Facilities Profile: Genomics Resource Lab
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Genomics is a small word with a big jurisdiction: the study of an organism's entire genome, its full DNA sequence. Consequently, genomics R&D requires a tremendous range of expertise and advanced instrumentation. Several types of essential genomics resources, and the accompanying expertise, are accessible to the campus community and off-campus investigators through the Genomics Resource Lab in Fernald Hall. Recently, the lab acquired a state-of-the-art Applied Biosystems automated capillary sequencer that will enable precise nucleotide sequencing. [Read More]
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Direct Costs Part III: Special Considerations for Cost Allocations
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When
researchers apply for a grant or contract there are two cost categories
included in their budgets: direct and indirect costs. Last year, ACCESS
explored indirect costs. This article is the third
in a three-part series on direct costs. Last month's article focused on tips
and tactics for budgeting direct costs. This month's article provides advice on
how to handle time-costing/effort commitments and allocating costs in
interdisciplinary projects.
By understanding and taking advantage of the
many nuances involved in determining direct costs, PIs can ensure that their
proposals move through the review system with greater efficiency and ultimately
increase the likelihood of approval. [Read
More]
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New Massachusetts Academy of Sciences Launched
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Did you
know that until recently, Massachusetts was
one of the few states in the nation that did not have an Academy of Sciences?
In February, at the American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences Annual
Meeting in Boston,
the formation of the Massachusetts
Academy of Sciences (MAS) was greeted enthusiastically by scientists,
educators, policy-makers, and members of the public. The brainchild of UMass
Amherst Biology Professor and MAS President Dr.
Margaret Riley, the MAS has grown out of a shared sense that the
Commonwealth needs some entity that can serve as an umbrella to coordinate and
enable the diversity of science-based efforts across this state. Recognizing
this need, MAS has already initiated an extensive range of activities designed
to foster and enrich science research and education across Massachusetts. [Read More]
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Latest "TechCast at UMass" Now Available
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The
latest episode of TechCast
at UMass features CVIP Director Nicholas DeCristofaro and plant biologist Dr. Om Parkash on
how CVIP has helped bring to market Dr. Parkash's exciting project using new
plant breeds to protect people, animals, and soil against arsenic contamination
through the genetic engineering process known as phytoremediation. To sign up
to receive future "TechCast at UMass" podcasts, visit the "TechCast at UMass" website.
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Research Recognition Dinner Awardees
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On May 14 over 60 faculty from more then 20 departments will be recognized for their achievements. 3 faculty will receive Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowships, which include a $3,000 honorarium and 1 year of release time to pursue research and scholarly activities. Other awards to be presented will include Outstanding Accomplishments in Research & Creative Activity, CVIP Technology Development Grants, Distinguished Faculty Lecturers, Distinguished Faculty, Faculty Research/Healey Endowment Grants, Public Service Endowment Grants, Research Leadership in Action Grants, and Science & Technology Initiative Fund Awards. Click here for a complete list of awardees.
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UMass Recognized in State's
Biofuels Report
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The Massachusetts Advanced Biofuels Task Force,
commissioned by the state to make recommendations for legislation, regulations,
and programs to promote the development of an advanced biofuels industry in the
Commonwealth, has released its final report.
The report contains material highlighting some of the contributions made to
biofuel innovations by UMass Amherst researchers as well as information on the
future direction and benefits of biofuel studies.
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| Funding Opportunities |
IBM Shared University Research Awards
Deadline:
Ongoing
Estimated
Award Size: Varies
The IBM Shared University Research (SUR)
Awards program is an equipment award program designed to promote research in
areas of mutual value and interest to IBM and universities. The program is not
aimed at supporting a single individual or research project. Rather, the intent
is to have an impact in an area of significant interest to the university and
IBM. The SUR Awards program is designed to:
- promote
collaborative research projects that bring value to IBM and the technology
community;
- increase
access to and successful use of IBM technologies for research and in
curriculum;
- provide
opportunities within IBM for undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students.
All
requests must be submitted via IBM employees who already interact with faculty
or the institution on a technical basis. Need to find connections with IBM?
Contact RLD Industry Liaison Karen
Hayes (413-545-9586).
Global Health Research Grants
Registration
Deadline: May 15, 2008
Proposal
Deadline: May 30, 2008
Estimated
Award Size: $100,000
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation seeks
proposals for Grand Challenges Explorations, a new initiative to help
scientists pursue innovative ideas for solving major global health
problems. Projects showing success will have the opportunity to receive
additional funding of $1 million or more.
The following topics are being addressed in this round:
- Creating
new ways to protect against infectious diseases
- Creating
drugs or delivery systems that limit the emergence of resistance
- Creating
new ways to prevent or cure HIV infection
- Exploring
the basis for latency in TB
More information and application materials are
available online. For assistance applying to this
opportunity, please contact Susan
Worgaftik (413-547-2956).
Parkinson's Therapeutics Development Initiative Fund
Pre-proposal Deadline: May 28,
2008
Full Proposal Deadline: July 24,
2008
Estimated Award Size: Varies
The
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research's (MJFF)
Therapeutics Development Initiative (TDI) supports preclinical development of
Parkinson's disease therapies that have the potential for fundamentally
altering disease course and/or improving treatment of symptoms above and beyond
current standards of care. Proposals must focus on key and critical preclinical
studies necessary for developing, optimizing, and evaluating therapeutic
strategies. Investigators may seek up to two years of funding for preclinical
development and testing of novel therapeutic approaches. More information is
available online. For assistance applying to
this opportunity, please contact Susan
Worgaftik (413-547-2956).
Cancer Research Funding Opportunity
Pre-proposal
Deadline: June 2, 2008
Full
Proposal Deadline: September 12, 2008
Estimated Award Size: $450,000
over three years
The Damon
Runyon Cancer Research Foundation is accepting proposals for the
Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award. The award provides support for the
next generation of creative thinkers with "high-risk/high-reward"
ideas with the potential to significantly impact our understanding of and
approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of cancer. The Award funds
early career researchers who have innovative ideas but lack sufficient
preliminary data to obtain traditional funding. Research supported by the Award
must be novel, exceptionally creative, and have the potential for high impact
in the field. More information is available online. For assistance applying to
this opportunity, please contact Susan
Worgaftik (413-547-2956).
Health Care Quality Funding
Pre-proposal
Deadline: June 12, 2008
Full
Proposal Deadline: September 4, 2008
Estimated
Award Size: $200,000 to $400,000
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation seeks proposals
for projects to examine the effects of public reporting and pay-for-performance
on quality of health care. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged to apply.
Proposals should demonstrate the potential to produce high-quality,
scientifically sound research and might include, but are not limited to:
demonstration projects, retrospective studies, case studies, and secondary data
analyses. More information is available online.
For assistance
applying to this opportunity, please contact Susan Worgaftik (413-547-2956).
Foundation for Suicide Prevention Research Grants
Deadline:
June 15, 2008
Estimated
Award Size: Varies (see below)
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention research
grants support studies that aim to increase understanding of the causes of
suicide and factors related to suicide risk, or to test treatments and other
interventions designed to prevent suicide. Investigators from all disciplines
are eligible to apply; both basic and applied research projects will be
considered. Categories include: Standard Research Grants (up to $75,000), Young
Investigator Grants (up to $85,000), Pilot Grants (up to $30,000), Distinguished
Investigator Grants ($100,000), and Postdoctoral Research Fellowships ($100,000).
More information is available online.
For assistance applying to this opportunity, please contact Susan Worgaftik (413-547-2956).
Nanoelectronic Materials, Processes, and Devices
Grant
White
Papers Deadline: June 16, 2008
Proposal
Deadline: September 15, 2008
Estimated
Award Size: $50,000 to $200,000 per year over 3 years
The Semiconductor Research Corporation seeks proposals
in the area of modeling and simulation (M&S) of nanoelectronic materials,
processes, and devices. This program's goals are to apply M&S techniques to
understand and overcome fundamental scientific barriers to extending Digital
CMOS and related technologies to their ultimate limits, to the development of
novel memory technologies, and to the development of high performance analog
and mixed-signal technologies. More information is available online.
HP Labs Innovation Research Program
Deadline:
June 18, 2008
Estimated
Award Size: $50,000 to $75,000
Hewlett-Packard
has launched a new HP
Labs Innovation Research Program designed to create opportunities at
colleges, universities, and research institutes for collaborative research with
HP. This competitive grant program is soliciting proposals for breakthrough
research within five broad themes of information explosion, dynamic
cloud services, content transformation, intelligent infrastructure, and
sustainability. A key element of each award will be on-campus support for one
graduate-student researcher. If you intend to apply to this grant program,
please notify Karen
Hayes (545-9586) RL&D, so that she can alert the campus's HP
partnership executive of submissions. Institutional approval in the form of a
signed Collaborative Research Agreement is required. Please contact Nancy Stewart
(545-0698) in OGCA.
Collaborative Biomedical Research Grants
Deadline:
July 8, 2008
Estimated
Award Size: Varies
The Collaborative
Biomedical Research (CBR) Program funds promising research projects that have
co-principal investigators from both UMass-Amherst and Baystate Medical Center.
CBR Research Grants provide initial support for physicians and scientists to
collaborate on a biomedical project and are intended to serve as "seed
funds" to help the collaborative team gain a competitive position for extramural
funding applications. For more information, including criteria details and
application materials, visit the CBR website. Go to Top |
| Announcements |
UMass Amherst Technology Recognized in AUTM Report
The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) has released their third annual "Better World" publication, titled Technology Transfer Works: 100 Innovations from Academic Research to Real-World Applications (PDF). One of the inventions highlighted - Online Web-based Learning educational software - is from UMass Amherst and has been successfully commercialized by Thomson Learning (now Cengage).
SSTI Responds to New SBIR Program's Passage in the House
The House of Representatives recently authorized a new bill for Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) that makes a number of changes to the program. The State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI) has responded, noting that "If [H.R. 5819] becomes law, [it] means bigger awards, but fewer awards. It means more flexibility as to when research projects can enter the SBIR/STTR process. It clarifies and expands eligibility to include companies owned by venture capital firms. It opens up significant subcontracting opportunities. It has, for the first time, requirements to give preferences in SBIR/STTR awards to companies based on geographic and demographic considerations." [Read More]
Leschine Makes "Top 10 Women in Cleantech" List
Dr. Susan Leschine, senior faculty member in the Microbiology Department at UMass Amherst and founder and chief scientist of SunEthanol, has been named by Earth2Tech.com has one of the Top 10 Women in Cleantech for her discovery and development of the ground-breaking Q-microbe biodigesting technology.
Inaugural Visioning Grants Awardees Announced
The College of Humanities and Fine Arts (CHFA) has released the outcomes of its inaugural round of Visioning Grants. The awardees represent a broad selection of the work within CHFA and involve at some level every department in the College. Each awardee will receive $95,000 for their project and will be recognized at the CHFA Awards Ceremony and Visioning Reception on May 13th at the Studio Arts Building. More information, including a full list of the award recipients, is available online.
Mellon Mutual Mentoring Grant Recipients Announced
12 academic units and 16 faculty have been selected to receive Mellon Mutual Mentoring Grants from the Office of Faculty Development and the Provost's Office. Mellon Mutual Mentoring ("M3") Team Grants are one-year awards of up to $10,000 to support faculty-driven, context-sensitive mentoring projects for early career and underrepresented faculty. Mellon Mutual Mentoring Micro ("M4") Grants are one-year awards of up to $1,200 to individual pre-tenure faculty. M4 grants are intended to encourage new faculty to identify desirable areas for professional growth and to develop the mentoring relationships to make such opportunities possible. A list of this year's recipients in both categories is available online.
University Press Issues Spring & Summer 2008 Catalog
The University of Massachusetts Press has released the Spring & Summer 2008 addition to its catalog, featuring a range of new and newly revised titles including books in history, literature, political science, sociology, environmental science, and more. A complete listing of all University Press publications from 1997 to the present is available online.
2008 Juniper Prizes in Fiction and Poetry Announced
Since 1976, the University Press's Juniper Prize for Poetry has been awarded annually for an original manuscript of poems. In 2004 it was joined by the Juniper Prize in Fiction. The winner of the 2008 Juniper Prize in Poetry is Calvin College Professor of English L. S. Klatt for his collection of poems, Interloper. The 2008 Juniper Prize for Fiction went to Baldwin-Wallace College Professor of English Daniel A. Hoyt for his story collection, A Sort of Family. Both will be published by the UMass Press in 2009.
MRI-MRS Grant Recipients And Open House Announced
The MRI-MRS Pilot Research Grant Program offered through the UMass Amherst Office of Research seeds pilot projects focused on MRI and MRS techniques using the state-of-the-art human bioimaging facility operated by Cooley Dickinson Hospital at the University Drive Health Center. Awards for this program went to Brian Umberger (Kinesiology), Kyle Cave (Psychology), Matt Davidson (Psychology), Jane Kent-Braun (Kinesiology), and Jacquie Kurland (Communication Disorders).
The MRI facility is also holding an open house for campus faculty, the general public and referring physicians on Wednesday June 4th from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Campus researchers may apply for the next round of pilot research grants to use the facility through the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.
UMass Amherst Joins MentorNet
MentorNet is an award-winning e-mentoring network for individuals in engineering, science, mathematics, and technology, especially for women and others under-represented in these fields. MentorNet's One-on-One program links highly motivated undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs, and pre-tenure faculty with professionals in industry, government, and higher education. MentorNet also offers discussion groups, a résumé database, and other useful resources. Anyone may join the online community, get its newsletter, and use its resources, but only individuals at member universities can get a One-on-One Mentor and post a résumé in the MentorNet Database. For more information about UMass Amherst's membership, please contact the campus liaison, Barbara Pearson (413-545-5023), or one of the members of the campus MentorNet Network.
Pearson Publishes on Raising a Bilingual Child
Congratulations to RLD Assistant Director and Academic Liaison Barbara Pearson on the release of her new book Raising a Bilingual Child, published by Random House's Living Language division. More information about the book can be found online.
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| Events |
May 13 - 15: The Spring 2008 Polymer Event at UMass Amherst will feature a lecture series on "Polymers in Energy" (May 13), a symposium on "Polymers in Biomedical Applications" (May 14), and a workshop on "Ionic Liquids: Opportunities in Polymers" (May 15). For more information contact the Center for UMass/Industry Research on Polymers (413-545-2236).
May 15: OGCA Brown Bag Lunch on Effort Reporting. Room 104 in the Research Administration Building from 12pm-1pm; Open to the entire campus community. OGCA will provide beverages. For more information or to register, contact Kimberley Broderick (413-545-0698).
May 16: The School of Public Health & Health Sciences Faculty Mentoring Symposium will be held in Campus Center 1001. The Symposium is an opportunity for early-career faculty in SPHHS to learn about collaborative opportunities with senior faculty in the areas of aging, obesity, and women's health. Poster session begins at 11am; lunch sessions on specific topics at 12pm. Contact Lisa Chasan-Taber (413-545-1664) for more information or to register to present a poster.
May 21: Marilyn Billings, Scholarly Communications and Special Initiative Librarian, and OGCA staff will lead a discussion on how to negotiate publication contracts that comply with NIH's new reporting requirements, identify journals that will submit researchers' articles directly to PubMed Central, and other requirements imposed due to the implementation of NIH's new policy. For more information, or to RSVP, contact Carol Sprague. 12pm; lunch will be provided.
May 29: The Office of Faculty Development will hold a faculty writing retreat, 9am to 3pm at Mt. Holyoke College. The retreat will offer faculty the opportunity to review research materials and notes, start a new draft, or revise an existing manuscript - all in an idyllic setting overlooking a waterfall and open air courtyard, far from the demands and distractions of home or office. RSVP by Thursday, May 22nd to Lily Ladewig.
May 29-30: UMass and H3B Media co-sponsor a two-day Climate Change Think Tank Symposium at the Mullins Center, focusing on the theme of "Transportation's Impacts and Solutions on Climate Change". The symposium will feature Congressman John Olver of Massachusetts's First Congressional District and Chairman of the House Appropriations Sub-committee on Transportation as keynote speaker. More information is available online.
May 30: The UMass Amherst Center for Research on Families hosts "Researching the Connected World: An Introduction to Social Network Analysis" at the Isenberg School of Management. The day will include talks introducing a variety of network concepts and methods, an introduction to statistical models for social networks, and a hands-on network tutorial using freely available software and data. For more information, contact Wendy Varner (413-545-3593); registration information is available online.
June 2-30: The Office of Faculty Development invites full-time faculty to participate in Start Your Summer Write, an innovative online summer writing group facilitated by Dr. Gina Hiatt, a professional writing/tenure coach. This wholly online program is designed to help faculty at all career stages establish positive, lifelong writing habits to maximize their scholarly productivity. For more information or to enroll in the June session, contact Lily Ladewig. A session will also be held July 1-31.
June 3: The Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MATT) hosts "MA Life Sciences Innovation Day" from 8am to 5pm at the Sheraton Hotel Boston; featuring networking opportunities, panel discussions, poster sessions, Innovators Marketplace, gala reception, and keynote speakers Dr. Craig Mello, Nobel Laureate and Professor at UMass Medical, and Dr. Josh Boger, CEO Vertex Pharmaceuticals. More information and registration materials are available online.
June 4: MRI Open House at University Drive Health Center in Amherst. The state-of-the-art human bioimaging facility operated by Cooley Dickinson Hospital, and used for research by the UMass Amherst community, will hold an open house for campus faculty, the general public and referring physicians on Wednesday June 4th from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Campus researchers may apply for pilot research grants to use the facility through the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.
June 10-12: "Triad Investigations: New Approaches and Innovative Strategies" will feature training and platform sessions and evening workshops on new tools and approaches for improved decision making for hazardous waste site characterization, site remediation, and site redevelopment using the Triad process. Hosted by The Environmental Institute and the EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation. Registration information is available online. June 24: A conference on "Best Practices in Science Education" will be held from 8:30am to 2:30pm in the Amherst Room at the Campus Center. The conference, funded in part by a UMass Amherst "Research Leadership in Action" award, will identify activities that increase the number and diversity of undergraduates in S&E disciplines, highlight curriculum reform and "best practices" for retaining S&E majors, expand the number of graduates entering the Massachusetts S&E workforce, and build momentum and visibility for new legislation and funding opportunities. More information is available online.
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| OGCA Histogram |
OGCA processed 139
proposals for a total of $20,031,322 in April 2008. How does that stack up
against last year and previous months? Have a look at the histograms
to find out.
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| New Faculty |
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Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Seamus Decker, Anthropology
Jan Servaes,
Demetria
Shabazz, and Martha Fuentes-Bautista,
Communications
Stephen
Fox, Journalism
Fidan Kurtulus, Economics
Iza
Hussin, Nina Siulc, Diana Yoon, Legal Studies
Amel Ahmed, Tatishe Nteta, Jillian Schwedler, Political
Science
Harold
Grotevant, Psychology
David Cort, Andrew Papachristos,
Wenona
Rymond-Richard, and Melissa
Wooten, Sociology
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April Grants & Contracts Snapshot |
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.
Janna
Baty
Music
& Dance
Sponsor: Marion and Jasper Whiting
Foundation
Title: A
Study of the Vocal Music of Heitor Villa Lobos and Conversational Portuguese
Total
Award: $4,200
Emery
Berger
Computer
Science
Sponsor:
Microsoft Corporation
Title:
Tolerating Memory Leaks in C/C++ Applications
Total
Award: $29,000
Michelle
Budig
Sociology
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation
Title:
Estimating the Cross-National Effects of Family Policies on the Wage Penalty
for Motherhood Using Multilevel Models
Total
Award: $70,000
John C.
Carey
Student
Development & Pupil Personnel Services
Sponsor:
MA Department of Education
Title:
Career Planning Professional Development
Total
Award: $68,500
Eric
Decker
Food
Science
Sponsor:
Wesfolk Inc.
Title:
Experiments to Quantify the Potential of the Encapsulation Technologies for the
Stabilization of Omega-3 Oils
Total
Award: $158,570
Sarina J.
Ergas
Civil
& Environmental Engineering
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation
Title: A
Novel Method for Biological Perchlorate Reduction Using Elemental Sulfur as an Electron Donor
Total
Award: $299,999
Ruth V.
Hazzard
UMass
Extension
Sponsor:
MA Department of Agricultural Resources
Title:
Building Model Networks Among Diary, Vegetable, and Floriculture Farms to Grow
and Use Shelled Corn for Greenhouse Heat
Total
Award: $149,263
David
Jensen
Computer
Science
Sponsor:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Title:
Relational Learning Methods and Knowledge Discovery for Social Networks and
Intent Recognition
Total
Award: $83,700
Benjamin
H. Letcher
Natural
Resources Conservation
Sponsor:
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Title:
Atlantic Salmon Habitat Restoration Prioritization
Total
Award: $100,000
Jennifer
H. Lundquist
Sociology
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation
Title: Do
Race Disparities in Infant Health Persist in a Setting of a Reduced Racial
Inequality? Infant Outcomes in the Military
Total
Award: $160,000
Stephen
B. Mabee
Geosciences
Sponsor:
Geological Survey
Title:
Geologic Mapping in Massachusetts
Fiscal Year 2008
Total
Award: $55,529
David J.
McClements
Food
Science
Sponsor:
International Flavor & Fragrance
Title:
Unrestricted Grant: Research on Food Emulsions and Flavor Stability
Total
Award: $33,000
Dara Wier
English
Sponsor:
National Endowment for the Arts
Title:
Jubilat NEA Grant for Arts Project 08
Total
Award: $7,500
Shlomo
Zilberstein
Computer
Science
Sponsor:
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Title:
Decision-Theoretic Foundations for Multi-Agent Systems
Total
Award: $145,414
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ICTURE TO COME)
