VPRI RAPID Research Funding Initiative

The Vice President for Research and Innovation has established a new initiative, Rapid-Response Grant Program (RAPID), to support research studies to help understand and address the current complex national needs and challenges. These RAPID grants are generally for a limited time- span, and aimed to encourage faculty to broaden their research areas or to jump-start a new research area. The RAPID Program Call for Proposals is announced during the academic year and summer months based on the university priorities and societal needs. The themes or focus areas of recent RAPID-Research awards include:

• Race, Inequality, and Social Justice: Studies focused on race inequalities, social justice, recent national events, and activities related to race inequalities
• COVID-19 Research: Scientific or technology-oriented non-medical research to address or mitigate COVID-19 risks and related issues
• COVID-19 Impact Studies: Research studies focused on understanding the impact of COVID-19 or the resultant economic stress on African-American communities or broadly, including but limited to, food security, economic- stress, and gaps, nursing homes and professionals, youth/adult mental health, K-12 education, international affairs, etc.
• Interdisciplinary Research: Research projects that are interdisciplinary, relating to one or more of the major themes listed above.

Listed here are few selected projects supported by the VPRI RAPID-Research program. To see more details about the corresponding projects, please visit the faculty in their respective laboratory, department, or college websites.

Black Faces in White Spaces: Filling the Diversity Gap in the Design Industry by Creating pipelines from HBCU Design Programs to Major Corporations and Design Studios through the expansion of the DesignView Media Center Services.

Dr. Tracey Moore, Assistant Professor, Art/Digital Media Arts Program, School of Architecture.

The design Industry encompasses a diversity of career opportunities, including graphic design, industrial design, fashion, and design education. Design professionals contribute visual narratives regarding racial/cultural representation for corporations and media conglomerates. AIGA, the professional association for design, conducted a Design Census where it found only 3% of the respondents identified ethnically as Black/African American. Lacking diversity creates vacuums in corporations and design studios where cultural sensitivity is often nonexistent. The goal is to increase the Black representation in the design industry by creating a coalition amongst HBCUs that provides professional development, internship experiences, and graduate school preparation for its students.

Impact: The DesignView Media Center has become essential for Digital Media Arts majors to gain internship experience, develop professionally, and prepare for graduate studies. Of the former participants, 63% have been accepted to, are matriculating through, or have completed a graduate program, while 37% are working in the design industry.

Design and Synthesis of Antiviral Plant Product to Treat COVID-19

Dr. Sameh Abdelwahed, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences

Antiviral herbal medicines have been used in many historical epidemics, and their analogs have been employed as the first line of defense against viral diseases. In March 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The virus betacoronavirus was identified to be related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and named SARS-CoV2. Studies have revealed that ginger extracts have antiretroviral activity in vitro, and our preliminary results based on computational docking experiments showed that 6-Gingerol of ginger plant possesses good interaction energy with ACE2 receptor protein active site. Additionally, a new synthetic methodology for more efficient and sustainable preparation of 6-Gingerol will be achieved

Preservation of Geo-Infrastructure through Remote Monitoring

Dr. Md Jobair Bin Alam, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

The global pandemic of the COVID-19 has not only threatened human life but also adversely impacted the national and global economy. The current COVID-19 pandemic is expected to exceed the previous financial crises in the US. Unsurprisingly, the Geo-Transportation industry in the US is facing an enormous challenge during this pandemic, keeping the integrity of the infrastructures. The Geo-Infrastructure system (i.e., highway slopes, pavement, etc.) needs routine monitoring and maintenance. One of the significant problems of highway slopes and pavements in the Greater Houston area, Dallas-Fort Worth area, San Antonio, and Austin is the geological condition. These areas consist of high plasticity clay or expansive clay. The TXDOT in this region spend millions of dollars on infrastructure maintenance to make safer commuting for travelers. Most of these maintenances are required because expansive soils are problematic, and any structure built on this type of soil needs continuous monitoring and frequent maintenance. Expansive soil is highly responsive to environmental conditions. This type of soil undergoes cyclic wetting-drying process due to moisture and suction variation because of the fluctuation in the environmental conditions (rainfall, temperature, etc.). This causes the soil to reach the fully softened strength condition, and eventually, the infrastructure system fails. Hence, in-situ monitoring of the soil moisture content and soil matric potential (suction) of these infrastructures in response to differential environmental behavior can provide an indication of failure or uncertainties. The TXDOT frequently needs to make site visits for routine maintenance and observation of pavements, slopes, retaining walls. However, the current COVID-19 pandemic has put strict limitations on outdoor activities. Though the transportation industry is regarded as the Emergency Service Category, this restriction has influenced TxDOT significantly in keeping the Texas Geo-Infrastructures functional. There are many slopes, pavements, soil retaining structures in Texas which require special attention and continuous monitoring as they are more vulnerable to failure because of the location, materials, geometry, and weather condition. However, the current pandemic is not allowing this monitoring effectively. So, to avoid the pandemic induced health risk and keep the Geo-Infrastructures under surveillance for safe mobility, an optimized solution is required. Since soil moisture and suction are very efficient indicators of these Geo-Infrastructures’ performance, if these parameters are monitored remotely, and the performance is evaluated accordingly, the performance analysis could adequately provide an indication of potential geohazards. Consequently, the TXDOT can take prompt maintenance actions prior to failure or alleviate the intensity of failure. Additionally, it is better for the Geo-Transportation industry to be prepared for any unprecedented future events. So, the development of a framework that provides effective remote monitoring of the in-situ fundamental, but effective soil parameters for performance evaluation of the Geo-Infrastructures is crucial to keep the Geo-Infrastructure system functioning.

Impact: The Geo-Transportation industry needs an implementable framework that smartly monitor key soil parameters without accessing sites. Soil is one of the unpredictable materials to describe its’ behavior accurately. And, different types of soil under distinct weather condition behave in a different way. So, in-situ monitoring and characterization of soil is critical to thoroughly understand soil infrastructure behavior. And during this pandemic, it is even more important to investigate these infrastructures remotely. The impact of this research is very high for TXDOT.

Development of Air Quality Indicator to Predict the Concentration of Biogenic Species in Ambient Environment

Dr. Kazeem Olanrewaju, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering

The quality of ambient air is an integral factor in determining and predicting the health condition of the human system. Humans’ exposure to both biogenic species such as coronavirus and abiogenic particulate such as PM 2.5, ultrafine particles are unarguably undebatable. However, what is questionable is the level of impact and metric of assessing human exposure to these species, of which some are fatal and pathological, e.g., coronavirus. This work will commence with the development of an ambient air quality predictive tool that will be effective in measuring the biogenic concentration of species in real time.

Impact: The impact of this predictive tool will be significant in developing preventive procedures against an airborne virus such as coronavirus. It will enhance first responders with the information needed to approach the disinfestation of an infested ambient environment. Real-time data will bee available to assess air quality with respect to human health.

Exploring state-level variabilities between community resilience and posttraumatic stress symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: Multilevel modeling approach           

Dr. Yuki Shigemoto, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology

The spread of COVID-19 has heightened people’s levels of stress. Due to the variabilities in the spread of COVID-19 within the United States, an individual’s level of stress may differ across the states. Considering that the state-level characteristics, such as the population density, GDP per capita, and proportion of African -American population may have an impact on community resilience (e.g., the capability of building resources, equally disseminating resources, and preparing for taking action) and on individual’s PTSS, the current study will examine potential variabilities on the effect of community resilience on PTSS between different states.

Impact: The current study will explore potential differences in an individual’s stress depending on the states in which they reside. The knowledge gained from the current research will allow the public and the states to identify the predictor of an individual’s level of stress and its association with community resilience and state-level characteristics.

Prediction Model Selection to Forecast the Short-term Trend of COVID-19 in Texas

Dr. Yoonsung Jung, Research Scientist/Statistician, Department of  Cooperative Agricultural Research Center Department, College of Agriculture and Human Sciences

After an outbreak from Wuhan, China, in late 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is called COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has had comprehensive consequences.

This research project will explore 254 Texas counties’ COVID-19 data to provide a statistical model to predict the future COVID-19 trend and unemployment, which is a major element in deciding socioeconomic status. Via a prediction model into a dataset for the daily cumulative test, daily cases, daily fatal case, and weekly unemployment data of Harris county and seven adjacent counties from 254 counties in Texas from March to July 2020, this study aims to provide the value and rationale behind the use and non-use of the data-driven prediction model in the State Health Service Department and State Workforce Commission.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Time Series, ARIMA, Holt-Winter Additive Model, TBAT

Impact: This study provided a model application to find an efficient method to forecast the trend of COVID-19 with local counties in Texas when there is a major impact location as Houston in Harris county. The proper forecasting method and knowledge of COVID-19 in each location at the county level can potentially reduce the pandemic’s impact. State and local government official is enabled to modify their policies for social and health issues ahead of time.

Survey on Cyber Security and K through 12 Education

Ms. Natara McNary, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering,

This work will contribute to the achievement of a secure cyber-space by exposing computer engineering vulnerabilities that stem from human behaviors. Amid the COVID-19 global pandemic, there is a need for school districts to expeditiously make the transition to online learning. Online learning and virtual classrooms exponentially increase our vulnerability to cyberattacks. Identifying and understanding unknown security gaps can be a massive undertaking with significant financial implications that public-school systems cannot afford. I am proposing the solicitation of surveys to local school districts’ faculty, staff, students, and parents to assess their behaviors, IT systems, and contingency plans.

Impact: Develop, publish, disburse, and analyze surveys to aid in our community’s ability to carry out online learning and virtual classrooms safely.

Ethical, cultural, and humanistic impact of COVID-19 on minoritized communities

Dr. Quincy Moore, Honors Program, and College of Arts & Sciences

Based on scientific data, COVID-19 does not discriminate in terms of who is infected and potential lethality. Still, minoritized communities have been noted to experience more adverse impacts due to the presence of co-morbidity issues and systemic health and social inequalities. While public health impacts are being studied, few researchers have examined the socio-cultural implications of the virus. This proposal seeks to understand that COVID 19 has had ethical, cultural, and humanistic impacts on minority communities, particularly minority students, and provide solutions and strategies to correct the devastating effects of COVID-19.

Impact: Few researchers have examined the socio-cultural impact that the COVID 19 virus has had on minority communities and particularly minority students. Questions related to how families have changed, how individuals relate to each other, how students cope with such rapid changes, and the human impact are not stories reported in the news. Understanding the real human impact of the virus is a central concern. The study will provide quantitative and qualitative data, open communication, scientific insight, and provide dialogue and solutions to aid in the reduction of the impact of COVID-19 on minority communities and help policymakers make better public health choices.

The COVID- 19 Pandemic and Rural Communities of Color: Examining the Impact of Race, Healthcare Accessibility, and Health Literacy in Waller County Texas

Dr. Marco Robinson, History/Division of Social Work, Behavioral, and Political Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences,

The looming Covid-19 Pandemic exposed a myriad of lingering issues associated with racial inequality, health literacy, and access to healthcare in urban and rural communities across the United States. Currently, Texas is a hotbed for the transmission of the virus with Houston/Harris County accounting for the majority of the state’s escalating cases. With the focus being placed on the larger metropolitan areas of Texas, the circumstances around the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on African-American residents living in many of the state’s rural enclaves are currently being overlooked. One of the key geographical areas of oversight is rural Waller County, Texas.

This pilot study seeks to examine the experiences of black residents of Waller County during the pandemic by collecting survey data and conducting interviews with them regarding their experiences. This mixed-methods approach will extrapolate rich quantitative and qualitative information that brings light to their situations. Participants will be solicited from the congregations of local black churches. More specifically, this study explores black resident’s health literacy related to Covid-19, the socio-economic factors influencing their quality of life, and the availability of healthcare in the immediate area. Triangulating these three variables, ultimately, this project analyzes the impact of Covid-19 and race on Waller County’s African-American resident’s health status. The data collected will serve as the baseline information to give the investigators insights for expanding the study to other area churches and seeking funding to support the project long-term. Ultimately, the data and findings from this study can be used by local community leaders along with state and federal policymakers to inform their decisions regarding allocating resources and providing services to residents of rural areas during future pandemics.

Impact: This study brings light to the impact of the Covid-19 Epidemic and Racial disparities related to the health of the African-American residents of Waller County. The project leaders will engage in conducting interviews and gathering survey data to document the resident’s story and, in turn, provide the community with an outlet to solicit resources to help alleviate their current situation. More importantly, through illuminating these persistent issues and bringing awareness to Waller County’s African-American resident’s plight, policymakers, community stakeholders, and leaders will gain insight into ways to address these problems.

Ecological Human Imprint, Economic, Social and Political Impacts associated with COVID-19

Dr. Safwat Shakir, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Arts & Sciences

The project is to produce a scientific ecological model related to the impacts of the Ecological Human Imprint and COVID-19. This model will predict the global implications of COVID-19 on the worldwide economy, socially, and politically. The model will use Shakir et al. techniques published in the years of 2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018, and 2019.

Impact: This proposal is given as an assessment of ecological human imprint on the global human economically, socially, and political impacts related to COVId-19. The model presentation will provide a methodology to show how this virus as a hidden enemy disease can impact all humans in their lives and well being.

Predicting Structural Changes in SARS-COV-2 Envelope Proteins: A Mathematical Model

Dr. Sumudu Kalubowila, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Victoria Mgbemena, Assistant Professor/Co-PI, Department of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences

There is a growing number of COVID-19 cases worldwide. As the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ binding dynamics have been thoroughly studied, no studies have fully characterized the changes in the virus’ biochemistry during temperature changes. Such information will enable proposals for efficacious treatments. Herein, we will design a predictability-model for spike protein-binding based on already established data. We will endeavor to validate the model through a simple, in-vitro assay to detect cleavage of the spike protein across different temperatures. The expected outcome will be that the model will accurately predict the cleavage of the spike protein at the S1/S2 junction over increasing temperatures.

Impact: The ultimate research goal is to improve our basic understanding of the nature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus binding to host cells. Our strategy will provide methods for predicting the ability of the virus to infect cells under specific conditions. With this knowledge, we hope that targeted therapies are developed.

Will Faculty Survive? The Effects of COVID-19 on the Mental Health and Productivity of Faculty and how they are coping in Higher Education

Dr. Selena Tate, Assistant Professor, College of Agriculture & Human Sciences

The occurrence of COVID-19 has imposed a shift in how higher education institutions deliver instruction. To ensure the safety of students and faculty, most institutions have opted to move in-person instruction online. Few studies have addressed the effect of the pandemic on faculty. This qualitative study aims to explore and understand the impact of COVID-19 on faculty in higher education.

Impact: Uncertainty surrounding the longevity of COVID-19 imposes continuous adjustments for faculty. Recent studies explore psychological distress, post-traumatic stress, work anxiety for medical staff, and the general population, yet few studies explore the effects of COVID-19 on faculty in higher education.

Developing innovative data analysis tools in experimental combustion for research and education during the COVID-19 pandemic

Dr. Yuhao Xu, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused various challenges in the research community, especially for experimental science and engineering, due to the limited access to lab facilities. In order to continue the research and education activities, this proposal outlines a plan to develop data analysis tools to analyze results obtained from previous combustion experiments. The tools developed in this work will offer researchers and students interactive virtual platforms to further their understanding of combustion processes, specifically soot emission analyses during combustion, and disseminate their results. The proposed project will help mitigate COVID-19 risks when performing scientific research during this challenging time.

Impact: This project aims to develop efficient data analysis tools to investigate the sooting dynamics of liquid fuel combustion. Results obtained will deepen our understanding of various combustion processes and provide underrepresented students and researchers with interactive virtual platforms to continue their research efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.