The Vice Provost for Research has launched a new internal grant competition designed to support faculty interested in showcasing leadership in their field of research and scholarly activity. Called Research Leadership in Action, the program will provide support for highly visible campus events, such as conferences, professional meetings and performances that bring together researchers, industry, government and the public. Awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 will be distributed twice annually, in the spring and fall. Applications are currently being accepted. Deadline May 1.

"The Research Leadership in Action program is intended to build collaborative bridges that should ultimately lead to increased sponsored activities on campus," says VPR Paul Kostecki. "A well-organized Research Leadership-supported event will serve as a rallying point for UMass Amherst researchers, their colleagues from other institutions and prospective funders."

More details, including the RFP, application and FAQs are available at the Research Leadership in Action website. Applications should be submitted to Martha Martin (545-5270, martha@research.umass.edu). For more information, contact Paul Kostecki (545-5270, pkostecki@research.umass.edu).

In related news, the FDA has renewed its Support for Small Scientific Conference Grants program. Awards range from $1,000 to $25,000. Details available here.

The Research Area maintains a list of current funding opportunities on its website: www.umass.edu/research/ora/fund.html. Here are two recent additions:

Individual Research Grants for Cancer Studies - One-year, $20,000 individual research grants for junior investigators conducting research related to cancer are now available from the American Cancer Society through the UMass Cancer Center. April 15 deadline.

Career Development Opportunity, Procter & Gamble - P&G is accepting applications from minority (African American, Hispanic and Native American) doctoral and postdoctoral students for an expense-paid trip to the Research and Technical Careers in Industry Conference. March 25 deadline.

Remember to submit proposals to OGCA in a timely fashion and check back soon for more regularly updated funding opportunities.

The transfer of materials between the University of Massachusetts, other academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and for-profit companies is becoming increasingly complicated. To help streamline the process and respond to requests in a timely manner, the office of Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property (CVIP) has instituted a new set of Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) guidelines and a revised MTA Request Form. The terms and conditions of all MTAs must be reviewed by CVIP in order to protect the University's intellectual property and ensure that academic principles are not compromised. The form should be completed and sent to CVIP for all MTAs requested. Download the guideline and MTA Request Form here. Contact CVIP with any questions or concerns at 545-3606.

UMass Amherst was selected as one of eight universities invited by the National Science Foundation to compete for a $20 million nanoscale science and engineering center. The proposed "Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing" led by Professors Mark Tuominen (Physics) and James Watkins (Chemical Engineering) will conduct research on the design and manufacturability of new nanoscale materials, devices and systems. The UMass proposal largely relies on proven economical "bottom-up" techniques for fabrication of materials with engineered features in the 5-100 nanometer range, with test beds in such application areas as biological sensors, solar energy conversion, ultrahigh density magnetic storage media, and biomaterials for drug delivery systems.

Get more information through MassNanoTech, the campus' institute for nanoscale science and engineering.

A benchmark study recently release by Lux Research ranks Massachusetts as the state with the greatest nanotech-based economic development potential. California and Colorado ranked second and third, respectively, among the nation's nine nano- leading states. The ranking was based on a per capita scoring of nine "nanotech activity" and seven "technology development strength" criteria.

Massachusetts scored top marks on a number of criteria including the quality of research institutions (namely MIT, UMass and Northeastern), track record of translating basic research into applied research and business opportunities, workforce quality and the level of VC investment. Get details of the study here.

IBM is sponsoring the 2005 North American Grid Scholars Challenge. The contest will offer students and faculty advisors the opportunity to increase the understanding of Grid computing and the importance of open standards and open source implementation. IBM is seeking the greatest in student innovators, awarding the top three winners a laptop from the IBM ThinkPad T-series line. One IBM eServer will be awarded to the corresponding university with the single student entry achieving the highest score. Student-submitted projects will be judged based on originality, technical value, completeness and feasibility of implementation. March 15 Registration Deadline. April 8 Submission Deadline. Complete information on the IBM Grid Scholars Challenge is available here.

On February 28th, the Environmental Institute kicked off its Environmental Lecture Series on Climate Change with a talk by Dr. Eric Barron, Penn State. Dr. Barron spoke about the changing debate on the nature of future climates. The second talk in this five-part educational series is scheduled for March 30 and will cover climate change impact on the regional, national and global scale. The lecture series is open to the public. Speaker bios, schedules, and links to UMass faculty with research interests related to climate change are available on the TEI website.

TEI has hired Sarah Dorner as director of the Water Resources Research Center. Sarah obtained her doctorate in Water Resources Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Her research interests are in modeling the fate and transport of pathogenic microorganisms in watersheds and developing a greater understanding of the connections between the natural environment and waterborne diseases. Sarah will work to build interdisciplinary research efforts in water resources on campus. Contact her at 413-545-5528.

David Reckhow, TEI director, was interviewed in February on WFCR regarding a 3-year, $400,000 project to decrease the amount of leaves and vegetative material that end up in the Amherst water supply. The project complements by-product reduction measures already in place at the water treatment facility. Listen to the interview.

According to the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI), technology-based economic development (TBED) has not fared well in the President's Budget Request for FY 2006. SSTI describes the two general themes of this year's federal budget proposal as: "cutting community and economic development spending, and the lack of any type of strategic response toward building tech-based economies across the United States." Summaries of the budget proposal made available by SSTI include a list of programs and agencies slated for termination and a table illustrating the federal government's decreasing involvement in technology-based economic development since 2000.

In contrast, several major funders of scientific research programs are slated to receive modest budget increases, such as the EPA, NASA, the NSF and SBIRs within the Engineering Directorate. For more details see the SSTI Digest Special Federal Budget Issue.

Shaw L. Hsu
Polymer Science and Engineering
Sponsor: Advanced Cardiovascular Systems Inc
Title: CUMIRP Part II: Understanding Factors Governing Controlled Release of Drugs
Total Award: $144,000

Jonathan L. Machta
Physics
Sponsor: Brookhaven National Lab
Title: RHIC Physics Fellow Program - Professor David Kawall
Total Award: $61,492

Seshu B. Desu
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor: Sharp Labs of America
Title: Silicon Based Solid-State Light Emitting Devices
Total Award: $ 60,000

Mitchell T. Mulholland
Anthropology - Archaeological Services
Sponsor: MA Highway Department
Title: Iyannough Road Route 132 Traffic Improvements Project, Barnstable MA
Total Award: $ 34,318

Kevin McGarigal
Natural Resources Conservation
Sponsor: MA Environmental Trust
Title: A Multi Scale Conservation Plan for Marbled Salamanders and Other Vernal Pool Amphibians in Massachusetts
Total Award: $25,000

Dennis L. Goeckel
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor: M/A-Com, Inc.
Title: GOALI: Macroscopic Space-Time Codes for Homeland Security
Total Award: $10,588