Their research generates the knowledge and understanding needed for a better society, and it strengthens our teaching mission by enriching our students’ learning experience in and out of the classroom.
Each academic department is supported by a team of professionals who collaborate with a potential project director from the conceptual project development, identifying funding sources, writing and submitting a proposal, developing a budget, negotiating an award, implementing and managing an awarded project, monitoring for USD and sponsor compliance, and overseeing the official close of a project.
In addition, USD provides faculty with research support through numerous internal funding sources including Sabbatical and Faculty Research Grants. Office of Sponsored Programs assists faculty with securing external grants.
Aarti Ivanic
Aarti Ivanic, PhD is an associate professor of marketing at USD’s School of Business. “My research path goes back to the big question about making a difference in the world. I’ve been studying vulnerable populations and people from lower-income backgrounds, people who are ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and trying to figure out their behavior.” One example of her research is her interest in the ways in which junk food advertising on radio and TV targets black and Hispanic communities, and the downstream impacts on public health.
John Halaka
USD Professor of Visual Arts John Halaka has developed extensive relationships with refugee and internally displaced communities in the West Bank, Gaza, Israel and Lebanon. Life experiences and personal narratives he has recorded with four generations of Palestinian refugees have directly informed his creative practice and teaching. “I like doing direct fieldwork, being immersed in the culture, spending time there, listening and learning. Everything I've learned in books, and I've read dozens and dozens of books and hundreds of articles on Palestine, seems almost anemic compared to one conversation with a person there,” said Halaka, who has recorded 220 interviews since 2007. "Being on the ground makes all the difference. Being there a long time creates trust and deeper knowledge. It's a project I've worked on for 12 years and I'm going to keep working on it.”
Rae Robertson-Anderson
Associate Professor and Chair of USD's Physics and Biophysics Department Rae Robertson-Anderson, PhD, is the principal investigator of a three-year, $1 million science and engineering research grant awarded by the W.M. Keck Foundation for a project that could produce a major breakthrough in materials engineering. “This helps put us on the map and show that we’re a university that does high-caliber research,” Robertson-Anderson said. “The fact that we’re the lead institution on the grant, even though UMass and University of Chicago are two of the top research institutes in the country, is really powerful. This opens the door for other USD faculty interested in applying for grants of this caliber and prestige.”