Lyceum with Azaleas ResearchHighlights Newsletter

December 2007

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
Quotation Corner ~
Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now — always.
FOCUS: University of Mississippi 2008 Faculty Research Fellows

The University of Mississippi's Faculty Research Program (FRP) offers both money and time to UM faculty members to encourage research, scholarship, and creative activities. The primary purpose of the 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; or involve highly innovative new concepts that might be less competitive when compared with more mainstream proposals in an external agency review. We are pleased to announce the selection of the following individuals as University of Mississippi 2008 Faculty Research Fellows.

PI Name
PI Department/Unit
Project Title
Barnett, Michael Theatre Arts Lighting Design Approaches: A Brief Comparison of the Theatrical Lighting Design Approach in the United States and Europe
Cavaglia, Marco Physics and Astronomy Mississippi's Search for Gravitational Waves
Chang, Yunhee Family and Consumer Sciences Child Support Policies and Gender Disparity in Retirement Wealth
Dasmahapatra, Asok NCNPR/Pharmacology Prevention of Alcohol Use Disorder by a Natural Product
Gungoraydinoglu, Ali Economics Intellectual Property Rights and Endogenous Growth
Hammer, Nathan Chemistry and Biochemistry Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic Studies of Single Molecular Aggregates
Jackson, Philip Art Still Life Theatre
Kathman, Jacob Political Science The Effectiveness of Third Party Intervention in Civil War
Reed, Peter English Archival Research for Rogue Performances: Race and Culture in Early American Theatre
Riche, Daniel Pharmacy Practice Effect of Mulberry Leaf Extract on Glycemic Durability in Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study (Mul-DM)
Sapp, Christopher Modern Languages Subordinate Clauses in Middle High German and Zurich German
Sepehrifar, Mohammad Mathematics New Classes of Life Distributions with Guaranteed Survival Time under Shock Models
Surbeck, Cristiane Civil Engineering Monitoring and Modeling Fecal Pollution in Lake Sardis
Thurlkill, Mary Philosophy and Religion Odors of Sanctity: Distinctions of the Holy in Early Christianity and Islam
Waddell, Dwight HESRM The Effects of Segmental Cooling on Muscle Endurance, Localized Blood Flow, and Interleukin-6 Production During a Fatiguing Protocol
Watt, Jeffrey History Enforcing Discipline and Building Community: The Consistory in Calvin's Geneva
Winburn, Jonathan Political Science Representation and the Role of Legislative Black Caucuses
Yang, Yi Pharmacy Administration Is Adherence to Guidelines a Predictor of Health Services Utilization and Health Care Cost in Hypertension?
Yukleyen, Ahmet Sociology and Anthropology Muslim Religious Authority and Radicalism: Wahhabi Islamic Organizations in the Netherlands

Faculty Q&A
Answering your questions

Each month we answer a question from the faculty. Please send your questions to research@olemiss.edu.

Q:
How do I purchase equipment using my federal grant funds?
A:

It depends on whether the equipment was included in the award budget or not. To purchase budgeted equipment, submit a purchase requisition via SAP. To purchase unbudgeted equipment, prior written approval of the funding agency may be needed before initiating purchase of the equipment via SAP. The PI is responsible for obtaining prior written approval from the funding agency, if required, and forwarding the approval to the ORSP.

Also, the Federal Office of Management and Budget requires the university to have procedures in place to insure that all capital equipment purchases are necessary, beneficial, and not duplicated. To that end, it is the responsibility of the department originating an equipment purchase of $5,000 or more to ensure that screening for idle or excess equipment is performed before initiating purchase of the equipment. Equipment purchases of $5,000 or more need to be screened for at the department level. Equipment purchases of $50,000 or more need to be screened for throughout the university. The form that is used to document this screening is the UM Non-Availability of Equipment form (available on the ORSP Forms and Information page under Equipment). The requestor should forward the completed form to the ORSP before submitting the equipment purchase requisition via SAP.
Speaking of COS

Tracking, Tagging, and Sharing Records
With the Record Track feature in COS Funding Opportunities, you can track individual records on your COS Workbench, watch them to see when they are updated, or simply keep track of grant opportunities that are of particular interest. COS Funding Alert users can also receive email alerts when a record is changed. Now this feature is even more useful and versatile with the ability to “tag” records with labels of your own choosing, and to share all records with the same tag. Using these features is easy:

  • Do a search in COS Funding Opportunities and select a record.
  • At the top of the record, click on Track This Record.
  • “Tag” it with as many labels as you like—they will all be kept so you can use them again and again.
  • If appropriate, select whether you would like an alert email if the record is changed.
  • It will now be in the Your Tracked Records section of your COS Workbench, where you can edit your tags or delete records.
  • To sort, click on one of your tags at the top of the section.
  • To share, click on the Share button.
  • Fill in the requested name and email address and click Send.
  • Your colleague will receive an email with a link to the record.

Tagging is becoming a common feature on many social websites and other sites where users can comment on or share information. What makes tags different from other labels or keywords is that they are entirely up to the user—there are no preset lists you must choose from. So you can give a record tags that are meaningful to you, even if not to someone else.

Take a few minutes and try tracking, tagging and sharing records. Many of your colleagues are already finding this an invaluable tool for managing their funding searches.

Don't Know About COS?
Check out our COS page, the January 2005, September 2006, and March 2007 newsletter articles, and/or the COS home page. COS is for all UM faculty in all academic disciplines and research areas.

Some Upcoming Events

NIH Regional Seminar: Program Funding and Grants Administration ~ June 18-20 in Chicago
The regional seminar is intended to help demystify the application and review process, clarify federal regulations and policies, and highlight current areas of special interest or concern. NIH policy officials, grants management and program staff, as well as representatives from the Office for Human Research Protections and the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, will interact with seminar participants and provide a broad array of expertise. The sessions are appropriate for grants administrators, new and experienced researchers, and graduate students. For more information and registration, visit the seminar website at www.research.uic.edu/seminar/NIH.

A Few Program Announcements and Deadlines

Student Applicants Sought for Southern Research Fellows Program ~ Deadline January 11
Southern Growth Policies Board seeks student applicants for its Southern Research Fellows Program, which promotes student research relating to economic development and quality of life in 13 Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Eligible applicants include current undergraduate and graduate students aged 18-25 at colleges and universities in the 13 Southern Growth member states. Suggested majors/fields of study include, but are not limited to: public policy, journalism, political science, education, sociology, business, city and regional planning, public administration and social work.
The focus of the 2008 Southern Research Fellows Program is the engagement, development and leadership of youth aged 14 to 24. Fellows will prepare an original report on an approved topic that will be incorporated into Southern Growth's 2008 Report on the Future of the South and distributed at Southern Growth's annual conference. Fellows will also receive a cash award of $1,000.
Relevant report topics for 2008 include youth development, civic engagement and strategies for building policies and partnerships that foster youth leadership skills, workforce preparedness, volunteerism, entrepreneurship and the traits to become active, responsible citizens. The application deadline is January 11, 2008, with selections announced by February 1, 2008. The fellows’ final report to Southern Growth Policies Board will be due March 31, 2008.
To learn more about the Southern Research Fellows Program, and to download application forms, please visit www.southern.org/research/fellowship.shtml. To learn more about Southern Growth, visit www.southern.org.

NIH New Methodologies for Natural Products Chemistry ~ Deadline January 23
This initiative, a component of the NIH Molecular Libraries (ML) Roadmap program (MLP), will support the development of new methodologies for natural products (NP) chemistry. The long-term goal is to reinvigorate the investigation of nature as a prolific source of bioactive small molecules, with the potential to probe the roles of a wide range of proteins in cellular processes, and/or be developed into new drugs. Samples of NPs that are produced in the course of these studies will be provided to the ML Small Molecule Repository for use in high-throughput biological screening by the Molecular Libraries Probe Production Centers Network.
Sponsor Website: grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-08-004.html
COS Record: fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=111760

NSF Human and Social Dynamics Program ~ Deadlines February 19 (Type 1) and February 22 (Type 2)
The Human and Social Dynamics (HSD) priority area fosters breakthroughs in understanding the dynamics of human action and development, as well as knowledge about organizational, cultural, and societal adaptation and change. The FY 2008 competition will include three emphasis areas (Agents of Change; Dynamics of Human Behavior; and Decision Making, Risk and Uncertainty). Support will be provided for Full Research projects and for shorter-term Exploratory Research and HSD Research Community Development projects. NSF encourages HSD projects that provide insight into social processes such as globalization and migration and factors that promote innovation, at levels from the molecular functioning of the human brain to the organizational.
Sponsor Website: www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08508/nsf08508.htm
COS Record: fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=77593

NSF Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences ~ Deadline February 21
The goal of the Undergraduate Biology and Mathematics activity is to enhance undergraduate education and training at the intersection of the biological and mathematical sciences and to better prepare undergraduate biology or mathematics students to pursue graduate study and careers in fields that integrate the mathematical and biological sciences. The core of the activity is long-term research experiences for interdisciplinarily balanced cohorts of at least four undergraduates. Projects should focus on research at the intersection of the mathematical and biological sciences. Projects should provide students exposure to contemporary mathematics and biology, addressed with modern research tools and methods. That is, projects must be genuine research experiences rather than rehearsals of research methods. Projects must involve students from both areas in collaborative research experiences and include joint mentorship by faculty in both fields. In addition, it is expected that projects will strengthen the research and education capacity, infrastructure, and culture of the participating institutions. To this end, projects should create models for education in the mathematical and biological sciences and influence the direction of academic programs for a broad range of students.
Sponsor Website: www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08510/nsf08510.htm
COS Record: fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=84379

Find MORE on the ORSP Funding Opportunities Recent Announcements page

SEARCH using COS Funding Opportunities

Bits & Pieces

Marie Cope, UM Law Center, Receives RAMP Certificate
Congratulations to Marie Cope of the UM Law Center for successfully completing the ORSP’s inaugural Research Administration and Management Program (RAMP). Marie received her Certificate of Completion on November 15, 2007. RAMP consists of a series of six workshops offered over the course of a semester that are designed to facilitate responsible oversight of externally sponsored research projects.

ORSP News

Proposal Activity ~ UM faculty and staff submitted 28 external funding proposals during November 2007. For a complete listing, see the November 2007 Report page.

Award Activity ~ UM faculty and staff received 18 external funding awards during November 2007. For a complete listing, see the November 2007 Report page.

Faculty Travel Support
In November a total of $2,350 was awarded among three applicants to help support their research-related travel. Examples of research purposes for which faculty were awarded support include:
  • Attend special lectures by prominent scholars and specialists
  • Meet with collaborators on ongoing research projects
  • Meet with publishing representatives, seek funding opportunities
The Faculty Travel Support guidelines, application, and FAQ are found on the ORSP Internal Support page (www.research.olemiss.edufunding/orsp_internal.html).

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
Buchannon, R. Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Burnham, T. School of Education
Clancy, T. School of Law
Doerksen, R. Medicinal Chemistry
Durham, D. Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Hallam, J. Center for Health Promotion and Health Behavior
Harper, M. Center for Educational Research and Evaluation
Highsmith, R. Center for Water and Wetlands Resources
Johnson, J. (3 awards) Sociology and Anthropology
Jones, T. Physical Plant Pearson, A.
McConnell, G. Curriculum and Instruction Guest, B.
Van Slyke, J. University Police Department Swann, C.
Vaughan, J. Mechanical Engineering Lackey, E.
Wang, S. (2 awards) National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering

November 2007 Report: A list of awards received and proposals submitted by The University of Mississippi in the previous month.

November Proposals Submitted: 28 from 25 Principal Investigators

November Awards Received: 18 totaling $1,783,259

FY08 Year-to-Date Number of Active Sponsored Projects: 454

FY08 Year-to-Date Number of Active Investigators: 209

Copyright ©2007 The University of Mississippi. All rights reserved.
Please send comments and suggestions to ORSP web page manager.
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