Since 2004 The University of Mississippi has been a subscriber to COS , the largest and most comprehensive source of funding opportunity and expertise information on the Web. The COS “community” includes over 500,000 scholars, scientists, and researchers at more than 1,600 universities, professional societies, corporations, and government agencies worldwide. What’s in it for you?

COS provides services for scholarship and research in ALL academic disciplines and research areas, enabling researchers and scholars to communicate, exchange information, and find the people, tools, and funding programs that are important to their work.

Among the benefits to you as an individual scholar or researcher are these:

• access to a comprehensive and up-to-date resource of funding information
• access to a resource of peers and potential collaborators
• promotion of your research and expertise to peers and the academic community
• less time spent locating funding and other resources, more time left for scholarship and research

Among the benefits to our university are these:

• improved access to funding information
• enhanced visibility for university research activity and expertise
• accurate and up-to-date information about expertise and interests of the faculty
• increased competitive knowledge

When UM first joined COS, our subscription included initial setup of basic profiles for faculty and research staff on campus at that time; regular update reminders are sent to ensure that information is kept current and complete. If you arrived at UM after January 2004, it’s up to you to enter your own information into COS – and it’s vitally important that you do so. The University’s subscription allows access to and use of this service at any computer with a UM IP address; once registered in the system, users can also access the service from off-campus. To register and enter your profile, go to http://registration.cos.com/cos/basic.html. To update an existing profile, go to http://login.cos.com/.

 “We  encourage all UM faculty and staff to enter or update their profiles in the COS Expertise database,” said Dr. Alice Clark, Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs. “In fact, we think it’s so important that the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) is launching a new profile entry service. UM faculty and research staff can now e-mail their CVs to the ORSP and we will enter the information into the COS system.” (See Speaking of COS, below, for more information on this new service.)

“It’s difficult to keep up with the many, many things the UM faculty and staff are doing in research, scholarship, and creative activities,” added Dr. Clark. “The expertise profile area of COS allows us to have this information literally at our fingertips. People at other institutions around the world with COS subscriptions have this same access to find us on COS, as potential collaborators, colleagues, and experts when they need us.”

Having basic information about your research activities and interests enables the ORSP to help you identify potential projects and collaborations, nominate you as a potential peer reviewer, and target funding opportunities for you based on your interests. We can also share this information about your expertise with local, state, and federal organizations and with other key constituencies when they need your expertise.

In addition to COS Expertise, other COS subscription services include these features:

• COS Funding Opportunities is updated daily and contains more than 22,000 records, representing over 400,000 funding opportunities, worth over $33 billion.
• COS Funding Alert is a weekly e-mail notification service with a customized list of funding opportunities based on specified criteria provided by the individual COS member.
• COS Funded Research enables members to research and track information on funding and award histories at leading research facilities around the world.
• COS Workbench, a customized Web “work space” based on details in your COS Expertise profile. The Workbench platform provides access to numerous databases and services.
• The COS Abstract Management System is a Web-based, customizable system for collaborative online authoring and submission, peer review, conference or meeting scheduling, personal itinerary planning and program printing.
• Bibliographic Databases - COS offers a subscription to numerous bibliographic databases including Medline, GeoRef, Agricola, Federal Register, FedBizOpps/ Commerce Business Daily and US Patents.

In short, COS membership is a valuable tool provided to you free of charge at The University of Mississippi. Its purpose is to help us help you! More information is available on the ORSP’s COS page, or from the UM COS Liaison in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

ORSP Launches Trial of COS Profile Entry Service
As a part of its continuing effort to develop and promote UM research and researchers, the ORSP is beginning a trial run of a new COS Profile Entry Service. Faculty and research staff who wish to enter or update profile information can e-mail a CV to the UM COS Liaison. When data entry is complete, the faculty member will be notified to check the profile for accuracy and completeness, and any necessary adjustments will be made. This service is being offered on an experimental basis, to determine volume and assistance needed. If you have questions or suggestions about the COS Profile Entry Service, e-mail the UM COS Liaison.

Try the New Record Track Alert
According to COS, the new Record Track Alert feature has been getting a lot of use since it became available in August — we'll be using it ourselves here in the ORSP. Sponsoring organizations often make modifications to their opportunities: deadlines, eligibility, amounts, requirements, contact information, etc. Many opportunities are announced well in advance of deadline—even a year or more—and small tweaks, large changes, or corrections are not uncommon.  When you've identified an important opportunity and are planning on making a submission, it's crucial to keep up on any changes the sponsor makes. Record Track Alert makes that easy for you.  Record Track Alert is part of COS Funding Alert and is one of the functions available on your COS Workbench.

What's the Workbench?
Your COS Workbench is where you can get access to all subscribed COS services, as well as set Funding Alert preferences, track records of individual opportunities, manage and modify saved searches. Logging into your COS Workbench (with secure username and password) means you can use COS services from anywhere, not just on campus.

Don't Know About COS?
Check out our COS page, the feature article above, the January 2005 newsletter article, and/or the COS home page. COS is for all UM faculty in all academic disciplines and research areas.

Getting ROI on R&D: University Start-Ups National Showcase and Conference ~ October 22-24, 2006
The conference offers a national venue for the major players involved in start-up creation and funding to meet, discuss and network on best practices for partnering with universities, creating university-affiliated companies, and improving the national innovation economy. Four hundred attendees are expected, of which half will be angel investors and venture capitalists from around the country with an express interest in working with the nation's universities to help commercialize their R&D (including providing the seed capital). For more information please go to www.ncet2.org/.

National Science Foundation Regional Grants Conference ~ October 23-24, 2006
The first National Science Foundation Regional Grants Conference of fiscal year 2007 will be hosted by the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland on October 23-24, 2006, with optional FastLane sessions on the 22nd. This two-day conference is for new faculty, researchers and administrators who want to gain key insight into a wide range of current issues at NSF including the state of current funding; new and current policies and procedures; and pertinent administrative issues. NSF program officers representing each NSF directorate will be on hand to provide up-to-date information about specific funding opportunities and answer your questions. www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/outreach.jsp

2006 Department of Energy Opportunity Forum ~ October 30-31, 2006
The drive towards alternatives fuels, changes in the transportation sector, and accelerating adoption of economically viable alternative forms of energy provide this forum with increased importance.  The 2006 US DOE Opportunity Forum will, as in the past, showcase technology firms with viable advanced technology solutions seeking venture and corporate funding to launch or expand their businesses. In addition, this year's Forum will also provide an opportunity for those interested in the larger programmatic solutions offered by the Department of Energy to be briefed on new initiatives. http://www.doeopportunityforum.com

University of Virginia Symposium on Race and Society — In Katrina's Wake: Racial Implications of the New Orleans Disaster ~ November 2-4, 2006
The University of Virginia Symposium on Race and Society (SYMRS) is an annual conference engaging academic professionals on social, cultural, and political topics as they relate to the meeting's theme. The inaugural SYMRS will explore race in the context of Katrina and its intersections with eight academic disciplines – Business, Education, Law/Government/Politics, Health/Public Policy, Architecture/Urban Planning, Engineering, Media, and Arts and Sciences. Proposals are currently being accepted for presentations in these areas. For more information, see www.virginia.edu/symrs/.

Third International Conference of The Social Capital Foundation ~ November 15-19, 2006
This conference, titled “Social Capital and Interethnic Relationships: Multiethnicity - A Boon or A Bane?,” will examine the transformations caused by multiethnicity and their impact on social behavior in a wide range of contexts. The meeting is part of The Social Capital Foundation's Social Link Cycle, a series of conferences dedicated to the bond between people within society and its contemporary crisis. http://www.socialcapital-foundation.org/conferences/synopsis.htm

Workshop: Astrophysics Enabled by the Return to the Moon ~ November 28-30, 2006
The Space Telescope Science Institute will host a workshop entitled “Astrophysics Enabled By the Return to the Moon” November 28-30, 2006. The workshop is organized in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, University of Colorado, AURA, and NASA. The general philosophy of the workshop is to explore critically whether the expected return to the moon can be used for progress towards answering some of the most important questions in astrophysics today. www.stsci.edu/institute/conference/moon

Second International Joint Conferences on Computer, Information, and Systems Sciences, and Engineering (CISSE 2006) ~ December 4-14, 2006
CISSE 2006 provides a virtual forum for presentation and discussion of the state-of the-art research on computers, information and systems sciences and engineering. The CISSE 2006 virtual conference will be conducted through the Internet using web-conferencing tools, made available by the conference. This international conference will be held entirely on-line. The accepted and presented papers will be made available after the conference both on a CD and as a book publication. CISSE 2006 is composed of the following four conferences:

• International Conference on Industrial Electronics, Technology and Automation
• International Conference on Telecommunications and Networking
• International Conference on Systems, Computing Sciences and Software Engineering
• International Conference on Engineering Education, Instructional Technology, Assessment, and E-learning

Prospective authors are invited to submit full papers electronically in Microsoft Word format through the website of the conference at www.cisse2006online.org; paper submission deadline is October 13, 2006.

Applied Demography Conference ~ January 7-9, 2007
The first of the 21st century’s biennial Applied Demography conferences will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on January 7-9, 2007. The conference is sponsored by the Department of Demography and Organization Studies and the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio. UM's David Swanson is serving as the program organizer for the conference.   A call for papers will be issued soon, followed by the conference program, which will include a list of sessions and participants.

Creating Futures Through Technology Conference ~ February 25-27, 2007
The eleventh annual Creating Futures through Technology Conference and Trade Show 2007 serves as a venue for community college and university faculty, administrators, and staff to share their best practices in course delivery, utilizing partnerships in program delivery, creative uses of new and existing technology, and planning for tomorrow’s learner. The theme for this year’s conference is “Building Minds and Community.” Faculty and staff are invited to submit proposals to make presentations at the CFTTC 2007; the call for proposals is at https://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/cfttc/call_for_applications.html.

University of Mississippi Faculty Research Program ~ Deadline October 2
The primary purpose of the Faculty Research Program (FRP) is to provide initial support for projects that will be of interest to external funding agencies. The program may also support projects that: • are in areas where external funding is presently unavailable or very limited; • are of a “high risk” nature that might be less competitive when compared with more mainstream proposals in an external agency review. Priority will be given to beginning tenure track faculty who are establishing their programs, followed by more advanced scholars and researchers who are changing areas of study. Faculty who have received previous FRP support or who are currently receiving external funding will be given lower priority for institutional support. http://www.research.olemiss.edu/funding/orsp_internal.html#FRP

National Science Foundation CISE Computing Research Infrastructure ~ Letter of Intent October 2, Full Proposal November 15
The Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Computing Research Infrastructure (CRI) program supports the acquisition, development, enhancement, and operation of research infrastructure that enables discovery, learning, and innovation in all computing fields supported by CISE.  Supported infrastructure includes instrumentation needed by research or research and education projects, major experimental facilities for an entire department or for multi-institutional projects, and testbeds or data archives for an entire subfield of CISE researchers. The CRI program is designed to complement the funding available in CISE research programs: Infrastructure Acquisition/Development awards support infrastructure that is used for the proposing team's research; and, Community Resource Development awards support the development of resources that serve broad research communities. http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06597/nsf06597.htm

National Endowment for the Humanities Collaborative Research Grants ~ Deadline November 1
Collaborative Research Grants support: original research undertaken by a team of two or more scholars; or research coordinated by an individual scholar that, because of its scope or complexity, requires additional staff and resources beyond the individual's salary. Eligible projects include: • research that significantly adds to knowledge and understanding in the humanities; • conferences on topics of major importance in the humanities that will benefit ongoing research; • archaeology projects that interpret and communicate the results of archaeological fieldwork—projects may encompass excavation, materials analysis, laboratory work, field reports, and preparation of interpretive monographs; • translations into English of works that provide insight into the history, literature, philosophy, and artistic achievements of other cultures; and • research that uses the knowledge, methods, and perspectives of the humanities to enhance understanding of science, technology, and medicine. http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/collaborative.html

National Endowment for the Humanities Scholarly Editions Grants ~ Deadline November 1
Scholarly Editions Grants support the preparation by a team of at least two editors and staff of texts and documents that are currently inaccessible or available in inadequate editions. Projects involving significant literary, philosophical, and historical materials are typical in this grant program, but other types of work, such as musical notation, are also eligible. In keeping with the goals of the NEH Digital Humanities Initiative, the Scholarly Editions Program requires that applicants employ digital technology in the preparation, management, and online publication of all critical and documentary editions. Projects that include TEI (Text Encoding Initiative) conformant transcription and offer free online access are encouraged and will be given preference. http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/collaborative.html

National Science Foundation High-Performance Computing for Science and Engineering Research and Education: Operations (User Support, System Administration and Maintenance) ~ Deadline November 28
This solicitation seeks to support research and education in science and engineering that requires the use of high-performance computing systems by providing support for the operation of existing HPC systems. This solicitation is a competitive opportunity for institutions that have significant HPC systems with an expected useful life that extends beyond 2007 and which they wish to make available, through the TeraGrid, to the science and engineering community without restriction to discipline. http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06599/nsf06599.htm

National Science Foundation Science and Society Program, Impacts of Biology on Society ~ Deadline February 1
The Directorate for Biological Sciences is partnering with the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences to foster research that specifically addresses the interactions of the Biological Sciences with Society. Biology and Society projects should address one or more components of the S&S program in the context of biological questions. Specifically, the major S&S topic areas include Ethics and Values in Science, Engineering and Technology (EVS); History and Philosophy of Science, Engineering and Technology (HPS); Social Studies of Science, Engineering and Technology (SSS); and Studies of Policy, Science, Engineering and Technology (SPS). Partnerships between biologists and social scientists or philosophers or historians to address current issues, trends and questions relevant to the impacts of Biology on Society, and vice versa, are particularly encouraged. http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06039/nsf06039.jsp

Find MORE on the ORSP Funding Opportunities Recent Announcements page

SEARCH using COS Funding Opportunities

New Book by Haenfler Examines Straight Edge Culture
Ross Haenfler, Associate Professor of Sociology at UM, recently published Straight Edge: Hardcore Punk, Clean Living Youth, and Social Change (Rutgers University Press). The book is the first in-depth sociological analysis of the Straight Edge movement, a clean living youth movement that emerged from the punk rock subculture of the early 1980s. Professor Haenfler's 2005 and 2006 ORSP Faculty Research Program grants provided partial support for this project. More information about the book is at http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/acatalog/__Straight_Edge_2543.html#3633. More information about the Faculty Research Program (deadline October 2) is at http://www.research.olemiss.edu/funding/orsp_internal.html#FRP.

Introducing: ORSP Industry/Corporate Relations Specialist
Kendra Rauschenberger has joined the ORSP staff as Industry/Corporate Relations Specialist. Kendra is responsible for creating and maintaining business partnerships with corporate and government entities for the purpose of determining the growth and development needs of the state of Mississippi with regard to research.

Congratulations! Faculty Workshop Door Prize Winners
Following the ORSP Faculty Workshop on August 25, four names were drawn from the pool of those who registered at the door prize stations. Each individual listed below received a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card usable at the campus bookstore, another B&N store, or online. Congratulations!

• Beth Boerger, Psychology
• Nancy Dupont, Journalism
• Susan McClelland, Leadership and Counselor Education
• Debra Riley-Huff, University Libraries

Division of Research
:: August Proposals ~ Proposal Development Specialists Lesha Agnew and Mickey McLaurin processed 36 external funding proposals during August 2006.

Division of Research Integrity and Compliance
:: Information for the Public ~ A new web page entitled ‘Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Overview’ is designed to educate the public on the IACUC and its roles and responsibilities for the humane care and use of research animals. The web link is posted at www.research.olemiss.educompliance/animal/animal_IACUC_overview.html.
:: Oral History Guidance ~ Guidelines, including examples for helping researchers determine if their oral history or interview research is defined as ‘Research’ by the federal regulations and therefore requires IRB review, are posted at www.research.olemiss.educompliance/human/human_oral_history.html.

Division of Sponsored Programs Administration
:: August Awards ~ SPA Division staff (Scottie Casey, Euphiazene Gray, Anita Randle, Linda Stone) processed 62 external funding awards during August 2006.

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

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, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs

August Proposals Submitted: 36

August Awards Received: 62 totaling $12,037,925

FY07 Year-to-Date Number of Active Sponsored Projects: 371

FY07 Year-to-Date Number of Active Investigators: 200