The Office of Research Affairs (ORA), as part of the Research Area, manages the affairs of research including information services and training to promote external sponsorship, ensuring that research is compliant, and acting as a liaison between the University Research Council and the executive area for research. Under the direction of Bruce McCandless, the office has been building a portfolio of services to help facilitate and grow research at UMass. McCandless explains, "We are a service organization working on behalf of the research community. By working with the faculty governance committees related to research activities, we are establishing a formal mechanism by which we can respond to the research faculty's interests and also go to them for guidance in the development of research policies."

McCandless came to campus in 1974 and therefore has had the opportunity to work with faculty throughout their careers. "I have focused on helping to get new faculty grounded and started," he says. "By being on campus for 30 years, I have been able to work with a full cycle of faculty. Our careers have developed in tandem, and it has been really satisfying to develop those collegial relationships."

ORA has many tools available now and on the horizon that help make research processes more streamlined for both established and new faculty. The office works with faculty to make managing the financial aspects of grants more efficient. Through the Grant Application Management System (GAMS), PI's can access Project Management data relating to building budgets in the pre-proposal stage and managing the finances of a project once it has been awarded.

The office also works with the Office of Grant and Contract Administration (OGCA) to manage the Community of Scholars (COS) database. "This is a great service for alerting people to grant opportunities. Once you create a profile with your research interests and specialties," explains McCandless, "you will receive a customized listing of grant opportunities once a week." ORA is also working on a computerized system to make the mechanics of supporting compliance in both animals and humans more efficient. "We are trying to take some of the burden of compliance away from the advisory committees and researchers."

ORA has been enthusiastically participating on behalf of the research community at the federal level to identify areas where they can streamline the administrative components of doing research. McCandless has been working with representatives from 80 other research universities to influence change in compliance regulations. In addition, the office is positioning UMass to make a smooth transition when the federal government moves to a paperless grant submission and awarding process in 12-18 months. "We are tracking and coordinating our own campus-based proposal development tool so that it will flow automatically through grants.gov, the government portal. We are way out in front in anticipating that change, and that is a great place to be."

To learn more about the services and products ORA has available, visit the research website.

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Technology for Teaching Grants

Microsoft and Hewlett Packard have issued their latest technology for teaching RFP's.

Microsoft’s Tablet PC Technology, Curriculum, and Higher Education RFP has been expanded to include two tracks. Track I will support projects related to the use of Tablet technology in computing curriculum. Track II will support projects related to the gathering of evidence and educational evaluation of Tablet technology in any discipline. Awards ranging from $40,000-$75,000 will be made to 6-12 institutions. Proposals must be submitted online by December 19, 2005. For more information, click here.

The Hewlett Packard Higher Education Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative focuses on course redesign using mobile technology to positively impact student learning in computer engineering, computer science, engineering, and MBA courses. Grants will be awarded to 40 institutions and include several elements valued at more than $70,000 including a product bundle and stipend. Proposals must be submitted online by February 15, 2006.

Contact Karen Hayes (545-2706) in RL&D with your intent to submit. RL&D can offer services to help with your proposal development. For example, UMass Amherst has recently been designated by Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer as the first-in-the-nation "IT Showcase School". Noting this designation in your proposals would be strategic. Information about the campus' IT Showcase School status can be found on the RL&D website.

Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center Grants Deadline

Full proposals are due December 2, 2005 for the current round of Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center commercialization grants. MTTC is offering five $25,000 awards to Principal Investigators associated with a Massachusetts research institution to help move an invention closer to commercialization. The statement of intent was due November 4, 2005. Visit the MTTC website for more information.

Nine Sigma Archives

You can view the six past issues of the NineSigma Innovation Newsletter on the Corporate Funding site and learn about RFP's from companies in search of innovative solutions from research institutions. RL&D also distributes NineSigma's Innovation Newsletter with biweekly RFP announcements to UMass Amherst department chairs and interested faculty. If you'd like to add yourself to the NineSigma Innovation Newsletter distribution list, click here.

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Tablet PC Community of Practice Meeting and Classroom Observations

The Tablet PC Community of Practice will hold its next meeting on Friday, December 2, 2005 at the Isenberg School of Management, Room 106. Faculty will present and have a Q&A from 12:00-1:00PM, and lunch will be served from 1:00-1:30 PM. Richard Rogers (Resource Economics) and Tilman Wolf (Electrical and Computer Engineering) will talk about their experiences teaching with Tablet PC. Prior to the meeting, you are invited to observe their classes. Wolf lectures with a Tablet from 1:25-2:15 in the Engineering Lab II, Room 119 on November 9th, 16th, 21st, 23rd, 28th, and 30th. Rogers and his students will use Tablets on Friday, November 14th from 11:15 to 12:05 PM at the Isenberg School of Management, Room 106. Please contact Gino Sorcinelli (545-5636) with questions or Jung Yun to RSVP for the meeting.

Ontogency of Mammalian Sleep Lecture

Dr. Mark Blumberg from the University of Iowa Psychology Department will be on campus Tuesday, December 6, at 4PM to present a seminar entitled "The Ontogency of Mammalian Sleep: From Muscle to NeoCortex." The seminar will be held in the OEB Conference Room (319 Morrill Science South). Refreshments will be served. Contact Debby Good, the seminar host, with questions.

Publicize Your Event

Research ACCESS is a great way to promote an event that is of interest to the UMass Research community. The newsletter goes out to over 1400 people every month. Please send information about events to us so we can help get the word out. To send us an email click here.

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Directory of Research Equipment, Facilities and Services (REFS) Now Online

Looking for a central source of information about campus research facilities and services? A new campus directory of research equipment, facilities and services (REFS) is available online. All REFS entries are categorized and searchable by research area/activity area, equipment type, departmental use, college/administrative unit, associated personnel, and availability. The REFS directory already contains more than 100 entries and is regularly updated.

As a central portal to campus research facilities and services, REFS addresses one of the recommendations for enhancing interdisciplinary research outlined by the National Academies Committee on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research. “REFS also answers repeated requests from industry for a central source of information about campus research facilities and services,” says UMass Amherst Research Liaison and Development Director Marla Michel.

Please visit REFS to view current entries and submit additional directory entries. Contact Loren Walker in RL&D (577-3725) with questions and comments.

Campus Nano Update Newsletter

MassNanoTech, UMass Amherst’s campus-wide institute for nanoscale science and engineering has launched a monthly newsletter. If you'd like to be on the distribution list for Campus Nano Update, send an email to massnanotech@research.umass.edu. In the current issue you can read about the new doctoral training program, news, and events of interest to the UMass Nanotech community. Also, please send MassNanoTech any information you'd like to get around to the UMass nanotechnology community for distribution in future monthly newsletters.

Research Reports

The Research Area will be producing two different but complementary publications that report on the campus’ fiscal year 2005 research activities. As in past years, OGCA will issue the Fiscal Year Sponsored Activities Annual Report. This detailed piece includes views of FY’05 proposal and award activity, distribution of award and proposal dollars by sponsor, distribution of award dollars by MBU, proposal and award trends, and much more. The new annual UMass Amherst Report on Research is designed to give campus constituents a broad view of FY’05 research activity on the Amherst campus. Technology transfer, state science and technology grant programs, Research Area internal grant programs, and private donations for research are highlighted in this report as well as sponsored activities. The Report on Research also highlights a number of the campus’ research programs and faculty and is designed to function as a marketing piece for UMass Amherst research.

Both reports will be available online soon at www.umass.edu/research. And, unlike the Sponsored Activities Report, the Report on Research will be available for campus recruiting or other marketing needs. Please contact Becky McNiven, RL&D (545-2706) if you are interested in receiving copies.

Tools and Tips for Representing UMass

Presenting a consistent image of UMass Amherst is a strategic way to increase the campus' recognition and visibility with external audiences. UMass has a Graphic Identity Program designed to clearly distinguish all campus print, online, presentation, products and merchandise. A graphic identity helps create a coherent image and message to convey the unique qualities of UMass Amherst. Visit the Graphic Identity Program website to learn about how to incorporate the graphic identity in your work. PowerPoint templates, stock photos, and website graphics are available to download.

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CVIP Retreat

Staff from 5-campus CVIP offices, OGCA, RL&D, MTTC, and the President's Office attended a retreat last month at UMass Boston. Attendees shared and discussed information related to the disclosure process, invention evaluation, and marketing the University's technology. As a result of the retreat, CVIP is studying several new initiatives to provide more user-friendly services to campus. The new initiatives will include a simplified version of the disclosure form, new agreement templates, the coordination of marketing resources, a University-wide shared database for market research, and improving the ability to attract industry sponsored research. Contact Nick DeCristofaro or call him at (413) 545-1587.

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Each month ACCESS includes a selection of grants and contracts awarded to faculty from across campus to provide a sense of what's going on in research at UMass Amherst. These listings reflect only a small fraction of the total sponsored activity for any given month. Since this is just a snapshot in time and grant/contract terms vary, actual award totals may be higher than the amounts listed.

Daniel R. Anderson
Psychology
Sponsor: Sesame Workshop
Title: The Impact of Baby Videos on Parent-Child Interaction
Award: $88,367

Michael D. Barnes
Chemistry
Sponsor: US Dept of Energy
Title: Chemical Microscopy of Conjugated Macromolecular Systems: Fundamental Design Strategies for Nanoscale Photonic Antennae and Network
Award: $150,000

Gloria Difulvio
Public Health
Sponsor: Donahue Institute
Title: Safe Schools/Healthy Students
Award: $124,091

Sarah M. Dorner
Environmental Health Sciences
Sponsor: MA Dept of Environmental Protection
Title: The Acid Rain Monitoring Project, Phase IV FY 2006
Award: $49,984

Joseph S. Elkinton
Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences
Sponsor: US Dept of Agriculture
Title: Asian Longhorned Beetle: Behavior, Biology and Control
Award: $201,945

James F. Kurose
Computer Science
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: Collaborative Research: NeTS-NBD: Network X- ities - Foundations and Applications
Award: $157,099

Sharon C. Long
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Sponsor: Water Environment Research Foundation
Title: An Investigation into Biosolids Sampling and Handling Methods for USEPA-Approved Microbial Detection Techniques
Award: $160,606

Susan C. Roberts
Chemical Engineering
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: Acquisition of a Multiparameter High-Speed Cell Sorter
Award: $427,950

Donald T. Tomaskovic-Deve
Sociology
Sponsor: Russell Sage Foundation
Title: Documenting Desegregation: Equal Opportunity in Private Sector Employment Since the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Award: $35,000

Horst H. Winter
Chemical Engineering
Sponsor: ExxonMobil Chemical Co
Title: CUMIRP Part II: Apparatus for Small Angle Light Scattering and light Transmission Measurements
Award: $75,000

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