Leadership Changes at Kansas NSF EPSCoR
This July, the Kansas NSF EPSCoR office is excited to welcome two new leaders: Michael Branicky and Elaina Sutley. Both bring a deep well of experience, strong connections to the University of Kansas, and a shared commitment to advancing research, education, and community impact across the state.
Dr. Michael Branicky Steps In as Director
Dr. Michael Branicky has joined Kansas NSF EPSCoR as the new director. He is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Kansas and fills the director position with the departure of Belinda Sturm.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Branicky has held a range of leadership roles, including serving as dean of KU’s School of Engineering and previously chairing EECS at Case Western Reserve University. His experience also extends to the national level—he spent time at the U.S. National Science Foundation as a founding program director for the Cyber-Physical Systems program and contributed his expertise to the National Robotics Initiative.
He is recognized as both an IEEE Fellow and an AAAS Fellow, reflecting his longstanding contributions to engineering and science.
Dr. Branicky is already well acquainted with the current NSF EPSCoR Track-1 initiative, ARISE. In fact, he has been actively involved in the project, co-directing its key educational and workforce efforts through the Kansas Data Science Consortium. His leadership builds on the momentum of ARISE, and looks to the future to advance Kansas’ research ecosystem.
Dr. Elaina Sutley Becomes Principal Investigator for ARISE
We are also pleased to announce that Dr. Elaina Sutley has stepped into the role of principal investigator for the ARISE project. Dr. Sutley is an associate professor of civil, environmental & architectural engineering and serves as the associate dean for impact & belonging in KU Engineering.
Dr. Sutley has been a vital part of ARISE since its early days, from conceptualizing the proposed research to actively co-leading research across Themes 1 and 4. Her work focuses on natural hazards and disasters, community resilience, and long-term housing recovery—areas that connect engineering directly with the needs of communities.
Dr. Sutley's research excellence was recognized nationally in 2025 when she received the Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists in the Physical Sciences and Engineering category. This prestigious honor, administered by The New York Academy of Sciences, celebrates outstanding early-career researchers across the country.
Since joining KU in 2015, Dr. Sutley has contributed to numerous NSF-funded projects, as well as the long-running Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Her academic journey began at the University of Alabama, where she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering. She then completed her doctorate at Colorado State University, where she was co-trained in sociology. That interdisciplinary experience continues to shape her approach today—placing people and communities at the center of her engineering research.
Looking Ahead
With Dr. Branicky and Dr. Sutley in these leadership roles, Kansas NSF EPSCoR is well-positioned to continue strengthening research collaborations, expanding educational opportunities, and supporting innovations that make a real difference across Kansas and beyond.
Please join us in welcoming them to their new roles!