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Dr. Deo Chimba, Dr. Lin Li, Dr. Gardiner won the T.I.G.E.R. Research Award, Tennessee State University, 2023.
Dr. Armwood-Gordon has attracted over $1,000,000 in 2019 based on RSP office report. Congratulation to her achievement!
Dr. Lin Li has attracted over $1,000,000 in 2019 based on RSP office report. Congratulation to his achievement!

Example of Recent Grants to the Department:

• Dr. Deo Chimba (PI):  University Technical Assistance Program; $1,000,000; Supported by: TDOT; 2022
• Dr. Deo Chimba (co-PI):  Nashville Transportation Program; $800,000; Supported by: NDOT; 2023
• Dr. Deo Chimba (PI):  Research Enhanced Program; $500,000; Supported by: Federal Railroad Administration; 2022-2026
• Dr. Shihui Liu (PI):  Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP); $29,000;  Supported by: LADWP; 2023-2024
• Dr. Shihui Liu (PI):  Amazon Research; $80,000; Supported by: AMAZON; 2023-2024
• Dr. Shihui Liu (PI):  NSF EIR Seed Grant; $100,000; Supported by: NSF; 2023-2024
• Dr. Lin Li (PI):  DOE FES-RENEW , Partnering to Improve Diversity in the Fusion Workforce; $300,000; Supported by: DOE; 2023-2026
• Dr. Lin Li (PI):  Implementation Project: Enhancement of CUREs-based Curriculum and Immersive Engineering Studio to Enhance Engineering Education and Retention of Underrepresented Engineers at TSU; $2,250,000; Supported by: NSF; 2023-2028. Co-PIs: Dr. Armwood-Gordon, Dr. McCurry, Dr. McMurray;
• Dr. Armwood-Gordon (PI):  UTC Center , $1,100,000; Supported by UTC 2023-2028
• Dr. Zufen Wang (PI):  Advanced HVAC Load Management using Cascade Controls Integrating Chillers, Air Handling Units, and Terminal Boxes, $62,000; Supported by DOD; 2023-2026
• Dr. Zufen Wang (co-PI):  NSF EIR Seed Grant; $100,000; Supported by: NSF; 2023-2024
• Dr. Deo Chimba (PI) & Dr. Ranganathan Parthasarathy (co-PI):   Updated Median Cable Barrier System Safety Effectiveness Evaluation; $162,000; Supported by: TDOT; 2022-2024.
• Dr. Deo Chimba (PI):   Investigation into Towing Regulation in Tennessee; $155,000; Supported by: TDOT; 2022-2024.
• Dr. Gardiner (PI):   Evaluation of Potential Environmental Issues and Permitting Issues Related to the Recycling of EV Batteries; $48,99; Supported by: DOE Argonne Lab; 2022-2023.
• Dr. Li:  Development of Rechargeable Cement-based Battery to Store Energy in Building Structure; PI: Li, L, Co-PI: Wu, W; $300,000; Supported by: Department of Housing and Urban Development; 2021-2024.
• Dr. Wu:  Collaborative Research: HDR DSC: Infusion of Data Science and Computation into Engineering Curricula; PI: Wu, W; $15,000; Supported by: National Science Foundation; 2021-2024.
• Dr. Wu:  Educational Consortium for Energy-related Data Science & Computation in Building Engineering Programs; PI: Wu, W; $61,500; Supported by: Department of Energy (DOE), 2021-2023.
• Dr. Wu: Fossil Fuel Free and Resilient Network for District Heating and Cooling; PI: Wu, W; $150,000; Supported by: National Science Foundation; 2021-2023.
• Dr. Deo Chimba and Dr. Andrea Gardiner: Transportation Resilient Under Catastrophic Events (TRUCE); PI: Chimba, D, Co-PI: Gardiner, A; $470,000; Supported by: US Department of Homeland Security; 2021-2024.
• Dr. Lin Li: Promoting Recruitment and Retention of Minority Transfer Students in Science & Engineering (PROMISE) Program through STEM Scholarships; PI: Li, L, Co-PI: Hargrove, S; McMurray, N; $1,000,000; Supported by: National Science Foundation; 2021-2026.
• Dr. Lin Li and Dr. Painter: MRI: Acquisition of a LC-MS/MS for Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies and Training at Tennessee State University; PI: Li, L..; Co-PI: Painter, R., Sharpe, L., Wu, Y., Addesso, K.; $140,000; Supported by: National Science Foundation; 2020-2023.
• Dr. Wu: Implementing Undergraduate Research Projects in STEM Education to Enhance Student Engagement and Close Retention Gaps; PI: Wu, W.; Co-PI: Li, L.; $49,279.68; Supported by: Tennessee Board of Regent; 2020-2021.
• Dr. Lin Li: HBCU-RISE: Enhancement of Research Infrastructure for Advanced Functional Materials for Biotechnology Applications; $ 1,000,000.00; Supported by: National Science Foundation; 2019-2022.
• Dr. Chimba: Comprehensive Analysis on the Conversion of the Existing HOV Lanes into HOT Lanes in Tennessee; $ 205,000.00; Supported by:  Tennessee Department of Transportation; 2020-2022.
• Dr. Chimba: Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP); Supported by: US Department of Transportation: 2020-2025. Amount Up to $50000 student scholarships per Year.
• Dr. Lin Li: Excellent in Research Project: Collaborative Research: Fate and Transport of Neonicotinoid Insecticides in Environment; $ 395,000.00; Supported by: National Science Foundation; 2019-2022. Dr. Lin Li and Dr Roger Painter Receives NSF Excellent in Research Grant along with Dean Lonnie Sharpe and Jackson State University in $1 M grant in “Fate and Transport of Neonicotinoid Insecticides in Environment”.
• Dr. Armwood-Gordon: National Center for Transportation Infrastructure Durability and Life-Extension (TriDurLE); $150,000.00; Supported by: U.S. Department of Transportation through Washington State University’s National University Transportation Center; 2019-2022. Dr. Armwood-Gordon joins with Washington State University to win a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to lead a national university transportation center focused on improving the durability and extending the lifespan of the nation’s transportation infrastructure.
• Dr. Armwood-Gordon: Scholarship To Attract and Retain Students (STARS) in Graduate Engineering and CS Programs; $ 1,000,000.00; Supported by: National Science Foundation; 2019-2024.
• Dr. Armwood-Gordon and Dr. Lin Li: National Summer Transportation Institute; $ 65,000.00; Supported by: Tennessee Department of Transportation and Tennessee Division Federal Highway Administration; 2019.5-2019.11.
• Dr. Lin Li: HBCU-UP: Experimenting with an Augmented Reality Facilitated Instructional Model to Enhance STEM Education; $ 350,000.00; Supported by: National Science Foundation; 2018-2021.
• Dr. Chimba: Evaluating Freight Intermodal Connections in Tennessee; $214,935.00; Tennessee Department of Transportation; 2018-2019.
• Dr. Chimba: Highway Safety Manual, Safety Performance Functions Roadway Calibration Factors; $113,431.00; Tennessee Department of Transportation; 2018-2019.
• Dr. Chimba: High Occupancy Vehicle Detection System Testing; $157,937.00; Tennessee Department of Transportation; 2017-2018.
• Dr. Lin Li: HBCU-UP: Investigating the Effect of Active Flipped Learning in STEM Education; $ 350,000.00; Supported by: National Science Foundation; 2016-2020.
• Dr. Chimba: Guidance for Site Selection, Safety Effectiveness Evaluation, and Crash Modification Factors of Median Cable Barriers in Tennessee; $105,000.00; Tennessee Department of Transportation; 2016-2017.
• Dr. Chimba: Retrace Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity Levels in Tennessee Highways; $78,360.00; Tennessee Department of Transportation; 2014-2015.

The CAE department at the Tennessee State University offers fundamental and advanced research opportunities in the following areas.

Energy and Built Environment offers fundamental and applied research opportunities in the area of building energy efficiency and healthy built environment. Specific focuses include applying renewable energy to district heating for sustainable communities, smart building technology, energy efficient and passive house design, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) design, and healthy urban and built environment. Research in the area of HVAC also explores low-emission cooling and ventilation technologies for agricultural buildings, energy efficient cooling for post-harvest cold chains, and HVAC design and energy retrofit for marine and offshore ships.

Civil Infrastructure focuses on the area of transportation engineering, construction materials, and structural engineering. Specific focus are on the study of highway design, traffic engineering and safety, geotechnical aspects of waste disposal, strength evaluation and rehabilitation techniques of existing structures, durability of construction materials, analytical and numerical modeling of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, and others.

Energy and Building research of the CAE department at the Tennessee State University offers wide variety of fundamental and applied research opportunities in the area of building energy and design that includes but not limited to building energy efficiency for heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC), indoor air quality, HVAC optimal control, intelligent approaches in heating and mass transfer in buildings, and design green buildings.

Environmental and Water offers fundamental and advanced research opportunities in the area of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering . Research related to environmental engineering focuses in the area of water and wastewater treatments, ground water contamination, green engineering and sustainability, and water recycling and water reuse. Water resources engineering focuses on the use of GIS tools and techniques for watershed delineation, hydrologic modeling, water quality analysis of lake, caves, streams and reservoirs; surface and subsurface water quality monitoring and modeling, and others.

Construction Management offers fundamental and applied research opportunities in project delivery systems, risk and uncertainties of projects, construction safety and productivity.