Featured Awards – January 2019

Gerard Costa and Kaitlin Mulcahy • Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health
Project LAUNCH 2018-2019
NJ Department of Children and Families
$979,205
This multi-contract award funded services to provide evidenced-based curricula in Essex County, and to support a range of early childhood prevention programs throughout New Jersey, including Home-Visitation, support for County Councils, support for the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems’ Help Me Grow initiative, Community-based Child Abuse Prevention programs, and Project LAUNCH.

Huan Feng • Earth and Environmental Studies
Collaborative research in application of natural radionuclides as tracers for trace element biogeochemical cycle in coastal environment
Ocean University of China
$4,400
This project, supported by the Open Fund, will initiate a joint trace element biogeochemical cycle study in a coastal environment by inviting Professor Huan Feng to visit Ocean University of China.  Through this joint study, the team can compare the similarities and differences between Jiaozhou Bay in China and other areas in the world, which will enhance the knowledge of understanding the urban coastal environment with different economic settings.  It will also promote a bilateral collaboration between Montclair State University and Ocean University of China, including faculty and student exchange.

Sally Grapin • Psychology
Selfie-Identity Matters: Exploring the Relations among Online Racial Discrimination, Racial Centrality, and Academic Achievement among African American Adolescents
American Psychological Foundation
$10,000
Dr. Grapin’s study will be the first to examine the relations among online racial discrimination, racial identity, and academic achievement among African American middle school students. Specifically, it will explore the protective role of racial identity in mitigating the harmful effects of online discrimination on adolescents’ academic performance. The overall goal of this research is to inform best practices for fostering resilience among African American youth as they cope with exposure to racism in online contexts.

Pankaj Lal • Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center
The Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center (CESAC): To Advance Research on the Sustainable Clean-Energy Economy
NJ Board of Public Utilities
$199,965
The Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center (CESAC) is working to advance research on the sustainable clean-energy economy by providing research, analysis, education, and outreach on clean-energy policies, technology, and practices. CESAC’s work aims to provide real-world insights to regulators, businesses, and the general public. While CESAC fosters faculty and student research in the area of clean energy and sustainability analytics, it also facilitates collaborative discussion between energy researchers and policy makers. CESAC also plans on creating an information resource hub regarding state regulatory and incentive policies.  The research outcomes are to provide technical assistance to government, industry, and academia, through an objective, science based credible analyses in clean energy and sustainability policy domain. To pursue this goal, CESAC will perform research and analysis, and developing and maintaining a suite of economic models, including Analysis of Community Solar Energy in New Jersey and Economic Models for New Jersey Policy Analyses.

Stefan Robila • Computer Science
National Science Foundation Intergovernmental Personnel Act
National Science Foundation
$385,600
This agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) will support Dr. Robila’s assignment as Program Director for the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC), Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering. Dr. Robila has been on assignment at NSF since January 2018 and this new award provides renewed support for the continuation for the next two years.  Within OAC, Dr. Robila is responsible for long-range planning and budget development for areas of science represented by programs such as the Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation, and OAC Research Core. In addition, he is responsible for managing and effective, timely merit review, award and declination process, and post-award management process, and for collaborating with other programs in NSF, other Federal agencies and organizations.

Steven Shapiro • Harry A. Sprague Library
Building a community partnership with local schools to promote Humanities and Science Literacy through programming
NJ Council for the Humanities
$5,000
The project will build and expand a relationship between Montclair State University and the Montclair Township School District to develop public programming that provides a Humanities perspective on Science & Technology.

Krystal Woolston • Center for Community Engagement
MLK Day of Service 2019
NJ Commission on National and Community Service
$2,500
This award will help support Montclair State University’s annual Martin Luther King Day of Service, with service site locations throughout the area that address various issue areas, including: child advocacy, transition from homelessness, mural painting, food insecurity, access to healthcare supplies, and disability services.