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Current and archived issues are now searchable by keyword from the Research ACCESS index page.

Thanks to all who took the ACCESS survey. We will be reporting on results soon!

The VLSI Circuits and Systems Group in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department has been serving UMass Amherst and industry researchers for over 15 years. The group, led by Professor Wayne Burleson, works on cutting edge microelectronics technology in collaboration with other faculty investigators and industry. VLSI, which stands for Very Large Scale Integration, uses a combination of state- of-the-art Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools from both academia and industry to design and analyze novel circuits and circuit models and their effects on higher level systems across a range of semiconductor technologies. Motivating applications for this work include signal processing, embedded security, wireless communications and graphics; and the varied academic and industry collaborations this group is involved with allows researchers access to cutting edge tools, fabrication, circuit packages, and test instruments. [Read More]

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When a researcher applies for a grant or contract there are two cost categories included in their budget: direct and indirect costs. Most researchers understand direct costs as the materials and personnel costs associated with a specific research project, but understanding indirect costs can be a little trickier. This article is the first in a series on indirect costs that ACCESS will feature over the next three issues. The series will cover topics associated with the functions and delivery of indirect costs, the process and implications of accepting and modifying indirect costs, and the metrics involved in their usage. Sources for this information include the Guide to Indirect Costs for Sponsored Research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Report on the Campus Budget and the Office of Grant and Contract Administration (OGCA). Click here for the full article that answers the following questions:

What is the distinction between direct and indirect costs?
What are indirect costs used for?
Why are indirect costs critical to the University's ability to support research?

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From Art History to Computer Engineering, all areas of campus are eligible to apply for grants through the Research Leadership in Action (RLA) program. With new funding now available, faculty members from across campus who are interested in building bridges to external funders are encouraged to apply. See the RLA website for deadlines and details.

As an example, the Music and Dance Department hosted the successful 32nd Annual International Trumpet Guild (ITG) conference this summer. An RLA grant awarded last year to Jeffry Holmes and Eric Berlin contributed to the conference's success, helped raise the profile of the campus within this important music community, and helped build new opportunities for research, students and scholarly activities. Read more about this amazing event that brought trumpeters and brass players from around the world to UMass Amherst in the Music and Dance newsletter, Fanfare.

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The Center for Research on Families hosted a panel presentation and discussion October 3rd on how social and behavioral science researchers can interface most effectively with members of the media. This panel presentation, part of the Center's Tay Gavin Erikson Lecture Series, was the first of several gatherings in which researchers can learn and talk about how to make their research more available to policy makers, journalists, practitioners, and the public. The following advice, shared by faculty panelists with media experience and the campus's News Office Director, Ed Blaguszewski, is pertinent to all campus researchers:

Think it through: What do you want to accomplish with increased visibility? What are the implications of popularizing your work? Bringing your research into the public can be important to shaping policy, educating the public, and framing debate. But if your research is not ready for prime time and the different culture outside academia, or your area of expertise is controversial, you may want to wait to enter the public discussion.

Be prepared. The media works in a different time frame--they need it now! Media may contact you when a study is new or when something else 'hits' that's in your area of research and you are asked to comment. If you get caught off guard by a media call, ask for the caller's name, who they work for and why they are interested in talking with you. If you are unprepared and need to buy time to respond, tell them you'll get back to them in a few hours.

Frame your message. Prepare three summary lines about what's important about your work. Stay with the core, consistent message and don't be 'seduced' by the media to go outside your comfort zone. Keep in mind that messages may be different for policy makers than for the general public.

Choose your media. Start with radio; it's easier to correct yourself. When interviewed by the newspaper and magazines, ask for editorial privileges.

Develop a plan. The News Office is an important resource in helping to develo a proactive public relations strategy. They have experience with the media and connections to outlets that can raise visibility.

Future events are being planned on skills to communicate with journalists, preparing for congressional hearings, and working with local community groups. The Center for Research on Families (CRF) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst actively supports and disseminates social and behavioral sciences research on issues relevant to families. For more information on this talk or upcoming events, contact Wendy Varner (413) 545- 3593. Contact the News Office at (413) 545-0444 for assistance with the media.

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Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center Investigation Awards
Deadline: October 22 for Letter of Intent
Ten grants of $40,000 will be available for researchers through the Mass Tech Transfer Center's (MTTC) Investigation Awards. The awards are intended to support commercial viability of a technology by encouraging the development of prototypes or gathering of initial data. The Open Solicitation to Apply was posted in September. Complete applications are due November 19th. Go to the MTTC grants and awards webpage for information and an application. Contact Michele Bernier at the MTTC office with questions.

Collaborative Biomedical Research Grants
Deadline: November 16
Applications are now open for Collaborative Biomedical Research (CBR) grants. The CBR Program awards grants twice each year for promising research projects that have Co-Principal Investigators from both UMass Amherst and Baystate Medical Center. CBR 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. The awards help fund the work of a graduate student or physician on the collaborative project. For program details, including RFP and proposal guidelines, access the CBR website.

Microsoft Research Funding

Cell Phone as a Platform for Healthcare
Deadline: October 29
Microsoft Research will support selected academic research with the goal of advancing the state-of-the-art in 'smart' cell phones for healthcare applications. Successful projects must seek to increase the capacity of cell phone-based healthcare solutions in under-served rural and urban communities. They must also take into consideration the social context of application deployment. Microsoft Research anticipates making approximately 10-12 awards averaging $80,000, with a maximum of $100,000 for any single award. For program details access this website.

Beyond Search - Semantics Computing and Internet Economics
Deadline: November 1
Microsoft would like to enable cross-disciplinary research in the area of Semantic Computing, Internet Economics and Online Advertising and is looking for innovative proposals which explore the technical, research, societal, and commercial issues around the topics of "Semantic Computing" and "Internet Economics." Microsoft Research anticipates making approximately 20 awards averaging $50,000, with a maximum of $100,000 for any single award. For program details access this website.

The A. Richard Newton Breakthrough Research Award
Deadline: December 3
Microsoft invites proposals for breakthrough research projects that clearly leverage innovative computational techniques and advantages at the heart of the research, and which may integrate approaches from multiple disciplines. Microsoft Research anticipates making approximately ten to twelve awards, with a maximum of $100,000 for any single award. For programs details access this website.

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October 19: NCIIA Sustainable Vision Grants
October 22: Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center Investigation Awards
October 26: IBM Ph.D. Fellowship Program nominations due
October 29-30: Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center Clean Energy Conference
October 30: Amherst-Hadley Economic Development Conversation Series, Part 2
October 31: Outreach Program Innovation Fund
November 1: Research Leadership in Action

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Massachusetts Water Resources Research Center: Staff Changes
Dr. Paula L. Sturdevant Rees, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UMass Amherst, has been appointed Interim Director of the Massachusetts Water Resource Research Center and will oversee the Center on a part-time basis. Rees, who is presently leading a multi-year research project on the Blackstone River in Central Mass will lead the Institute's interdisciplinary Water Working Group in pursuing water related research and educational activities. As Interim Director, Rees plans to build upon the ongoing work of the Center to integrate researchers and students across the Amherst and other UMass campuses. Contact the Water Resources Research Center at 413-545-5531.

National Science Foundation Award Winners
The National Science Foundation announced in September that a group of eight researchers from UMass Amherst will be awarded $300,000 to build, evaluate, and disseminate a series of international ethics modules for science and engineering students. The group, led by Political Science and Public Policy Professor Jane E. Fountain, represents six academic departments from four colleges and includes Paula Stamps, Professor of Community Health Studies; MJ Peterson, Professor of Political Science; Marc Acherman, Assistant Professor of Physics; Beverly Park Woolf, Associate Research Professor of Computer Science; John Hird, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy; and Peter Haas, Professor of Political Science. The project will work in partnership with researchers from the University of New Mexico and Northeastern University.

UMass Press Books Now Available
The University of Massachusetts Press recently published two books edited by UMass faculty focused on issues of importance to those working and living in Massachusetts.

The Future of Work in Massachusetts, edited by Tom Juravich, Labor Studies, is a collection of original essays that explore the changing nature of work in the Commonwealth and its impact on workers, their families and their communities.

Preserving and Enhancing Communities: A Guide for Citizens, Planners and Policymakers, is edited by Elisabeth Hamin, Regional Planning, UMass Amherst, Priscilla Geigis, Community Preservation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Linda Silka, Regional Economic and Social Development, UMass Lowell. In this volume, twenty-nine experts from a variety of fields describe in very practical terms the "community preservation" approach to planning and zoning issues. The contributors favor a flexible, locally based approach to manage growth that has proven successful in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

To order these books or for more information, contact the University of Massachusetts Press.

UMass Team Patents Cheap, Efficient Way to Make Ceramic Films
A patent for a new way of making an industrial ceramic that is used widely in semiconductors, industrial abrasives, and as a diamond substitute has been issued to chemistry professor Patricia Bianconi.

The new process for making silicon carbide (commercially known as Carborundum) yields super- smooth ceramic films and is cheaper and more energy efficient that other ways of producing the material. And because the resulting ceramic is polymer-based, it can be shaped into usable products more easily than silicon carbide made by traditional means.

Bianconi's new method results in ceramic films that are the smoothest, most continuous and defect free ceramic films ever reported from polymer precursors. And the newly patented process is extremely efficient; whatever quantity of ingredients is used yields the same quantity of product. For more information on this technology, contact the UMass Amherst office of Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property at (413) 545-3606.

CHFA Visioning Initiative
On September 25th, College of Humanities and Fine Arts (CHFA) Dean Joel Martin announced the launch of the CHFA Visioning Initiative and its associated grant program. This new initiative is designed to support high-quality, innovative, and exciting projects which foster excellence and collaborative activity by CHFA faculty and departmental units and may also include non-CHFA collaborators. An informational drop-in session about the initiative and grant program will be held on Friday, Oct 12, from 10:00am-12:00pm, in 601 Herter Hall. More information about the Visioning Process is available at www.umass.edu/hfa/visioning.

Passport UMass Newsletter Available
The Back to School issue of Passport UMass, the newsletter about UMass international relations is now available on the UMass System website. This issue features articles on new developments between the University and Tsinghua University in China; faculty contributions as international conferences, workshops and symposia; and a host of other student and faculty international research, educational and outreach activities.

Did you know that UMass Amherst faculty conducted research, gave invited lectures, and worked with communities on all 7 continents this past year? Research activities range from astronomy and climate change to women's health and occur in diverse locations such as Indonesia, Madagascar, Afghanistan and Brazil. In addition, the campus has formal exchange and research agreements with 102 universities and colleges in 36 countries outside of the U.S.

Research ACCESS is interested in hearing about faculty and student international activities and collaborations. Drop us a line at rld- news@research.umass.edu.

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October 16, 23, 30 & 17, 24, 31: The Office of Research Affairs sponsors a workshop series called "Successful Proposal Development." Creating a vision, strategies for success, and budgeting are among the subjects covered in the series. Please contact Beverly Strakose to register.

October 17: Research Area Brown Bag Series: Collaborators, Subcontractors, and Consultants: Who's Who? Noon - 1:00, 104 Research Building conference room. Beverages are provided. Contact Kimberley Broderick (413) 545-5898 for more information.

October 18: Workplace Learning and Development free workshop for university faculty and staff, "Budgeting the Sponsored Activity," takes place in the Campus Center 904-08. Visit the WL&D website for more details.

October 19: INFORMS Speaker Series, "Learning and Exploiting Statistical Dependencies in Networks" will take place at 11 A.M. in room 112 at the Isenberg School of Management. Professor Elaine Chew, University of Southern California, will talk about how musical problems can be framed and solved mathematically and computationally.

October 22: TEI Fall Lecture Series, "Governing Water: Understanding the Global Water Crisis" by Dr. Ken Conca, Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, will take place in the Cape Cod Lounge at 3:30 P.M.

October 22: UMass Outreach hosts "Beyond Outreach to Scholarly Engagement." This is an opportunity for the campus community to learn about how other faculty members are collaborating with individuals, communities and organizations outside the campus and contributing to their scholarly endeavors. Sessions for the general campus community run from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM in the Campus Center Auditorium. Click here to register. For further information, call (413) 577-0247.

November 15th: Research Area Brown Bag Series: National Research Service Award Fellowship. Noon - 1:00, 104 Research Building conference room. Beverages are provided. Contact Kimberley Broderick (413) 545-5898 for more information.

November 16-18: Save the Date. Unbroken Chain: The Grateful Dead in Music, Culture and Memory, will be held at UMass Amherst.

November 19: Building a Better Workforce: The Return on Investment in Education and Early Development, a half-day regional conference featuring Nobel Prize Laureate, Dr. James Heckman, will be held in the MassMutual Room at the Basketball Hall of Fame from 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Sponsored by Verizon, The Economic Development Council of Western Mass, MassMutal Financial Group, Regional Employment Board of Hamden County, and the Davis Foundation.

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The Research Area looks forward to working with the over 60 new faculty this year from schools and departments across campus. This month Research ACCESS welcomes new faculty from the School of Education. Click here for a listing of these faculty and their research interests.

• Christina Ortmeier-Hooper, Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies.
• Jennifer Randall Thomas, Education Policy and Research Administration.
• Cristine Smith, Education Policy and Research Administration.
• Laura Valdiviezo, Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies.

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OGCA processed 115 proposals for a total of $15,338,473 in September 2007. How does that stack up against last year and previous months? Have a look at the histograms to find out.

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