The Success in Multidisciplinary Research award is given to a team of faculty members in more than one academic college who have succeeded in gaining major external resources and recognition for multidisciplinary research.
Merry Koschan, Chuck Melcher, Laurence Miller, Dayakar Penumadu, George Schweitzer, and Mariya Zhuravleva
This team, representing four departments across two colleges and a research center, is tackling the problem of nuclear proliferation through a multidisciplinary research project working to improve radiation measurement for detectors. The US Department of Homeland Security has tasked them with developing needed radiation measurement capabilities. Their work is supported by a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation and Department of Homeland Security. In addition to its important intellectual contribution, this team has mentored close to twenty UT undergraduate and graduate students through the project. Their work has been presented at conferences around the globe and forged partnerships with researchers in Germany and Switzerland. They are now working to develop new funding sources to continue the work and engage industry partners.