In This Issue

Meet CSU's Faculty

Douglas Wajda, Health and Human Performance

Dr. Douglas Wajda is an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP). He is the new director of the Human Performance Laboratory and a member of the CSU Center for Human Machine Systems (CHMS). Dr. Wajda received his PhD in kinesiology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2016. His research is focused on the study of human motor control and biomechanics in health and disability. He utilizes technology to quantify gait and balance to characterize impairment due to neurological disease and to assess exercise rehabilitation effectiveness.

Dr. Wajda works closely with industry and clinical partners in the Cleveland area to develop and validate technologies to improve the lives of individuals with movement dysfunction. He has previously performed funded research for the National MS Society examining fall risk reduction in individuals with multiple sclerosis, and has authored or coauthored 20 peer reviewed journal articles. Dr. Wajda is passionate about facilitating student led research in the Human Performance Lab and collaborating with individuals from multiple disciplines across CSU, including collaborators in the fields of engineering and nursing.

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Featured Research Resource

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Workshop

The Office of Research will sponsor a Workshop Series on the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) hosted by Dr. Shawn Ryan, an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and a past NSF GRFP reviewer.

The workshops will be held August 31, September 7, and September 21 from 11:30-12:15pm in PH 103. This schedule will allow enough time for the development of applications and a round of internal review at CSU before submission. Two CSU students from a previous workshop received NSF fellowships, which include a $34,000 annual stipend for three years of graduate school.

If you know a graduate student who would benefit from the workshop, please forward this registration link.

Research Funding Agency News

NSF Issues Revised PAPPG

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has updated the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The new NSF guidelines and forms are required for new proposals submitted or due on or after October 4, 2021.

Relevant changes include:

• Updates to the current and pending support section to require that information on objectives and overlap with other projects is provided
• Adding planning proposals and Career-Life Balance supplemental funding requests as new proposal types
• Travel proposals will require certification that prior to participation in a meeting, the proposer will assure that the meeting organizer has a written policy or code-of-conduct addressing harassment

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Inspired Creativity

CSU Students honored by American Institute of Graphic Arts

Book cover design by Emily Williams for The Odyssey

CSU students Davis Cameron Chu and Emily Williams were recently recognized in the biennial American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Cleveland Design 730 competition, which recognizes the best design work in Northeast Ohio and is independently judged by notable professionals in the field. Mr. Chu, a senior film major and design minor and Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel Honors College student, was chosen as a Judge’s Choice selection for his abstract animation “Stand Out” about the challenge of fitting in. The short was created in ART 448, Motion Graphics and Effects, taught by Qian Li, a professor in the Department of Art & Design. Mr. Chu is the incoming President of the AIGA CSU student group.

Emily Williams, a design major and 2021 graduate, was honored in the Student Work category for her book cover design for The Odyssey. Ms. Williams’ cover includes a photo illustration constructed from cut paper and washi tape for the gold detail and quarters underneath the waves to create depth and shadows. Her book cover was created in ART 342, Advanced Typography, which is taught by Jenn Visocky O’Grady, a professor in the Department of Art & Design.

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News from the Technology Transfer Office

European Patent Allowance

The European Patent Office has issued a patent for application No. 18725035.2 titled Actuating Device for Powered Orthosis that names Dr. Jerzy Sawicki, the Bently and Muszynska Endowed Chair and Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (MCE), and Curt Laubscher, Ryan Farris and Steven Etheridge from Parker Hannifin Corporation. The invention is a result of an ongoing collaboration between CSU and Parker Hannifin.

The technology provides the motor and internal actuating device that will power an orthosis or external body suit for disabled users. In particular, the invention provides the powering mechanism for a pediatric exoskeleton that allows disabled children to move again.

Contact Jack Kraszewski for assistance with a disclosure to begin the process of protecting your invention or intellectual property.

Commercialization Support

JumpStart Launches $50M NEXT II Fund

Cleveland-based JumpStart Inc. has launched its $50 million JumpStart Next II Fund, which targets software applications for businesses, as well as health care and medical tech ventures. The minimum investment accepted in this fund is $100,000.

Jumpstart, a venture development organization that combines the principles of private venture capital and non-profit economic development to help entrepreneurs start and grow companies, was awarded $10 million in March from the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, money that will be used for this fund. Its Evergreen Fund III and Healthcare Collaboration Fund also received $5 million and $4 million, respectively. Click here to read the full article.

Contact Jack Kraszewski for assistance with approaching JumpStart.

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Scholarship of Note

CSU Hosts Action Research Virtual Symposium

Cleveland State University’s College of Education and Human Services (CEHS), in collaboration with K-12 school districts, hosted the 7^th annual CSU Action Research Symposium in a virtual format on Thursday, April 29. The symposium featured 20 action research projects and hosted about 80 participants, who self-navigated through three different presentation formats: Paper Sessions, Roundtable Sessions, and Jamboard Sessions (see example Jamboard at left).

Launched in 2013 and sponsored by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation (MHJF), the CSU Action Research Program supports K-12 practitioners in conducting action research projects in partnership with university faculty. Through the program, teachers identify a topic and a research question that is authentic to their own practices, plan and implement an intervention, collect and analyze data, and identify a strategy to resolve the problem. Contact Diane Corrigan, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Foundations or Dr. Grace Huang, an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education, with questions.

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