We are all Future Makers at Lehigh University. The goals of Lehigh’s strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, will be achieved through the collective good work of our Lehigh community.

Future Maker programs offers opportunities for Lehigh community members to receive support for projects aligned with the goals or initiatives of the strategic plan. Funding amounts vary depending on the call for proposals. Grants are not renewable and are to be used in the same calendar year, or 12 month period (unless otherwise specified).

Current Programs:

There are no current Future Maker Grant competitions. Please check back periodically for new opportunities.

 

Past Programs:

The Future Maker Grant: AI Enhancement was awarded in October 2025. The awardees are listed below:

  • "A Conversational AI for Unlocking Institutional Data"
    Submitted by: Kimberly Williamson
  • "AI Enhancement for Contract Review Process: Lehigh University Contracts Intelligent Assistant"
    Submitted by: Heather Stoelzl, James Monek
  • "Future Maker Proposal: AI Research Visibility and Engagement Agent (ARV-E)"
    Submitted by: Chris Larkin
  • "Generative AI Tool for Supporting a Consistent Brand Voice Across Campus Communications"
    Submitted by: Audra Berner
  • "Individual Development Plan Assistant Chatbot"
    Submitted by: Kate Arrington
  • "Office of International Affairs Proposal for the Future Maker Grant: AI Enhancement"
    Submitted by: Jessica Kingston
     

The Future Maker Grant: Educational Innovation was awarded in August 2025. The awardees are listed below:

  • "Academic Co-Working Spaces: How Peer Assisted Learning Can Support Self-Regulated Learning Development in Undergraduate Students"
    Submitted by: Kara Uhrich
  • "BRIDGE Labs for Calculus"
    Submitted by: Jiayuan Wang
  • "Building Bridges: Collaborative Online International Learning Solutions in the Digital Age"
    Submitted by: Teresa Cusumano
  • "Keepin’ It Super Simple: Communicating to Non-Expert Audiences – A Guide for International Graduate Students"
    Submitted by: Mike O’Neill, Jessica Harbaum, Cristina (Kiki) Montufar
  • "Measuring Student Outcomes and Program Impact in the Iacocca International Internship Program"
    Submitted by: Anastassiya Perevezentseva
  • "Pop-Up Writing for Critical Thinking and Academic Integrity: An In-Class Engagement Strategy for CSE 252"
    Submitted by: Chioma Chigozie-Okwum
  • "RISE: Real-world Integrating and STEM Exploration"
    Submitted by: Jiayuan Wang
  • "Supporting Student-AI Collaborative Intelligence in College-Level Mathematics Education"
    Submitted by: Zilong Pan

     

The Future Maker Limited Submission Grant: Graduate Program Development was awarded in February 2025. The awardees are listed below:

  • "Future Makers: Master's Program in Biotechnology" 
    Submitted by: Angela Brown
  • "Becoming a Future Maker: Pioneering an Online MS in AI Leadership" 
    Submitted by: Michael Rivera and David Peng
  • "Online MS in Biomedical Product Development and Engineering" 
    Submitted by: Susan Perry and Dhruv Seshadri
     

The Future Maker Grant: Mountaintop Activation was awarded in January 2025. The awardees are listed below:

  • "The Bethlehem Chess Open" 
    Submitted by: Skyler Mott
  • "Contemporary Education Policy in the Context of Small Cities: An Interdisciplinary Summit Focused on Youth, Families, Schools, and Their Communities" 
    Submitted by: Brook Sawyer, J. Cameron Anglum, Craig Hochbein, Karen Pooley, Wes Hiatt, Brian Fife, Michael Burger, Natasha de Luna, Won Choi
  • "Light on the Mountaintop: A Seminar Series on Optical Imaging Techniques and Applications in Science, Engineering, and Medicine" 
    Submitted by: Ju Lu, Will Xia, Chenshu Liu, Daniel Ou-Yang, Xiaoji Xu, Lifang He
  • "Memory Pollinator: A Mobile Installation for Connection, Reflection, and Gathering" 
    Submitted by: Christina Zhang
  • "Phenomenologies of Mental Health, Well-Being, and Flourishing Conference: Mountaintop Installation and Opening Reception" 
    Submitted by: Ally Peabody Smith, Fathima Wakeel, Tracy Nichols, Ellie Anderson

The Future Maker Limited Submission Grant: Graduate Program Growth was awarded in July 2024. The awardees are listed below:

  • "Lehigh Aerospace Lift-Off: MS in Aerospace Engineering and a Certificate Program in Aerospace Engineering and Project Management"
    Submitted by: Arindam Banerjee and Terry Hart, Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics-Rossin College 

The Future Maker Grant: Data-Informed Decision was awarded in May 2024. The awardees are listed below:

  • "International Student Experiences at Lehigh and Factors Influencing Inclusion and Success" 
    Submitted by: Cheryl Matherly and Amanda Connolly, Office of International Affairs; Mark Ouellette, International Center for Academic and Professional English; Kathleen Hutnik, Graduate LIfe Office
  • "Impact of Education Abroad" 
    Submitted by: Cheryl Matherly and Katie Radande, Office of International Affairs
  • "Student Retention and Building Condition Analysis" 
    Submitted by: Tara Spagnoletti, Will Hendel, and Don Pasda, LU Facilities; Donna Mohr, Office of the Provost; Ozzie Breiner and Christina D'Aversa, Housing Services

The Future Maker Grant: Interdisciplinary Team Teaching was awarded in February 2024. The grant awardees are listed below:

  • "All Fun & Games: How Does Play Change Us?" 
    Submitted by: Brooke Rollins and Will Lowry, College of Arts and Sciences
  • "Are Children People?" 
    Submitted by: Nandini Deo and Khurram Hussain, College of Arts and Sciences
  • "Big Question First-Year Seminar: What is Reality?" 
    Submitted by: Almut Hupbach and William Crow, College of Arts and Sciences
  • "Opium Wars to the Opioid Epidemic" 
    Submitted by: Dustin Stoltz and Amy Johnson, College of Arts and Sciences

 

The Future Maker Strategy Grants were awarded in January 2024. The grant awardees are listed below:

  • "Support MBA Applications and Yield" 
    Submitted by: Georgette Phillips and the College of Business Graduate Programs Office Team
  • "Empowering Excellence: Data-Informed Decision-Making for Lehigh Staff. Elevating Performance: Mastering Data-Informed Decision Making"
    Submitted by: Heather Messina with colleagues from College of Arts and Sciences, Office of Institutional Data, College of Health, Office of Research, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Human Resources, and Library and Technology Services
  • "Lehigh AI - Making Lehigh an AI-literate and Accessible Community for Teaching, Research, and Community Engagement" 
    Submitted by: Justin Greenlee, Library and Technology Services Team, with colleagues from College of Arts and Sciences, Rossin College, and College of Business
  • "Inspiring Art Makers at Mountaintop - A Collaborative, Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Enhancing Utilization of the Mountaintop Campus" 
    Submitted by: Amy Forsyth, and colleagues from Art, Architecture and Design, Lehigh University Art Galleries, and Zoellner Arts Center
  • "Improving The Brown and White’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion" 
    Submitted by: Matt Veto and the Brown and White Staff
  • "Pipeline for Makers - Scaling Graduate-Level TE and ME Pathways for Increased Impact" 
    Submitted by: Michael Lehman and colleagues from Mechanical Engineering and Design Labs and Wilbur Powerhouse
  • "Financial Literacy at Lehigh - Development of a New Financial Laboratory Course that will Serve the University" 
    Submitted by: Marietta Peytcheva and colleagues from the Accounting Department
  • "Build a 3D Printing Hub at Mountaintop Campus" 
    Submitted by: Brian Slocum, Design Labs, Creative Inquiry