May 2026 Grants and Contracts

We are pleased to share the success of SJSU's principal investigators who were awarded grants and contracts during May 2026:

Monthly Awards at a Glance
22 Awards Received: Valued at $5,436,923.

Note: Some industry-sponsored awards are not listed due to their respective non-disclosure terms. The sort below is by College, then department, followed by PI.


Lucas College and
Graduate School of Business

Philbrick, Karen; Nixon, Hilary | College of Business, Dean's Office
Tier-1 UTC Research and Education in Promoting Safety (REPS)
Sponsor: Howard University — $439,000.


Connie L. Lurie College of Education

Marx, Robert | Child & Adolescent Development
Building EPIC Health: An Empowerment Program for LGBTQ+ Students in School GSAs
Sponsor: Boston College — $101,394.


College of Health & Human Sciences

Dao, Michael | Kinesiology
Using sport and physical activity to facilitate multigenerational health in the Vietnamese American Community
Sponsor: Santa Clara County — $10,000.

Davis, Maxwell E.; James, Jennifer; Parashkevova, Martina | School of Social Work
Aging & Adult Services MSW Training Program
Sponsor: CA State, Department of Social Services — $2,789,999.

Garcia, Moctezuma | School of Social Work
Project COMPA (Comunidades Ofreciendo Más Prevenciones Agradables
Sponsor: The California State University, Office Of The Chancellor — $10,000.


College of Science

Aiello, Ivano | Moss Landing Marine Lab
Field assessment of Geotechnical and Geochemical Controls on Vegetation Patchiness in Phase III
Sponsor: Elkhorn Slough Foundation — $36,200.

Castillo-Vardaro, Jessica | Biological Sciences
CSU Sentinel Site Network 
Sponsor: Humbolt State University — $ 47,447.

Clements, Craig; Gaudinski, Julia | Meteorology & Climate Science
FireSense Implementation Team: Drs. Clements and Gaudinski from the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San Jose State University
Sponsor: NASA — $124,758.

Connolly, Thomas | Moss Landing Marine Lab
Examining Secondary Eyewall Cycles in Hurricane Vortices: Application of the Rotating Convection Paradigm in a Controlled Numerical Experiment Framework
Sponsor: Naval Postgraduate School — $25,000.

Connolly, Thomas | Moss Landing Marine Lab
Collaborative Research: US GO-SHIP (2021-2026) Repeat Hydrography, Carbon and Tracers
Sponsor: UC, San Diego — $1,313.

Esker, Nicholas | Chemistry
HIPPO: Horizon -broadening Isotope Production Pipeline Opportunities
Sponsor: Texas A&M University — $12,025.

Gardner D. Luke | Moss Landing Marine Lab
Western Regional Aquaculture Center - 34th Annual Work Plan (FY24)
Sponsor: University of Washington — $23,000.

Grillo-Hill, Bree | Biological Sciences
Increased Intracellular pH Promotes Cancer Cell Behaviors
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health — $146,500.

Heim, Wesley | Moss Landing Marine Lab
2026 SMUD Fish Collections
Sponsor: Sacramento Municipal Utility District — $135,010.

Kochanski, Adam | Meteorology & Climate Science
Enhancing Fire-Atmosphere Modeling for Pyrocumulonimbus (PyroCb) Research
Sponsor: NASA — $121,209.

McDonald, Birgitte | Moss Landing Marine Lab
State funding to support stranding response — 2026
Sponsor: Marine Mammal Center — $75,839.

Ouverney, Cleber; Kochanski, Adam | Biological Sciences
U-RISE Program at San Jose State University
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health — $276,946.

Singmaster, Karen | Chemistry
CSU Stem Pathways & Research Alliance, Year 3 (2026-27)
Sponsor: CSU, Sacramento-CSUS — $40,000.

Spindel, Nathan | Moss Landing Marine Lab
2024-2028 California Sea Grant Omnibus
Sponsor: UC, San Diego-UCSD — $40,763.


College of Social Sciences

Chong, Li Shen (Jesslyn) | Psychology
Analyzing caregiver linguistic input during a remote dialogic book-sharing interventions for toddlers with clefts.
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health — $530,367.


Division of Research & Innovation

Trask, Jessica | Division of Research & Innovation
The Spartan SBDC — Year 5 — Federal
Sponsor: Cal Poly Humboldt Sponsored Programs Foundation — $343,605.


School of Planning, Policy, and Environmental Studies

Cushing, Katherine; Rampini, Costanza; Giri, Sabina | Environmental Studies
Environmental Stewardship/Watershed Wise
Sponsor: City of San José — $106,548.