Pollination Events
Pollination events and workshops focus on building skills, knowledge and capacity so that U-M can strengthen the deep bench of diverse faculty ready to apply when big opportunities arise.
Events support researchers with varying levels of experience and awareness of requests for proposals. Events convey information about how to form strong teams that design and deliver proposals that are highly competitive for large-scale external funding opportunities.
Pollination Event
Biotechnology: Nature-Inspired Innovation
Friday, April 17, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Michigan League, Vandenberg Room
When researchers studied Gila monster venom, they weren’t envisioning GLP-1 drugs or a multi-billion dollar sector improving the lives of hundreds of millions globally. Nature-inspired innovations have created transformative societal and economic impact, and today, advances in biotechnology hold potential for sectors ranging from energy and pharmaceuticals to materials science, chemicals, and manufacturing. Building on the roots of biotechnology to advance synthetic biology, scientists modified yeast with genes from the wormwood plant to mass produce the lifesaving malaria drug artemisinin, transforming a scarce natural remedy into an accessible global health solution. Advancements like the“reprogramming” of organisms to tackle challenges like breaking down waste streams, and the use of microorganisms and enzymes to create bio-based products, demonstrate the potential for moving these biotechnological breakthroughs from basic science to application.
Designed to spark novel ideas and scientific collaborations, Bold Challenges’ Pollination events convene faculty from across campuses to share their work and uncover potential new interdisciplinary research directions, laying the groundwork for competitive research projects. Join the Bold Challenges team in imagining a future built on self-healing concrete, synthetic spider silk proteins stronger than Kevlar, adaptive camouflage, shape-memory medical devices and novel fuel sources that could help extend the life of our infrastructure, strengthen human and planetary health, improve energy efficiency and bolster national security.
The event will be held in the Vandenberg Room in the Michigan League on Friday, April 17, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. This is an in-person event with no hybrid option available. Light breakfast and boxed lunches will be provided. Please register by April 3. Participants will be eligible to apply for $10,000 in seed funding from Bold Challenges.
Pollination Event: Health at a Distance
Friday, March 13, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Michigan League, Hussey Room
How do medical professionals deliver healthcare from a distance? Whether the distances are geographic, temporal, cultural, socioeconomic or atmospheric, digital technologies and interdisciplinary collaboration can reimagine the future of healthcare. Bold Challenges invites faculty researchers to explore the complex challenges of transcending distance barriers for patient care, behavioral health and community health.
Designed to spark novel ideas and scientific collaborations, Bold Challenges’ Pollination events convene faculty from across campuses to share their work and uncover potential new interdisciplinary research directions. In anticipation of federal funding interest around health at a distance, this interactive Pollination event will enable researchers from diverse disciplines to share ideas, gauge research synergies and lay the groundwork for competitive research projects with applications in areas such as rural and urban health, space medicine, health education and health accessibility. Possible areas of interest may include remote monitoring, home testing, digital communication, predictive analytics, healthcare in war zones and/or disaster zones, military applications and emergency medicine.
Bold Challenges also presents opportunities for seed funding to catalyze innovative, high-impact projects. These opportunities range from $10,000 (Pollination Awards, available only to event participants) to $75,000 (Boost program) to $50,000-$125,000 (Accelerate); each of these opportunities includes staff support for project management and strategic planning.
Event Highlights:
- External funding landscape in health at a distance research areas.
- Opportunities to combine strengths for transformative research.
- Seeding interdisciplinary teams for health at a distance research.
- Seed funding opportunities to jumpstart collaborative projects; for Pollination awards, event participation is required in order to be eligible.
Apply for a Pollination Award:
Interdisciplinary Innovation for Critical Supply Chain Resilience
Faculty researchers who participated in the February 6 Pollination Event: Interdisciplinary Innovation for Critical Supply Chain Resilience are eligible to apply for up to $10,000 via a Pollination Award. If you have any questions, please reach out to Kathryn Hendrickson at kathendr@umich.edu.
Past Events
2/6
2026
Interdisciplinary Innovation for Critical Supply Chain Resilience
11/13
2025
Seed Networking: AI and Manufacturing
Awarded Teams
AI Enabled Rapid Certification of Additive Manufacturing Process for Shipbuilding
Zhen Hu, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, University of Michigan-Dearborn
AI-Enabled Digital Twins for Closed-Loop Robotic 3D Concrete Printing
Yulun Tian, assistant professor of robotics, CoE
AI-Driven Discovery and Additive Manufacturing of Next-Generation Magnetic Materials
Lei Zuo, Herbet C Sadler Collegiate Professor of Engineering, professor of naval architecture and marine engineering and professor of mechanical engineering, CoE
AI Driven NextG Networks to Support High Fidelity and Responsive Manufacturing
Junaid Farooq, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Advancing Human-AI Co-Evolution in Smart Manufacturing Systems
Bogdan Epureanu, Roger L McCarthy Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Arthur F Thurnau Professor, professor of mechanical engineering, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, CoE
AI-Driven Smart Sensing Manufacturing for Underwater Concrete Degradation Inspection and Repair
Xiao Zhang, research investigator, materials science and engineering, CoE
Digital Light Processing of Passive Visible Light Tags
Zheng Liu, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Enhancing Worker Resilience in AI-Integrated Manufacturing: Exploring Error Recovery Strategies for Human-AI Interaction Failures
Manhua Wang, assistant professor of industrial and operations engineering, CoE
AI-Driven Efficient Photonic Manufacturing under Uncertainty
Hui Deng, professor of physics, LSA; and professor of electrical engineering and computer science, CoE
Machine Learning–Enabled Smart Materials and Manufacturing for Critical Mineral Extraction and Recovery
Jing Tang, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, CoE
5/15
2025
Food for Tomorrow
Awarded Teams
Healing Foodways: Establishing a Place-Based Learning Health Network for Food Sovereignty
Francesca Williamson, assistant professor of learning health sciences, Medical School
From Surplus to Energy: Community-Partnered Electro-Fermentation of Food Waste into Renewable Biofuels
Joshua Jack, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, CoE
Food insecurity and glycemic variability: A pilot feasibility study
Aleda Leis, research assistant professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health
Implementation of Effective Food Programs to Treat and Prevent Chronic Disease
Tammy Chang, associate professor of family medicine, Medical School
11/15
2024
Women’s Health
Awarded Teams
Strengthening Opportunities for Community-Based Collaboration in Evaluation
Jessica Riggs, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry, Medical School
Advancing research in substance use and women’s health in midlife
Nancy Fleischer, professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health
Urukundo Rwacu (‘Our Love’): Enhancing Family Planning Through Male Engagement— Adaptation workshop among African refugee couples and stakeholders in Uganda
HaEun Lee, assistant professor of nursing, School of Nursing
Policy Scan- Adolescent Contraceptive Access
Julie Maslowsky, associate professor of nursing, School of Nursing; and associate professor of health behavior and health equity, School of Public Health
11/8
2024
Climate and Health
Awarded Teams
Advancing research and training at the intersections among climate change, water and health
Betsy Foxman, Hunein F and Hilda Maassab Endowed Professor of Epidemiology and professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health
Identification of climate and health messages that resonate across the political spectrum
Jennifer Head, John G Searle Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and assistant professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health
4/5
2024
Improving Lives through Next Generation Infrastructure
3/22
2024
Creating Sustainable Energy Innovations
3/15
2024
Adapting to Changing Environments
3/8
2024
Advancing Human Health at Scale
2/20
2024
Pursuing Interdisciplinary Research Opportunities at U-M
6/28
2023
AI for the Public Good: Building AI at U-M Visioning
5/9
2022
Smart Health Care Systems for Equitable Access
5/4
2022
Sustainable and Equitable Solutions for the Housing Crisis
4/25
2022
Universal Access to Healthy Water
2/8
2022
Resilient, Equitable, and Carbon-Neutral Physical Infrastructure
1/21
2022
Better Health Outcomes through Better Built Environments