Investing in Innovation

BU’s CONTRACEPTIVE RESEARCH CENTER received a $7.2 million grant from the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH’S NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT to continue developing the next generation of contraceptives and products that prevent sexually transmitted infections, with a focus on “plantibodies”: antibodies that have been cultivated from tobacco plants.

CAROL NEIDLE, professor of linguistics, was awarded $750,000 by the National Science Foundation’s CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR program to continue her development of AI-based tools that enhance access and opportunities for those who are deaf and hard of hearing.

SHERYL GRACE, associate professor of mechanical engineering, DAN LI, associate professor of Earth and environment, and ROBERTO TRON, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, were named to lead a NASA-funded, $5.6 million multiyear project that will study the technical requirements for using quieter, vertical-lift air vehicles in an urban environment.

Funded by a $550,000 award from the NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, NINA MAZAR, professor of marketing, and MARSHALL VAN ALSTYNE, RAN CANETTI, and MAYANK VARIA, professors of computing and data sciences, will conduct a multidisciplinary research project to help minimize the adverse effects of misinformation and promote free speech.