Seed Sprints

Seed Sprint Report Out

The Office of the Provost hosted the final “report out” from the selected Seed Sprint teams as well as provided an update on the status of the Think Big plan on Friday, May 3. Over 250 people attended the event. THANK YOU to everyone who participated!

Missed it?! View the recording on YouTube.

Selected Seed Sprint Teams

Earlier this year, we asked our community to apply for interdisciplinary and/or inter-unit efforts in the academic, co-curricular, or administrative/operational areas. The sprints’ purpose was to provide modest funding to allow groups to begin to pilot ideas that could advance the university and also inform the work of the Thinkers group.

Your response was overwhelming: 139 outstanding proposals, which profoundly challenged the review committee charged to select those who would be asked to provide additional details about their submissions. We received 50 responses from the finalist teams, with the committee ultimately designating the projects below for funding. 

Congratulations to everyone involved in this process, and we look forward to seeing the results of their efforts.

1.  Institute for Democracy and Global Problems

Lead Contact: Kelly McMann, Professor and Director of the International Studies Program, Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Political Science and Sociology
  • Case School of Engineering: Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  • School of Law 
  • Weatherhead School of Management: Economics
  • School of Medicine Population and Quantitative Health Sciences
  • Jack, Joseph and Morton  Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
  • Division of Student Affairs: Center for Civic Engagement and Learning

Description: Investigating a new effort that crosses various disciplinary boundaries ranging from economics to political science to population health, to Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering and others.  

2. A Science Incubator

Lead Contact: Glenn Starkman, Distinguished University Professor, Physics, College of Arts and Sciences
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Physics and Institute for the Science of Origins
  • Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] at the Richey-Mixon Building
  • School of Medicine: Radiology
  • Weatherhead School of Management: Organizational Behavior
  • Interactive Commons

Description: Developing a next-century model of campus interdisciplinary activity.  Looking to elevate how we do cross-boundary work with new models.

3.  Cross Campus Integration of Entrepreneurial Activities

Lead Contact: Brian Grimberg, Assistant Professor of International Health, School of Medicine
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Biology and Physics
  • Case School of Engineering: Biomedical Engineering 
  • School of Law: Spangenberg Center for Law, Technology & the Arts, IP Venture Clinic
  • School of Medicine: Pathology
  • Weatherhead School of Management: Design and Innovation
  • Office of Research and Technology Management
  • Division of Student Affairs: CWRU LaunchNET/Burton D. Morgan Foundation

Description: This project represents a group of faculty from the majority of schools/college that engage in entrepreneurship. We've seen this attempt of coordination a number of times, but most at the table have been involved and can bring that knowledge to the table. 

4.  Smart Classroom Proof of Concept

Lead Contact: Sue Workman, Vice President for University Technology ([U]Tech] and Chief Information Officer
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • Case School of Engineering: Institute for Smart, Secure and Connected Systems
  • School of Medicine
  • Office of General Counsel: Compliance Program
  • [U]Tech
  • Interactive Commons

Description: This team wants to develop a prototype classroom in Sears think[box] with faculty/student input that could then become model to scale for other larger cap budget investments.  

5.  Somos CWRU

Lead Contact: Gina Maldonado-Powers, Assistant Director of Student Advancement, Student Success Initiative
Departments/Units:

  • Division of Student Affairs: Student Success Initiative
  • Office of Research and Technology Management
  • Center for International Affairs
  • Alianza Latina/Latino Alliance

Description: This team is focused on developing a recruitment and retention strategy for the Latinx population.

6.  Pilot Test for Interdisciplinary Peer Review

Lead Contact: Patricia Mehosky Ribeiro, Assistant Dean of Research Administration, School of Dental Medicine
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • School of Dental Medicine
  • School of Medicine 
  • Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing 
  • Case Comprehensive Cancer Center

Description: This group is testing a system for peer grant review on campus focused on interdisciplinary efforts.  

7.  The Case Water Initiative

Lead Contact: Grant Goodrich, Director, Great Lakes Energy Institute, Case School of Engineering
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Institute for the Science of Origins, SAGES
  • Case School of Engineering: Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Great Lakes Energy Institute, Institute for Smart, Secure and Connected Systems (ISSACS), Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
  • Sears think[box]
  • University Relations and Development, Office of Corporate Relations

Description: Building on the work of GLEI and ISSACS to determine capabilities in water, this group wants to continue to expand and leverage the work to determine our larger play. 

8.  Competency-Based PhD Training

Lead Contact: Marvin Nieman, Associate Professor, Pharmacology, School of Medicine
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Sociology
  • School of Medicine: Pharmacology
  • Case School of Engineering: Biomedical Engineering
  • School of Graduate Studies

Description: This group is looking to figure out if we could do this type of training in the STEM and social science fields—looking to see if this could be a model that we could build at CWRU for others to emulate. 

9.  Seeding Technical Art History

Lead Contact: Ina Martin, Director of Operations, Materials for Opto/Electronics Research and Education Center (MORE Center)
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Art History and Art, Physics
  • Office of Research and Technology Management: MORE Center
  • Cleveland Institute of Art 
  • Cleveland Museum of Art 

Description: This group wants to put together a liberal arts/STEM model of engagement focused on Cleveland resources.

10.  CWRU Living Lab

Lead Contact: Kenneth A. Loparo, Nord Professor of Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Case School of Engineering
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Cognitive Science, Religious Studies, Sociology
  • Case School of Engineering: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Institute for Smart, Secure and Connected Systems
  • School of Law
  • School of Medicine
  • Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
  • [U]Tech
  • Division of Campus Planning & Facilities Management: Office of Energy and Sustainability 
  • Interactive Commons

Description: This project attempts to develop a plan to engage the policies, culture, and structure of CWRU to become a living laboratory using our campus assets.  

11.  Bridging Euclid Avenue

Lead Contact: Harsh Mathur, Professor, Physics, College of Arts and Sciences
Departments/Units: 

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Art History and Art, Physics
  • School of Medicine: Radiology
  • Interactive Commons

Description: This project represents a workshop on how to bridge the disciplines, thus developing a template for other similar activities at the University.

12.  CWRU Food Institute

Lead Contact: Narcisz Fejes, Lecturer, English, College of Arts and Sciences
Departments/Units: 

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Anthropology. English, Philosophy, Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, SAGES
  • School of Medicine: Swetland Center for Environmental Health
  • Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
  • Office of Energy & Sustainability
  • Bon Appetit Management Co.
  • Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Description: This effort looks to bridge work across the campus on the topic of food insecurity.

13.  CWRU Story Tours

Lead Contact: Janice J. Gerda, Associate Vice President, Student Engagement & Learning, Division of Student Affairs
Departments/Units:  

  • Division of Student Affairs: Student Success Initiative, First-Year Experience and Family Programs
  • Human Resources
  • Kelvin Smith Library, Creation and Curation Services, Scholarly Resources & Special Collections
  • The Alumni Association

Description: This is the individual who shares the history of all CWRU to student and faculty on an informal basis.

14.  Exploring Launch of Social Science Center

Lead Contact: Dale Dannefer, Selah Chamberlain Professor of Sociology and Chair, Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Political Science, Psychological Sciences, Sociology
  • School of Medicine: Center for Community Health Integration, Pharmacology, Population and Quantitative Health Sciences
  • Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
  • Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
  • Weatherhead School of Management: Economics
  • MetroHealth Medical Center

Description: This effort is to elevate the social sciences collectively and bring a focus for engagement across the campus.

15.  Faculty Research Public Profile System

Lead Contact: Arnold Hirshon, Associate Provost & University Librarian, Kelvin Smith Library
Departments/Units:

  • College of Arts and Sciences: Anthropology, Physics, Psychological Sciences
  • School of Law
  • Weatherhead School of Management
  • Kelvin Smith Library

Description: This project is an attempt to use the sprint to figure out how best to pull faculty information together across all of the many silos and boundaries.

16.  A Quantitative Approach to Analyze Interpersonal Communication and Teamwork through Hololens

Lead Contact: Mark Griswold, Director of the Interactive Commons and Professor of Radiology, School of Medicine
Departments/Units:

  • Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
  • School of Dental Medicine
  • Weatherhead School of Management
  • [U]Tech: Teaching and Learning Technologies

Description: A pilot project combining HoloLens with technology developed at the Interactive Commons to record and analyze group interactions in two educational scenarios with a goal of using the information to enhance learning.

17.  The Pulse of the Research Mission

Lead Contact: Brian Foss, Manager of Budgeting and Finance, Office of Finance and Planning, School of Medicine
Departments/Units:

  • Case School of Engineering: Office of the Dean
  • School of Medicine: Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Office of Finance and Planning, Office of Grants and Contracts
  • Office of Research and Technology Management

Description: This team of faculty and administrators from across the university are joining forces to improve the research proposal and award reporting, a key activity needed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our research infrastructure.