UM-Flint receives historic NSF grant to fund translational research

The University of Michigan-Flint has been awarded the largest research grant in its history: $3.3 million distributed over five years as part of the National Science Foundation's GRANTED initiative.

The funds will be invested in growing UM-Flint's research capabilities, marking a major step forward in the university's efforts to secure external funding. This enhanced capacity will create new opportunities for industry partnerships and student research while developing a skilled regional workforce that can attract advanced manufacturing and technology companies to the Flint area.

GRANTED, which stands for Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity, aims to address "… systemic barriers within the nation's research enterprise by improving research support and service capacity," according to the NSF's website. The program was designed to help administrators and faculty build infrastructure for more research and better partnerships.

The NSF award comes after months of effort from principal investigators Ken Sylvester, interim executive director of the Office of Research & Economic Development, and Mohamed Wiem Mkaouer, associate professor of computer science, in the university's College of Innovation and Technology. Sylvester and Mkaouer were supported in their endeavor by three other senior university personnel: ORED's Sara Barton, manager of corporate and business development, and CIT professors of practice Tim Bates and Ed Kim.

UM-Flint has long been considered an anchor institution with comprehensive offerings, but thanks to the GRANTED initiative, the university can build new kinds of partnerships to underscore its unique value.

"Our grant proposal was focused on the niche that regional public universities occupy in the American economic landscape," Sylvester said. "UM-Flint, and especially CIT, is ideally positioned to pursue 'use-inspired' or industry-engaged research. But to deliver on the promise of our project-based, experiential learning programs, which focus on real-world problem-solving, we have to build more relationships with industry."

GRANTED funds will allow ORED to hire a research development officer, a research administrator, and a community engagement officer. Together with the project's senior personnel, the new hires will guide and support faculty through the many domains of research development and the partnership-building process.  

According to Mkaouer, the award represents an opportunity for CIT and the entire university to shift their collective mindset toward research.

"Our goal is to cultivate a robust research culture focused on mentorship," he said. "We aim to break down existing silos within the university, encouraging collaborative projects across disciplines. By connecting our faculty with industry leaders and fostering interdisciplinary initiatives, we anticipate a transformative increase in research activity and output."

With the GRANTED award, NSF has empowered UM-Flint to continue its trajectory toward becoming a research-active university. The campus received 20 research awards in fiscal year 2024, growing the year-over-year total of awarded research dollars from $1.3 to $4.6 million.  Already in fiscal year 2025, which began in July 2024, the campus has received $6.2 million in research awards and $5.3 million in training grants. Both Sylvester and Mkaouer see the possibility for UM-Flint to establish a new standard for place-based innovation, dramatically improving the local economy in the process.

"GRANTED is ultimately about building research capacity," Mkaouer said. "You can't build such capacity without first having the potential to do so, and in awarding us this historic grant, the NSF has made it clear that they recognize that potential in UM-Flint."

For more information, visit the websites of ORED, CIT or NSF's GRANTED initiative.