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Find similar grantsUNC System Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) is sponsored by University of North Carolina System. Encourages innovative and collaborative research projects across North Carolina universities.
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Research Opportunities Initiative | Research Research Opportunities Initiative The UNC System Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) is funded by the North Carolina General Assembly to support some of the most innovative and important research projects within the UNC System. Awards are designed to build capacity in research areas that are strategically important to North Carolina.
UNC ROI awards target “game-changing research” taking place in six priority areas: advanced manufacturing; data sciences; defense, military, and security; energy; marine and coastal science; and pharmacoengineering. The UNC ROI invests up to $3,000,000 per year in seed funding and programmatic support for potentially groundbreaking research projects. Criteria for awarding these grants varies year by year.
Use this page to review past award outcomes.
FY2027 ROI Request for Proposals will be posted on February 9, 2026 Awards Announced 6/1/2026 FY 2027 Research Opportunity Initiative Awardees: Personalized Federated Learning Framework for Advanced Manufacturing Environments PI: Dr. Abdallah Abdallah Priority Research Areas: Advanced Manufacturing and Data Science Institution: Western Carolina University Collaborating Institutions: North Carolina State University Nano Consortium for Collaborative Research and Education to Advance Defense and Security through Sensing (NC-READS) Priority Research Areas: Advanced Manufacturing, Military, Defense, and Security Institution: Fayetteville State University Integrated Sensing for Resilient Coasts, Crops, and Communities Priority Research Areas: Coastal Marine Sciences Institution: North Carolina State University Collaborating Institutions: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of North Carolina Wilmington Year Institution Project Title PI Collaborating Project Institution FY 2005 Nature Inspired Collaborative Energy Research (NICER) Dr. Shabnam Hematian North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, University of North Carolina Charlotte, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill FY 2005 Ultra-High Efficiency Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells Dr. Jingsong Huang North Carolina State University FY 2005 Transect Expedition to Assess Land-to-Sea Habitats via Interdisciplinary Process Studies (TEAL-SHIPS) Dr. Bradley Tolar East Carolina University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel H FY 2024 Next Generation Protective Materials for Soldier Empowerment (NextGen Promise) Dr. Sherine Obare UNC Greensboro, Fayetteville State University, and Winston-Salem State University FY 2024 AMBI: Acelerated Molecular and Biological Innovation Enabled by Integrated Engineering & Sciences Dr. Joshua Pierce, Dr. Milad Abolhasani, Dr. Caroline Proulx, Dr. Melanie Simpson, and Dr. Wentao Tang FY 2024 NC Research Capacity Building for a Secure & Reliable Power Grid 2050 Dr. Meera Sridhar NC Agricultural and Technical State University and NC State University FY 2022 Consortium for Self-Aware Machining and Metrology Dr. Harish Cherukuri Fayetteville State University FY 2022 Winston-Salem State University Center for Applied Data Science (CADS) Dr. Debzani Deb FY 2022 A Center for Additive Manufacture of Advanced Ceramics (CAMAC) Dr. Brigid Mullany NC State, NC A&T FY 2022 Nanocrystal Factory: Advanced Manufacturing of Quantum Dot Inks for Next-Generation Solution-Processed Photonic Devices Dr. Milad Abolhasani FY 2022 Water-Energy Nexus: Off-Grid, Zero Waste Desalination Technology Dr. Kura Duba Elizabeth City State University FY 2022 Appalachian Multi-purpose Apiary Informatics System Dr. Rahman Tashakkori UNC Charlotte FY 2022 Enhancing Sustainable Water Treatment While Adding Value to Aquatic Systems Dr. Natasha Bell North Carolina State University FY 2021 Winston-Salem State University Center for Applied Data Science Debzani Deb, Ph.
D. FY 2021 North Carolina Consortium for Self-Aware Machining and Metrology (CSAM) Harischandra P. Cherukuri, Ph.
D. FY 2021 Pharmacoengineering Approaches to Enhance the Immune Response to Neoantigens Andrew Wang, Ph. D.
UNC Charlotte FY 2021 Nanocrystal Factory: Advanced Manufacturing of Quantum Dot Inks for Next-Generation Solution Processed Photonic Devices Milad Abolhasani, Ph. D. FY 2021 Water-Energy Nexus: Off-Grid, Zero Waste Desalination Technology Kura Duba, Ph.
D. Elizabeth City State University Pharmacoengineering Approaches to Enhance the Immune Response to Neoantigens Andrew Wang, Ph. D.
UNC Charlotte Center of Hybrid Materials Enabled Electronic Technology Jinsong Huang, Ph. D. North Carolina Consortium for Self-Aware Machining and Metrology (CSAM) Harischandra P.
Cherukuri, Ph. D. Solar-Enabled Green Liquid Fuels: On-Demand Carbon-Neutral Liquid Fuel Production from Biogas Debasish Kuila, Ph.
D. Pharmacoengineering Approaches to Enhance the Immune Response to Neoantigens Andrew Wang, Ph. D.
UNC Charlotte North Carolina Consortium for Self-Aware Machining and Metrology (CSAM) Harischandra P. Cherukuri, Ph. D.
Center of Hybrid Materials Enabled Electronic Technology Jinsong Huang, Ph. D. Solar-Enabled Green Liquid Fuels: On-Demand Carbon-Neutral Liquid Fuel Production from Biogas Debasish Kuila, Ph.
D. North Carolina State University FY 2018 Center of Hybrid Materials Enabled Electronic Technology Jinsong Huang, Ph. D.
FY 2018 Pharmacoengineering: Integrating Engineering with Pharmaceutical Sciences to Improve the Delivery of Therapeutic and Diagnostic Agents Michael Jay, Ph. D. North Carolina State University FY 2018 Solar-Enabled Green Liquid Fuels: On-Demand Carbon-Neutral Liquid Fuel Production from Biogas Debasish Kuila, Ph.
D. North Carolina State University FY 2018 Advancing the Science and Practice of Metal-based Additive Manufacturing Christopher J. Evans, Ph.
D. FY 2018 Bioengineering microalgae for large-scale production of therapeutic antibodies against Ebola, West Nile virus and rabies TinChung Leung, Ph. D.
FY 2018 Salinity Gradient Energy – An Inexhaustible Clean Energy Resource for North Carolina Douglas Call, Ph. D. UNC Chapel-Hill FY 2018 Data Science: Infohub for Rare Diseases Alexander Tropsha, Ph.
D. North Carolina State University FY 2018 Revolutionizing and commercializing rapid molecular diagnostics for viral and bacterial pathogen quantification in marine waters and seafood Rachel T.
Noble UNC-Chapel Hill North Carolina Consortium for Manufacturing Data Science (NC-CMDS) Tony Schmitz Revolutionizing and commercializing rapid molecular diagnostics for viral and bacterial pathogen quantification in marine waters and seafood Rachel T.
Noble UNC-Chapel Hill Towards a North Carolina Smart and Connected Communities Initiative Arcot Rajasekar Pharmacoengineering: Integrating Engineering and Pharmaceutical Sciences to Improve the Delivery of Therapeutic and Diagnostic Agents Frances Ligler UNC-Chapel Hill Salinity Gradient Energy – An Inexhaustible Clean Energy Resource for North Carolina Douglas Call UNC-Chapel Hill Advancing the Science and Practice of Metal-based Additive Manufacturing Christopher J.
Evans, Ph. D.
Bioengineering microalgae for large-scale production of therapeutic antibodies against Ebola, West Nile virus and rabies TinChung Leung NC Data Science and Analytics Initiative – Data-Driven Risk Mitigation Dr. Mirsad Hadzikadic North Carolina State University NC Data Science and Analytics Initiative – Data-Driven Risk Mitigation Dr. Mirsad Hadzikadic Pharmacoengineering: Integrating Engineering with Pharmaceutical Sciences to Improve the Delivery of Therapeutic and Diagnostic Agents Michael Jay North Carolina State University Bioengineering microalgae for large-scale production of therapeutic antibodies against Ebola, West Nile virus and rabies TinChung Leung Salinity Gradient Energy – An Inexhaustible Clean Energy Resource for North Carolina Orlando Coronell North Carolina State University Revolutionizing and commercializing rapid molecular diagnostics for viral and bacterial pathogen quantification in marine waters and seafood Rachel Noble UNC Charlotte NC Carbon Materials Initiative: Materials Design, Processing, and Manufacturing for Defense and Energy Needs Harald Ade UNC-Chapel Hill FY 2014-15 NC Data Science and Analytics Initiative – Data-Driven Risk Mitigation Dr. Mirsad Hadzikadic FY 2014-15 NC Carbon Materials Initiative: Materials Design, Processing, and Manufacturing for Defense and Energy Needs Harald Ade UNC-Chapel Hill FY 2014-15 Revolutionizing and commercializing rapid molecular diagnostics for viral and bacterial pathogen quantification in marine waters and seafood Rachel Noble UNC Charlotte The university is committed to providing services that are accessible to everyone.
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According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Faculty members within the University of North Carolina System. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
UNC System Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) is funded by University of North Carolina System. Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
This opportunity targets applicants in North Carolina. If your organization operates elsewhere, check the official notice for location requirements.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
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