UMBC supports promising internal research and creative endeavors with 2026 – 27 START, SURFF awards
UMBC’s Division of Research and Creative Achievement recently announced the recipients of the 2027 Strategic Awards for Research Transitions (START) and the 2026 Summer Research Faculty Fellowship (SURFF) awards, two of the university’s primary, internal funding opportunities that support faculty-led research and creative work.
The latest awards cover diverse projects, including exploring the genetic origins of a neurologic disorder in Siberian huskies, securing smartphones against voice scams, building novel animated sculpture, and exploring the legacy of Argentine-born American cellist Ennio Bolognini.
In total for fiscal year 2027, 12 faculty members and researchers across UMBC’s three colleges and the university’s research centers were awarded up to $25,000 in START funding to advance their research and creative projects. The awards help recipients build research momentum early in their careers and hone their research pitches to pursue external funding. They can also help faculty pivot to new fields of inquiry later in their careers.
For summer 2026, 21 faculty members received a SURFF award, which supports non-tenured, tenure-track faculty members in pursuing research and creative achievement projects during the summer. Recipients are awarded $8,000 in funding.
“Each year when we review applications, we find we have so many faculty who are being very creative and really pushing the edge of what’s known in their various disciplines,” says Don Engel, associate vice president for strategic research initiatives at UMBC, who coordinates the faculty committee that reviews prospective awards. “The proposals really illustrate the breadth of achievement that goes on across the university.”
Posted: July 6, 2026, 3:17 PM