MAJOR GRANT ACTIVITIES                                                                  

• 2018 ~ 2021: PI, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH: Digital Humanities Advancement Grants; with Drs. Chun and others). Evolution in digital discourse: Toward a computational tool for identifying patterns of language change in social media, $89,566. Awarded Sep 1, 2018.
• 2017 ~ 2018: Co-PI, Advanced Support Programs for Innovative Research Excellence II (ASPIRE II with Drs. Frongillo and others). Positioning USC for Global Prominence in Research on Prevention and Management of Chronic Disease, $99,998. Awarded July 1, 2017.
• 2017: PI, CIC Internal Research Grant for Fake News (with Drs. Tara Mortensen and Jingjing Liu). Fake news literacy. $5,000. Awarded February, 2017.
• 2016 ~ 2017: Co-PI, Advanced Support Programs for Innovative Research Excellence II (ASPIRE II with Drs. Huang and Tang). The most competitive internal grant from the University of South Carolina (first-time winner in the J-School), $99,887. Awarded July 1, 2016.
• 2016:  Co-PI, National Science Foundation (NSF), STS (with Drs. Huang and Tang from the Department of Computer Science). Web Archaeology: Uncovering Hidden History on the Internet $398,295. Not funded.

RESEARCH RECOGNITION                                                                       

2019: Provost’s Breakthrough Star Award (from the University of South Carolina)

• Annually awarded to a number of assistant professors who show innovative research and scholarly pursuits in the University

TOP PAPER AWARDS                                                                                  

• 2021:  NCA Top Faculty Paper Award from the Human Communication and Technology Division
• 2019:  NCA Top Faculty Paper Award from the Communication and Future Division
• 2015:  NCA Top Faculty Paper Award from the Communication and Future Division
• 2015:  ICA Kaid-Sanders Award(2nd place – honorable mention) for Best Article Published in 2015 from the Political Communication Division
• 2014: ICA Top Faculty Paper Award from the Political Communication Division
• 2013:  ICA Top Student Paper Awardfrom the Mass Communication Division
• 2012:  ICA Top Student Paper Awardfrom the Mass Communication Division
• 2011:  AEJMC Moeller Research Competition Paper Award (First Place)from the Mass Communication & Society Division

TEACHING AWARD                                                                                     

 2013:  The Macdonald Graduate Student Instructor Award

• Annually awarded to an instructor who receives the best teaching evaluations in the Communication Department