$500K Available for STEM Initiatives through Mass PiL
Deadline: February 16 letter of interest, full proposals March 30. Microsoft’s Massachusetts Partners in Learning (MASS PiL) grant program has $500,000 available to fund innovative practices within the state of Massachusetts in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education with a special focus on after school programs. Grants of between $50,000 and $150,000 are available to qualified projects and there is potential for additional funding in subsequent years. Letters of interest must describe how your project meets the MASS PiL minimum required elements found in the application overview.

Invitations to submit proposals based on a review of letters of interest will be announced February 23. March 30 is the final proposal deadline and grant awardees will be announced on April 16. Contact Allyson Knox, Academic Program Manager, U.S. Partners in Learning at Microsoft for details about the MASS PiL grant. Principle investigators who are selected to submit full proposals should be willing to provide necessary intellectual property rights to allow Microsoft to replicate the success of the project with other educational entities. Typically, the campus will grant these rights to a noncommercial entity, but PIs are encouraged to contact CVIP (413-545-3606) with questions or concerns.

Mass Technology Transfer Center (MTTC) Investigation Awards
Deadline: February 23 for Statement of Intent, proposals due March 23. MTTC announces its spring 2007 round of Investigation awards. The MTTC has increased funding for this grant from 5 grants at $25,000 to 10 grants of $40,000 in 2007. The awards are intended to support commercial viability of a technology by encouraging the development of prototypes or gathering of initial data. Om Parkash from the Department of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences at UMass Amherst was selected to receive a fall ‘06 award of $40K for his project "Engineered rice plants for enhanced resistance and decreased uptake of toxic metalloid arsenic". Go to the MTTC grants and awards webpage for information and an application. Contact Michele Bernier at the MTTC office with questions.

Enhancing Teaching through the Use of Technology
Deadline: February 23. The Information Technology Council of the President's Office announces a call for proposals for its 2007 round of annual grants through the Enhancing Teaching through the Use of Technology program (previously Professional Development Grants). Increased funding and proposal categories mark this year's program. Awards will be made in varying amounts for professional development, strategic initiatives, and for scholarship of teaching and learning. Click here for the RFP and application form. Contact Mark Schlesinger in the President's Office for more information.

Armstrong Fund for Science Program
Deadline: March 15. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research announces the launch of the Armstrong Fund for Science, a new annual grant competition. The grant is intended for faculty members involved in research that represents a new, bold initiative in a science field. Junior faculty and female faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are encouraged to apply, but applications representing a new direction of research from senior faculty are welcome. The application and RFP are available here.

Outreach Program Innovation Fund
Deadline: March 30. The UMass Amherst community is encouraged to submit proposals to the Outreach Program Innovation Fund. Sponsored by the Vice Provost for Outreach, the fund welcomes submissions that will serve as catalysts to enhance and expand the university’s outreach activity, particularly activity that can be self-sustaining. The Fund proactively seeks to support new, innovative programs that could be launched through Arts Extension Service, Continuing & Professional Education, UMass Extension, University Without Walls, or WFCR. Click here for the proposal form and more information.

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Outreach Scholarship Conference Call for Proposals
Deadline: February 28. The 2007 Outreach Scholarship Conference is requesting submissions to present at their annual conference themed "Access through Engagement." The event concentrates on ways universities can become involved in communities to share resources and develop mutual goals. The conference is sponsored by University of Wisconsin Extension and a number of other U.S. academic institutions. More information can be found on the conference website.

mtvU/GE ecomagination Challenge
Deadline: March 2 for voting. A team of UMass Amherst engineering students has been chosen as finalists for the mtvU/GE ecomagination Challenge and now ask for campus support in winning the contest through online votes. The contest asked college students to propose new ways to “green” their campuses and chose 10 finalist teams. The UMass Amherst proposal, The Human Power Plant Project, is a device that can be retrofitted to a stationary bicycle that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy to be stored in car batteries and used to charge student laptops and similar devices. The project will be profiled on mtvU on-air and online throughout the duration of the contest. The winning team will receive $25,000 to implement its project. Vote online by March 2 at the ecomagination Challenge website.

Third Annual Ignite Clean Energy Competition
Deadline: March 5. Students and young entrepreneurs are invited to enter the Ignite Clean Energy Competition, an event sponsored by MIT's Enterprise Forum. $150,000 will be awarded to a business idea that promotes clean energy technologies or business processes. Ignite will provide participating teams with business mentors and will match individual entrants with teammates. All participants will have the opportunity to pitch ideas to investors. Go to the competition website for more information and to register by March 5th.

IBM “Cell/B.E. University Challenge 07”
Open February 5 - July 5, 2007. Especially created for university students, this IBM-sponsored programming contest offers cash prizes for winning software programs using the IBM Cell Broadband Engine. Grand prize in the Top Innovator category is $10,000, with other cash prizes awarded to winning programs. Graduate and undergraduate students are eligible to participate in the Challenge. For more information and contest rules, go to the Challenge 07 website.

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The Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) Annual Award
Deadline: February 28. Faculty are invited to nominate individuals for the MMA Annual Award. This award of $5,000 recognizes an individual whose efforts have encouraged the advancement of girls and women in the natural and physical sciences, mathematics, engineering, computer science and technology. The 2007 round will focus on work done on K-12 science education. Visit the Maria Mitchell Association website for more information.

Technology Innovation Challenge First Phase Winner Announced
An idea for a company selling diamond-coated, long lasting artificial joints pitched by a team of graduate and undergraduate students has been chosen as the winner for the Technology Innovation Challenge (TIC) "Elevator Pitch" phase of the competition, earning $5,000. The Diamond Innovations team's product would eliminate some of the currently-required painful follow-up procedures for joint replacement. Doug Nickerson (Chemistry), Kenny Chiang (Geosciences), Hau Xu (Mechanical Engineering) and Alex Manda (Civil Engineering) comprise the winning team.

The TIC was launched in 2005 as a collaboration between the College of Engineering and the Isenberg School of Management. The 2006-2007 Technology Innovation Challenge will culminate in the spring semester with a $45,000 grand prize competition. Teams that participated in the first phase and new teams are encouraged to apply. Check out UMass Amherst News Office coverage of the winners here. Visit the TIC website to find out more about the competition.

Technology Development Awards Increase Funding
The CVIP Development Award has increased the amount of funding available through their respective programs. UMass President Jack Wilson increased the CVIP Development Fund, which is available to all UMass researchers, from $100,000 in 2006 to $250,000 in FY 2007, allowing for 8 awards of $30,000 rather than the previous 5 awards at $20,000. The CVIP awards will be announced in late February. More information about the award can be found here.

Microsoft/NSF Fund Computer Science trip to Ghana
Six computer science faculty from the University of Massachusetts Amherst were in Ghana from Jan. 15-19 to teach technology workshops with the aim of helping the African nation further participate in global research and development initiatives. Funding for the trip was provided by the National Science Foundation and Microsoft’s Inspire Programme. This program is designed to help build research capacity in developing countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

About 50 students and faculty from Ghana and other African countries participated in the goodwill program, which is being held at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in Ghana. The hope is that the workshop will help train and interest Ghanaian students in careers as faculty and that a longer-term relationship will develop. A memorandum of understanding is in the works that will encourage faculty and student exchanges between UCC and UMass Amherst, creating a collaborative environment that will grow in the future with the continued support of Microsoft. For more on Microsoft’s role on campus, contact Karen Hayes (413-545-9586), Industry Liaison.

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CVIP would like to acknowledge and congratulate the following inventors for patents issued in their names during the calendar year 06. Awardees will also be honored at CVIP's upcoming Patent Awards during the Research Area dinner in May.

Professor James Watkins (Polymer Science & Engineering). "Contamination Suppression in Chemical Fluid Deposition" and "Chemical Fluid Deposition for the Formulation of Metal & Metal Alloy Films on Patterned and Unpatterned Substrates."

Professors Stephen Malkin and Robert X. Gao (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering). "An Automated Grinding Wheel System."

Associate Professor Patricia Bianconi (Chemistry). "Methods of Preparing Polysilynes."

Associate Professor (retired) William Torello and Professor Emeritus Haim Gunner (Plant, Soil & Insect Sciences). "Novel Antifungal Bacterium and Compositions."

Research Associate Professor Lloyd Semprevivo (Veterinary & Animal Science). "Lipoglycan Compositions and Methods of Treating Parasitic Infections."

Professor Thomas Boyle (regretfully deceased, so we congratulate and offer condolences to wife Nancy Boyle) (Plant, Soil & Insect Sciences). "A New Plant Variety of Boltonia asteroides var. latisquama to be named 'Jim Crockett (Masbolimket)'."

Professor Emeritus Karl Jakus (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering) and Dr. Thomas Blake (formerly of UMass). "Low Pressure Impact Separator for Separation, Classification, and Collection of Ultra-Fine Particles."

Associate Professor Yossi Chait (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering), Professor Christopher Hollot (Electrical & Computer Engineering) and Distinguished Professor Don Towsley (Computer Science). "Scalable, Adaptable AQM (Active Queue Management) Router Algorithm."

Dr. Michael Tsapatsis (formerly of UMass). "Layered Silicate Material and Applications, A Method of the Synthesis of a Novel Layered Silicate with Three-dimensionally Microporous Layers."

Professor Robert X. Gao of (Mechanical and Industrial Engineering). "System and Method for Load Sensing Using Piezoelectric Effect."

Associate Professor Dhandapani Venkataraman (Chemistry). "Methods for Formation of Aryl-Sulfur Bonds and Aryl-Selenium Compounds Using Copper(I) Catalysts."

Assistant Professor Richard Vachet (Chemistry). "Parallel Tandem Mass Spectrometry."

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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. Since this is just a snapshot in time and grant/contract terms vary, actual award totals may be higher than the amounts listed.

W. Richards Adrion
Computer Science
Sponsor: University of Mass - President's Office
Title: CITI Phase III
Total Award: $500,000

Jeffrey Blaustein
Psychology
Sponsor: Society for Women's Health Research
Title: Enduring Effects of Peripubertal Exposure to Stressors on Reproductive Behavior in Mice
Total Award: $75,294

Bruce E. Byers
Biology
Sponsor: University of Mass - Foundation Inc
Title: Song and Mate Choice in Chestnut-sided Warblers: Do Females Prefer Consistent Vocal Performance?
Total Award: $3,600

Lyle E. Craker
Plant, Soil & Insect Sciences
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Title: Safety Review of Herbal Dietary Supplements
Total Award: $25,000

Rafael A. Fissore
Veterinary & Animal Sciences
Sponsor: Coop State Res, Educ and Ext Service
Title: PLCzeta, (Ca2+)i, Oscillations, and Activation of Bovine Oocytes
Total Award: $318,014

Nancy G. Forger
Psychology
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Title: Breeding Status and Delayed Motoneuron Maturation in a Eusocial Mammal
Total Award: $26,874

Stephen J. Frasier
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: Remote Sensing of Tornadoes and Storms with Mobile W-Band Polarimetric and X-Band Spaced- Antenna and Phased-Array Doppler Radar
Total Award: $230,777

Richard L. Freyman
Communications Disorders
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Title: Spatial Hearing in Complex Sound Fields
Total Award: $225,217

Cristine A. Smith
Educational Policy Research & Administration
Sponsor: Nellie Mae Foundation
Title: New England ABE-to-College Transitions Project
Total Award: $25,000

Donna M. Zucker
School of Nursing
Sponsor: Schering-Plough Foundation
Title: Hepatitis C Education for Healthcare Providers at Tapestry Health
Total Award: $8,000

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