Integrated Research and Innovation Center

Centered around interdisciplinary research groups aimed at designing, conducting and synthesizing adventure-based learning and research, the Adventure Learning Lab will serve as a community of practice and service to faculty to explore how adventure can support education and broader impact needs of grant projects.

Lead PI: Brant Miller

Investigating the connections between the structure of evidentiary standards and the types of speech acts used in inquiry-driven dialogues, with the goal of informing the design of more trustworthy, ethical and contextually aware conversational AI systems.

Funding: NIH Pilot Grant

Lead PI: Bert Baumgaertner

Developing a one-of-a-kind system to track full-arm movement during real-world tasks, alongside brain and nerve activity, for breakthroughs in assistive tech and human performance research.

Funding: Prior support from NSF

Lead PI: Joel Perry

Applying biomimicry and whole-system design to address water pollution, recovery and reuse — linking clean water, food security and climate change mitigation.

Primary PI: Gregory Moller

Advancing Indigenous research and education through partnerships with Tribal Nations, blending traditional knowledge and academic inquiry. CIRE deepens the university’s land-grant commitment to Indigenous communities in Idaho and beyond.

Lead PI: Vanessa Anthony-Stevens

Addressing synergistic objectives of characterizing forest and soil ecosystem responses to fire and forest management, focusing on advancing knowledge of forest ecosystem and soil resilience to climate change.

Department: Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences, CNR

Funding: USDA NIFA, Joint Fire Science Program, USDA Forest Science.

Lead PI: Jessica Miesel

Humanities-led, cross-disciplinary projects tackling environmental challenges in Idaho. Focus areas include climate communication, emotional responses to environmental change and bridging political and cultural divides.

Departments: Departments of English, Natural Resources and Society, Politics and Philosophy Culture, Society and Justice

Primary PI: Erin James and Jennifer Ladino

Expanding the use of genomics in ecology and natural resource management while training students and visiting researchers in cutting-edge DNA analysis techniques. Current projects span 13 U.S. states and five countries.

Lead PI: Lisette Waits

Documenting the untold history of Black students, faculty and leaders at U of I. Outputs include a digital and physical exhibit, academic articles and presentations in collaboration with the Library and History Department.

Primary PI: Sidney Freeman

A trio of studies exploring honeybee-pathogen dynamics, antifungal proteins and novel fungicides. Results will support publication and future state and federal research funding.

Departments: Plant Sciences, Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, Chemistry, Physics

Funding: NSF, IGEM HERC, Idaho INBRE

Lead PI: Paul Rowley

Supporting plant and animal research through genome editing technologies, focusing on crops and species like wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, mosquitoes and more.

Funding: Idaho Wheat Commission, IBEST, U of I

Lead PI: Fangming Xiao

I-CREWS addresses how climate and population shifts affect Idaho’s energy-water systems. The project blends science, modeling and community partnerships to strengthen resilience across Idaho’s diverse landscapes.

Lead PIs: Alistair Smith, Brian Johnson, Karla Eitel

Researchers study artifacts from historic Idaho sites — including Fort Boise and Chinese mining camps — using anthropology, chemistry and history to uncover community stories.

Funding: Idaho State Historical Society, John Calhoun Smith Fund, City of Boise, U.S. Forest Service/Boise National Forest

Lead PI: Mark Warner

Investigates how wildfire patterns and climate change shape forest ecosystems. Includes millennial-scale modeling of carbon, nitrogen and fire trends and public engagement through K–12 curriculum and journalism.

Lead PI: Tara Hudiburg

IWRRI supports water research across U of I with facilities for water quality analysis and faculty collaboration housed in IRIC.

Lead PI: Alan Kolok

IHHE integrates research on human, animal and environmental health to build a sustainable future. The institute will train scientists to communicate across sectors and solve real-world health challenges.

PIs: Edwin Lewis and Shirley Luckhart

IMCI uses mathematical and computational modeling to answer biomedical questions, such as how diseases spread and pathogens interact within hosts.

Funding: National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Lead PI: Holly Wichman

IICS is a multidisciplinary research hub focused on climate change solutions, bringing together scientists, students and partners from academia, industry and tribal communities to address climate impacts through collaborative, innovative research.

Funding: National Science Foundation

Lead PIs: Tara Hudiburg

This multi-university collaboration integrates mathematical modeling and engineering to investigate stalk strength in grain crops. The goal is to identify traits that prevent lodging, enhancing food and energy security through improving current grain crop varieties.

Departments: Forest Rangeland and Fire Sciences, Mechanical Engineering

Funding: NSF

Primary PI: Daniel Robertson and Armando McDonald

This multi-university collaboration integrates mathematical modeling and engineering to investigate stalk strength in grain crops. The goal is to identify traits that prevent lodging, enhancing food and energy security through improved crop breeding.

Lead PI: Michael Strickland

This project supports public health surveillance to reduce tobacco use in Idaho. Components include a youth vaping survey, small area estimation modeling, assessments of tobacco policy and retail environments, and an interactive data mapping platform to inform strategic health interventions.

Using small area estimation modeling, this project provides county-level data on COVID-19-related health indicators. The data supports targeting vaccine distribution, identifying long COVID risk areas and preparing for future outbreaks.

Lead PI: Helen Brown

This project develops a nanoparticle-based method to isolate plant extracellular vesicles (EVs), which naturally carry gene-silencing RNAs for pest and disease control. The method aims to replace time-intensive ultracentrifugation, offering a more scalable and eco-friendly solution for crop protection.

Lead PI: Ching-An Peng

The LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate program at U of I supports graduate students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in STEM. The initiative aims to increase Ph.D. attainment and diversify the national STEM workforce.

Lead PI: Jerry McMurtry

Polymorphic Games unites students and faculty to develop video games rooted in evolutionary science. These games serve both as educational tools and a novel form of public science engagement.

Funding: Vandal Ideas Project, NSF

Lead PIs: Barrie Robison and Terence Soule

PCN researchers use molecular genetics to understand the biology of Globodera pallida and to develop nematode-resistant potato varieties to reduce the threat of microscopic worms that damage potatoes.

Funding: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Idaho Potato Commission, Idaho State Department of Agriculture

Lead PI: Louise-Marie Dandurand

Schweitzer Cyber-Physical Systems Security Lab

This lab researches cybersecurity solutions for cyber-physical systems, including IoT and industrial control networks. Efforts focus on system design, visualization, machine learning and simulated attack-defense testing, all integrated with the Idaho Cybersecurity Test Bed.

Primary PIs: Jim Alves-Foss and Daniel Conte de Leon

Undergraduate and graduate students conduct research on an 11,700-year-old mammoth skeleton discovered in Soda Springs. Studies include bone reconstruction, fossil preservation, paleoecology and interactive education tools developed in collaboration with U of I’s Virtual Technology and Design and Education departments.

Lead PI: Renee Love

This nationwide research initiative focuses on controlling potato viruses PVY and PMTV. The project develops sustainable management strategies and conducts outreach to growers to minimize crop loss and ensure industry viability.

Funding: USDA-NIFA-SCRI

Lead PI: Alexander Karasev

Using stable isotopes, this project traces pollutants, nutrients, and elements across landscapes to model processes like transit times and pathways.

Lead PI: Zachary Kayler

Tree rings provide historical records connecting climatology, fire ecology and human impacts. This research helps predict forest ecosystem responses and informs management for healthy, resilient forests.

Lead PI: Mark Kimsey

The UI-FESS research team designs and builds flywheel energy storage systems to evaluate their associated science and technologies. FESSs enable the storage of energy from renewable, intermittent sources such as wind and solar and will aid NASA’s space travel and extraterrestrial colonization missions.

Funding: NASA

Lead PIs: Christine Berven and Herb Hess

The UAS Lab supports drone-based research across disciplines at U of I, providing shared equipment, fabrication tools, pilot training, data management support and workspace. It fosters collaboration, connects drone users campus wide and supports outreach efforts like the Idaho Drone League. The lab builds on U of I’s remote sensing expertise to make drone technology more accessible and impactful for research and education.

Developing technology to manage livestock location and movement within rangelands for improved monitoring and control.

Departments: Chemical and Biological Engineering

Lead PI: Dev Shrestha

WWAMI Clinical and Translational Research

Interdisciplinary wet lab supporting biomedical research on infant immune development, cancer, obesity, circadian rhythms and more, collaborating across medical education and related colleges.

Lead PIs: Bethaney Fehrenkamp, Russell Baker, Tyler Bland, Derrick Phillips

Researching social, economic and environmental factors affecting community resilience in Idaho and the United States, including integrated food-energy-water trade-offs and security issues.  

Funding: NSF, Department of Homeland Security, NGA

Lead PIs: Lilian Alessa and Andrew Kliskey

Supports tracing nutrients and water in field and lab settings, providing maps and visualization of soil and water data and characterizing microbial communities and plant gas flux.

Lead PI: Zachary Kayler

Offers advanced imaging, sample prep and micro/nano fabrication services to regional researchers, supported by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.

Contact: fibsem@uidaho.edu

Lead PI: Suat Ay

Provides genomic sequencing and analysis tools with expert assistance in experiment design, grant writing, data analysis and visualization.

Funding: National Institutes of Health

Website: iids.uidaho.edu/gbrc.php

Lead PI: Barrie Robison

Campus-wide access to molecular biology devices focusing on rapid, cost-effective nucleic acid preparation via automation.

Funding: National Institutes of Health

Lead PI: Samuel Hunter

A dust-minimized clean lab supporting interdisciplinary research in geochemistry, stable isotopes, molecular biology, hydrology and soils, complementing IRIC’s mass spectrometry facilities. Over $130,000 worth of instrumentation and infrastructure equip the room.

Primary Contact: Russ McClanahan

Enables precise isotope measurements for ecological, geological and biogeochemical research across regional universities.

Colleges: Natural Resources, Science, WSU School of the Environment

Funding: National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Program, NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), U of I Office of Research and Economic Development

Lead PI: Brian Kennedy

High-resolution and mixed material 3D printer for physical analysis of complex structures.

Department: Mechanical Engineering

Funding: NSF

Lead PI: Tao Xing