We are pleased to announce the recipients of the FY 2026 Research Enhancement (RE) Funding Program. This year, 28 applicants submitted outstanding proposals for the RE funds from all academic units across TAMU-CC. After a thorough review based on the RE program evaluation criteria, the Review Panel recommended the following projects for funding:
- Drs. Liwen Zeng (PI), Department of Health Sciences, and Zheng Wei (co-PI), Department of Mathematics and Statistics, for the project titled A Multi-Level Analysis of Factors Shaping Birth Outcomes in Texas, $15,000
- Dr. Wenlu Wang, Department of Computer Science, for the project titled Molecule GPT - Generative Drug Discovery using Preference Optimization, $10,000
- Drs. Kelly Brown (PI) and Chris Benedetti (co-PI), both from the Department of Educational Leadership, for the project titled AI-Assisted Dissertation Support for Timely Doctoral Completion, $8,840
- Drs. Yu-Shan (Sandy) Huang (PI) and Jennifer F. Taylor (co-PI), both from the Department of Management and Marketing, for the project titled Increasing Customers’ Financial Well-being: The Role of AI, $6,325
- Dr. Travis Washburn (PI), Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, for the project titled Pilot Study Towards Identifying Ecological Indicators of PFAS Pollution, $5,000
- Ms. Alexandria Canchola (PI), Department of Art and Design, for the project titled Chicano in Print, $5,000
- Mr. Jonathan Durham, Department of Art and Design, for the project titled Expanding 3D/Sculpture through Digital Scanning, Modeling & Fabrication, $5,000
- Ms. Leandra Urrutia (PI), Department of Art and Design, for the project titled Innovations in Ceramic Tracery and Extrusion, $4,371
- Dr. Hyun Jung Stephany Noh (PI), Department of Communication and Media, for the project titled Streaming K-Drama: The Evolution of a National Industry & Cultural Form, $2,500
These projects will start on September 1, 2025, and end on August 31, 2026.
The Research Enhancement Funding Program aims to promote research and scholarly production and, when possible, promote grant proposal submission by faculty members at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC). Research Enhancement funds will continue to be available (up to $5,000) for projects led by a single tenured/tenure track faculty member, and to multi-investigator teams (up to $10,000) for collaborative and/or interdisciplinary projects from the same college or other non-TAMU-CC entities. Funding (up to $15,000) will be available for interdisciplinary projects conducted by multi-college teams from TAMU-CC. Research Enhancement awards have funded research, scholarly, or creative projects from tenured/tenure-track faculty in all colleges. Upon the availability of the funds, the call for proposals for the next RE funds will be announced in December 2025.
For questions about the RE funds, please contact Dr. Hamid Mansouri Rad at hamid.rad@tamucc.edu.