UND welcomes new wave of research innovators
Early Career Scholars Program strengthens UND’s research enterprise with newest class of faculty researchers
The University of North Dakota is proud to introduce the 2026 cohort of the Early Career Scholars Program, a group of emerging faculty researchers whose work holds promise for advancing discovery, collaboration, and innovation across disciplines.
Now entering its fifth year, the Early Career Scholars Program pairs early-career faculty with experienced mentors to accelerate research trajectories, build lasting collaborations, and position teams for publications and external funding opportunities. This initiative continues to strengthen UND’s vibrant research ecosystem by supporting interdisciplinary work that tackles real-world challenges.
“We are thrilled to announce the 2026 cohort of the Early Career Scholars Program,” said Bryant Smalley, who oversees the Early Careers Scholars Program in his role as associate vice president for Research & Discovery Development. “Applications increased by nearly 40% this year, and the record 10 teams selected for the program represent five UND Colleges and 17 different departments. We can’t wait to see the exciting things they will achieve over the upcoming year.”
The incoming scholars represent a diverse array of disciplines spanning engineering, science, technology, and more. Their proposed projects reflect UND’s commitment to discovery — from innovative approaches in sustainability to groundbreaking technologies and data-driven solutions that have the potential to make meaningful impact both regionally and globally.
The incoming cohort of UND’s early-career scholars is as follows:
Impacts of Ultraviolet Irradiation on the Degradation of Ignitable Liquids in Soil
Anuradha Akmeemana (PI), Criminal Justice
Daile Zhang (Co-PI), Atmospheric Science
Mahmut Ersan (Co-PI), Civil/Environmental Engineering
Alena Kubatova (Mentor), Chemistry
LED Assisted Side Emitting Optical Fibers for Degradation of Disinfection By-products in Drinking Water
Markus Allgaier (PI), Physics
Mahmut Ersan (Co-PI), Civil/Environmental Engineering
Nuri Oncel (Mentor), Physics
Developing an AI-powered Teacher Support System Focusing on the Teacher-Student Interaction Talk for Rural Elementary Teachers: A Proof-of-Concept Study
Tugba Boz (PI), Education, Health and Behavior Studies
Hossein Kashani Zadeh (Co-PI), Mechanical Engineering
Ryan Summers (Mentor), Teaching, Leadership, and Professional Practice
Extreme Climate Events and Retail Investor Behavior
Young Jae Choi (PI), Economics and Finance
Jordan Christian (Co-PI), Atmospheric Science
Hyuksoon Lim (Co-PI), Economics and Finance
Chih Ming Tan (Mentor), Economics and Finance
AI-Driven Cold-Aware UAV Runtime Monitoring in Severe Cold
Jueming Hu, (PI) Mechanical Engineering
Jielun Zhang (Co-PI), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Tingjun Lei (Co-PI), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Jeremiah Neubert (Mentor), Mechanical Engineering
Paul Snyder (Mentor), Aviation
Adaptive Multi-Robot Environmental Live Sketching for Rapid Modeling of Dynamic Natural Systems
Tingjun Lei (PI), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Mahmut S. Ersan (Co-PI), Civil/Environmental Engineering
Sicong Shao (Co-PI), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Naima Kaabouch (Mentor), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
AI Vocal Training for North Dakota: Building an Interdisciplinary Model for Arts and Technology Innovation
Justin Montigne (PI), Music
Jielun Zhang (Co-PI), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Xudong Yu (Co-PI), Communication
Emily Cherry Oliver (Mentor), Theatre Arts
Detection of Organic Pollutants and Microplastics in Snow
Darshil Patel (PI), Forensic Science
Hannah Correia (Co-PI), Biology
Alena Kubatova (Mentor), Chemistry
Variational-Analysis-Based Numerical Methods for Difference Programming and Applications in Wireless Systems
Thanh Phat Vo (PI), Mathematics and Statistics
Ahmed Abdelhadi (Co-PI), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Ryan Zerr (Mentor), Mathematics and Statistics
Resilient Human–AI Collaboration for Next-Generation Intrusion Detection Systems
Jielun Zhang (PI) Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Jueming Hu (Co-PI), Mechanical Engineering
Xudong Yu (Co-PI), Communications
Yun Ji (Mentor), Chemical Engineering
Each year, a Request for Proposals is sent across campus to solicit applications from interested researchers. This Request for Proposals is sent from the Division of Research & Economic Development. Scholars with questions about the program can email VPR@UND.edu
