Seed for Success Acorn Awards

2025 Seed for Success Acorn Awardee List

• Underlined names indicate Principal Investigators
• * designates first-time Acorn Award recipients
• ^ indicates regional campuses
• ^^ indicates non-Purdue faculty

Awardees

1. Alina Alexeenko, Elizabeth Topp. BioTrain Purdue program. Economic Development Administration. $3,812,733.

2. Daniel Aliaga, Songlin Fei, Brady Hardiman, Rajesh Kalyanam. Frameworks: Cyberinfrastructure for Urban Tree Resilience and Environmental Equity (uTREE). National Science Foundation. $4,998,044.

3. Andres Arrieta, Joseph Jewell, Rodney Trice. Embodied Sentient Mechanomorphing for Agile Control in High-speed (e-SMACHs) Vehicles. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. $1,099,507.

4. Saurabh Bagchi, Timothy Cason*, Somali Chaterji, Aravind Machiry, Shreyas Sundaram*. Collaborative Research: CPS: Frontier: CHORUS: Resilient Distributed CPS through Rational and Dynamic Decision-Making Among Multiple Stakeholders. National Science Foundation. $4,224,761.

5. Arnab Banerjee, Alexandra Boltasseva, Vladimir Shalaev, Pramey Upadhyaya. Uncovering Elusive Kitaev Topological States with Metasurfaces. W.M. Keck Foundation. $1,200,000.

6. Xiaoping Bao, Qing Deng, Can Li*, Matthew Olson, Isabelle Vanhaezebrouck. CAR Neutrophils Produced In Vivo to Remodel Tumor Microenvironment and Treat Glioblastoma. National Cancer Institute. $3,211,159.

7. Eduardo Barocio Vaca*, Johnathan Goodsell, Byron Pipes. Additive Manufacturing of Modular Tool Designs for Large-Scale Wind Blade Manufacturing. U.S. Department of Energy. $1,999,578.

8. Thomas Beechem, Xianfan Xu. FuSe2 Topic 3: Strain and Temperature Ex-Situ Processing of Ferroelectric Oxides for BEOL Performance. National Science Foundation. $1,900,000.

9. Bedrich Benes, Alejandra Magana DeLeon, Voicu Popescu. Collaborative: IIBRP: VR-Bio-Talk: VR Voice-Controlled Visual Analytics Platform for Plant Digital Twins. National Science Foundation. $1,200,000.

10. Antonio Bianchi, Eugene Spafford, Jing Tian. FLARE: A Multi-layered Approach to Exploit-Chain Generation. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. $2,269,537.

11. Virginia Bolshakova. Purdue University - GEAR UP State Grant - Indiana. U.S. Department of Education. $34,965,000.

12. Lynn Bryan, Toni Kempler Rogat, William Oakes*. Collaborative Research: Youth Learning Science and Engineering While Developing Community-Based Agency Through Resourceful Engagement in STEM (Youth CARES). National Science Foundation. $2,444,217.

13. Barrett Caldwell, Dawn Whitaker. Indiana Space Grant Consortium 2025-2028 Cycle. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). $3,410,000.

14. Luciano Castillo, Sally Bane, Ana Maria Estrada Gomez*, Luis Gomez*, Luz Sotelo, Maria Mirian Velay Lizancos*, David Warsinger. ONR Blue Integrated Partnership (BIP 2.0): A Consortium for Mentoring a Vibrant STEM Workforce Ready to Solve Tomorrow's Grand Challenges. Office of Naval Research. $9,892,031.

15. Soowon Chang*, Yunfeng Chen*. Synthesis Study on Applying Solar Power Systems in Indiana's Right of Way (ROW) and INDOT-Owned Facilities. U.S. Department of Transportation. $1,808,721.

16. Nikhilesh Chawla, Greg Buzzard, Hany Abdel-Khalik*, Charles Bouman. FuSe2 Topic 2: High Resolution Imaging of Defects in Semiconductors: Detection, Reliability, and Mitigation. National Science Foundation. $1,600,000.

17. Jie Chen*, George Eckert^^, Hakan Turkkahraman^^, and Sumit Yadav^^. Dose Analysis for Translating Animal Based Vibrational Force Study for Accelerating Orthodontic Tooth Movement to Clinic. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. $1,320,505.

18. Robert Cooks, Andrew Mesecar, David Thompson. High Throughput Infrastructure for Reaction Screening and Bioassays. National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. $2,752,646.

19. Meng Cui, Takaki Komiyama.^^ Light Pipe Microscope for Ultra-Large-Scale Cellular-Resolution Whole-Neocortex Two-Photon Calcium Imaging of Mammalian Brains. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. $1,886,913.

20. Vincent Davisson, Naoaki Fujii*, Gregory Knipp. Platinum Based Countermeasures and Combinations with Protective Agents. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. $1,150,119.

21. Jennifer DeBoer. ALOA TO 1. Agency for International Development. $3,210,355.

22. Shengwang Du*. QuSeC-TAQS: Nanodiamond Quantum Sensing for Four-Dimensional Live-Cell Imaging. National Science Foundation. $1,634,839.

23. Bradley Duerstock. Universal Non-Invasive Detection of Autonomic Dysreflexia for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury. US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity. $1,502,238.

24. David Purpura. On My Way Prekindergarten 2024 Cohort. Family & Social Services Administration. $1,000,000.

25. Erin Dunn*. Childhood Adversity, DNA Methylation, and Risk for Depression: A Longitudinal Study of Protective Factors and Sensitive Periods in Development. National Institute of Mental Health. $2,235,071.

26. Emily Dykhuizen, Casey Krusemark. Development of Inhibitors to Selectively Target the CBX8 Chromatin Reader Domain. National Cancer Institute. $2,145,615.

27. Emily Dykhuizen. Purdue Drug Discovery Training Program. National Institute of General Medical Science. $1,553,805.

28. Marxa Figueiredo, Sandro Matosevic. Advancing Bispecific Engagers for NK Immunotherapy in Pediatric Gliomas. Food and Drug Administration. $1,531,286.

29. Craig Goergen, Kan Hor^^, Guang Lin, Larry Markham^^, Jonathan Soslow^^. Modeling Mortality in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Cardiomyopathy: Identification of Surrogate Outcome Measures for DMD Drug Trials. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. $1,235,883.

30. Rajamani Gounder, Rakesh Agrawal, Mohit Tawarmalani. Electrified CO2 Hydrogenation to Olefins for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy. $1,750,000.

31. Vijay Gupta*, Mahsa Ghasemi*. Securing High-Density Urban Airspaces. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. $1,079,923.

32. John Haddock, Richard Domonkos*, Laura Slusher*. HELPERS 2024-2028. Indiana Department of Transportation. $1,334,749.

33. John Haddock. Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program 2024-2025. Indiana Department of Transportation. $1,935,083.

34. John Haddock, Richard Domonkos*. Local Technical Assistance Program 2025-2026 (LTAP). Indiana Department of Transportation. $1,810,465.

35. Ahmed Hassanein, Valeryi Sizyuk. Integrated Simulation of Plasma Transients Effects and Comprehensive Assessment of Various Mitigation Methods. U.S. Department of Energy. $1,506,494.

36. Catherine Hill*. NECTAR Pillar 2: Toolkit for Natural Products Focused Screening on the African Pharmacopeia. Gates Foundation. $1,695,445.

37. Lori Hoagland, Ankita Raturi*. TOMI3: Bringing Our Insights to the Farm to Co-create More Effective Methods of Disease Control in Organic Tomato Crops. National Institute of Food and Agriculture. $3,500,001.

38. Tomas Hook, Angela Archer, Joshua Carlton, Ethan Chitty, Carolyn Foley, Megan Gunn, Kwamena Quagrainie, Kara Salazar, Amy Shambach*, Dominique Turney*, Daniel Walker. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant 2024-2027 Omnibus. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. $6,704,292.

39. Inez Hua, Hua Cai*, Rebecca Ciez, John Mulrow*, John Howarter. Collaborative Research: NRT: Next Generation Technology and Talent for Environmental Sustainability. National Science Foundation. $1,500,000.

40. Libai Huang, Hadiseh Alaeian*, Alexandra Boltasseva, Jonathan Hood, Tongcang Li, Vladimir Shalaev, Valentin Walther*. Quantum Photonic Integrated Design Center (QuPIDC). U.S. Department of Energy. $12,740,604.

41. Martin Byung-Guk Jun*, Inseok Hwang, Byunghoo Jung*. Battery Management System for Flight Range Optimization and Stability Enhancement of AAM Aircraft with Non-Intrusive Sensor Fusion and Battery Diagnosis. Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology. $1,811,624.

42. Martin Byung-Guk Jun*, Stephan Biller*, Sabine Brunswicker*, Hua Cai*, Gary Cheng, Inseok Hwang, Byunghoo Jung*, Chi Hwan Lee, Damon Lercel*, Ajay Malshe, Byung-Cheol Min, Shaoshuai Mou, Crystal Murray*, Brandon Pitts, Vilas Pol, Leon Robert*, Julia Sibley, Ganesh Subbarayan-Shastri, Justin Weibel, Wenzhuo Wu. Center of Operation and Research for Industrial Advancement (CORIA) at Purdue as one of the Global Industrial Technology Cooperation Center (GITCC) of KIAT. Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology. $1,815,000.

43. Thomas Keon*^, Matthew Wells*^. Roberts Impact Lab at Purdue University Northwest. Indiana Economic Development Corporation. $4,500,000.

44. Seungjin Kim*, Stylianos Chatzidakis*, Mamoru Ishii, Shripad T. Revankar*, Lefteri Tsoukalas. A Consortium for Strategic Revitalization of Cyber-Physical Nuclear Infrastructure for Advanced Small Modular Reactors. U.S. Department of Energy. $6,000,000.

45. Younghyun Kim*. High-Fidelity and Trustworthy Teleinteraction Platform. National Research Foundation Korea. $1,008,189.

46. Richard Kuhn. Flavivirus and Alphavirus ReVAMMP (FLARE). National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. $3,241,190.

47. Richard Kuhn. Flavivirus and Alphavirus ReVAMPP (FLARE) -- Core C. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. $1,953,522.

48. Richard Kuhn. Bunyavirus and Picornavirus Pandemic Pathogen Preparedness (BP4) Center. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. $1,376,781.

49. Chi Hwan Lee. Development of Electroceuticals for Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury Using Biodegradable Semiconductor. Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology. $1,803,433.

50. Feng Li*, Brian King*. CyberCorps SFS: Building the Next Generation of Cybersecurity Engineering Workforces. National Science Foundation. $2,972,400.

51. Haitong Li*, Anand Raghunathan, Peide Ye. FuSe2 Topic 1: Bridging Atomic Layers and Foundation Models: An Indium-Oxide-Based Versatile Neural Computing Platform. National Science Foundation. $1,754,245.

52. Chien-Chi Lin*. Dynamic Double Network Hydrogel for Generating Pancreatic Organoids from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases. $1,146,975.

53. Stephen Lindemann. Identification of Human Gut Microbe-Derived Xenolipids: Impact of Fibers and Host Metabolic Health. National Institute of Health. $1,178,465.

54. Jing Liu*. Monitoring the Three-Dimensional Motion of Chromatin at Single Molecule Resolution. National Institute of General Medical Science. $1,427,521.

55. Xiaonan Lu*. Dynamic Modular Microgrids (DyM-MGs): Real-Time and Packetized Microgrid Implementation. U.S. Department of Energy. $1,441,992.

56. Angeline Lyon, Shalini Low-Nam*, John Tesmer. Mechanisms Underlying Regulation of PLCbeta by heterotrimeric G proteins. National Institute of General Medical Science. $1,404,864.

57. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, Kathy Broniarczyk, Aurie Swartz*, Dave Topp. Extending the Reach of SBHP, FY 25, Y6 (NGB). Uniformed Services University of the Health Science. $1,394,486.

58. Georgia Malandraki, Bruce Craig. Impact of Wearable Biofeedback for the Rehabilitation and Tele-Rehabilitation of Neurogenic Dysphagia. National Institute on Aging. $2,767,371.

59. Ajay Malshe, Monique McClain, Michael Sealy, Luz Sotelo. Space Strategic Technical Institute for In Space Operations. Air Force Research Laboratory. $5,850,000.

60. Carlos Martinez*, Linda Lee, Jeffrey Youngblood. Self-Assembly of PFAS Mixtures in the Presence of Inorganic Ions and Hydrocarbon Surfactants During Wetting and Drying. Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. $1,708,968.

61. Monique McClain, Timothee Pourpoint, Carlo Scalo, Carson Slabaugh, Tyler Tallman*, Jeffrey Youngblood. Controllable Stimuli-Responsive Multiphase Polymeric Propellants Submission. Office of the Secretary of Defense. $1,500,000.

62. Andrew Mesecar. IUSM TREAT-AD CENTER. National Institute on Aging. $4,275,877.

63. Brian Metzger*. The Genetic and Evolutionary Mechanisms Underlying the Origins of New Molecular Functions. National Institute of General Medical Science. $1,930,635.

64. Partha Mukherjee. MonaLiSa: Mechanistic Modeling and Analytics of Li-S Batteries. U.S. Department of Energy. $1,752,714.

65. Linda Nie, Ulrike Dydak, Ellen Wells. Highly Sensitive Novel Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) Technology to Quantify Multiple Metals in Human Bone In Vivo. National Institute of General Medical Science. $1,450,555.

66. Tyamo Okosun^, Armin Silaen^, Chenn Zhou^. Technical Development and Industrial Demonstration of Net-Zero Carbon EAF Steelmaking with Alternative Injection and Stirring Technologies. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. $7,158,034.

67. Haley Oliver. Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety. U.S. Agency for International Development. $19,987,640.

68. Haley Oliver. NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) - Program Year 2024-25. National Science Foundation. $1,368,166.

69. Kevin Otto, Mark Orazem^^. Engineering the Neuronal Response to Electrical Microstimulation. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. $1,949,463.

70. Guillermo Paniagua-Perez. Discovering Flow Control in Transonic Diffusing Passages. European Research Council. $3,904,372.

71. Elizabeth Parkinson. Mining Cryptic Biosynthetic Gene Clusters for Novel Bioactive Compounds and Biocatalysts. National Institute of General Medical Science. $2,211,006.

72. Dimitrios Peroulis. USNTPS Academic Curriculum Support Services. U.S. Department of the Navy. $9,171,952.

73. Jose E. Pietri*. Biological Vector Borne Transmission of Salmonella by Cockroaches. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. $1,429,428.

74. Byron Pipes, Eduardo Barocio Vaca*, Johnathan Goodsell. IACMI 2.0 - Total. U.S. Department of Energy. $4,100,000.

75. Timothee Pourpoint, Jonathan Poggie, Fabio Ribeiro. Long Duration Clean Air Tunnel for Research at Hypersonic Flow Conditions. U.S. Department of Defense. $1,499,893.

76. Senay Purzer, Virginia Gleghorn, Muhsin Menekse. Socially Transformative Engineering Pedagogy (STEP) for a Sustainable Future. National Science Foundation. $2,586,924.

77. Anand Raghunathan, Sumeet Gupta, Vijay Raghunathan, Kaushik Roy. COCOSYS: Center for the Co-Design of Cognitive Systems. Indiana Economic Development Corporation. $1,515,000.

78. Jessica Robertson*. Purdue Airport Project 426880. Indiana Economic Development Corporation. $1,000,000.

79. Kaushik Roy, Sumeet Gupta, Anand Raghunathan. CHEETA: CMOS+MRAM Hardware for Energy-EfficienT AI. National Security Technology Accelerator. $25,989,760.

80. Kara Salazar, Tamara Ogle*. Indiana Renewable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement and Planning (IN R-STEP) Collaboration. U.S. Department of Energy. $1,929,255.

81. Michael Sangid, Krzysztof Stopka*. Structures Uniquely Resolved to Guarantee Endurance (SURGE). Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. $1,924,574.

82. Karthik Sankaranarayanan*, Jay Keasling^^, Tanja Kortemme^^. Ideas Lab: USPRD: Programmable Small Molecule Biosynthesis. National Science Foundation. $7,199,398.

83. Gregory Scofield*, Joseph Jewell. Novel Testing Methods for Measuring Critical Gas Phase Interactions in Hypersonic Ground Test. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. $1,200,000.

84. Tom Shih. Thermal Management of Advanced Gas Turbines. U.S. Department of Energy. $1,200,000.

85. Senay Simsek. Heartland Children's Nutrition Collaborative. Riley Children's Foundation. $1,250,000.

86. Luis Solorio, Pavlos Vlachos, Michael Wendt^^. Engineering the Premetastatic Niche. National Cancer Institute. $2,606,200.

87. Luis Solorio, Brittany Allen-Petersen*, Tamara Kinzer-Ursem. Stromal Targeting to Improve the Efficacy of Systemically Administered Drugs for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinomas. National Cancer Institute. $2,431,252.

88. Michelle Thompson, Candice Bedford*, Roger Bryant*, Marc Caffee, Michael Eddy*, Briony Horgan*, Ryan Ickert*, Ben K. D. Pearce*, Kelsey Prissel*, Tabb Prissel*, Cauê Borlina*, Marissa Tremblay*, Roger Wiens. Purdue Resources Empowering Coordinated Investigations for Sample Exploration (PRECISE). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. $5,220,382.

89. Satish Ukkusuri. Co-E3T: Energy-Efficient and Equitable Transit through usercentric hardware and software Co-development and community Co-design. U.S. Department of Energy. $1,099,998.

90. Vikki Weake. NSF-BSF: Redox Regulation of Drosophila Phototransduction. National Science Foundation. $1,155,315.

91. Justin A. Weibel, Fengqing Zhu. Machine learning Enabled Two-pHase flow metrologies, models, and Optimized DesignS (METHODS). Office of Naval Research (ONR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives (MURI) Program. $4,435,247.

92. Yoon Yeo, Timothy Corson^^. Long-Acting Formulations of Griseofulvin for Ocular Neovascularization Therapy. National Institutes of Health. $2,142,277.

93. Yoon Yeo. Modulating Immunodominance to Support the Development of Universal Influenza Vaccines. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. $1,075,563.

94. Chongli Yuan, Ranjie Xu*, Yang Yang. Elucidate Gene-Environmental Interactions Employed by Pb in Promoting ADRD in Aging Brains. National Institute on Aging. $3,924,990.

95. Amanda Zelechoski^, Abigail Dempsey*^, John Moreland*^, Kyle Toth^, Matthew Wells*^, Chenn Zhou^. VR-FUTURES: Virtual Reality for Understanding Trauma and Utilizing Regulation When Experiencing Stress. Indiana Department of Education. $1,500,000.

96. Zhong-Yin Zhang, Karson Putt. Primary Screening and Hit Follow Up to Identify the First Selective Inhibitors of PLC-1 and PLC-2. National Cancer Institute. $1,507,558.

97. Zhong-Yin Zhang, Seung-Oe Lim*, Weiguo Tao. Structure/Function of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases. National Cancer Institute. $1,765,823.

98. Fu Zhao, Chandra Nath*, John Sutherland. Integrated Technoeconomic, Lifecycle, and Circularity Analyses Tool for EV Batteries. U.S. Department of Energy. $1,631,000.

99. Qingfei Zheng*. Development of a Chemical Biology Toolbox to Investigate Histone Monoaminylation. National Institute of General Medical Science. $1,535,587.

100. Davide Ziviani. Commercial Cold Climate Rooftop Heat Pump Using CO2/Propane Cascaded with a Centrifugal System. U.S. Department of Energy. $1,250,000.