ResearchHighlights Newsletter

May 2005

Welcome to ResearchHighlights, the online newsletter of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at The University of Mississippi. Archives of past issues are available here. For more information, or to submit news items or story ideas, please email the editor.

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
University of Mississippi
662.915.7482 voice
662.915.7577 fax
In Memoriam
Dr. Charles E. Smith
Engineer of Distinction
Quotation Corner ~
Research is four things: brains with which to think, eyes with which to see, machines with which to measure, and, fourth, money.
FOCUS: — Under Construction! — New Interdisciplinary Working Groups at UM

In February of this year, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs announced a Request for Proposals for Developing Interdisciplinary Working Groups (IWoG) at The University of Mississippi. The purpose of the IWoG RFP was to provide initial support for the formation of working groups composed of faculty and researchers from different disciplines that share common interests and expertise. Ideally, these Working Groups will facilitate collaboration and information exchange, and they also can provide an important knowledge base for internal and external constituencies. By supporting such groups, the ORSP hopes to draw on UM faculty strengths, promote cross-discipline discussions and activities, and help groups prepare for interdisciplinary research funding opportunities.

Seventeen IWoG proposals were received by the ORSP for the April 11 deadline. After an internal review and recommendation process, the following five groups (listed by focus area) were chosen to receive funding:

Bioinformatics: Dawn Wilkins, Principal Investigator. Group Investigators: Bahram Alidaee, Mary Haasch, Lidija Halda-Alija, Sunil Mathur, and John Williamson.

Gerontology: Jeffrey Hallam, Principal Investigator. Group Investigators: Seiji Endo, Allison Ford, Carolyn Higdon, Christopher Kovacs, JoAnn O’Quin, and Noel Wilkin.

Global South: Alfred Lopez, Principal Investigator. Group Investigators: Adetayo Alabi, Kevin Bales, Nancy Bercaw, Laurie Cozad, Kirsten Dellinger, Robbie Ethridge, Dennis Frate, Susan Glisson, John Gutiérrez, Jeffrey Jackson, Kathryn McKee, Douglass Sullivan-Gonzales, Annette Trefzer, and Amy Wells.

Population and Health: David Swanson, Principal Investigator. Group Investigators: Fazlay Faruque and Peggy Hewlett.

Water Resources/Water Quality/Aquatic Ecosystems: Weiming Wu, Principal Investigator. Group Investigators: Mustafa Altinakar, Alexander Cheng, Gregg Davidson, Garey Fox, Marjorie Holland, Alfred Mikell, and Clint Williford.

Approximately $50,000 in first-year funding is earmarked for these five projects, with about $40,000 in additional funding anticipated for those who proposed a second-year budget, pending satisfactory results and reporting. Selection criteria included the interdisciplinarity of both the team and the topic, the perceived overall importance of the group’s proposed objectives and activities, and the apparent broader benefits of these activities to the team members, to the University, and to society.

“We are extremely pleased with the response to this RFP and expect great things from these new working groups,” said Dr. Alice Clark, Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs. “More and more, federal agencies and other research sponsors are stressing collaborative and interdisciplinary criteria for funding. With this foundation of initial support from the ORSP, we hope these groups will begin work on long-term collaborations that will lead to projects of interest to external funding agencies.”

The ORSP is interested in exploring additional ways to help support all the developing research groups that emerged in this process, and everyone who responded to this RFP should be encouraged to continue their collaborations. “In particular, we received many proposals for more targeted or specific research projects that cut across disciplinary lines and would benefit greatly from an interdisciplinary approach,” remarked Dr. Clark. “These types of projects are important for faculty to become involved in, and we look forward to finding ways to help people collaborate more closely across disciplinary boundaries and with colleagues at the UM Medical Center.”

Speaking of COS

COS is for Everyone
Faculty and staff in some disciplines may be reluctant to use COS services because they think it’s all about science — after all, COS stands for “Community of Science.” But rest assured, COS covers all functions and all disciplines, from the physical and social sciences to the arts and humanities. It’s true that COS started out serving primarily the hard physical scientific research community, but it’s grown over its 16-year history and now serves a full spectrum of constituencies. If you think of “science” in its most basic sense as “knowledge,” then you’ll understand that COS is for everyone.

Coming Soon to a Computer Near You: COS Funding Alert in HTML
Soon COS will unveil a new HTML version of the Funding Alert email. This new version will look more like a web page, with the aim of making it easier to read and navigate, and will provide direct links to Funding Alert management tools, such as adding or modifying an alert or retrieving passwords. Users will have the option to receive their COS Funding Alert emails in either the HTML version or in the familiar standard text version, or to have results posted on their COS Workbench instead — but results will be the same regardless of which delivery or access method you choose.

Don't know about Community of Science?
Check out our COS page, the newsletter article published last January, and/or the COS home page at www.cos.com.

To date, 100 UM researchers have published Full Profiles on the COS Expertise system ~ have YOU done yours yet?

To date, 14 UM researchers have multiple searches in their COS Funding Alert accounts ~ how about YOU?

Some Upcoming Events

Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences Inaugural User Meeting at Oak Ridge ~ May 23-25
Principal Investigators and/or prospective users are invited and strongly encouraged to participate in the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) Inaugural User Meeting to be held May 23-25, 2005 at the Pollard Technology Conference Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This meeting features visionary talks by leaders in nanoscience and emerging nanotechnology and research theme breakout sessions. The breakout sessions provide extensive opportunities for direct discussions of proposed research with CNMS staff, to assist prospective users in planning their research proposals (see CNMS program announcement listing below). For complete information, visit cnms.ornl.gov.

NIH Regional Seminar at Purdue ~ June 22-24
This National Institutes of Health Regional Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration is intended to help demystify the grant application and review process, clarify federal regulations and policies, and highlight current areas of special interest or concern. It serves the NIH missions of providing education and training for the next generations of biomedical and behavioral scientists. NIH policy, grants management, review, and program staff will provide a broad array of expertise and encourage personal interaction between themselves and participants. Conference web site: www.purdue.edu/research/NIHSeminar/index.html. Email: NIHSeminar@purdue.edu.

14th International Scientific Congress in Havana ~ June 27-30
Every five years, the National Center for Scientific Research holds its International Scientific Congress, which will take place this year on June 27-30, 2005. The meeting aims to: (1) allow a gathering as well as a fruitful scientific-technical exchange among an important number of national and international specialists in their research fields; and (2) offer an opportunity for showing new products and technologies from the medical, pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. For more information, visit www.cnic.edu.cu/14Congreso/Bienvenida.htm.

7th Annual NIH SBIR/STTR Conference ~ July 28-29
The 7th Annual NIH SBIR/STTR conference will be held on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda , MD. This free two-day conference organized by the NIH will focus on SBIR and STTR funding opportunities available explicitly to small businesses that have innovative biomedical or behavioral research ideas with commercial potential. Companies considering submission of SBIR/STTR proposals to NIH are encouraged to attend this event. To view the NIH website for the 7th Annual conference and register, go to: grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/SBIRConf2005/index.htm.

NASA’s 17th Annual Planetary Science Summer School ~ July 25-29 and August 1-5
Applications are due June 3, 2005 for this summer’s two sessions of the Planetary Science Summer School, to be held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Science and engineering post-doctoral and graduate students with a strong interest in careers in planetary exploration are encouraged to apply. Preference is given to U.S. citizens. The student teams will carry out the equivalent of an early concept study responsive to a selected NASA Announcement of Opportunity, prepare a proposal authorization review presentation, present it to a review board, and receive feedback. Partial financial support is available to a limited number of individuals (travel and lodging only). For more information, visit www2.jpl.nasa.gov/pscischool/.

Conferences on Economy and Community ~ September 21-22 and 23-24
The Social Capital Foundation invites all interested persons or organizations to present a paper to one or both of its upcoming international, interdisciplinary conferences that will be held next September in the beautiful island of Malta.
Conference on Social Capital ~ 21-22 September, 2005
Conference on Economy and Community ~ 23-24 September, 2005
Paper proposals may take the form of a one-page detailed abstract. For more information on either conference, visit www.socialcapital-foundation.org/TSCF/TSCF%20conferences.htm.

2005 Fuel Cell Seminar ~ November 14-18
Over 2,200 participants representing over 36 different countries attend the annual Fuel Cell Seminar, presented this year in Palm Springs, California. Participants include technical leaders, scientists, educators, researchers, developers, investors, students and manufacturers of fuel cell products. The simultaneous technical sessions discuss progress in four main areas -- utility, residential, vehicle and portable -- and also challenges in costs, fuels, storage, reliability, lifetime and adoptability. An award is offered to recognize students (graduate or undergraduate) in the field of fuel cell related technologies and includes a medal, a cash award, and a complimentary registration to the seminar to present a poster presentation. More information is available at www.fuelcellseminar.com/student_award.asp.

A Few Program Announcements and Deadlines

ORNL Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences User Proposals ~ Deadline July 22
The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is now soliciting user research proposals requesting access to facilities and staff expertise for User-Initiated Nanoscience Research in the new CNMS building that will open October 1. This program provides users with no-cost access to a broad range of CNMS capabilities in order to understand nanoscale phenomena and develop functional nanomaterials systems. Principal Investigators and/or prospective users are invited and strongly encouraged to participate in the CNMS Inaugural User Meeting, May 23-25 at the Pollard Technology Conference Center in Oak Ridge (see event listing above). For complete information, visit cnms.ornl.gov.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Science Education Competition ~ Deadline October 18
The University of Mississippi is among the 203 institutions invited to participate in the next round of the HHMI’s Undergraduate Science Education Competition. These institutional awards are intended to strengthen education in the biological sciences and other scientific disciplines as they relate to biology. Some of the program objectives are to:

  • integrate research and teaching in undergraduate education and to support student involvement in faculty research.
  • prepare undergraduates for graduate studies and for careers in biomedical research, medicine, and science education and to increase science literacy for all students.
  • bring fresh perspectives to established scientific disciplines and to develop novel programs, curricula, activities, and courses in emerging areas, such as computational biology, genomics, and bioimaging.
  • foster linkages between universities and elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, and other institutions in order to broaden access to science.
  • develop approaches that encourage teamwork and mentorship experiences among faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates.

Additional details of the program are available at www.hhmi.org/grants/institutions/universities.html or from the ORSP. The deadline for submission of proposals is October 18, 2005. Four-year awards ranging from $1.2 to $2.2 million each will be announced by HHMI in the spring of 2006. If you are interested in becoming involved in the University of Mississippi’s intended application to this program, please contact Mickey McLaurin in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (phone 7482 or email Mickey).

National Science Foundation Computer Systems Research ~ Deadline November 11
The Computer Systems Research (CSR) program supports innovative research and education projects that have the potential to lead to significant improvements in existing computer systems by increasing our fundamental understanding of such systems; produce systems software that is qualitatively and quantitatively more reliable and more efficient; or, to produce innovative curricula or educational materials that better prepare the next generation of computing professionals. The CSR program is also interested in projects that expand the capabilities of existing systems by exploiting the potential of new technologies or by developing innovative new ways to use existing technologies. The CSR program contains four topical areas: embedded and hybrid systems, parallel and distributed operating systems, advanced execution systems, and systems modeling and analysis. Projects may range in size from single investigators to teams of several investigators. For more information: www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsf04609.

ONR Cross-Disciplinary Approach to the Modeling, Analysis, and Control of Wireless Communications Networks ~ Deadline November 18
The Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program, including the Office of Naval Research (ONR), supports basic science and engineering research of critical importance to national defense. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts that intersect more than one traditional science and engineering discipline. The objective of a cross-disciplinary approach to the modeling, analysis, and control of wireless communications networks is to use insights from multiple disciplines in networking and complex systems to develop analytical models and tools for describing, analyzing, predicting, and controlling the behavior of mobile ad hoc networks. Optional white papers are due August 12. For more information: www.onr.navy.mil/02/baa/.

Find MORE on the ORSP Funding Opportunities Recent Announcements page

SEARCH for Funding Opportunities using Community of Science

Bits & Pieces

UM Now Eligible for Searle Scholars Program
§ In the March issue of Research Highlights, the feature article described the “Significant Faculty Awards” tracked by TheCenter to help determine university rankings, and mentioned that UM was seeking to be included among the institutions eligible for the Searle Scholars Program. The Searle Scholars Program awards grants to support the independent research of exceptional junior faculty in chemistry and biomedical sciences, and is “seeking applicants who are extremely innovative and who will make high-impact contributions to research over an extended period of time.” Typical awards are for $80,000 per year for three years.
§ The University of Mississippi is now one of Searle’s invited institutions. UM has been invited to submit one application for the 2006 competition, in which 15 Searle Scholars are expected to be chosen. The internal procedure for selecting the UM applicant for the Searle Scholars Program will be announced in the June Research Highlights and on the ORSP website.

Final NIH Public Access Policy Implementation
§ The NIH Public Access Policy (reported in the March Research Highlights) became effective on May 2, 2005. The policy requests and strongly encourages all NIH-funded investigators to make their peer-reviewed author’s final manuscripts available to other researchers and the public at the NIH National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central (PMC) immediately after the final date of journal publication. At the time of submission, authors are given the option to release their manuscripts at a later time, up to 12 months after the official date of final publication.
§ The policy applies to all research grant and career development award mechanisms, cooperative agreements, contracts, Institutional and Individual Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards, as well as NIH intramural research studies. The policy applies to peer-reviewed, original research publications that have been supported in whole or in part with direct costs from NIH, but it does not apply to book chapters, editorials, reviews, or conference proceedings. NIH is requesting that authors submit publications resulting from (1) currently-funded NIH research projects or (2) previously-supported NIH research projects where manuscripts were accepted for publication on or after May 2, 2005. Publications resulting from non-NIH-supported research projects should not be submitted.
§ The password-protected, Web-based, NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system has been developed to facilitate the submission process. This system allows easy identification of NIH grant numbers (past and present) and NIH intramural project numbers by associating them with the corresponding extramural or intramural Principal Investigator (PI) of the research study. Please see the NIH Public Access Web site for more information about the policy.
§ Click here for an article entitled “Public Access to NIH Funded Research” which appeared in April in the New England Journal of Medicine, and here for an NIH announcement page about the final implementation.

NIH Posts New Resource Page
Resources for New Investigators, on the National Institutes of Health website, re-affirms NIH’s deep and longstanding interest in training and research funding of new biomedical investigators. The NIH definition of “new investigator” is spelled out and many useful resources are provided, including links to application assistance and policies at the various institutes and data on new investigators. A link to this page has been placed on the ORSP Forms and Information page, under External Resources at the bottom of the page.

Change in ORSP Faculty Travel Support Guidelines
Effective July 1, 2005, only one international trip per faculty member per fiscal year (travel beginning between July 1 and June 30) will be eligible for funding from the Faculty Travel Support Program. This change will allow the ORSP to manage and distribute available funds more effectively and equitably in support of research-related travel by faculty.

ORSP News

Vice Chancellor's Office
During April, Dr. Alice Clark was a part of the following events and meetings:

  • the Mississippi EPSCoR Annual Meeting, addressing the new competitive proposal to be submitted by our state in the fall;
  • the Mississippi Research Consortium (MRC) meeting hosting Dr. Ed Johnson, director of the Applied Sciences Directorate at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, to explore ways to foster partnerships between Mississippi’s research universities and the Stennis Space Center;
  • a meeting with Dr. Paul Stockton, the Associate Provost at the Naval Postgraduate School;
  • the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting with an emphasis on the science and technology workforce, science and health disasters, and the future of scientific communication;
  • a meeting with the Provost’s Task Force on Research to discuss programs and efforts that relate to recommendations from the task force; and
  • the Choctaw TechVantage Technology Conference, resulting in a Memorandum of Understanding designed to identify and work with companies that will partner with the Choctaw.

Dr. Clark’s activities for the upcoming month include:

  • the monthly MRC meeting, which will include discussions with two representatives from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to explore partnership opportunities (May 18);
  • a visit to the Oxford campus by Dr. John Hall, Associate Vice Chancellor of Research at the UM Medical Center (May 23);
  • a meeting of the Mississippi/Alabama Sea Grant board of directors (May 25).

Division of Research
On May 6, with much regret, ORSP staff said farewell to Jonathan Starbrook, Program Development Specialist serving the Schools of Accountancy, Applied Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, and Pharmacy as well as other university units. Jonathan’s knowledge about the ins and outs of proposal submission has been a great asset and his ever-pleasant attitude made him an excellent co-worker. Until the ORSP is able to replace him, faculty and staff in Jonathan’s areas of campus should contact Mickey McLaurin (phone 7482 or email Mickey) for assistance with proposal development and submission.

Division of Research Integrity and Compliance
§ Compliance Forms: Required forms are revised from time to time. Principal Investigators are encouraged to check the Compliance Forms page on the ORSP website and use the currently posted versions rather than re-using previous forms saved on computer. Using the current versions of forms helps avoid delays in the review and approval process.
§ IACUC Notice: The full Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will hold its next meeting May 19, 2005. For more information and/or assistance, contact the Division of Research Integrity and Compliance (phone 3929 or email irb@research.olemiss.edu).

Division of Sponsored Programs Administration
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs Patrick Brown is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Robin Buchannon as Director of the ORSP Division of Sponsored Programs Administration.  Dr. Buchannon has been with the ORSP for several years now as Associate Director for Centers and Institutes and as Executive Director of the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions (EIGS), and has recently passed the national examination to become a Certified Research Administrator.  As a CRA, Robin is recognized as a top leader in the field of research and sponsored programs administration.  Please join the ORSP staff in welcoming Robin as the new director of SPA.

For complete information about the ORSP — mission, structure, services, responsibilities, and more — visit the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs page

Congratulations from the VCRSP

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs oversees funding for research, service,
education projects. These activities complement the fundamental aspects of The University of Mississippi’s mission and are among its most tangible contributions to the future. Funding for these activities is one of the best measures of a university’s success in engaging with national and international communities.

All of us who have sought funding to test our ideas know that it is difficult and that the communities to which we belong are highly competitive. That spirit of competition is critical and it contributes more than a little to the relief and excitement a researcher feels on receiving a funding award.

Listed below are our colleagues who have been notified of external funding awards in the last calendar month. Please join me in congratulating them. The news of their discoveries and the importance of their contributions are part of all of our futures and the future of Ole Miss.

Alice M. Clark Signature

Alice M. Clark, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs

PI Name
PI Department/Unit
Co-PI Name/s
Bass, H. National Center for Physical Acoustics  
Cremaldi, L. Physics and Astronomy  
ElSohly, M. National Center for Natural Products Research Khan, I.
Ferreira, D. Pharmacognosy  
Fox, G. Civil Engineering  
Hussey, C. Chemistry and Biochemistry  
Lackey, E. Mechanical Engineering Vaughan, J.
McCook, L. Biology  
Mossing, M. Chemistry and Biochemistry  
Oakley, C. National Food Service Management Institute  
Robinson, D. English  
Sabatier, J. National Center for Physical Acoustics  
Seiner, J. National Center for Physical Acoustics  
Shackelford, K. Social Work  
Slattery, M. Pharmacognosy Buchannon, R.
Sukanek, P. Chemical Engineering  
Vaughan, J. Mechanical Engineering Lackey, E.
Walker, L. National Center for Natural Products Research Clark, A.
Wang, S. National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering Altinakar, M.
Woolsey, R. Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute  

April Proposals Submitted: 28

April Awards Received: 20 totalling $6,883,989

FY05 Awards to Date (July 04-April 05): $59,060,834

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