Calling all inventors, innovators, technologists and entrepreneurs! The Research Area encourages you to attend a national introductory workshop on technology entrepreneurship hosted by UMass Amherst on Friday, April 1. The all-day Invention to Venture (I2V) program is for science and technology students and faculty as well as business people, entrepreneurs and investors interested in developing cutting edge technology. I2V workshops are conducted at universities across the country and feature a nationally-recognized curriculum delivered by regional experts. The agenda features speakers from UMass and the business community who will address a broad range of issues including: technology entrepreneurship fundamentals; opportunity assessment; marketing; business planning; intellectual property and financing.

The I2V workshop, arranged by College of Engineering Dean Michael Malone and Vice Provost for Research Paul Kostecki, is a co-production of ILED and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the pros and network with the people who can make your ideas a reality. Space is limited, so please register as soon as possible. For more information, registration and the list of scheduled speakers, visit the I2V workshop website or contact Marla Michel (545-2706). Registration fees for students will be waived if their instructor makes I2V attendance mandatory. Instructors should contact the organizers for details.

Calling all campus entrepreneurs! As a member institution of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), UMass Amherst is eligible to apply for certain grants that strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship education. Two categories of NCIIA grants are available: 1.) Course and Program awards, which are distributed to institutions for the purpose of strengthening existing curricular programs or building new programs in invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship. 2.) Advanced E-Team awards, which provide E-Teams (multidisciplinary teams of students, faculty, and industry mentors) with the support they need to bring an innovative product or technology from idea to prototype, and eventually to market. Application deadline May 13. Contact Marla Michel (545-2706) for more information about NCIIA grants.

The Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center has announced its spring 2005 Technology Investigation and Assessment Awards Program. Five $25,000 grants will be awarded to support the demonstration of a new technology's viability and five $5000 grants will be awarded to support the assessment of a new technology's commercial application(s). Any researcher, faculty member, or clinician at a Massachusetts-based nonprofit research organization is eligible to apply. Student teams may apply in conjunction with a faculty member Principal Investigator. Statement of Intent due April 4. For more information and applications, visit the Mass Tech Transfer Center website. MTTC proposal support services available from ILED. Contact Marla Michel or Karen Hayes (545-2706).

March 25th is the deadline to register for a 2-day symposium on Teaching and Learning with Tablets to be held at the UMass President's Office Collaborative Services Facility in Shrewsbury on March 31 and April 1. Tablet PCs hold enormous potential for use as an educational tool. They can be used to facilitate in-class participation, expedite grading and connect students to a world of resources. The symposium, sponsored by the President's Office, will feature speakers from companies who are invested in Tablet PC technology as well as academics who have used the technology to take teaching and learning to a new level. Tablet vendors will be available throughout the two days to discuss how the Tablet's unique features may enhance instructors' opportunities for student-teacher interaction, and to explore support and infrastructure issues associated with the technology. Only pre-registered faculty and staff will be admitted. To register by March 25th, send an email to TabletPC@umassp.edu with your name, department, campus and day(s) you wish to attend, or call 617-287-7137. For more information, contact Mark Schlesinger, Associate VP for Academic Technology (617-287-7754).

Microsoft Research's Learning Sciences and Technology group and the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management have initiated a research project with the National University of Ireland, Galway to deliver a cross-cultural, collaborative offering of the course ISOM 210: Introduction to Business Information Systems. The project will enable opportunities for real-time communication and research collaboration among students from both campuses. Using ConferenceXP, a group of technologies currently under development by Microsoft, Professor Gino Sorcinelli delivered the first successful implementation of the course this spring.

ConferenceXP technology works in wireless networks, utilizes the computing power of Tablet PCs, and delivers videoconferencing capabilities from a desktop PC.

Sorcinelli's goals for combining ConferenceXP technology with the business courses are to: 1.) provide students with a wireless, interactive lecture environment; 2.) allow "guest lecturers" from Ireland, Microsoft Research, and leaders from local and regional businesses to address course participants; 3.) permit real-time communication and research collaboration among members of student teams from the Isenberg School and NUI Galway; and 4.) create a test bed for analysis and evaluation of how ConferenceXP and Tablet technology can be used to facilitate the achievement of student-centered learning goals.

Microsoft Research funded Sorcinelli's work with a $108K gift. The company has been a loyal supporter of UMass Amherst research, particularly in Engineering, Business and Computer Science. Contact Gino Sorcinelli (545-5636) to learn more about using Tablets and ConferenceXP in the classroom. Contact Karen Hayes, ILED, (545-2706) to learn how you can connect with Microsoft's university research initiatives.

The Public Service Endowment Grant (PSEG), a campus resource which supports the delivery of public services through special projects, is now accepting proposals for public service initiatives up to $15,000. Public Service Endowment Grants are intended to enhance the public service mission of the University.

For the purposes of this program, Public Service is defined as: "having to do with the outreach of the University to society at large, while extending the resources of the campus to individuals and groups who are not part of the academic community and while bringing an academic institution's special competence to bear on the solution of society's problems. Activities can take place on or off campus and can be related to either the governmental or private sectors of our national life. The emphasis on public service is in converting knowledge into readily usable forms for immediate applications." Deadline: April 8. Applications are available from the Research Area's Internal Grants web page.

The Office of Research Affairs and the Graduate School are sponsoring the Second Annual Conference on Ethics in Graduate Education on April 15, from 8:30 to 2:30 in Campus Center Room 904-908. The conference is free and open to all UMass faculty, staff and students. The morning session will feature two presentations: "Basics in the Presentation of Human Subjects in Research" followed by "Emerging Issues in the Protection of Human Research Subjects." The afternoon session, hosted by the graduate school, will feature six presentations delivered by faculty and students and a panel discussion on "Teaching Ethics at the Graduate Level." Download the full agenda and speakers list in PDF format. For more information on the morning session, contact Nancy Swett regarding the afternoon activities should be addressed to Diane Gerrish.

All faculty at the Five Colleges are invited to a Fulbright Workshop on April 1 from 9:00 to 10:30 am. The Center for Global Initiatives at Mt. Holyoke College will sponsor the lecture, featuring Smith College Economics Professor and Fulbright award-winner Karen Pfeifer, and Stephen Jones, Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Mt. Holyoke College. Jones has twice hosted a Fulbright Scholar from Georgia. Following the lecture, Debra Egan, Assistant director, Fulbright Scholar Program, Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Hemisphere, Council for International Exchange of Scholars, Washington, D.C., will be available for individual appointments upon request. If you plan to attend the workshop or if you would like to schedule an individual appointment, please RSVP by March 25 to Jennifer Medina, Administrative Assistant, Center for Global Initiatives, (538-3219).

An orientation to the newly launched Research Leadership in Action program will be held Monday, March 28 at 3:00 pm in room 104, Research Administration Building. The RLA 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. Application Deadline: May 1. Visit the RLA website for more information.

Clifford Konold
Scientific Reasoning Research Institute
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: Model Chance: A Technology-Rich Environment for Learning Probability
Total Award: $ 1,648,865

Gregory N. Tew
Polymer Science and Engineering
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: CAREER: Programming Molecules for Helix Formation and Self-Assembly into Helical Bundles
Total Award: $ 293,000

Benjamin Normark
Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: CAREER: Phylogeny and Evolution of Armored Scale Insects and Their Bacterial Endosymbionts
Total Award: $ 134,395

Daniel D. Corkill
Computer Science
Sponsor: Air Force
Title: A Cognitive Framework for Resource-Aware Sensor Net Organizations
Total Award: $ 99,999

Charles Schweik
Natural Resources Conservation
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: The Open Source/Content "Commons" as a New Paradigm for Collaborative Scientific Research: A Research & Teaching Agenda
Total Award: $ 88,340

Daniel Wang
Astronomy
Sponsor: National Aero and Space Administration
Title: X-Ray-Emitting Gaseous Halo for the Massive SB Galaxy NGC 2841
Total Award: $ 48,100