Gifts & Grants

James H. Whitney III, director of the Rutgers Upward Bound Program (RUB), is the principal investigator of a five-year award totaling $2,839,785. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Upward Bound is currently in its 46th year of operation at Rutgers–New Brunswick. It is a year-round, precollege program designed to assist and motivate students to successfully graduate from high school, prepare for college admission, and to successfully complete their baccalaureate degree. RUB provides workshops, such as SAT prep, cultural activities, college tours, and college planning, as well as a host of other services, including a mandatory summer institute on campus to prepare students for college life. RUB serves students in grades 9–12 from New Brunswick, Plainfield, and Perth Amboy. Learn more about Director Whitney here.

William Holzemer, dean of the College of Nursing, Rutgers–Newark, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $200,000. The project titled FOCUS—Rutgers Wellness Center is being supported by the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey. Learn more about Dean Holzemer here.

Jill Friedman, director of the Pro Bono and Public Interest Program at the School of Law–Camden, and Angela V. Baker, associate dean, are the principal investigators of an award totaling $100,000. The project titled LSAC DiscoverLaw.org Program is being supported by the Law School Admission Council. Learn more about Director Friedman here and Dean Baker here.

Leonard Feldman, vice president of Physical Science and Engineering Partnerships and director of the Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices, and Nanotechnology, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $50,000. The project titled Impurity Incorporation into Epitaxial Graphene on SiC is being supported by the National Science Foundation. Learn more about Professor Feldman here.

Joel Cantor, director of the Center for State Health Policy and professor in the Department of Public Policy at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers–New Brunswick, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $14.3 million. The project titled Sustainable High-Utilization Team Model is being supported by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Learn more about about Professor Cantor here.

Rutgers launched a new program last year to encourage community-based participatory research in New Brunswick with grants up to $25,000. Here are some awards for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012.

Community and Backyard Gardening in New Brunswick’s Urban Soils: Providing Locally Grown Food While Protecting Human Health 
Rutgers codirector: Michele Bakacs, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community codirector: Lorena Gaibor, Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen, Unity Square Partnership

New Brunswick residents are actively engaged in community and backyard-gardening initiatives, but some urban soils in the city have elevated levels of lead. To protect human health, Rutgers researchers and Unity Square Partnership will sample local soils with elevated lead concentrations. Researchers will conduct greenhouse experiments to determine the metal uptake rates of herbs and produce popular in the community. Then dietary risk-analysis and safe-gardening practices will be developed. Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex Co. will deliver this knowledge to New Brunswick gardeners via a lead-safe gardening training program, and Spanish communication materials will be created.

Partnership for New Brunswick Job Search Solutions
Rutgers codirector: Carl Van Horn, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Community codirector: Scott Bollwage, New Brunswick Public Schools Adult Learning Center

The Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and the New Brunswick Public Schools Adult Learning Center are partnering to improve job search attitudes, behaviors, and employment outcomes for unemployed Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients in New Brunswick. This project includes two innovative career development activities for participants of the TANF Job Search program: a speaker series and an innovative, behavior-based, soft skills (e.g., conflict resolution) training module. The partners will implement an evidence-based professional development program to enhance the TANF Job Search staff’s capacity to help job seekers return to work and maintain employment.

Increasing Food Security for the Homebound Elderly in New Brunswick
Rutgers codirector: Cara Cuite, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community codirector: Shareka Fitz, Meals on Wheels in Greater New Brunswick

This grant seeks to understand and overcome barriers to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment among homebound elderly Meals on Wheels in Greater New Brunswick (MOWGNB) clients in an effort to increase their food security. Using semi-structured interviews, researchers will develop educational materials and a culturally and age-appropriate protocol for in-home screening and enrollment in SNAP. Rutgers Learning to End Hunger students will then use the protocol to screen and enroll interested, eligible MOWGNB clients, revising the protocol as needed. This will benefit individuals involved in the project by increasing their food budget, and the creation and dissemination of the protocol and best-practices materials may benefit homebound elderly throughout the county and country.

Maxim Gorbunov, associate research professor in the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers–New Brunswick, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $721,000. The project titled Assessing and Monitoring of DoD Coral Reef Communities Using Advanced Fluorescence Techniques is being supported by the U.S. Department of Defense. Learn more about Professor Gorbunov here.

Stavroula Sofou, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the School of Engineering, Rutgers–New Brunswick, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $720,000. Her project, which is titled Antivascular Alpha-Particle Therapy by Targeted Liposomes Loaded with Ac-225, is being supported by the American Cancer Society. Learn more about Professor Sofou here.

Jonathan Eckstein, professor in the Department of Management Science and Information Systems at the Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $452,617. The project titled Coherent Risk-Adjusted Decisions Over Time: A Bi-level Programming Approach is being supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Andrzej Ruszczynski,  professor II in the Department of Management Science and Information Systems at the Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick, is the coprincipal investigator. Learn more about Professor Eckstein here and Professor Ruszczynski here.

Nir Yakoby, assistant professor in the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences–Camden, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $121,761. The project titled CAREER: Dynamics and Diversity of Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling in Epithelial Cells is being supported by the National Science Foundation. Learn more about Professor Yakoby here.

Christopher C. Obropta, associate extension specialist in the N.J. Agricultural Experiment Station at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers–New Brunswick, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $712,500. The project titled Cohansey Agriculture Assistance Program is being supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Learn more about Christopher Obropta here.

E.A. Elsayed, professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the School of Engineering, Rutgers–New Brunswick, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $296,273. The project titled Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation of NextGen Trajectory-Based Operations is being supported by the Federal Aviation Administration. Learn more about Professor Elsayed here.

Brent D. Turrin, associate research professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $212,436. The project titled Collaborative Research: Development of 40Ar/39Ar Intercolibratin Pipettes is being supported by the National Science Foundation. Learn more about Professor Turrin here.

Barbara M. O’Neill, professor and specialist in financial resource management in the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, is the principal investigator of an award totaling $139,410. The project titled Money Matters—The Financial Education Staff Training is being supported by the New York Public Library. Learn more about Professor O’Neill here.