Join us for a special event sponsored by the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research featuring Debora F. Rodrigues, University of Houston Ezekiel Cullen Professor of Enviromental Engineering.

This event will take place at the Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence (CORD) in Room 349, from 3:00-4:00 PM.

To join the meeting via zoom:

https://uark.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MDCCdumkSAy4UGkav_2vMg#/registration

Summary:

In her talk, Dr. Rodrigues will discuss different programs and funding opportunities at NSF under the new TIP directorate, including information about the NSF I-Corps, Partnerships for Innovation (PFI), SBIR/STTR, Convergence Accelerators, Regional Innovation Engines, Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE), and others. Additionally, she will present information about other multi-disciplinary and cross-directorate programs, including the Mid-Career Advancement program, the Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier, and Bioinspired programs for which she served as a program officer. Dr. Rodrigues will also touch on the potential funding supplements available at NSF for these different programs.

About Debora Rodrigues:

Dr. Debora F. Rodrigues is the Ezekiel Cullen Professor of Environmental Engineering and Director of the Environmental Engineering Graduate Program at the University of Houston, TX. She is also the president of the AEESP (Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors) organization. In December 2023, she finished her rotation at NSF and service as NSF program officer for the Partnerships for Innovation (PFI), Mid-Career Advancement (MCA), Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier, Engineering Research Center (ERC), Accelerating Research Translation (ART), and Bioinspired programs.

She also played an advisory role at NSF for the ADVANCE program and Open Science Initiative. Her research interests are in the water-energy nexus field. Her unique and transformative interdisciplinary research has led to new alternative biotechnological and nanotechnological water treatment and membrane desalination technologies. As a result of her exceptional contributions to the water field, she was honored with the National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award in 2012, given to a small number of high-potential junior faculty nationwide.

She also received several prestigious awards in her career, just to name a few, she was the recipient of the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the C3E Research Award in the area of water-energy nexus, and the Environmental Award honoree at the 28th HENAAC Conference. Her contributions were noted by the National Academy of Engineers, where she was nominated and invited to participate in the Prestigious Frontiers of Engineering (FOE) program of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in the U.S. She has an h-index of 49, more than 110 publications with more than 9177 citations in her field of expertise.