2017-2023 Award Winners
The Clemson Major Research Instrumentation (CU-MRI) initiative provides financial support from the Division of Research to Clemson University researchers for the purchase, replacement, or upgrade of major research equipment that impacts scholarship, research productivity, and award of extramural funding. For the purposes of this initiative, major research equipment is defined as a unit having a useful life of at least five years and an acquisition cost of more than $50,000.
Application deadline: October 2, 2023
Funding: $50,000 or more
2023 Clemson Major Research Instrumentation (CU-MRI) Award Winners
CU-MRI: Rapid Measurement of Microplastic Particles Across Environmental Systems with Laser Direct Infrared Imaging
PI: Dr. Stefanie Whitmire Agricultural Sciences (CAFLS)
The project team consists of:
8 faculty members from CAFLS
2 faculty members from COS
3 faculty members from CECAS
CU-MRI: Acquisition of an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer, Gas Bench, and Elemental Analyzer for the Adaptation to Climate Change
PI: Dr. Alexander Pullen Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences (CECAS)
The project team consists of:
4 faculty members from CAFLS
4 faculty members from CBSHS
10 faculty members from CECAS
1 faculty member from COS
CU-MRI: Virtual Reality Simulator for Analyzing Criminal Justice Decision-making and Performance
PI: Dr. Kyle McClean Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice
The project team consists of:
4 faculty members from CBSHS
1 Faculty member from CECAS
CU-MRI: Advancing the Optical Spectroscopy Capabilities with Lasers and Detection Cameras
PI: Dr. Thao Tran Department of Chemistry
The project team consists of:
2 faculty members from CECAS
2 faculty members from COS
2022 Clemson Major Research Instrumentation (CU-MRI) Award Winners
CU-MRI: Acquisition of a Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) interface to establish Mass Spectrometry Imaging Capability at Clemson University
PI: Dr. Nishanth Tharayil Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences
The project team consists of:
One faculty Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences
One faculty Department of Biological Sciences
One faculty Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
CU-MRI: KelvinoxJT Cryogenic Electro-Optical Characterization System
PI: Dr. Kasra Sardashti Department of Physics and Astronomy
The project team consists of:
Two faculty Department of Physics and Astronomy
Two faculty Department of Chemistry
Two faculty Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
CU-MRI: Acquisition of a Photolithography Mask Aligner to Enable Micro/Nano-Scale Device Fabrication in a Multi-User Cleanroom Facility
PI: Dr. Judson Ryckman Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
The project team consists of:
Nine faculty Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
One faculty Department of Physics and Astronomy
One faculty Department of Mechanical Engineering
CU-MRI: Acquisition of Common-Use Geophysical Equipment for Locating, Documenting and Protecting Archaeological and Cultural Resources on Clemson University Landscapes
PI: Dr. David Markus Department of Sociology and Anthropology
The project team consists of:
Three faculty Department of Sociology and Anthropology
One faculty Department of History and Geography
One faculty School of Architecture
One faculty Experiment Station
One faculty Historic Properties
One faculty Facilities
Two faculty Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
CU-MRI: Boosting Computational Infrastructure for Multidisciplinary Big Data Analyses
PI: Dr. Trudy Mackay Department of Genetics and Biochemistry
The project team consists of:
Three faculty Department of Genetics and Biochemistry
One faculty Department of Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences
One faculty Department of Bioengineering
CU-MRI: High-Resolution UV-Vis-NIR Spectrophotometer for Analysis of f-Element Solution Thermodynamics and Coordination Chemistry
PI: Dr. Shanna Estes Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
The project team consists of:
Two faculty Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
Two faculty Department of Chemistry
Center Affiliations NEESRWM – Center for Nuclear Environmental Eng. Sciences and Radioactive Waste Management
CEI – Clemson Environmental Institute
2021 Clemson Major Research Instrumentation (CU-MRI) Award Winners
CU-MRI: A Low Field, Benchtop Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer for Characterization of Natural Organic Matter and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in agroecosystems - A Rapid Analytical Tool at an Experimental Station
PI: Dr. Alex Chow Department of Forestry and Environment al Conservation
The project team consists of:
Two faculty Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences
One faculty Department of Agricultural Sciences
One faculty Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
CU-MRI: Acquisition of common-use equipment for quality control, optimization and quantification for Next Generation Sequencing
PI: Dr. Christopher L. Parkinson Department of Biological Sciences
The project team consists of:
One faculty Department of Genetics and Biochemistry
One faculty Department of Bioengineering
One faculty Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
One faculty Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences
2020 Clemson Major Research Instrumentation (CU-MRI) Award Winners
CU-MRI: Acquisition of the Seahorse metabolic analyzer for supporting live-cell metabolism research at Clemson University
PI: Dr. Zhicheng Dou Department of Biological Sciences
The project team consists of:
Five faculty Department of Genetics and Biochemistry
Three faculty Department of Biological Sciences
CU-MRI: Jordan Hall Live Imaging Inverted Confocal Microscope
PI: Dr. David M. Feliciano Department of Biological Sciences
The project team consists of:
Five faculty Department of Biological Sciences
One faculty Department of Bioengineering
One faculty Department of Physics and Astronomy
One faculty Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
CU-MRI: Powder XRD Instrument
PI: Dr. Joseph Kolis Department of Chemistry
The project team consists of:
Two faculty Department of Chemistry
One faculty Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
One faculty Materials Science and Engineering
One faculty Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
CU-MRI: Power Device Analyzer
PI: Dr. Zheyu Zhang Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The project team consists of:
Eight faculty Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
One faculty School of Computing
One faculty Department of Automotive Engineering
2019 Clemson Major Research Instrumentation (CU-MRI) Award Winners
CU-MRI: Procurement of a Pneumatic Ram for the Research of Severe Impact Scenarios
PI: Dr. Jean Desjardins Department of Bioengineering
The project team consists of:
Two faculty Department of Mechanical Engineering
One faculty Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Science
One faculty Department of Materials Science and Engineering
One faculty School of Architecture
CU MRI: Acquisition of an LC/MS/MS to Enhance Research Opportunities in Characterization and Remediation of Trace Organic Contaminants
PI: Dr. David Freedman Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
The project team consists of:
Three faculty Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
CU-MRI: Multifunctional In-Situ TEM Holder for Hitachi Electron Microscopes
PI: Dr. Kai He Department of Materials Science & Engineering
The project team consists of:
Five faculty Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Three faculty Department of Physics and Astronomy
Two faculty Department of Mechanical Engineering
One faculty Department of Chemistry
One faculty Electron Microscopy Facility
CU MRI: Acquisition of New Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry systems with a coupled Laser Ablation Stage
PI: Dr. Brian Powell Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
The project team consists of:
One faculty Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
Center Affiliations NEESRWM – Center for Nuclear Environmental Eng. Sciences and Radioactive Waste Mgmt.
CEI – Clemson Environmental Institute
CU MRI: Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC)
PI: Dr. Hugo Sanabria Department of Physics and Astronomy
The project team consists of:
Three faculty Department of Physics and Astronomy
Three faculty Department of Bioengineering
One faculty Department of Genetics and Biochemistry
One faculty Department of Chemistry
One faculty Department of Biological Sciences
One faculty Department of Materials Science and Engineering
One faculty Department of Mechanical Engineering
Center Affiliation Clemson University Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC)
South Carolina Center for Translational Research Improving Musculoskeletal Health (SC-TRIMH)
Clemson Light Imaging Facility
2018 Clemson Major Research Instrumentation (CU-MRI) Award Winners
Acquisition of a Nano-Flow Liquid Chromatography System and the Associated Nano-Flow Ionization Interface to Enhance the Research and Teaching Infrastructure in Proteomics
PI: Dr. Nishanth Tharayil Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences
The project team consists of:
Four faculty Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences
Three faculty Department of Genetics & Biochemistry
One faculty Department of Biological Sciences
One faculty Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
One faculty Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
Modular Parallel Bioreactor System for Biomanufacturing Process Control
PI: Dr. Jordan Gilmore Department of Bioengineering
The project team consists of:
One faculty Department of Automotive Engineering
One faculty Department of Bioengineering
One faculty Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
One faculty Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
HP Jet Fusion Full Color 3D Printing to Enhance Research and Education Across Clemson University
PI: Dr. Timothy Pruett Department of Machining & Technical Services
The project team consists of:
One faculty Department of Machining & Technical Services
Revitalizing Research and Demonstration Abilities for Sandhill Research and Education Center
PI: Dr. William Heaton Department of Forestry & Environmental Conservation
The project team consists of:
Two faculty Sandhills Research
2017 Clemson Major Research Instrumentation (CU-MRI) Award Winners
CU MRI: Microscale Thermophoresis
PI: Dr. Joshua Alper Department of Physics & Astronomy
The project team consists of:
Seven faculty Department of Genetics & Biochemistry
Three faculty Department of Physics & Astronomy
Four faculty Department of Biological Sciences
Two faculty Department of Chemistry
One faculty Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Precision Solution Calorimeter for Advanced Thermodynamic Characterization
PI: Dr. Kyle Brinkman Department of Materials Science & Engineering
The project team consists of:
One faculty Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
One faculty Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Acquisition of a Droplet Digital PCR System (ddPCR)
PI: Dr. Miriam Konkel Department of Genetics & Biochemistry
The project team consists of:
Six faculty Department of Genetics & Biochemistry
Twelve faculty Department of Biological Sciences
One faculty Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Two faculty Department of Bioengineering
Two faculty Department of Plant & Environmental Engineering
One faculty School of Nursing
UAV-based LiDAR and Hyperspectral Sensors to Enable Clemson Research and Education
Across Clemson University
PI: Dr. Christopher Post Department of Forestry & Environmental Conservation
The project team consists of:
One faculty Department of Agricultural Sciences
Two faculty Department of Forestry & Environmental Conservation
One faculty Department of Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences
One faculty Department of Physics & Astronomy
One faculty Department of Automotive Engineering
Next Generation Sequencing at CU to Advance Research and Education
PI: Dr. Christopher Saski Department of Genetics & Biochemistry
The project team consists of:
Thirteen faculty Department of Genetics & Biochemistry
Four faculty Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
Ten faculty Department of Biological Sciences
Three faculty Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences
One faculty Department of Computer Science
Three faculty Clemson University Genomics & Computational Biology Laboratory
One faculty Department of Automotive Engineering
Two faculty Department of Bioengineering
Two faculty Department of Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences
One faculty Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences
Two faculty Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
