August 22, 2023

The Office of Research & Innovation is pleased to announce the awardees for Drexel’s Areas of Excellence & Opportunity (AEOs) pilot funding competition in Advanced Materials & Manufacturing and Computing, AI & Cyber Security Frontiers. The AEO initiative of Drexel’s 2030 Strategic Plan represents high impact areas in which the University can leverage current strengths while generating new opportunities for transdisciplinary education, scholarship, and external partnership.

The enthusiasm and level of response in these areas was impressive. We received 12 proposal submissions from teams comprising a total of 46 individuals representing 12 schools, colleges, and administrative units. The projects selected represent:

• Clear alignment to the focus areas noted above and the imperatives of Drexel 2030 Strategic Plan.
• Potential for external funding to maximize sustainability.
• Broader impacts maximize impact on society and community.

The following research projects are awarded AEO pilot seed funding, and will receive support to pursue large and complex external funding opportunities during the year:

Generative Artificial Intelligence and Epistemic Welfare: Mediated Discourse and Reality of Truth, Fairness and Privacy in a ChatGPT World
Hilde Van den Bulck (CoAS/Communication), Shahin Jabbari (CCI/Computer Science, Shadi Rezapour (CCI/Information Science), David Gefen (LeBow/Decision Sciences)

Defending the Real: Protecting Against Emerging Generative AI Cybersecurity Threats
Matthew Stamm (CoE/Electrical and Computer Engineering), Eamon Gallagher (Kline School of Law/Business & Entrepreneurship Law), Edward Kim (CCI/Computer Science), Spiros Mancoridis (CCI/Computer Science), Kaidi Xu (CCI/Computer Science), Asta Zelenkauskaite (CoAS/Communications)

Responsible Manufacturing of Oxide Semiconductors
Steve May (CoE/Materials Science and Engineering), Megan Creighton (CoE, Chemical and Biological Engineering), Gwen Ottinger (CoAS/Politics), Yong-Jie Hu (CoE/Materials Science and Engineering)

Responsible Development and Scaling of Advanced Titania Ceramics for Treating Textile Effluent Wastewater
Megan A. Creighton (CoE, Chemical and Biological Engineering), Michel W. Barsoum (CoE/Materials Science and Engineering)

We thank all of those who submitted to the call for proposals and encourage you to pursue support for your projects using the tools and resources available through the Office of Research & Innovation, Foundation & Corporate Relations, and Drexel Libraries.

Congratulations to our awardees!