Fwd: Call for Research Proposals: Smart City Program

[Ernest McCracken]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Karen D Weddle-West (kweddle)" <kwe...@memphis.edu>
Date: Sep 15, 2016 10:08 AM
Subject: Call for Research Proposals: Smart City Program
To: "All Faculty" <all_f...@memphis.edu>
Cc:

FedEx Institute of Technology

University of Memphis

 

CALL FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS

 

The University of Memphis and the City of Memphis are partnering on a Smart City Initiative (as part of a larger national-level MetroLab Network program: http://metrolab.heinz.cmu.edu/) to address the needs of Memphis citizens utilizing emerging technologies and innovations arising from research at the University of Memphis. A key focus is on research, development, and deployment (RD&D) projects that offer technological and analytically-based solutions to challenges facing urban areas including inequality in income, health, mobility, security and opportunity; aging infrastructure; and environmental sustainability and resiliency. City-university research and innovation projects are encouraged that help position the university as the city’s R&D partner and the city is a test-bed for U of M research. Projects that present an opportunity to scale effective solutions, accelerate best practices, and advance the understanding of urban science are especially encouraged.

 

The City of Memphis under the leadership of Mayor Jim Strickland has identified four key areas of concentration for which research proposals are being sought:

 

·         Crime

·         Litter

·         Blight

·         Efficient Government

 

An additional 5^th concentration is being left open for faculty ideas that incorporate smart technology-based solutions to challenges faced by the city and that do not fit into any one of the four categories above.

 

Priority will be given to proposals that: 1) exhibit direct positive impact on the citizens of Memphis, 2) contextualize smart city innovation in the wider emerging technologies context, and 3) are efficiently and effectively implementable by the City. It is expected that about five proposals will be funded to the tune of about $10,000 each and faculty whose proposals are selected for funding will be designated as Smart City Research Fellows of the FedEx Institute of Technology. They will be partnered up with City leaders to implement their research ideas and will also be required to present their research to a wider national audience.

 

Interested faculty members are strongly encouraged to attend a presentation by Mr. Brent Nair, the Chief Information Officer of the City of Memphis, at 11:30am on Thursday September 22, 2016 in Room 225 of the FedEx Institute of Technology. More information about this call for proposals will be provided and faculty questions will be clarified.

 

Deadline for the receipt of three-page research proposals is October 15, 2016. Proposals are to be submitted as email attachments addressed to Mr. Cody Behles, Manager for Innovation of the FedEx Institute of Technology: cbe...@memphis.edu. The City of Memphis will play a key role in the selection process. The research funding period will cover November 16, 2016 through June 30, 2017.

 

For more information, please do not hit reply but rather email fe...@memphis.edu.

 

Sincerely,

 

Dr. Karen Weddle-West  Provost

The University of Memphis  360 Administration Building  Memphis, TN 38152  901.678.2119 | memphis.edu