Nominations for Areas of Excellence

Lead(s) Title with Summary and/or Narrative (if shared) Category Key Words
Afonin

SMART NANPs: a new molecular platform for communication with the human immune system and to modulate therapeutic responses
Unique Distinction
health sciences, immunotherapies, therapeutic nucleic acids, drug delivery, nanoscience
Akella, Shaikh, Willis
Artificial Intelligence
Future Opportunity and Investment
machine learning, autonomous systems, human-assistive AI, high performance AI, ethical AI
Alterowitz, Sarkar
Critical Practices and Pedagogies
Existing and Emerging Excellence
queer studies, practice-as-research, critical race theory, activism, transnational feminist praxis
Anderson, Schmutz
Community-Engaged Arts + Design
Existing and Emerging Excellence
community, arts, design, equity, health
Arif, Paul, Thill

Knowledge of Who, When, and Where: Spatial and Spatiotemporal Analyses for Decision, Intervention, and Policy

Existing and Emerging Excellence
health disparities, social determinants of health, spatiotemporal modeling, structural inequities, vulnerable populations
Atkinson, Yavorsky
Women in Politics, Organizations, & Society (WIPOS)
Existing and Emerging Excellence
women, intersectionality, leadership and organizations, diversity, politics and policy
Azarbayjani, Papanikolaou, Ellinger
Design for Integrated and Connected Environments: A Society- Centered Research Coalition in Pursuit of Healthy Built- Environments
Existing and Emerging Excellence
emerging excellence, unique distinction, future opportunity, equity, relisience, community/civic engagement
Bahamón, Freeman
Integrative Game Design
Future Opportunity and Investment
game design, collaboration, ethics, technology, arts
Banks, Gooty, Tonidandel
Leadership Reimagined: Science-based Solutions for Inclusive Organizations
Existing and Emerging Excellence
leadership; inclusion; data science; equality; research methods
Bates, Furr-Rogers, Pass
BioSTARs: Scientific Teaching and Research for Undergraduate Students in the Biological Sciences
Existing and Emerging Excellence
inclusive excellence; workforce preparation; undergraduate research; underrepresented students; evidence-based teaching
Beach, FitzPatrick, Washburn
Developing and Supporting Evidence-Based K-8 Literacy Instruction
Future Opportunity and Investment
literacy, reading, writing, professional development, education
Bellar, Moller, Trammell
The Complex Dimensions of Humans and Society: Biological, Chemical, Energetic, Psychological, and Social
Future Opportunity and Investment
health; subtle energy; thermal imaging; mind-body practices; stress
Bennett, Howden
Biobehavioral Program to Lower Blood Pressure in the Community (BP-LowC)
Unique Distinction
hand-grip exercise training (HGET); biobehavioral health and well-being; community-based interventions; healthy aging; minority health and health disparities
Boreman, Suleski, Hofmann
Optical Science and Engineering
Existing and Emerging Excellence
optics; photonics; opto-mechanics; metamaterials; freeform optics
Browne, Chu, Lipford
Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Trust
Existing and Emerging Excellence
information assurance, resilience, cyber-physical systems
Cameron, Edwards, Ogundiran
African American, African, and African Diaspora Studies Cluster (A4DS)
Existing and Emerging Excellence
race, social justice, historical studies, arts and culture, social policy
Chen D, Cavalline, Whelan
Asset and Infrastructure Management
Existing and Emerging Excellence
infrastructure, asset management, facility management, life cycle, GIS
Chen V, Zadrozny
Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Responsible Business Decisions
Future Opportunity and Investment
explainable artificial intelligence; responsible business; knowledge systhesis; knowledge graph; natural language processing
Chu
Social Impacts of Financial and Real Estate Markets
Future Opportunity and Investment

Cramer, Kulkarni, Langhinrichsen-Rohling
Violence Prevention
Existing and Emerging Excellence
interpersonal violence; self-directed violence; marginalized populations; data science; prevention
Crane, Powers, Jordan
Innovations in Health Care Delivery Across Continuums to Affect Disparate Health Outcomes
Future Opportunity and Investment
transitions; communications; self-care; interdisciplinary; outcomes
Dalton, Buchenau, Coria-Sanchez
Latin America and Its Diaspora
Existing and Emerging Excellence
Latin(x) immigration, intersectionality, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, environmental justice and sustainability
Daniels
First in Flight: Propelling National and Regional Economic Vitality through Airport/Aviation Research Excellence
Future Opportunity and Investment
airport; infrastructure; economic impact; data analytics; sustainability
de la Torre, Boaz, Edwards
Afro-Latin American and Diasporic Inequalities, Identities, and Intersectionalities
Existing and Emerging Excellence
DeHaven, Dulin
Urban Health Equity, Education and Research Colllaborative
Existing and Emerging Excellence
health equity, health disparities, social determinants of health, health promotion, health data
Delmelle, Tang, Thomas
Geospatial Analytics for Healthy and Resilient Urban Systems
Existing and Emerging Excellence
geospatial analystics and innovation, urban systems, environment health and wellbeing, smart cities, cyberinfrastructure
Depken, Tobias
Sports Analytics
Future Opportunity and Investment
sport; analytics; athletes; business; communications; big data
Diao, Li, McGoff
Applied Mathematics/Statistics with a Focus on Biological Sciences
Existing and Emerging Excellence
mathematical modeling; mathematical biology; computational mathematics; statistical genetics and genomics; statistical and computational methodologies
Dippong, Walker, Webster
Research and Theory Development in Small Group Processes
Unique Distinction
experimental research; social status; power and prestige structures; decision-making; group dynamics
Dunn, Williams, DuBose
Contemporary Black Arts Research Initiative
Existing and Emerging Excellence
Black arts; critical race theory; pedagogy; praxis; social justice
El-Ghannam, Marriott, Elliot
Bioengineering strategies for regenerative medicine and disease treatment
Existing and Emerging Excellence
cell delivery system; hard and soft tissue regeneration; drug delivery system; cancer and infection treatment; resorbable biomaterial; orthopedic and maxillofacial implants
Eppes, Pilkington, Ranis
Climate Change Discovery and Adaptation
Existing and Emerging Excellence
environment; equity; security; social-actions; sustainability
Fall, Falconer
Ancient Human Responses to Climate Change
Unique Distinction
climate change, deep time, adaptation, societal response
Fitchett, Heafner
Secondary Data Analysis for Education Policy and Practice Collaborative
Unique Distinction
education policy, education research, secondary dataset analysis
Foxx, Lewis, Tempest
Expanding the Pathways to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education and Careers for Underrepresented Students: Emerging Excellence in Key National Priorities
Existing and Emerging Excellence
STEM; college readiness; underrepresented
Gamez, Chen G
Geodesign Sustainable Futures: A Campus-wide Initiative on Research and Curricular Development
Existing and Emerging Excellence
geodesign, GIS, geospatial analytics, sustainability, built environments
Godin
Mathematical Modeling of Metamaterials
Existing and Emerging Excellence
composite materials; effective properties; periodic medium; dispersion relation; group velocity
Godlewska, Waterkotte, Lindsey
Art, Technology, Community: Local and Global Connections
Future Opportunity and Investment
interdisciplinary; collaboration; inclusion; outreach; advancement
Grdzelishvili
Host-Microbe Interactions in Health, Disease and Environment
Future Opportunity and Investment
pathogen; immunity; virus; environment; health
Huet, Merriweather
Social justice, equity, and inclusion in opportunities to pursue STEM education and careers from pre-kindergarten through college and beyond
Existing and Emerging Excellence
diversity, equity, and inclusion; institutional racism; education; social justice
Hull, Jiang, Hague
Critical Data Studies
Future Opportunity and Investment
critical studies; data science; surveillance; discrimination; quantification
Janies, Reitzel
Unifying UNC Charlotte’s push to R1 status through a ONE HEALTH approach
Existing and Emerging Excellence
pathogens, pandemic, health equity, preparedness, ecosystem health
Keen
Quantification and Treatment of Contaminants of Emerging Concern For Improving Environmental Health
Existing and Emerging Excellence
urban water; public health; contamination mitigation; environmental quality; pollution control
Kellermanns, Webb
Entrepreneurship
Existing and Emerging Excellence
entrepreneurship; international; family firms; poverty; funding
Khouja, Stylianou, Zhou
Effective Supply Chains and the Marketing-Operations Interface
Existing and Emerging Excellence
omni supply chain management; operations-marketing interface; data science
Kilmer, Stearns
Social and Economic Mobility: Its Linkages to Health Disparities, Educational Outcomes, and Well-Being
Existing and Emerging Excellence
social and economic mobility; social determinants of health; health disparities; educational disparities, health equity, community engagement, community-university partnerships
Kim, Wu, Parrow
Transformative Architecture Technology Towards a Carbon Neutral Healthy Built Environment
Unique Distinction
net zero carbon buildings; indoor environment quality (IEQ); occupant health and wellbeing; climate responsive regenerative technology; biofuel and solar power production
Klibanov, Nguyen, Astratov
Coefficient Inverse Problems of Mathematical Physics for Real World Applications
Existing and Emerging Excellence
inverse problems; convexification; experimental studies
Kropf
Collaboration for Research on Elections, Citizens, and Democracy
Existing and Emerging Excellence
representative democracy; elections; inclusion; socialization; computational social science
Lambert
Center for Educational Measurement and Evaluation
Existing and Emerging Excellence
educational measurement; formative assessment; educational evaluation; teacher professional development; teacher performance evaluation
Lee, Lu, Michael
Envisioning Urban Futures through Extended Reality (XR)
Unique Distinction
extended reality; immersive technologies; civic engagement; data visualization; 3D modeling
Levens, Gallicano, Montanaro
Social media and global wellbeing: A cross discipline multi-level investigation on the impact of social media on social and political movements, health, and group-centric attitudes and beliefs.
Future Opportunity and Investment
social media; data science; misinformation; public health; information processing
Maher, Frevert, Ramaprasad
Research & Education for Broadening Participation in Computing
Existing and Emerging Excellence
computing education; engaged pedagogy, learning, and technology; diversity, equity and inclusion; K-12 teacher preparation and partnerships; STEM workforce development

Martin, Wang, Cherukuri
Teaching and Learning Innovation Collaborative
Unique Distinction
learning innovation; emerging technologies; digital learning; online education; educational technologies
Matthews, Gilson
Academically/Intellectually Gifted Education
Future Opportunity and Investment
gifted education; AIG; doctoral preparation; STEM; diversity and inclusion
Mazzola, Tolone, Chowdhury
Transformational Energy
Existing and Emerging Excellence
Mazzotti, Fowler, Bross
Secondary Special Education and Transition:
Existing and Emerging Excellence
evidence-based transition practices, post-school outcomes for students with disabilities, methodological expertise in single-case design research, personnel preparation, secondary transition policy and procedures
McCullough, Croxton, Buch
Scholarly Teaching and Learning & Student Success Research Hub
Future Opportunity and Investment
student success, faculty development, student engagement, scholarly teaching, data analytics
Mellinger
Multilingualism, Multiculturalism, and Migration
Existing and Emerging Excellence
multilingualism; multiculturalism; migration; transnationalism; translation; border crossing
Mohr
Behavioral and Experimental Social Science and Policy Research
Existing and Emerging Excellence
behavioral public policy; behavioral economics; experiments; randomized control trials; conjoint experiments
Molchanov, Vainberg
Mathematical Aspects of Population Dynamics and Polymers.
Existing and Emerging Excellence
phase transition; protein; propagation front; random process
Morse, Allen, Schmid
Manufacturing and Metrology
Existing and Emerging Excellence
manufacturing, metrology, optics, precision, standards
Munroe, Rauch, Richardson
Social and Environmental Justice in Science, Technology, & the Production of Knowledge
Existing and Emerging Excellence
Nesmelova, Truman, Jacobs
Biomolecular Structure, Dynamics and Function (BSDF)
Future Opportunity and Investment
biomolecules; structural biology; biophysics; function;teaching
Pennington
Educating Students with Extensive Support Needs: A Research Cluster in the Department of Special Education and Child Development
Existing and Emerging Excellence
severe disability; autism spectrum disorder; applied behavior analysis; general curriculum access; inclusion
Piatak
Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy
Existing and Emerging Excellence
public and nonprofit management; cross-sector collaboration; public policy; social equity; transdisciplinary to address public problems
Pugalee, Stephan, Dorodchi
Bridging Data Science and Ethical Reasoning in Education (Project BRIDGE): Connecting Big Data, Computational Thinking, Coding, and Ethics in Education
Future Opportunity and Investment
data science; computational thinking; ethical reasoning; teacher preparation; STEM
Racine
Leveraging administrative data to understand food choice decisions, landscapes, and spending
Unique Distinction
data mining; dietary measurement; food policy; food retail; nutrition behavior
Rogers, Cooper
Sustainability and Adaptability – Solutions to Environmental Impacts of Human Endeavors
Future Opportunity and Investment
sustainability, environmental biology, green technology, endangered species, conservation
Sun, Zhou, Jiang
Statistical Learning with Vaccine Efficacy Trials, Medical Studies and Big Data
Existing and Emerging Excellence
biostatistics; distributed computation; forecasting; precision medicine; vaccine efficacy trials
Tabarraei, Poler, Khan
Artificial Intelligence for Accelerated Material Design
Future Opportunity and Investment
artificial intelligence; machine learning; material design; data science; statistical analysis
Tabkhi, Cox, Ravindran
Smart and Sustainable Cities
Existing and Emerging Excellence
upward mobility, social equity, public safety, sustainable energy, responsible AI for social good
Thompson, Robinson, Zarwell
Ending the HIV Epidemic The Advancement of Testing, Treatment, Prevention, and Response
Future Opportunity and Investment
HIV prevention, screening, epidemiology, marginalized populations, PrEP
Turner
Healthy Aging Across the Lifespan through Physical Activity: Translating Laboratory Research to the Community
Future Opportunity and Investment
aging; physical activity; joint injury; chronic disease; underserved populations
Uddin, Kamalasadan, Pulugurtha
Connected and Automated Mobility and Infrastructure for Tomorrow (CAMIT)
Existing and Emerging Excellence
connected and automated vehicles; infrastructure; mobility; societal impact; human-machine interaction
Vivero-Escoto, Walter, Bejger
Synergy at the Nanoscale: Biomedicine, Energy and Materials
Existing and Emerging Excellence
nanotechnology; biomedicine; energy; nanomaterials; environment
Vosters, Schulkind, Gaggl
Center for Social and Economic Mobility
Existing and Emerging Excellence
social mobility; inequality; intergenerational mobility; public policy
Whitaker, Smith Kolano
Migration Research Network
Existing and Emerging Excellence
migration patterns; immigration policy; public opinion; immigrant inclusion; climate migration
Wilson
Human-Centered Design
Existing and Emerging Excellence
design; human-centered design; design thinking; human-computer interaction; accessibility
Yan, Guo, Dréau
Genome Integrity and Cancer Initiative
Existing and Emerging Excellence
genome integrity; cancer omics/data visualization; computational modeling; cancer therapeutics/health disparities; STEM education/community engagement
Zhang, Dou, Hadzikadic
Online Misinformation Behavior, Impact, Detection, and Mitigation
Future Opportunity and Investment
online misinformation, extremism, detection, propaganda, social media
Zhang, Schmedake, Xu
Non-conventional Hetero-integrated Materials for Electronics, Optoelectronics and Energy Applications
Existing and Emerging Excellence
hetero-integrated materials; electronics; optoelectronics; energy; advanced characterization