2026-2027 Mini Grant Recipients

The Teaching, Learning and Professional Development Center has recently named the recipients of the 2026 AI Mini-Grant Program. 
 
The AI Mini-Grant Program supports instructors examining how generative AI is influencing student learning, teaching practices, assessment, and faculty workflows. The program goal is to advance well-developed, evidence-based explorations of how AI is shaping teaching and learning. This year, we received a number of high-quality proposals and, through support from the Office of the Provost and the Office of Faculty Success, were able to fund 18 submissions. Their investment in this program reflects Texas Tech’s commitment to supporting faculty innovation and thoughtful exploration of AI in the classroom. 
 
The selected proposals range from developing an AI learning companion in technology-literacy courses to evaluating and increasing AI literacy among students through experiential learning. The 2026 recipients are: 
 

• Guangzhao Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, & Ameri Gurley, M.S., Senior Lecturer, Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering 
• Jongpil Cheon, Ed.D., Professor of Instructional Technology, Curriculum & Instruction & Director of Center for Innovation in E-Learning 
• Uma Maheswari Chinta, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Practice, Curriculum & Instruction 
• Carlos Echeverria Arriagada, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures 
• Priyanka Ganguly, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Technical Communication & Rhetoric​​ 
• Mehdi Ghiai, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Design & S. Andalib, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture 
• Chijuan Hu, M.A.S., Associate Professor of Practice, Chemical Engineering 
• Fethi Inan, Ed.D., Professor, Curriculum & Instruction & Raymond Flores, Ed.D., Professor, Teacher Education 
• Lourdes Juan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Mathematics & Statistics 
• M. Muhammad, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Practice, Area of Management 
• Guillermo Ortega, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, Leadership, & Counseling 
• Raul Palacios, MS, RDN, LD, Lecturer, Nutritional Sciences & Director, Didactic Program in Dietetics 
• Himali Patil, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Practice, Marketing & Supply Chain Management 
• Ashley Rougeauz-Burnes, M.F.A., Associate Professor, Apparel Design & Manufacturing 
• Sarah Schiffecker, Ph.D., Lecturer & Director of Graduate Student Success & Advising, & Mellinee Lesley, Ph.D., Professor, Curriculum & Instruction & Associate Vice Provost in the Office of Outreach and Engagement
• Jason Tham, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Assistant Chair, English 
• Hamidreza Validi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Industrial, Manufacturing, & Systems Engineering 
• Shan Xu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Public Relations and Strategic Communication Management 
   
  Over the next year, recipients will share their work with the Texas Tech community, either through a TLPDC workshop or a post on the SmallBytes blog. Visit the TLPDC events page to register for upcoming workshops or keep up with the SmallBytes blog to see what the 2026 cohort is working on. For more on the AI Mini-Grant Program, visit the TLPDC website.