Media Contact
Amanda Dobbs
Associate Director, Public Relations and Communications
Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development
[email protected]
ATLANTA — More than 100 researchers, post docs and graduate students from across Georgia State joined university leaders Oct. 29 for the RISE Success Forum celebrating research progress made possible through the Research Innovation and Scholarly Excellence challenge, or Project RISE.
Starting in 2022, RISE provided $2.5 million in internal grant funding to GSU researchers to support transformative projects in four cross-cutting research hubs and four seed grant categories. The projects were designed to bring together some of the top scholars in fields as diverse as astronomy, criminal justice, neuroscience, law and virology, along with key government agencies, private industry, foundations, nonprofits and philanthropic sponsors. The overall goal was to gain new knowledge that can deliver real-world impact.
“By investing in our own research community in a cross-cutting way, the RISE program has shown that we can deliver inspiration, insights and solutions beyond a single discipline or issue,” said Georgia State President M. Brian Blake. “As one of the largest and most diverse R1 institutions in the nation, Georgia State has a unique opportunity to address complex challenges in our society.”
The awardees were chosen from 38 groups who submitted detailed research proposals. Submissions were reviewed by a panel of university leaders based on criteria including impact, leverage, diversity, interconnection, engagement, sustainability and innovation. Since the initial $2.5 million internal grant investment, the program has yielded more than 10 times that number in additional external funding, a total of $29 million and counting, and more than 70 publications and 66 presentations.
“RISE is especially unique because it exemplifies innovation through connection. It’s built on engaging across disciplines, thinking in new ways and working together to get to a future that none of us can get to alone,” said Nicolle Parsons-Pollard, Georgia State’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “This spirit of collaboration has certainly led to great progress.”
At the event, RISE research teams shared more than 50 individual posters, as well as videos and even research instruments, to illustrate their work to date and share goals for future progress.
Donald Hamelberg, interim vice president for research and economic development, highlighted the significant impact the RISE program has had beyond the numbers.
“This program has united our research community across multiple, diverse disciplines, provided valuable experience for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and fostered a dynamic exchange of ideas,” he said. “These interdisciplinary connections are crucial in strengthening our path toward sustained research growth and impact, both within the university and beyond.”
Puja Raol, a neuroscience major and Presidential Scholar from the Honors College who presented a poster at the event, noted how the program impacted her directly as a young researcher.
“My RISE experience through the Grady Trauma Project has allowed me to combine my passion for neuroscience and public health to conduct research that can improve conditions for underserved communities in Atlanta,” she said.
For more information about RISE, visit research.gsu.edu/rise.