering

iWHW at UC Davis (Initiative for Wireless Health and Wellness at UC Davis) — Jay Han, associate professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine          

Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructures: Smart Grid, Financial and Human-Centered Mobile Networks — Karl Levitt, professor, Department of Computer Science    

UC Davis Center of Excellence for Visualization — Kwan-Liu Ma, professor, Department of Computer Science

New Tools for Understanding, Monitoring and Overcoming Plant Stress — Nelson Max, professor, Department of Computer Science

I-CAN SZ (Interdisciplinary, Collaborative, Analysis of Neuroimmune-Based Schizophrenia) — Kimberley McAllister, associate professor, Department of Neurology, UC Davis Health System, and Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior  

The UC Davis Eye-Pod: Functional Imaging of Single Cells in the Eyes of Living Animals under Normal, Pathogenic and Regenerative Conditions — Edward Pugh, adjunct professor, Center for Neuroscience, and the departments of Physiology and Membrane Biology, and Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine

Transforming Consumer Energy Use in Vehicles, Buildings and Appliances — Thomas Turrentine, director, Institute of Transportation Studies

Some have names that make acronyms, like I-CAN SZ, cCRETE, ANSWER, iWHW and RAPID-NEED. All have themes worthy of a great research institution like UC Davis: among them, healthy crops and global food security, nanoparticle synthesis, cybersecurity, models for neuroimmune-based schizophrenia, protecting the fragile intestine and transforming consumer energy use, to name a few.

They are the inaugural recipients of the campus’s Research Investments in Science and Engineering, or RISE program — 13 awards for 13 proposals, all of which are due to be presented at the RISE Symposium at month’s end. See registration details below.

The Office of Research began soliciting RISE applications in early 2012 and announced the award recipients in October.

“The intended outcome,” said Vice Chancellor Harris Lewin, who heads the Office of Research, “is to empower faculty teams to become competitive in securing major funding from government, private industry, philanthropic and other external sources to support transformative interdisciplinary research and creative activities.”

The projects are sharing $10.9 million over three years, with the money coming from indirect costs recovered from grants awarded to UC Davis under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as stimulus funds.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi set aside the money for reinvestment in campus research, consistent with her Vision of Excellence and the goal of reaching $1 billion in sponsored research activity.

RISE is one component of the campus’s new Interdisciplinary Frontiers Program. Applications are due in January for another component, Interdisciplinary Frontiers in the Humanities and Arts.

RISE now and in the future

In awarding its grants, the RISE program chose the proposals with the greatest potential for future high impact discoveries and innovation, based on scientific merits and potential impact on society, as well as sustainability (i.e., to continue without RISE funds after three years).

The half-day RISE Symposium, free and open to faculty, researchers, staff and students, is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 30, at the Conference Center. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m.

The agenda lists welcome remarks by Chancellor Katehi and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter.

Faculty presentations on the 13 research themes are divided into two sections (starting at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m.), with a networking opportunity in between. The symposium will wind up with a general discussion, with a view toward the future of the RISE program.

People planning to attend are asked to register in advance, via this online site.

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