Fall 2025 SBSRI Funding Competition Awardees!
The Fall 2025 Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute (SBSRI) funding competition awarded funding to 11 SBS graduate students (or GIDP students whose advisors are SBS faculty members) and 8 SBS faculty members to support their research endeavors. These awards support research across the college in a variety of different fields.
SBSRI has awarded five graduate students Pre-Doctoral Research Grants. These grants award students up to $600 for PhD and Master's level research activities.
Four of SBSRI's Pre-Doctoral Research Grant awardees are:
Arwa Alkathiri, a PhD student in the Department of Linguistics,
Noah Place, a PhD student in the School of Anthropology,
Kausumi (Kat) Saha, a PhD student in the Department of Communication, and
Yanjing Zhang, a PhD student in the Department of Linguistics.
SBSRI has awarded six graduate students Dissertation Research Grants. These grants award students up to $3000 to support their dissertation research.
The awardees are:
Edwin Alvarado-Mena, a PhD candidate in the School of Government & Public Policy,
Dilara Avci, a PhD candidate in the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching GIDP (with an advisor in the Department of English),
Mukaddes Coban Postaci, a PhD candidate in the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching GIDP (with an advisor in the Department of English),
Sophie Kenyon, a PhD candidate in the School of Anthropology,
Sayan Modak, a PhD candidate in the School of Geography, Development & Environment, and
Elise Otto, a PhD candidate in the School of Geography, Development & Environment.
SBSRI has awarded six faculty members Faculty Small Grants. These grants award faculty members up to $5000 to fund faculty research projects, including standalone projects and seed research that could lead to external grants or fellowships.
SBSRI's awardees are:
Susan Miller-Cochran, a Professor in the Department of English,
Sarah F. Phillips, an Assistant Professor of Linguistics, Cognitive Science, and Second Language Acquisition and Teaching,
Margaret (Maggie) Pitts, an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication,
Samantha Simon, an Assistant Professor in the School of Government & Public Policy and the School of Sociology,
Gemma Smith, an Assistant Professor in the School of Government & Public Policy and an Assistant Research Professor at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, and
Taylor Paige Winfield, an Assistant Professor in the School of Sociology.
SBSRI has awarded two Research Professorships. These professorships provide one course release for faculty members so they can give more time to a research project that supports the college's strategic plan.
SBSRI's awardees are:
R. A. Kashanipour, an Assistant Professor in the Department of History, and
TyIna Steptoe, an Associate Professor in the Department of History.
Congratulations to all of our Fall 2025 SBSRI awardees!!