Project Management
Helping research teams navigate complexity and achieve impact.
The Project Management Office provides part-time project management support for funded research projects and centers across The Grainger College of Engineering. Our team combines expertise in academic research administration and industry project management practices to help investigators coordinate complex initiatives, streamline operations, and achieve project goals throughout the research project lifecycle.
Need project support?
✓ Lead principal investigator (PI) is from Grainger Engineering, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, or Agricultural & Biological Engineering
✓ Funding can support part-time (10-50%) project manager effort
✓ Project requires ongoing coordination and management support
*Note: Projects needing a full-time (100%) project manager are not eligible, but our team can offer part-time interim support until a hire is made.
Our project managers are here to complement and work along side departmental support to help:
- relieve PI of management tasks relevant to the project.
- keep projects on schedule and aligned with milestones.
- improve communication among investigators, students, staff, and sponsors.
- manage reporting, meetings, and stakeholder engagement.
- support center operations and strategic initiatives.
- as determined during needs assessment.
- Center for Advanced Semiconductor Chips with Accelerated Performance (ASAP)
- EFRC for Regenerative Energy-Efficient Manufacturing of Thermoset Polymeric Materials (REMAT)
- Illinois Advance Program (I-ADVANCE)
- Manufacturing Agile and SCalable Organoid Tumor models (MASCOT)
- Margin Diagnostics (MarginDx)
- Transportation Infrastructure Precast Innovation Center (TRANS-IPIC)
- Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons Hub (theari.us)
- Investment for Growth Program: AI for Healthcare Professional Training Program
- AICE - Amazon-Illinois Center on AI for Interactive Conversation Experiences
- Champaign-Urbana Population Survey (CUPS)
- Cancer Center at Illinois
- Data and Informatics Graduate Intern-Traineeship: Materials at the Atomic Scale (DIGI-MAT)
- Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (I-MRSEC)
- Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP)
- Illinois Semiconductor Workforce Network (ISWN)
- IMMERSE Center for Immersive Computing
- MIRACLE (ECOLE)
Meet the Team
Kara Haley
Senior Associate Director for Research and Project Management
Mallory Gorman
Senior Project Manager
Katherine Koch
Project Manager
Chris Lockwood
Senior Project Manager
Nick Sans
Project Manager
Andrea Whitesell
Senior Project Manager
Contact Us
Questions About the Project Management Office? Contact us to learn more about our part-time project management services and explore how we can support your project needs.
KARA HALEY
Senior Associate Director for Research & Project Management
201 Engineering Hall
(217) 244-3775
haleykl@illinois.edu