CLAS faculty receive mid-career funds to boost research
Wayne State College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) faculty have received a much-needed research boost thanks to a new funding initiative established in the dean's office. The CLAS Mid-Career Fund for Research Infrastructure and Development" aims to address a gap in funding for research-active faculty in the humanities, life, social and physical sciences.
Physics professors, Zhixian Zhou and Boris Nagorny, were joint recipients of the funding. They explained that it would be used to update and fix outdated lab equipment used by faculty and students. Zhou said that replacing and repairing lab equipment is costly and not easy to do, and this support will cover the cost of parts for their physical property measurement system.
"To do experimental research, instruments are fundamental, and they have limited lifespans," said Zhou. "To extend their lifetimes, you must take care of the equipment by regularly maintaining and updating them."
Tamara Hendrickson is a chemistry professor who values a high-functioning and efficient lab to serve her students best. Hendrickson will use this grant to update and fix lab equipment.
Hendrickson expressed how helpful this grant was because she had several pieces of broken equipment and didn't have the funding to fix them. This support from the dean's office has allowed Hendrickson to update a negative 20 C freezer and a high-speed centrifuge, among other critical items.
"We've been making do without this equipment for several years by using those of colleagues when possible or by adapting our procedures to do them by hand, which is slower and less accurate," said Hendrickson. "These repairs will make my lab more efficient and productive and make me more competitive for external funding."
Professor Aaron Benyamin Retish received funding to further support the publication of a volume he is editing with Dr. Immo Rebitschek of the University of Jena. The volume, tentatively entitled Social Control and Socialist Legality under Stalin and Khrushchev, studies how the Soviet state tried to control society and how Soviet citizens used the law to assert their own needs and ideals. The volume is under contract with the University of Toronto Press, and Retish hopes it will be published soon.
"This project has been a joy to work on because it has brought together scholars from across the world who are studying the justice system in Russia," said Retish.
CLAS Dean Stephanie Hartwell led the initiative to distribute these once-in-a-lifetime funds that will further the success of Wayne State's research. She is a proud advocate for WSU's excellent faculty and believes this initiative is a great way to support not only CLAS but the entire university.
"Using resources efficiently, CLAS can invest in our scientific and research endeavors, and the Mid-Career Fund is an example of how we do so in support of our excellent faculty," said Hartwell.