Nine projects chosen for Research Forward (Round 4) awards

Projects ranging from quanta sensors to speed up and increase accuracy of quantum computers, to developing wearable motions sensors to better understand how repetitive impacts cause regional brain tissue injury, have been chosen from 101 initial applications for Research Forward awards.

Research Forward, a competition sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR), stimulates and supports highly innovative and groundbreaking research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The initiative is supported by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and will provide funding for 1–2 years, depending on the needs and scope of the project.

“Previous rounds of Research Forward have moved campus forward in several critical research areas such as cancer treatment, pushing the frontiers of treating brain disorders and achieving direct carbon removal from the atmosphere,” says Cindy Czajkowski, interim vice chancellor for research. “As we are now seeing the transformative discoveries resulting from earlier rounds of Research Forward, it is exciting to build on those successes and we expect this year’s cohorts to continue this tradition where multi-disciplinary research leads to impactful innovations in new avenues of study that will forward the Wisconsin Idea.”

Research Forward projects are collaborative, high-risk, high-impact and transformative. The goal is to also fund research projects that require significant development prior to the submission of applications for external funding.

To learn more about the Round 4 projects visit: https://research.wisc.edu/research-forward-round-4/

By Natasha Kassulke, natasha.kassulke@wisc.edu