As a cornerstone of the College of Arts and Science strategic plan, the Big Ideas Initiative challenges conventional boundaries and opens new avenues for interdisciplinary research. By investing in seven high-potential, early-stage projects that exemplify the spirit of innovation, the college is accelerating collaboration and advancing Mizzou’s mission to address the world’s most complex challenges.

Read more about this round's funded projects and meet the research teams involved.

A New Measurement Science for the Evaluation of AI Systems   

Clint Davis-Stober, Faculty Lead for AI Innovation in the College of Arts and Science, and Frederick A. Middlebush Professor of Psychology, is leading an interdisciplinary team to build the quantitative foundation of a new branch of measurement science that focuses on evaluation of the cognitive skills of generative artificial intelligence models, using interpretable metrics that generalize across tasks and operational contexts. This will facilitate rapid, scalable assessment of gen-AI models and a theory-informed evaluation of their capabilities. Their approach builds upon and generalizes modern computational models of cognition, originally designed to evaluate cognitive skills in human beings.

Research team 

• Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, Chair and Professor, Communication
• Prasad Calyam, Curators’ Distinguished Professor, Interim Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering
• Dennis D. Crouch, Judge C.A. Leedy Professor of Law, School of Law
• Philip Robbins, Chair and Professor, Philosophy
• John Robert Bautista, Assistant Professor, Sinclair School of Nursing

Laying the Foundation for a Human-Centered Design Research Center at Mizzou 

This big idea explores the foundation for a Human-Centered Co-Creative Design Center at Mizzou. Led by Kerri McBee-Black, Assistant Professor and Helen Allen Faculty Fellow in Textile and Apparel Management, the initiative brings together faculty to advance accessibility and inclusion through interdisciplinary research and co-creation with disabled community members. The team will focus on building a collaborative framework, strengthening community and industry partnerships, and implementing assessment strategies to position Mizzou for large-scale federal funding and national leadership in inclusive design.

Research team 

• William Janes, Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and Assistant Professor, College of Health Sciences
• Alisha Johnson, Assistant Professor, Sinclair School of Nursing
• Li Zhao, Associate Professor, Margaret Mangel Faculty Fellow, Textile and Apparel Management

CASCade: Building a Center for Applications in Social Complexity

Hannah Rubin, Associate Professor of Philosophy, is leading a foundational project to establish CASCade, an interdisciplinary center devoted to bringing diverse perspectives on complexity science together to enrich our understanding of social phenomena such as information spread, collective behavior, and human–AI systems. The initial phase conducts a systematic scoping review and data-driven mapping of how “social complexity” is conceptualized across fields, culminating in publications, a workshop, and a center-launch strategy. CASCade aims to integrate computational, normative, and interpretive approaches that provide Mizzou with national recognition.

Research team 

• Wes Bonifay, Associate Professor, College of Education & Human Development
• Lucas Gautheron, Postdoctoral Fellow, Philosophy
• Karthik Panchanathan, Associate Professor, Anthropology
• Mike Schneider, Assistant Professor, Philosophy

AI in Archaeology Research Network 

Led by Rob Walker, Professor of Anthropology, this initiative forms a research network that uses artificial intelligence and deep-learning computer vision models to detect, monitor, and protect archaeological sites worldwide using massive remote-sensing datasets such as LiDAR, multispectral imagery, and SAR. By integrating archaeological expertise with geospatial modeling and AI, the team is automating site discovery, documenting ongoing damage, and training students in cutting-edge interdisciplinary methods. The resulting framework supports major external funding and establishes Mizzou as a leader in AI-driven cultural heritage preservation.

Research team 

• Jayedi Aman, Assistant Professor, Architectural Studies
• Raghda El-Behaedi, Assistant Professor, Classics, Archaeology, and Religion
• Jeffrey Ferguson, Associate Professor, Anthropology
• Francisco (Paco) Gomez, Professor, Geological Sciences
• Timothy Matisziw, Professor, College of Engineering, Geography
• Marcello Mogetta, Chair and Associate Professor, Classics, Archaeology, and Religion
• Candace Sall, Adjunct Research Associate, Anthropology; Director, Museum of Anthropology
• Wesley Stoner, Associate Professor, Anthropology
• Christopher Wikle, Curators’ Distinguished Professor, Statistics and Data Science

Governing AI in Public Sector

Baekkwan Park, Associate Professor in the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs, and collaborators are examining how emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence, raise social, political, and ethical challenges in the public sector. The project focuses on how AI systems can conflict with core democratic values such as legality, fairness, accountability, transparency, and public trust, creating a growing gap between rapid technological adoption and slower institutional adaptation. This work will lay the foundation for establishing CATG, a new Center for AI, Technology, and Government. CATG would position Mizzou as a leader in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of AI, technology, governance, and the social sciences, bringing together legal, policy, ethical, and technical expertise to support democratic accountability in the use of AI.

Research team

• Lael Keiser, Director and Professor, Truman School of Government and Public Affairs
• Kathleen Miller, Associate Teaching Professor and Director of Academic Programs, Truman School of Government and Public Affairs

The Architecture of Propositional Thought

Integrating insights from linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, and artificial intelligence, this interdisciplinary initiative investigates how propositional thought emerges from large-scale neural systems. Led by Gualtiero Piccinini, Florence G. Kline Professor of Philosophy and Curators' Distinguished Professor, the project includes a major academic conference, an edited open-access volume, one pilot neuroimaging studies to build a macroscale model of how humans form and process propositional thought. Outcomes are designed to support future external funding.

Research team

• David Beversdorf, Professor, Psychological Sciences; Neurologist, University of Missouri Health Care
• Nelson Cowan, Curators' Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Psychological Sciences
• Clintin Davis-Stober, Frederick A. Middlebush Professor of Psychology, A&S Faculty Lead for AI Innovation
• Brett Froeliger, Professor, Psychological Sciences; Director, Cognitive Neuroscience Systems Core Facility
• Caroline Larson, Assistant Professor, College of Health Sciences
• Satish S. Nair, Professor, College of Engineering
• Timothy Wolf, Chair, Professor and Associate Dean for Research, Occupational Therapy, College of Health Sciences

The Publishing Laboratory 

Travis Schaffer, Associate Professor in the School of Visual Studies, is advancing this initiative to consolidate Mizzou’s risograph, letterpress, and book arts resources into a unified Publishing Laboratory that treats publishing as a generative, design-thinking–driven research practice. Through the Publishing Studio course, the lab will enable faculty and students to collaboratively design, produce, and circulate experimental publications via its ISBN-registered imprint, PUBLIC HOUSE, expanding interdisciplinary approaches to research dissemination. The Publishing Laboratory will support public programming and build a nationally visible platform for experimental publishing. Over time, the project will lay the groundwork for new curricular pathways—including a certificate and a potential MFA—while establishing a sustainable hub for collaborative, public-facing scholarship. PUBLIC HOUSE will soon begin accepting proposals from Mizzou faculty and students for projects to be developed during the 2026–27 academic year.