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Division of Research

Clemson Faculty Succeeds

Program 1 to 4

Introduction


The CLEMSON FACULTY SUCCEEDS (CU SUCCEEDS) funding program is a multi-level, competitive internal funding initiative that positions faculty to succeed at various stages of the research process. CU SUCCEEDS provides funding across four programs to support leading-edge research and scholarship that capitalize on the existing intellectual capital at Clemson University. This initiative consists of four programs:

  1. Project Initiation/Seed Funding
  2. Collaborate
  3. Project Completion
  4. Fast Track

Download call for proposals for programs 1-4 from the accordions below.

  • CU SUCCEEDS Program 1

    Program 1: Project Initiation/SEED Funding – (Formerly CU SEED Tier 2) Program 1 awards provide funding for the initiation of research activities. Final deliverables must include a successfully submitted proposal to an external funding agency.

    Funding amount: Up to $10,000
    Application Deadline: Wednesday, January 15, 2025

    Activities can include:
    • Collecting baseline or pilot data that will enhance the preparation and submission of a future external funding proposal or research project
    • Implementing past research to pursue a new funding opportunity
    • Developing research partnerships

    Call for Proposals (Download the PDF)

  • CU SUCCEEDS Program 2

    Program 2: Collaborate – Program 2 awards provide funding for multidisciplinary teams to pursue significant external research funding (at least $1.5 million in direct costs over three or more years or center-type proposals). Program 2 awards will allow teams to position themselves to submit highly competitive proposals. Proposals with participation from across Clemson University, including Innovation Campuses, Research and Education Centers, and Clemson Centers and Institutes, are highly encouraged. Multi-institutional efforts may also be supported if Clemson is listed as the primary/lead institution on the targeted proposal submission. Final deliverables must include submission of external research proposal(s) requesting significant funding.

    Funding amount: Up to $35,000
    Application Deadline: Monday, March 5, 2025

    Call for Proposals (Download the PDF)

    Activities must include:
    • Preparation and submission of external research proposal(s) requesting significant funding (at least $1.5 million in direct costs over three or more years or center-type proposals)
    • Collaboration with multiple faculty from at least three different departments across at least two colleges.

  • CU SUCCEEDS Program 3

    Program 3: Project Completion – (Formerly CU SEED Tier 1)Program 3 awards provide funding to support the completion of research and/or scholarly activities with a targeted product. A final deliverable can include a manuscript, book, piece of art, or other product that is appropriate to the faculty member’s field of scholarship or a proposal resubmitted to an external funding agency (federal, state, or foundation).

    Funding amount: Up to $5,000
    Application Deadline: Monday February 3, 2025

    Call for Proposals (Download the PDF)

    Activities can include:
    • Finalizing peer-reviewed publications
    • Scholarly books or book chapters
    • Showing, as in the case of the visual and performing arts
    • Revising and resubmitting external grant proposals

  • CU SUCCEEDS Program 4

    Program 4: Fast Track –  Program 4 awards provide funding for faculty to respond to short-notice external funding opportunities. A short-notice external funding opportunity is one for which the submission deadline is within two months of the original RFP/solicitation publication date. Awardees will be notified of funding within five business days of proposal submission.

    Funding amount: Up to $5,000
    Deadline: Proposals accepted on a rolling basis

    Call for Proposals (Download the PDF)

    Activities can include:
    • Obtaining additional pilot data and/or resources to strengthen the external grant proposal submission
    • Hiring hourly paid students and/or staff to assist with the external grant proposal preparation

Clemson Faculty Succeeds Award Winners


  • Program 1 - 2024 Award Winners
    Awardee/PI College Department Project Title
    Ashton, Susanna CAH English CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Deeds Unbound
    Beahm, Lydia COE Education and Human Development CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Partnering with Families and Students in Developing Teacher-Led Functional Assessment-Based Interventions for Middle Schoolers
    Boccuto, Luigi CBSHS School of Nursing CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Metabolic Signatures of Long COVID-19
    Cerqueira, Susana R CECAS Bioengineering CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Microglia-Targeted Nanotherapeutics to Modulate Neuroinflammation
    Cieniewicz, Elizabeth CAFLS Plant and Environmental Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Determining the Effect of Virus Infection on Peach Flower Attractiveness to Pollinators
    Garst, Barry PRTM Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Examining the State, Potential, and Possibility of Community-Based Pediatric Palliative Care: A Systematic Review of Summer Camp Interventions for Children with Chronic or Serious Illness and their Families
    Guo, Cheng COS School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Lifted Convex Optimization for Electricity Markets
    Gurchiek, Reed CECAS Bioengineering CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Digital gait biomarkers for early detection of geriatric syndromes
    Hester, Rhys CBSHS Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Establishing a Research Partnership to Examine Criminal Case Flow Efficiency in Charleston County
    Machlis, Gary CBSHS Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: A Global Assessment of Exiled Scientists
    McKenzie, Ashley CBSHS Communication CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Formative Research for The Ally Pledge (TAP): An Intervention targeting cervical and breast cancer screening among survivors of gender-based violence
    Park, Wonkeun CAFLS Pee Dee Research and Education Center CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Sesame - Opening the door to the climate-friendly alternative summer crop production in SC
    Smith, Michelle CAH English CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: The Rhetorical Lives of Rosie the Riveter
    Turnbull, Matthew COS Biological Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Gene transcripts in a sexually transmitted persistent sterilizing virus
    Ura, Sarah COE Education and Human Development CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: System Modeling Tools to Reduce School Discipline Disparities
    Yoon, Jonghan CAAC Nieri Department of Construction, Development and Planning CU SUCEEDS Program 1: BIM (Building Information Modeling)-based Carbon Footprint Assessment System for Carbon Neutral in the Construction Supply Chain
  • Program 2 - 2024 Award Winners
    Awardee/PI College Department Project Title
    Sahoo, Debabrata CAFLS Agricultural Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 2: Decoding microcystin fate and transport from water to air using measurements and models
    Jamil, Faiza COE Education and Human Development CU SUCCEEDS Program 2: Deepening Rural Engagement, Access, and Measurement (DREAM) Research Hub Development
    Larsen, Jessica CECAS Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering CU SUCCEEDS Program 2: Harnessing Reactive Oxygen Species Dynamics for On-Demand mRNA Translation and Therapy
  • Program 3 - 2024 Award Winners
    Awardee/PI College Department Project Title
    Hunter, Erin CBSHS Public Health Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: Let's talk about sex: Publishing an innovative methodology for building a global sex survey for the World Health Organization
    Faridi, Maziyar CAH English CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: Rhythms of Relation: Decolonizing Identity in Iranian Modernism
  • Program 1 - 2023 Award Winners
    Awardee/PI College Department Project Title
    Byrne, Kaileigh CBSHS Psychology CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Development and Pilot Testing of a Decision-Making Training Intervention for Older Adults
    Koley, Goutam CECAS Electrical and Computer Engineering CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Self-powered sensor for oral health monitoring
    Larsen, Jessica CECAS Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Nerve Regenerative Nanoparticles
    Mayo, Rachel CBSHS Public Health Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Maternal Functioning and Substance Use Disorder: Postpartum Women’s and Providers' Perspectives on Contributing Factors to Maternal Functioning
    O'Halloran, Lydia CAFLS Forestry and Environmental Conservation CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Genotype and trait variability in a South Carolina salt marsh species facing impacts from climate change
    Ruiz, A. Stephanie CAFLS Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Latinos in Upstate South Carolina - How volunteering practices impact health and social well-being
    Sinwell, Nicole A. Banister COE Teaching and Learning CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Pilot Study on Adolescent Informal STEM Learning through Mathematical Puzzles
    Stanojevic, Cedomir CAFLS PRTM CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: The Effect of Socially Assistive Robot-based Intervention on Stress and Stress-Related Biomarkers on College Students Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
    Takeuchi, Jae Allegra DiBello CAAH Languages CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Japanese Dialect in Contemporary Japan: Identity, Native Speaker Bias, and L2 Speakers of Japanese
  • Program 1 - 2022 Award Winners
    Awardee/PI College Department Project Title
    Allison, Kendra CBSHS School of Nursing CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Adolescent mental health assessment in primary care settings of Appalachia, South Carolina to include sexting frequency and depression indices
    Bhattacharya, Sriparna COS Physics and Astronomy CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Implantable miniature displays to image dissolved O2 to monitor cancer and infection
    Brumaghim, Julia COS Chemistry CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Targeting More Than Just the Metal: New Ligand Geometries for Selective Uranium Binding
    Ingram-Smith, Cheryl COS Genetics and Biochemistry CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Investigation of encystation in the human pathogen Entamoeba histolytica
    Kettrey, Heather CBSHS Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice CU SUCCEEDS PROGRAM 1: Understanding Straight-Cisgender Peers’ Role in Preventing Sexual Victimization of LGBTQ+ College Students: A Qualitative Exploration of LGBTQ+ Student Perceptions of Support
    Melgar Jimenez, Juan Carlos CAFLS Plant and Environmental Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Understanding the Responses of Peach Roots to Increased Soil Organic Matter
    Pratt, Scott CAFLS Animal and Veterinary Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: The use of epitope tags to identify tissue-specific extracellular vesicle production
    Sardashti, Kasra COS Physics and Astronomy CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Micron-scale Active Microwave Couplers for Miniaturized Superconducting Quantum Circuits
    Sarno, Dawn CBSHS Psychology CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Developing Pirate Tank: A Gamified Phishing Intervention
    Sears, Michael COS Biological Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Keeping pace with a warming world: The ecolog-ical genomics of adaptation to climate change
    Song, Bo CAFLS Forestry and Environmental Conservation CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Initiation of Long-Term Monitoring Study of Marsh Migration into Forests: Effects of sea level rise on coastal ecosystems
    Walton, Jamiahus CECAS Industrial Engineering CU SUCCEEDS Tier 1: Discovering Performance Metrics of the Industrial Athlete to Reduce the Risk of Repetitive Strain Injury.
    Wei, Yanzhang COS Biological Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Bifunctional fusion gene PDL1sFv/MICAe for cancer immunotherapy
    Zhang, Jiangfeng CECAS Automotive Engineering CU SUCCEEDS Program 1: Electric Vehicle Optimal Charging Management at Fast Charging Stations
  • Program 2 - 2022 Award Winners
    Awardee/PI College Department Project Title
    Harcum, Sarah CBSHS Public Health Sciences CU SUCCEEDS P2: Development of an NSF Engineering Research Center proposal focused on Integrated Continuous Biomanufacturing Innovations
    Sekhon, Rajandeep COS Genetics and Biochemistry CU SUCCEEDS: Elucidation of metabolome and single-cell transcriptome underlying leaf senescence in sorghum
    Tucker, Emily CECAS Industrial Engineering CU SUCCEEDS: Proactive Planning for Park Equity: Rapid Assessment and Mathematical Optimization
  • Program 3 - 2023 Award Winners
    Awardee/PI College Department Project Title
    Bein, Amit CAAH History and Geography CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: World War II, Turkey, and the Fate of the Balkans and the Middle East
    Hooley, Matt CAAH English CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: Against Extraction: Indigenous Modernism in the Twin Cities
    Rahemi, Zahra CBSHS Nursing CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: Advance Care Planning Disparities Across Cognitive Functioning Levels and Ethnically/Racially Diverse Populations
    Thum, Kathleen CAAH Art CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: Concerning Carbon; A Series of Artworks to Explore the Materiality and Infrastructure of Fossil Fuels
    Zimany, Valarie CAAH Art CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: Floreali Confezionate: Artwork Production and Field Research on Botanicals in Renaissance Italian Maiolica
  • Program 3 - 2022 Award Winners
    Awardee/PI College Department Project Title
    Barattoni, Luca CAAH Languages CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: The Biopolitical Turn in World Cinema Visual Landscapes of Social Power
    Fasolino, Tracy CBSHS School of Nursing CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: Triangulating Outreach, Education, & Clinical Care in Appalachia South Carolina
    Hislop, Maya CAAH English CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: Bodies in the Middle: Black Women, Sexual Violence, and Justice
    Martinez, Nicole CECAS Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: Quantitative Validation of Candidate Genes for Discriminatory Biosensing of Environmental Radiation
    Rapa, Luke COE Education and Human Development CU SUCCEEDS Program #3: Advancing Critical Consciousness Scholarship through Forthcoming CUP-SPSSI Edited Volumes
    Walker, Erica COB Graphic Communications CU SUCCEEDS Program 3: A comparison of printing processes for fine art photography on non-paper substrates

Program History (2017-2021)


Prior to fiscal year 2022, the CU SUCCEEDS Funding Programs 1-4 were organized under separate funding initiatives. These programs consisted of CU SEED and CU SUCCEEDS. These separate funding programs were consolidated under one “umbrella” with the current CU SUCCEEDS (Programs 1-4) initiative. The programs were renamed as follows:

  • CU SEED Tier 2 is now CU SUCCEEDS Program 1 (Project Initiation/Seed Funding)
  • CU SUCCEEDS is now CU SUCCEEDS Program 2 (Collaborate)
  • CU SEED Tier 1 is now CU SUCCEEDS Program 3 (Project Completion)