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| Research ACCESS |
Expanding the Capacity for
Research & Innovation
December 10, 2008 |
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Lab Profile: Microbial Fermentation Laboratory
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 It is now possible to buy gasoline mixed with biofuels such as ethanol. Biofuels are made from plants that were alive recently, as opposed to plants that died thousands of years ago and that make up the oil used to make gasoline. Because they can be manufactured from renewable resources in the United States, biofuels produce less greenhouse gasses and promote energy independence. Today, in the United States, about five percent of the gasoline used in automobiles is being displaced by biofuels. One of the main goals of the UMass Amherst Microbial Fermentation Laboratory is to conduct research that will make it possible to increase that percentage. [READ MORE]
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SunEthanol Raises $25 Million, Becomes Qteros
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At a press conference at last month's Conference on Clean Energy, Governor Deval Patrick announced that UMass Amherst spinout company SunEthanol was changing its name to Qteros and had raised $25 million in Series B funding. Gov. Patrick has been a strong supporter of the company. Qteros has received four U.S. Department of Energy grants and a grant from the National Science Foundation. The company also sponsors research on campus. The biofuels startup that began with a professor's discovery of an exceptionally efficient microbe for making cellulosic ethanol will now scale up its process from the pilot plant to commercial operations, and hire additional engineers and scientists, company officials said. Dr. Susan Leschine, Qteros' Chief Scientist and co-founder, is the UMass Amherst microbiology professor who in 1996 discovered the Q Microbe (TM) in a mud sample collected near the Quabbin Reservoir by UMass Amherst microbiologist Thomas Warnick. "In the past year, we've made great strides," she said. More information is available at the Qteros web site. |
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Staff Profile: Jerry Schoen
Helping Researchers and the Public Understand and Protect Our Water Resources
Cars often leak oil, antifreeze and other pollutants. Rain and melting snow wash this pollution off of roads and parking lots into streams, rivers, and other bodies of water. Stormwater runoff can also contain salt used on roads, and pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizer used on lawns and farms. The results are unsafe drinking water, fewer places to swim in summer, and harm to fish and other aquatic life. But there are solutions to the problem of polluted stormwater runoff. Distributing information on these solutions is the job of Jerry Schoen of UMass Amherst's Massachusetts Stormwater Evaluation Project.
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600 Attend Clean Energy Connections in Springfield |
More than 600 people attended the First Annual Clean Energy Connections Conference and Opportunity Fair in Springfield on Nov. 22. The event was produced by the UMass Amherst Office of Research Liaison and Development. "The attendance was more than twice what we expected initially," said conference organizer Loren Walker. "Judging from the positive feedback we've recieved from attendees and exhibitors alike, I'd say that this first annual event was a success. We're looking forward to doing it again in 2009." Clean Energy Connections was a forum for the individuals and organizations accelerating the growth of the clean energy economy in Massachusetts, and those seeking clean-energy career information. The conference was covered by the Springfield Republican newspaper and WWLP TV News. Links to complete news coverage are available here. Conference proceedings will be archived here by the UMass Amherst ScholarWorks digital repository. The Clean Energy Connections web site generated a lot of Internet traffic in the days leading up the event. Plans are now in the works to convert the conference web address into a portal for information about all things "green" on campus. So stay tuned to www.umass.edu/green. |
| UMass Press Books Praised by NY Times and London Telegraph |
Only two books that were published by university presses made it onto the New York Times' prestigious list of "100 Notable Books of 2008." One of the books, Legend of a Suicide by David Vann, was published by the University of Massachusetts Press, which is based at UMass Amherst. The other book was published by Harvard University Press. The review of Vann's book appeared in the Nov. 30 issue of the New York Times Book Review. The Times editors' "Up Front" comment in the Book Review is here. Meanwhile, the London Telegraph newspaper called another UMass Press book, A Genius for Place by Robin Karson, "the most important book on American gardens for a decade at least." The full review is here.
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| Research Area Name Change Reflects Campus Priorities |
Chancellor Robert C. Holub announced in October that "to operate more effectively and to reach our goal of putting UMass Amherst into the top echelon of public institutions of higher education," he would reinstitute the position of Vice Chancellor for Research and expand the title to include "Engagement." Holub said: "In examining the top public research institutions in the country, I found very few that did not have a research office at the level of Vice Chancellor or Vice President. If we are going to be among these top institutions, I believe it is wise to emulate their emphasis on research and research productivity by establishing a Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement. We will begin a national search for this position immediately. In the meantime I am appointing (Vice-Provost for Research) Paul Kostecki as the interim Vice Chancellor."
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Video Describes Making of Green Gasoline
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George Huber, the Armstrong Professor of Chemical Engineering at UMass Amherst, is a national leader in the development of "green gasoline." Earlier this fall, he was one of three experts invited to speak in Washington at a National Science Foundation briefing on how to make the alternative fuel from plant material. In a video available here, he explains the process biofuels conversion process that he has developed at UMass Amherst. Earlier this year, Huber received a $400,000 CAREER grant from NSF to pursue his revolutionary new method for making biofuels, or "green gasoline," from wood or grasses, a process that would be much less expensive than conventional gasoline or ethanol made from corn. Huber is a nationally recognized expert on biofuels, which are sustainable fuels made from plant materials. In June 2007, he chaired a workshop in Washington, D.C., for the National Science Foundation and the U. S. Department of Energy titled "Breaking the Chemical & Engineering Barriers to Lignocellulosic Biofuels," which was attended by 71 top experts from academia, industry and governmental agencies. Huber appeared on the Science Channel program "Blink" on Dec. 5. |
TinkerPlots Educational Software Focus of Latest TechCast Podcast
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UMass Amherst's podcast series about breakthrough discoveries of campus researchers focuses this month on TinkerPlots, an innovative software program that turns data analysis into fun for schoolchildren. This TechCast at UMass Amherst episode includes interviews with Clifford E. Konold, a research associate professor at the Scientific Reasoning Research Institute at UMass Amherst, and Justin Cotton, a mathematics teacher at a middle school in Holyoke. Episodes are posted here and can be downloaded to a computer or portable audio player. Visitors to the site also can subscribe to automatically receive new episodes of the podcast. Konold developed TinkerPlots with a grant from the National Science Foundation. The software was developed in the field, working with schoolchildren from towns near UMass Amherst. TechCast at UMass Amherst is produced under the direction of the Office of News and Information, in conjunction with CVIP. The series is supported by a generous gift from alumnus Lewis J. Geffen. Information on CVIP is here. Copies of TinkerPlots for home or school use are available here. More information on TinkerPlots and Tinkerzeum, and links to the videos mentioned in this podcast episode are here. |
Funding Opportunities
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INTERNAL FUNDINGCenter for Research on Families: Family Research Scholars ProgramAward: Course release, other supportApplication deadline: Jan. 2The Family Research Scholars Program provides a course release and other support for up to six faculty to each produce and submit a major grant proposal for family research in collaboration with the Center. Family research is broadly defined as research on issues affecting families and thus encompasses all disciplines. Faculty from all ranks (assistant, associate, full professors) and all departments are eligible to apply. Details are here. CVIP Technology Development FundAward: $25,000Application deadline: Jan. 9The UMass Office of Commercial Ventures & Intellectual Property (CVIP) has announced the 6th annual solicitation for the CVIP Technology Development Fund. The purpose of the Fund is to assist faculty and the CVIP offices with the commercial development of important technologies discovered on the UMass campuses. The Fund was created as part of the University's science and technology activities. To date CVIP has funded 34 projects with excellent results. This funding has led to several licenses, significant increases in project funding of about $3 million for several technologies, two start ups, and two other potential startups. This includes licensing income and equity in these companies. Details are here. Samuel F. Conti Faculty FellowshipAward: $3,000 and one year leave of absenceApplication deadline: Jan. 23The University of Massachusetts Amherst Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship Awards consist of a cash award of $3,000 and a year's leave of absence to encourage award recipients to concentrate on activities related to graduate education, research, creative work and scholarly attainment. Details are here. Armstrong Fund for ScienceAward size: up to $40,000Deadline: Feb. 1The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research announces the third annual grant competition for the Armstrong Fund for Science. 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, eligibility criteria, and RFP are available here. FOUNDATION FUNDING Faculty interested in applying for the following foundation-sponsored opportunities are encouraged to contact Susan Worgaftik (413-547-2956) for assistance or more information. The application deadline is listed before each funding opportunity. Apply ASAP: Medical researchDec. 15: for postdoctoral research in "Basic Sciences" or Clinical/Health ServicesDec. 31: TinnitusJan. 9: Childhood cancer; For science or technology innovations by collaborating college students, faculty and industry mentorsJan. 15: Diabetes; For graduate and undergrad engineering studentsJan. 22: Cancerearly Feb.: Multiple sclerosisFeb. 2: Use of original materials in the humanities; African-U.S. higher education partnership planningFeb. 6: Teacher trainingFeb. 13: Materials chemistryFeb. 15: Chemical and molecular sciencesFeb. 16: Lupus; Deadlines vary: Parkinson's; Comparative physiology, toxicology, and marine functional genomic studies.Go to Top
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| Announcements |
RLA Awardees AnnouncedThe Research Leadership in Action (RLA) program is an internal grant competition sponsored by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement for full-time UMass Amherst tenure-track and research faculty. The fall 2008 award recipients are: Elizabeth Chilton, Anthropology, for "Heritage Conflict and Consensus in a Global Context: An International Workshop," $20,000; Brian Levine and Gerome Miklau, Computer Science, "Workshop on Digital Forensics: Integrating Government, Academia and Industry," $9,702; Stuart Schulman, Political Science, "YouTube and the 2008 Election Cycle in the United States," $25,000. More information about the RLA program is here. Call for Abstracts for Water Resources Research ConferenceApplication deadline: Jan. 30, 2009The 6th Annual Water Resources Research Conference will be held at UMass Amherst on April 7, 2009. This year's conference will highlight interactions in water resources, including science, policy, management, and design. Of particular interest is the impact of hydrologic uncertainty due to global change on ecological support functions, water availability and quality for human consumption, natural disaster occurrence, infrastructure sizing and hydrologic processes. WRRC has issued a Call for Abstracts for presentations in the Conference. Details are here. New Editon of "Passport UMass" AvailableThe UMass International Relations office promotes: study-abroad for undergraduate and graduate students at UMass; programs that bring faculty, visiting scholars, and students from other countries to UMass; and UMass faculty research, teaching and service around the world. It publishes an e-mail newsletter, "Passport UMass." View the latest edition here.
Space for Innovation: Research Lab
The campus periodically serves the community by posting rental properties for those entrepreneurially-minded faculty members seeking additional space for their work. 4,800 sq. foot research lab and office in Amherst for rent. Details are here.
Bradley-Amsterdam Flights to Resume
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced earlier this month that nonstop flights from Bradley International Airport to Amsterdam will resume next year. Delta Airlines, through its Northwest Airlines subsidiary, will operate the flights starting June 2, 2009. In October, Bradley lost its only nonstop service to Europe when Northwest Airlines Inc., ended its daily flight to Amsterdam, citing high fuel costs, the Associated Press reported.
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| Events |
Dec. 11: The UMass Amherst Center for Research on Families 2008 Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series. Arthur F. Kramer, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Illinois on "Fitness & Cognitive Training: Influence on Cognition and Brain Structure/Function." 4 p.m., 620 Thompson Hall, UMass Amherst
Dec. 16: Lecture: "Legislative and Regulatory Developments in Information Security" by Mark MacCarthy, Adjunct Professor of Communication, Culture and Technology, Georgetown University, former Senior Vice President for Public Policy at Visa. This talk develops the argument that a role for government regulation of information security is warranted because of significant externalities in this market. 4 - 5 p.m. Gunness Student Center Conference Room, UMass. This talk is part of the UMass Security Seminar Series. More information is here.
Dec. 17: UMass Amherst will be prominently featured in the Supercomputing Symposium: "High Performance Computational Science and Engineering," being sponsored by IBM and hosted by Univ. of Connecticut (UConn). Among the speakers are UMass professors James Allen (Computer Science) and Scott Auerbach (Chemistry). University of Connecticut, Storrs, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. To register, contact Sandi Lizee by e-mail or at (860) 486-5955. The agenda is here. Abtracts are here. UMass Amherst has a broad and deep relationship with IBM.To learn more about the UMass/IBM relationship, contact Karen Hayes, RLD by e-mail or at 545-9586.
Jan. 15, 21, 28; Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25; March 4, 12: noon - 1 p.m., OGCA Brown Bag Lunch Series, Research Administration Building, Room 104, 70 Butterfield Terrace; Jan. 15: Proposal Flow through OGCA (including the award process); Jan. 21: Export Controls; Jan. 28: Collaborators, subcontractors and consultants; who's who?
- Why it is important to know and how to identify them; Feb. 4: What's Different about Foundation Funding?; Feb. 11: Conflict of Interest; Feb. 18: NIH Minority/Diversity Supplement Submission: Q & A Session; Feb. 25: Props & Awards; March 4: Querying the OGCA database for sponsored activities information - How to use Jordan On-Line (JOL); March 12: Post-Award Changes (Sabbatical, No-Cost Extension Procedure, Change of institution, Dealing with cost changes that occur after funding is secured). To confirm attendance or for further information, please contact Helen Bishop by e-mail or at 545-0698. More information, including dates and topics for the rest of the spring semester, is here.
For a complete list of campus events, check out www.umass.edu/umhome/events
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| OGCA Histograms |
OGCA processed 146 proposals for a total of $15,939,461 in November 2008. How does that stock up against last year and previous months? Take a look at the histograms to find out.
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November 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.
John C. Carey
Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services
Sponsor: MA Dept of Elementary & Secondary Ed
Title: Career Planning Implementation Project (CPIC) Phase II
Total Award: $60,000
Dan Clawson
Sociology
Sponsor: Sloan Foundation, Alfred P.
Title: Unofficial Flexibility: An Anaolysis of Actual Day-to-Day Schedules
Total Award: $34,094
John T. Finn
Natural Resources Conservation
Sponsor: MA National Guard
Title: Mapping Utilities at the Massachusetts Military Reservation
Total Award: $119,696
Samuel P. Hazen
Biology
Sponsor: US Dept of Energy
Title: Systems Level Engineering of Plant Cell Wall Biosynthesis to Improve Biofuel Feedstock Quality
Total Award: $400,000
Cynthia Jacelon
Nursing
Sponsor: Jewish Geriatric Services Inc
Title: Scholar in Residence 2008-2009
Total Award: $24,000
Robert W. Jackson Jr
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor: NewLANS Inc
Title: Low Data Rate Frequency-Shifted Reference Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Communication Systems
Total Award: $154,052
Jane A. Kent-Braun
Kinesiology
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Title: Skeletal Muscle Fatigue in Older Adults
Total Award: $363,387
Panayotis G. Kevrekidis
Mathematics and Statistics
Sponsor: San Diego State University
Title: Modeling, Analysis, Computation and Experiments of Two Component Bose Einstein Condensates
Total Award: $126,548
Raymond J. La Raja
Political Science
Sponsor: JEHT Foundation
Title: Candidate Emergence for the Connecticut Legislature After the Implementation of Clean Elections
Total Award: $113,000
Rongheng Lin
Public Health
Sponsor: University of Mass-Medical School
Title: CFAR-Center for AIDS Research (CoreB)
Total Award: $29,722
Larry Joe Moffitt
Resource Economics
Sponsor: Economic Research Service
Title: Economics of Discovery Alternatives for Emerging Animal Diseases
Total Award: $147,000
Prashant Shenoy
Computer Science
Sponsor: BBN Technologies Corp
Title: Sensor Virtualization and Slivering in an Outdoor Wide-Area Wireless GENI Sensor/Actuator Network Testbed
Total Award: $163,570
Lisa Sullivan-Werner
Nutrition
Sponsor: MA Dept of Transitional Assistance
Title: Annual Plan for Food Stamp Nutrition Education: Family Nutrition Program-FY 2009
Total Award: $2,606,378
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New Faculty
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More than 60 new faculty joined the campus this year. Research ACCESS also profiled new faculty in the previous three issues. Click on a person's name for their email address, if available. Click here to see the research interests of these faculty. Social and Behavioral Sciences
Communications: Cladio Moreira and Emily WestPolitical Science: Ivan Ascher, Maryann Barakso, Angelica Bernal, Charli Carpenter, Diane Curtis, Rahsaan Maxwell, Laura Reed, Jesse Rhodes, Frederic Schaffer, Brian Schaffner, and Stuart ShulmanPsychology: Craig Blatz, Erik Cheries, Harold Grotevant, Brian Lickel, Heather Richardson, David Scherer, Rebecca Spencer, and Adrian StaubSociology: Dan Lainer-VosGo to Top | |
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UMass Research Liaison and Development | Research Administration Building | 70 Butterfield Terrace | Amherst | MA | 01003-9242
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