Office of Research & Sponsored Programs

May you have a great summer! As the spring semester comes to a close, we hope you take some time to relax, recharge, and enjoy a well-deserved break.

Whether you’re preparing for upcoming proposals or exploring new research ideas, this month’s newsletter includes resources and opportunities to support your summer plans.

— Your friends at ORSP

We are pleased to introduce the Local Peer Review Council (LPRC) Incentive Program, a new initiative designed to strengthen external proposal development at SHSU.

Through this program, faculty and staff who serve as proposal reviewers may receive compensatory funding while helping principal investigators improve the quality and competitiveness of proposals before external submission.

We invite interested faculty and staff to sign up to serve on the LPRC and help support SHSU’s growing research enterprise.

Interested in serving on the LPRC? Complete the interest form here:

If you have questions, or would like to learn more, please contact ORSP at funding@shsu.edu.

SHSU researchers are encouraged to complete the Research IT Infrastructure Needs Assessment survey. This survey is designed to gather input on IT infrastructure needs related to current or planned externally funded research activities at SHSU.

Your response will help inform future institutional investments in research computing, AI infrastructure, and data environments that support the growth of sponsored research.

Thank you for your input!

New Financial Management and Reporting Tools for Sponsored Projects

Managing grant funds at SHSU just got easier. Cayuse Fund Manager is now live and available for campus use through the Cayuse platform! This new module provides principal investigators, project directors, faculty, staff, and research administrators with a centralized and user-friendly way to monitor sponsored project finances.

Fund Manager allows users to view updated financial information in an easy-to-read format, including budgets, expenses, encumbrances, available balances, and daily grant activity. Users can also drill down into transactions, review monthly activity, and generate reports to support project management, compliance, and decision-making. The system integrates with Banner and is updated regularly to provide timely financial insights.

What's Next?

Access within the system will vary depending on user roles, and ORA staff can assist with determining appropriate access levels.

To support campus adoption, the Controller’s Office will soon begin offering Fund Manager training sessions and demonstrations. Additional information, including training dates and times, will be shared via email in the coming weeks.

As an added preview, another Cayuse module, Effort Certification, is currently in development, with more information to come!

Access Cayuse Fund Manager: https://shsu.app.cayuse.com/
Contact: Jennifer Babcock | jlb050@shsu.edu | 936-294-3860

We encourage all faculty and staff involved in sponsored projects to take advantage of this new resource and upcoming training opportunities.

Following the launch of Cayuse Fund Manager, the Controller’s Office will soon share upcoming training opportunities and demonstrations to help faculty and staff navigate the new system. Be on the lookout for updates!

What’s happening in ORA?

The annual summer ePAF event has come to an end. This spring, the Office of Research Administration processed and completed approximately 150 ePAFs! Here’s a look at what our office has addressed this month:

• New Award Setups: 29

• Kick-Off Meetings Held: 30

• Budget modifications: 26

• Managed payments total: $1,306,622

• Invoiced/Billed sponsor total: $884,579

As always, ORA is here to work with you to administer and manage your awards. We look forward to working on your next project!

SHSU researchers are encouraged to participate in the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Annual Research Conference (TARC).

This collaborative event brings together researchers from across disciplines to develop project ideas, build research teams, and pitch concepts for seed funding opportunities. Focus areas include energy, healthcare, infrastructure, materials, manufacturing, and national security.

Date: May 19–20, 2026
Location: Zachry Engineering Education Complex, College Station

Your response will help inform future institutional investments in research computing, AI infrastructure, and data environments that support the growth of sponsored research.

Thank you for your input!

Join us today for NIH R15 & R16: Collaborative Pathways to NIH Funding, an informational session exploring how NIH R15 and R16 programs can support research growth, student engagement, and long-term research capacity at SHSU.

The session will provide an overview of both mechanisms, key differences between the programs, and guidance on developing competitive proposals and identifying collaborators.

Date: Tuesday, May 12

Location: ORSP Office, Collaborative Space

Innovative ideas often begin as a simple insight, teaching tool, or “what if?” moment. If you have an idea, no matter how early, we encourage you to submit an intellectual property disclosure to ORSP.

Submitting a disclosure is confidential and does not commit you to patenting or commercialization. It simply allows ORSP to help explore whether your idea could be protected and provide guidance before publishing or presenting.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Jonathan Thomas.

Explore our Opportunities Spotlight, a curated database of grant opportunities to support your research and projects. Stay ahead with the latest funding calls and find the right fit for your work.

Updated weekly—because the best funding matches keep rolling in!

Find it anytime in our Find Funding page.

The Office of Assessment has funding available for assessment-related activities in the form of competitive mini-grants.

Who's eligible to apply?

These grants are available to all SHSU faculty and staff to support new or ongoing assessment practices within programs, offices, or departments, or to help fund travel to make assessment-related presentations at a professional conference.

What's the award amount?

Eligible recipients may request up to $1,000.

When's the deadline?

May 22, 2026.

All applicants must complete the Assessment Mini-Grant Application and submit it to thamrick@shsu.edu.

Application Documents:

• Full Application

• Rubric

SHSU has received multiple awards through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Protection and Pest Management (PPA) program in support of agricultural monitoring, invasive species detection, public outreach, and technology-driven pest management initiatives across Texas and the southeastern United States.

The funded projects span a wide range of efforts, including agricultural pest surveillance, citrus disease monitoring, invasive species education, artificial intelligence-assisted pest identification, augmented reality learning tools, and agricultural literacy initiatives. Together, these awards highlight SHSU’s growing leadership in agricultural innovation, biosecurity, extension education, and applied research that supports producers, communities, and environmental protection efforts.

Several projects also demonstrate SHSU’s expanding use of emerging technologies, including AI, 3D animation, augmented reality, and machine vision systems, to enhance agricultural education, outreach, and pest detection capabilities.

Collectively, SHSU received 11 awards, totaling $694,921 in funding:

• Cyst Nematode Survey – Autumn Smith-Herron — $50,000

• Exotic Wood-Boring Bark Beetle Survey — Ashley Morgan-Olvera — $81,985

• Citrus Commodity Survey: Early Detection Survey for Priority Citrus Pests in Houston-Area Commercial Nurseries — Ashley Morgan-Olvera — $63,605

• Texas Field Crop Survey — Kylee Kleiner —$54,492

• Asian Defoliator Survey — Kylee Kleiner — $53,775

• AI-Assisted Identification of USDA Priority Pests Using the KEYENCE Vision System — Justin Williams — $71,074

• Development of Advanced Invasive Pest Education Materials for Tourists in the Southeastern United States — Michael Ulan Dakeev — $65,574

• BugQuest AR: A Gamified Augmented Reality Platform for Invasive Species Detection — Michael Ulan Dakeev —$69,453

• Leveraging 3D Animation Technology and Large Language Models for Enhanced Agricultural Literacy — Syed Hasib Akhter Faruqui —$67,492

• Continuation of Citrus Disease and Pest Educational, Public Outreach and Management Program in Gulf Coastal Counties — Ashley Morgan-Olvera — $61,655

• Enhancing Texasinvasives.org Youth Program Leveraging PPA-Funded Curriculum and PPA Priority Pests — Ashley Morgan-Olvera — $55,816

Congratulations to all awardees!

SHSU Grant Activity as of Apr 2026

FY26 (YTD)

155 Proposals submitted for $95,459,655

55 Proposals awarded for $19,644,666

FY25 (YTD)

137 Proposals submitted for $102,296,124

35 Proposals awarded for $10,051,289

SHSU undergraduate students Gabriella Akaba, Joseph Schofield, Mackenzie Woodward, and Ajax Nguyen presented their research at the National Council on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) conference last month, held in April in Richmond, Virginia.

During the conference, the students connected with undergraduate researchers from across the nation and across disciplines, while also engaging in career-readiness and professional development opportunities.

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Pre-Health Professions is glad to have been able to support such wonderful students on their research journey. We're so proud of the work they've done!

SHSU students are encouraged to participate in a brief survey exploring how artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT, are being used in college coursework. Feedback from this survey may help inform future classroom practices and course design related to AI use at SHSU.

- Takes approximately 10 minutes

- Participants must be 18+ and currently enrolled at SHSU

- Responses are anonymous and confidential

The Aging Research Collaborative (ARC) is still accepting applications for the ARC Scholar Awards for Fall 2026.

These awards support SHSU undergraduate and graduate students conducting innovative aging research under the mentorship of an SHSU faculty member. Research may span biological, biomedical, psychological, social, environmental, and economic dimensions of aging. Each award provides $2,000 in support.

Fall 2026

• One graduate and one undergraduate award are available

• Application deadline: May 30, 2026

• Notified by July 15

Eligible applicants must be enrolled at SHSU during the applicable term, and proposed research must focus on aging or aging-related topics. Awardees will also be expected to participate in ARC student-centered activities and seminar programming during Fall 2026, present their findings at the SHSU Undergraduate Research Symposium, and submit a final report after the award period ends.

Applications should be submitted to Dr. Berna Rahi at bxa051@shsu.edu.

Explore our collection of webinars, trainings, templates, and other tools to support your research. We’re committed to continuous improvement, so feel free to share any feedback or suggestions for new resources.

Our team is always accessible, and ready to support you at any stage of your research endeavors.

If you are still in the ideation stage or looking for funding opportunities, reach out to our Research and Proposal Development team.

If you have already identified a grant and are ready to begin developing your proposal, please submit a Pre-Proposal Notification (PPN) form, and our team will reach out to assist.

Do you have a project, event, or success story you'd like to share with the SHSU community? We're always looking to highlight the incredible work happening across campus. Submit a content request form and your story could be featured in our next newsletter!

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