NSF Awards $500,000 to Fresno State Scientists
Last week two Fresno State scientists from the College of Science and Mathematics, Dr. Madhusudan Katti and Dr. Hwan Youn, received highly competitive research awards of $300,000 and $200,000, respectively.
According to Dr. Thomas McClanahan, Associate Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs, these awards underscore the quality of the University’s faculty and their growing capabilities of attracting major support and of conducting important research. “ Our faculty expertise in research is growing rapidly, and new developments in the sciences are particularly promising.”
Biology professor
Katti‘s grant, a $300,000 award, focuses on
regional and global environmental changes amid rapid urban growth
and declining water resources. His study, in cooperation with
several other Fresno State and external researchers, addresses key
questions of special relevance to the Central Valley:
How does residential water use affect urban landscape and
habitat structure and biodiversity? How are urban water users
responding to water scarcity and to new governmental measures such
as water metering? The results of
Katti’s study promise to inform public
education and policy making around what is perhaps the most
compelling resource issue facing California and the American
West.
Dr. Youn, a tenure track assistant
professor in biology, received a $200,000 grant to address
completely different questions. His grant will support his research
on microbial genomics, with specific emphasis on
E. coli. Utilizing specialized equipment funded by NSF, he
will conduct laboratory research working closely with two graduate
and undergraduate research assistants who will receive valuable
working experience to complement their formal classroom studies. In
addition, he will involve more than 50 graduate and undergraduate
students as participants in the study. According to
Dr. McClanahan,
“experiential learning opportunities such as those
provided in
Dr.Youn’s research are helping to
distinguish the educational experience provided at Fresno State
from those at many other institutions.”
Dean Andrew Rogerson of the College of Science and Mathematics expressed delight with these latest indications of success in research and instruction. He noted that for Youn to have this award so early in his career is testament to his research ability. Likewise, Katti’s award is impressive and, in part, is due to training he received through the RIMI project, a multi-million dollar award to Fresno State from the National Institutes of Health. The NIH funding provided state-of-the-art equipment and extensive faculty training that helped to facilitate Katti’s NSF application. In Dean Rogerson’s works, “ Both awards demonstrate the commitment of College faculty to establish externally funded laboratories for the pursuit of quality research involving Fresno students.
