RESEARCH ACCESS
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Expanding the Capacity for
Research & Innovation
April 15, 2009
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**REMINDER: PROPOSAL SUBMISSION LEADTIMES**
Campus PIs are reminded to get their proposal applications to OGCA with as much lead time as possible due to an unusually high volume of submissions spurred by stimulus legislation . This will help insure that applications are received by funding agencies on time. Heavy traffic on the grants.gov system has caused the system to generate false errors recently causing applications to fail and submittals to be delayed. Play it safe -- get your application in early. |
Program Profile: The Isenberg Program
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The words "innovation" and "entrepreneurship" are being used more often at UMass Amherst these days, thanks to programs that support technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. The Isenberg Program, which focuses on the integration of management, engineering and science, is leading the way in educating the next generation of UMass Amherst innovators, bringing together students from all colleges and disciplines through scholarships, competitions and special initiatives. [READ MORE]
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Staff Profile: Helen Bishop 
As Proposal Development Administrator in the Office of Grant and Contract Administration (OGCA), Helen Bishop helps campus researchers connect to research funding opportunities. "I help them grasp the basics involved in the non-science prescriptions of preparing proposals primarily to federal government sponsors. I also assist those looking for support from other sponsors such as private foundations and industry using a tool called the Community of Science (COS) database," she said. [READ MORE] |
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Funding Opportunities
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NIST Technology Innovation Program
Deadline: June 23, 2009
Award size for joint ventures: up to $9M
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Technology Innovation Program (TIP) is soliciting high-risk, high-reward research and development (R&D) proposals. Areas of interest include advanced sensing/monitoring technologies and advanced materials/applications for civil infrastructure. Colleges and Universities can participate as part of a Joint Venture with a company and secure up to $9 million for five years. Either can be the lead institution but both must be substantially involved in the project and contribute to the cost-sharing requirement. Presentation materials from a recent Proposer's Conference are available at the TIP web site. For more information call Margaret Phillips, 301-975-4350 or Donna Paul, 301-975-2162.
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.
April 17: Housing Research MacArthur Foundation
May 6: Food Allergy Research Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN)
May 12: Research Evidence in Policy and Practice William T. Grant Foundation
May 12: Human Immunology Research Dana Foundation
May 15: Distinguished Researcher NARSAD
May 19: Public Health Research Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
May 29: Lupus Research Lupus Research Institute (LRI)
May 28: Innovative Ideas in Global Health Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
June 1: Preterm Birth Research Burroughs Wellcome Fund
June 3: Research in Personal Health Records Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Deadlines vary: Lupus Research Alliance for Lupus Research
Deadlines vary: Juvenile Diabetes Research Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
Deadline vary: Skin Disease Research American Skin Association
Deadline Open: Research on Immunology, Coagulation Disorders, and Critical Care Octapharma
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| Announcements |
Summer Programs to Support Scholarly WritingThe Office of Faculty Development (OFD) is offering two summer programs to support scholarly writing. The Summer Online Writing Fellowship Program is a special internet-based writing program designed for UMass Amherst and Five College faculty and facilitated by professional writing coaches from Academic Ladder. The Annual Faculty Writing Retreat: "A Room of Your Own" is a special one-day retreat. It takes place on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 from 9:00AM-3:00PM at the Willits-Hallowell Center at Mount Holyoke College. The retreat is for full-time faculty to help jump-start their summer writing projects. To sign up please email Brian Baldi with your full name and department.
Yahoo! Partners With UMass Amherst On April 9, Yahoo! Corporation announced it has expanded its partnerships with top U.S. universities to advance cloud computing research. The University of California at Berkeley, Cornell University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst will join Carnegie Mellon University in using Yahoo!'s cloud computing cluster to conduct large-scale systems software research and explore new applications that analyze Internet-scale data sets, ranging from voting records to online news sources. Read the full press release here. SBIR STTR Program Funding ExtendedThe Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program have been extended until July 31. The extension provides another four-month window for Congress to develop a compromise toward full funding reauthorization. The funding extension is a positive sign that these programs will receive more permanent funding. The extension is also for all the other SBA programs that were set to expire March 19, including the National Women's Business Council, the HUBZone Program, and the Federal and State Technology Partnership Program. Want to know more about SBIR/STTR programs? Attend the OGCA Brown Bag May 6th from noon- 1 p.m.: The discussion will cover the role of UMass PI, Conflict of Interest, and special considerations when applying for SBIR. Come to the series to share experiences and/or bring any questions you have. Room 104, Research Admin. Building 70 Butterfield Terr, UMass Amherst. To confirm attendance or to learn more about the Brown Bag series, please contact Helen Bishop by email or at 545-0698
UMass Amherst Building Ties with Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Faculty do you have talented students looking for summer jobs? Vertex, a growing pharmaceutical company in Cambridge, MA is hiring. Pursuing a "keep them in MA" strategy, the company is looking for college students and grads for internships that could lead to full time employment. Students can apply directly through the Vertex web site. To find current internships, search openings and enter "internships" as your keyword. Conflict of Interest Video Now Available
On March 16 at UMass Amherst the Office of Research and Engagement sponsored a workshop discussing the UMass Conflict of Interest Policy. Speakers at this workshop were Tom Chmura, VP for Economic Development in the UMass President's Office, and Elizabeth Rodriguez, attorney in General Counsel's Office of the UMass President's Office. To watch a video of this workshop, click here. Research and Engagement of UMass Amherst also featured an article about this conference on their website in Feb. Here you can find a list of federal and institutional policies and procedures that cover some aspects of the responsible conduct of research at UMass Amherst.
Recent Awards
UMass Press Books Garner Awards and HonorsSeveral books form UMass press have earned awards and honors. Blake Gumprecht won the 2009 J. B. Jackson Prize from the Association of American Geographers for his book The American College Town. Ethan Carr's Mission 66: Modernism and the National Park Dilemma, Robin Karson's A Genius for Place: American Landscapes of the Country Place Era, and David Vann's Legends of a Suicide also won awards. To find out more information about the authors and their awards check out the official press release.
Entrepreneurship Initiative "Executive Summary" AwardsThe Entrepreneurship Initiative ( UMass EI) recently awarded thousands of dollars in seed capital to aspiring student entrepreneurs through its bi-annual Executive Summary Competition. First place honors went to Precision Slip, a concept company with a laboratory proven drag-reducing ship coating technology. The winning team consisted of Robert Daniello, a student at UMass Amherst and his faculty advisor, Jonathan Rothstein, whose research the technology is based on. The team won $3,500 and an additional $500 for the People's Choice Award. For more information and to see other finalists click here for the EI's comprehensive web site: "Students turning ideas into businesses."
Campus Scientists Receive "Moment Fund" AwardFive teams of researchers from across the University system have been awarded $750,000 from the Life sciences Moment Fund, which is dedicated to supporting life sciences research with clinical and translational potential. This means basic research findings are brought more directly and quickly to help patients. UMass Amherst professors Sankaran Thayumanavan (Chemistry), Patricia Wadsworth (Biology), and Barbara Osborne (Immunology) were among the awardees. To learn more about the researchers and their findings, click here.
CVIP Technology Development Fund Awardees
CVIP's technology development awards support moving university research out of the lab and into the commercial sector. Seven researcher teams across the system will receive $25,000 to continue their work, with an end goal of commercialization. In all, $175,000 was awarded this year. UMass Amherst awardees are Hang Xiao, Ph.D., David Julian McClements, Ph.D., Eric Andrew Decker, Ph.D., Yeonhwa Park, Ph.D., Department of Food and Science at UMass Amherst. They are researching "Colon-specific Delivery System Based on Nanolaminated Dietary Fiber Coating of Encapsulated Bioactive Compound." This will help doctors better treat colorectal diseases. For more information on the Technology Development Fund and other awardees, click here.
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| Events |
April 14: MassInstrumentation's Smart Grid Technology Conference will explore how to best leverage the unique technologies and development capabilities available in Massachusetts, as well as identify new business opportunities. It will be held from 8:00AM - 11:00PM at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel on 270 Concord Road in Billerica, MA. To register click here.
April 28: The Environmental Institute of UMass Amherst is the hosting Spring Lecture Series. The 3rd talk of this series will be given by Erika S. Weinthal, an associate professor in the Division of Environmental Sciences and Policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. April 29: U.S. Small Business Administration public forum on the economic stimulus act and small businesses. 4-5:30 p.m. Holyoke Community College. Free. Details are here. May 1: The Industry University Meeting on Nanomedicine will take place from 12PM - 4PM at the University of Massachusetts Club: 225 Franklin Street in Boston, MA. This is an invitation only event, but if you are interested in being invited contact Ms. Amity Lee-Bradley by email or at 413-545-6162 no later than April 24, 2009. May 1-2: UMass Amherst is partnering with Co-op Power to host the fifth annual Sustainable Energy Summit this year at the Campus Center. "This is the Year! Now is the Hour!" is the theme for the 2009 Sustainable Energy Summit. May 8: The New England Biological Safety Association (NEBSA) and the Mid Atlantic Biological Safety Association (MABSA) are sponsoring the Biological Safety Symposium that will take place May 8th, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus in the Campus Center Complex. May13-14: The Spring Polymer Event: May 13th CUMIRP Cluster Meetings and PSE Forum: Partnerships with Industry. May 14th MRSEC Workshop: "Polymer-Based Photovoltaics." Details here. May 16: Massachusetts Academy of Sciences hosts its annual conference at UMass Amherst. May 21: The Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) hosts an Industry Collaboration Event for investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and investors in the medical device industry. 4PM to 6PM in the Mil Conference Room at the University of Massachusetts Lowell: Wannalancit Mills Complex, 600 Suffolk Street in Lowell, MA. For more information click here.
May 29: Chancellor Holub to Speak at State of the Region Address: The Hartford-Springfield Economic Partnership hosts the 8th Annual State of the Region Conference on Friday May 29, 2009 from 7:45 to 11:30a.m. at La Renaissance in East Windsor, Connecticut.
June 8-11: Modeling Diary and Dyadic Data Workshop: the Center for Research on Families (CRF) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst announces a workshop that will be of interest to members of the social behavioral sciences, including social, clinical, and developmental psychologists, family and medical sociologists, gerontologists, social workers, communication researchers and researchers in marketing and organizational behavior. The workshop will be held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. For more information please click here.
June 9-11: The Environmental Institute of UMass Amherst hosts The Conference on the Environmental Implications and Applications of Nanotechnology. Leading nano researchers, nano policy and regulatory experts from around the world will address the impacts of manufactured nanoparticles on the environment and new applications for remediation and pollution control.
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Mar. 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.
Elizabeth A. Brabec
Landscape Arch & Regional Planning
Sponsor: Canadian Embassy
Title: An Comparative Assessment fo the Success of Urban Forests and Open Space in Residential Subdivisions
Total Award: $6,334
Barry Braun
Kinesiology
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Title: Combined Use of Exercise and Metformin for Metabolic Rehabilitation
Total Award: $147,667
George W. Huber
Chemical Engineering
Sponsor: Army
Title: Catalysts for Production of JP-8 Range Molecules from Lignocellulosic Biomass
Total Award: $887,553
Young-Cheul Kim
Nutrition
Sponsor: Q-Sys Co Ltd
Title: Effects of Dietary Bioactive Compounds on Chronic Diseases
Total Award: $15,000
Arthur F. Kinney Jr.
English
Sponsor: University of Mass - Fdn Inc
Title: Shakespeare's Women in Today's World
Total Award: $3,450
Michael J. Maroney
Chemistry
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Title: Parameters Involved in Metal Recognition
Total Award: $275,384
Gilbert McCauley
Theatre
Sponsor: University of Mass - Fdn Inc
Title: UMass Amherst Theater Multicultural New Play & Puppetry Grant
Total Award: $2,500
Hossein Pishro-Nik
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: CAREER: A Theoretical Framework for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks
Total Award: $135,950
Jennifer Ross
Physics
Sponsor: March of Dimes Birth Defects Fdn
Title: Microtubule Severing Proteins: Working Through Co-Operativity or Road Signs?
Total Award: $150,000
Stuart W. Shulman
Political Science
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: Collaborative Research III-COR: From a Pile of Documents to a Collection of Informatin: A Framework of Multi-Dimensional Text
Total Award: $213,114
Yannis Smaragdakis
Computer Science
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: CAREER: Infrastructure for Software Generators and Components
Total Award: $92,736
Gretchen Cole Smith
Natural Resources Conservation
Sponsor: Forest Service
Title: Forest Health Monitoring-Ozone Biomonitoring Project
Total Award: $43,208
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