Translating Research into Action Center (TRAC)

A transformative initiative aimed at accelerating American University’s impact on society. The center will focus on fostering the application of research findings in both public and private sectors, aligning with the university's commitment to evidence-based decision-making and policy impact.

The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Accelerating Research Translation (ART) program has awarded American University a $5.7 million grant. This substantial grant has enabled the establishment of the Translating Research into Action Center (TRAC). The center will endeavor to expand and deepen institutional capacity across the university to facilitate translating knowledge into tangible, evidence-driven public policies and private sector practices – so that long-lasting change is embedded in the DNA of American University.

The project will include research, training, dissemination, and capacity-building components. The research team will investigate best practices in research translation, create a repository of translation methodologies, and enable knowledge-sharing about effective translation practices among institutions of higher education. The project team will apply this knowledge through the development of training programs in research translation and the pursuit of professional opportunities beyond academia for scholars at American University and other Washington, DC-area institutions.

Meet the TRAC Team

Diana Burley

Dr. Burley is a global cybersecurity expert with more than 30 years of experience driving digital transformation, implementing cybersecurity workforce initiatives, and promoting an equitable global technology community. As both the university’s chief research officer and chief innovation officer, Diana oversees the university-wide R&D portfolio, research partnerships, and strategic initiatives to catalyze discovery. She advises government officials and regularly offers thought leadership at executive forums. She earned her Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University.

Raychelle Burks

After working in a crime lab, Dr. Burks returned to academia, teaching, and forensic science research. An analytical chemist, she enjoys the challenge developing detection methods for a wide-variety of compounds. Her research team is focused on the development of colorimetric and luminescent sensor arrays for the detection of analytes of mainly forensic and national security interests with accompanying image and chemometric analysis.

Susanna Campbell

Susanna P. Campbell is an Associate Professor at the School of International Service, the Director of the Research on International Policy Implementation Lab (RIPIL) at AU, and a current Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Her research examines interactions between international and domestic actors in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, addressing debates in the statebuilding, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, international aid, and global governance literatures.

Jordan Tama

Dr. Jordan Tama specializes in the politics, institutions, and tools of U.S. foreign and national security policy making. His research has investigated polarization and bipartisanship in US foreign policy, presidential-congressional relations, the use of economic sanctions, public and elite attitudes on foreign policy, national security strategic planning, independent commissions, and efforts to connect research and policy making on international issues.

Joe Young

Professor Young's interests relate to the cross-national causes and consequences of political violence. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles across academic disciplines, including political science, economics, criminology, and international studies. He has been invited to speak to organizations in the defense community and has consulted on a Department of Defense initiative focusing on countering violent extremism.

Bei Xiao

Dr. Bei Xiao's research focuses on how the human visual system estimate physical and functional properties of objects in our surroundings. Another focus of her research is to apply results from human perception and cognition to develop robust computer vision algorithms. Specifically, she studies perception and recognition of material properties, intuitive physics, estimation of 3D shape, perception of multi-sensory properties of objects in dynamic scenes.

Rachel Borchardt

Rachel Borchardt is the Scholarly Communications Librarian at American University. Her professional research focuses on equitable models of research dissemination and evaluation, including diverse models for measuring scholarly and non-scholarly research impact and the use of open access as an equitable publication model. She has written and presented on the topic in many venues.