Tag: AFROTC VR Simulator

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Grants in the News

Undergrad students participate in a week-long summer Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp.

Our grantees have been busy! Catch up on projects recently featured in the news:

  • The MADAYIN exhibition opened at the Asia Society Museum in New York City in September. This exhibit is in partnership with UVA’s Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum, and the Trust was a supporter of the accompanying exhibition catalogue created with the exhibit. MADAYIN is on display in NYC until January 5, 2025; we strongly recommend viewing! More information and features from the Asia Society and National Indigenous Times.
  • The Cavalier Autonomous Racing team competed at the Indy Autonomous Challenge in September and won the time trial competition (with record setting speed)! See more in this UVA Today article and video feature in UVA Today. The Trust was an early supporter of Cavalier Autonomous in 2020.
  • A group of students participated this summer in a Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, designed for budding social entrepreneurs. Read about one student’s experience in HER Campus. This ChangeMaker Bootcamp was a 2024 grant recipient.
  • Nursing Narratives received an annual grant this year to add a recurring editorial section to both print and digital versions of “Virginia Nursing Legacy,” the School of Nursing’s quarterly magazine. Read essays from their summer edition.
  • The Air Force ROTC received a flash grant this spring to increase virtual reality flight simulator training for cadets. Hear about their experiences in this CBS19 News feature.
  • UVA’s first Escape Room Tournament occurred in September. A 2024 flash recipient, learn more in this CBS19 feature.
  • Associate Professor Bryan Berger received a $93,000 Trust grant in 2022 to lead undergraduate students in research and training of industrial hemp as a tool for phytoremediation of PFAS-polluted agricultural soils. The team recently received a $1.59 million grant from the EPA to continue and expand their research! Learn more from the Maine Morning Star and EPA. Bryan shared, “None of this would have been possible without the grant you funded—thank you so much! The preliminary data and papers we published were the key to this opportunity. Really appreciate it and I think what you are doing is so important for UVA—it allows us to take risk on new ideas, build partnerships and take on big challenges in communities we otherwise wouldn’t have the means to do.”
  • The Trust awarded a team of professors and researchers $133,000 in 2022 for “Optimizing pediatric donor heart utilization” using big data analytics to optimize pediatric heart transplants by analyzing data sets from the United Network of Organ Sharing to help improve clinical practice and create predictive modeling to assess specific donors for specific candidates. They have received an additional $1.03 million in funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This additional five-years of funding will aid in their research and testing efforts.
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Grant Projects in the News

Air Force cadets participate in Virtual Reality simulation training. (Credit: Dan Addison)

Our grantees have been busy! Check out projects recently featured in the news:

Follow the Trust on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date on grant news.

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Funding University Priorities: STEM Success

Students play Orgopoly: Organic Chemistry Gameboard, helping in their review of Organic Chemistry I and II.

This article is the second in a series on Trust grants that directly support University priorities.

Each Trust grant funds a new idea. Some of these ideas are in areas of particular importance to the President or Provost. ‘University priorities’ are not permanent but rather time-bound areas of focus where administrators put additional resources toward advancing UVA. Trust support can play a unique role in jumpstarting a project or program toward having an immediate impact.

Student success in science and mathematics courses and exposure to technology or engineering fields, collectively known as STEM, is a current University priority and one that the Trust has supported often.

The University’s STEM Initiatives are vast and when combined with individual school efforts can manifest in everything from maker spaces to calculus tutoring to biomedical research. Each element helps shape the UVA experience for all, and the advances the positive outcomes this education and research can have in a tech-driven world.

STEM is ever-changing, and fresh ideas are always being introduced to advance the field. In the last two years alone, the Trust has helped jumpstart many of these projects such as:

Beyond this direct support, the Trust is committed to being part of the STEM ecosystem across Grounds, funding ideas and fostering innovation that will make UVA an event better place.

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Flash Grants Focus on Student Experiences

The Jefferson Trust has awarded $119,880 across fourteen flash funding grants since January.

“The volume of requests we received this year was overwhelming. It is a clear indication that UVA is an active, forward-looking university with a healthy student body ready to make an impact,” shared Brent Percival, Executive Director of the Jefferson Trust. “The Trustees were thrilled to see so many Flash Funding requests from students; their engagement in programs and projects that enrich the student experience is a hallmark of the Trust.”

Student experiences are the standout theme this spring. Whether student research experiences, like Morven Soundscape and From the Ground Up, to learning opportunities with artificial intelligence (AI), through McIntire’s Escape Room Tournament and the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Research and Training, people at UVA are seeking out new ways to engage and enhance the student experience.

Different than the Jefferson Trust’s Annual Cycle grants, Flash Funding grants are capped at $10,000 per project and are awarded monthly beginning in January.

The 2024 Flash Grants:

AFROTC VR Simulator: $10,000

Funding will bring virtual reality simulator training on the T-6 Texan II aircraft to Air Force ROTC students at UVA, and a potential partnership with the UVA Aeronautical Engineering club.

Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Research and Teaching: $8,040

A team of professors is launching a series of workshops, open to the University and local communities, designed to illustrate the benefits and weaknesses of AI.

From the Ground Up: $9,700

Through hands-on learning labs and field research, UVA students will develop an educational module centered on soil biological health of Native tallgrass prairies to help build agricultural and environmental education among local Indigenous youth in Sisseton, South Dakota.

Morven Soundscape: $10,000

Students will create an expansive soundscape of the land at Morven Farms, enhancing listeners’ understanding of the place, and assisting researchers in a better understanding of its history, archaeology, and environment.

McIntire School of Commerce Escape Room Tournament: $8,000

A student-created game, the Escape Room Competition simulates an Artificial Intelligence (AI) business firm, where students will use critical thinking skills and hands-on learning to solve challenges in entrepreneurship, innovation, and modern workforce.

The Stan Winston and Steve Warner Festival of the Moving Creature: $10,000

In preparation for the Stan Winston and Steve Warner Festival of the Moving Creature, students in Art of the Moving Creature class work on their festival creatures.

The class, and culminating festival, will showcase the multidisciplinary lessons and passions of Arts Grounds in a public performance of larger-than-life moving creatures designed and powered by students in the Art of the Moving Creatures Spring 2024 seminar.

CALM Wellness Retreat: $1,400

The CALM Wellness Retreat for School of Medicine students provides the medical student community a dedicated space to find relief from the stressors of medicine and build sustainable mindfulness practices that they can carry with them throughout their medical school journey and future medical career.

Smiles & Spatulas: $3,400

A cooking program that will empower adults with Down Syndrome by teaching kitchen safety, cooking basics, and general nutrition. This pilot program offers volunteer opportunities for students while giving back to the Charlottesville community.

Teaching and Learning Enhancement Hub: $9,590

An initiative in the Department of Psychology with results that will be applied broadly, the Hub is evaluating several effective learning strategies to improve learning experiences for students.

JunkLabz – Printers4Kidz: $10,000

Funding helps to purchase a new plastic sheet press, enabling Junk Labz to improve the diversion and processing of plastic waste more efficiently, turning higher volumes of recycled plastic into durable, long-lasting products.

Entrepreneurship for All: $10,000

In partnership with local high schools, this program is designed to educate and empower youth from historically marginalized communities to create their own ventures and social enterprises.

Sara Curruchich. Being an Indigenous Woman in Today’s Guatemala: $10,000

The internationally recognized Mayan Kaqchikel singer and songwriter visited Grounds as a Ruffin Distinguished Artist-in-Residence. Classes, workshops, and a free public concert were held, and materials from the visit will be archived in the UVA Library for future students to learn about Curruchich, Kaqchikel art, and activism.

Public Facing Writing: Editor Workshop Series: $10,000

Graduate students in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences are organizing the Public Facing Writing workshop series, aimed to support public humanities work and grow the networks between humanities scholars and public facing publications at UVA.

SWVA Can Code Regional Student Showcase: $9,750

In partnership with UVA Wise, local schools, and community organizations, middle- and high- school students will learn coding, web app development, problem-solving, prototyping, and entrepreneurial and communication skills at summer camps, then showcase their work on Wise’s campus.