UM Research Funding News
Proposal and Award Activity
UM faculty and staff submitted 31 external funding proposals and received 30 external funding awards during September 2008. For a complete listing, see the Monthly Report.
Faculty Travel Support
In September a total of $2,350 was awarded by the ORSP to help support research-related travel. Examples of research purposes for which faculty have recently received support include:
- Meet with collaborators to develop and extend research
- Conduct in-person interviews for ongoing research project while at conference
- Help create new research group while at conference
- Present lecture/workshop/exhibition and make arrangements for future exhibition
- Travel to sabbatical research location for project on development of international research center
- Conduct research on historical artifacts in museums overseas, plan new book project, and investigate funding opportunities
Faculty Travel Support guidelines, application, and FAQ are available from the ORSP Internal Support page.
Additional Information
Speaking of COS
Verify Your COS Expertise Profile
Now that the new academic year is well underway, remember to update your COS Expertise profile to reflect your most recent work. If you don’t have updates to make at this time, be sure to “verify” your profile anyway. This indicates that you’ve reviewed your profile and chosen not to make any changes. After you do this, your profile will show a recent “profile last updated” date. It’s easy to verify your profile—simply log in to your COS Workbench and choose Click to Verify, located at the bottom of the Manage Your Profile section.
Send COS Your Suggestions
The team at COS values your suggestions — you can send your input via the Suggestion Box located at http://www.cos.com/cgi-bin/suggest, and there is a link to it from the COS Workbench, as well.
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.
Bits & Pieces
Scientific Achievement Awards in Cancer Research
The American Association for Cancer Research is seeking nominations for the 2009 AACR Scientific Achievement Awards. The AACR recognizes cancer research achievements through an array of prestigious and distinguished scientific awards. The AACR is actively seeking nominations for awards honoring achievements in basic, clinical and translational research, epidemiology and prevention and accomplishments of young investigators, women and minorities. By nominating a colleague you can honor their significant contributions and potentially shape the scientific content of the 2009 Annual Meeting. Each Award recipient will present a major lecture during the 2009 AACR Annual Meeting, which will be held on April 18-22, 2009 in Denver, CO. For more information, please see AACR Awards. To submit a nomination, send to awards@aacr.org.
A Few Program Announcements and Deadlines
NASA Postdoctoral Fellowships
Deadlines November 1, March 1, July 1
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) offers approximately 60 postdoctoral fellowships annually. The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly talented national and international scientists and engineers to engage in ongoing NASA research in Aeronautics, Astrobiology, Astrophysics, Earth Science, Exploration Systems, Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Space Operations. Apply at http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc.
2009 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Competition
Deadlines November 3-7 depending on discipline
The purpose of the GRFP is to ensure the vitality of the scientific and technological workforce in the United States and to reinforce its diversity. The program offers graduate fellowships to students in the early stages of their graduate study to support graduate study leading to research-based master's or doctoral degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics relevant to the mission of the NSF. Fellows are expected to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals will be crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation's technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well being of society at large. The GRFP is designed to provide opportunities for advanced education that prepares students for a broad range of disciplinary and cross-disciplinary careers through its strategic investments in intellectual capital.
US Department of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator Program
Deadline November 5
The Office of High Energy Physics of the Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, has announced its interest in receiving grant applications for support under its Outstanding Junior Investigator (OJI) Program. Applications should be from tenure-track faculty investigators or junior scientists in equivalent positions in national laboratories who are currently involved in experimental or theoretical high energy physics or accelerator physics research, and should be submitted through a U.S. academic institution or national laboratory.
The purpose of this program is to support the development of individual research programs by outstanding scientists early in their careers. Awards made under this program will help to maintain the vitality of high energy physics research and assure continued excellence in the teaching of physics.
National Science Foundation Statistics Program
Deadline November 7
The program supports research in statistical theory and methods, including research in statistical methods for applications to any domain of science and engineering. The theory forms the base for statistical science. The methods are used for stochastic modeling, and the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data. The methods characterize uncertainty in the data and facilitate advancement in science and engineering. The program encourages proposals ranging from single-investigator projects to interdisciplinary team projects.
American Philosophical Society Franklin Research Grants
Deadline December 1
Since 1933 the APS has awarded small grants to scholars in order to support the cost of research leading to publication in all areas of knowledge. The program is particularly designed to help meet the costs of travel to libraries and archives for research purposes; the purchase of microfilm, photocopies, or equivalent research materials; the costs associated with fieldwork; or laboratory research expenses.
Woodrow Wilson Center Short-Term Grants ~ East European Studies
Deadline December 1
With funding provided by Title VIII (the Act for Research and Training for Eastern Europe and Independent States of Former Soviet Union), EES offers short-term grants to scholars working on policy relevant projects on East Europe. Special consideration will be given to projects on Southeast Europe, or projects that can be credibly linked to issues in the Western Balkans. Projects should focus on fields in the social sciences and humanities including, but not limited to, anthropology, history, political science, Slavic languages and literatures, and sociology. All projects should aim to highlight their potential policy relevance.
US Department of the Army Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative
Deadline January 9
The Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program supports basic science and/or engineering research at U.S. institutions of higher education that is of critical importance to national defense. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts that intersect more than one traditional science and engineering discipline to address issues of critical concern to the Department of Defense. White papers are due October 31.
National Science Foundation Mathematical Biology Program
Deadline January 13
This program supports research in areas of applied and computational mathematics with relevance to the biological sciences. Successful proposals are mathematically innovative and address challenging problems of interest to members of the biological community. Projects may include development of mathematical concepts and tools traditionally seen in other disciplinary programs within the DMS, e.g., topology, probability, statistics, and computation, etc. To receive appropriate and timely review, such proposals should be submitted directly to the relevant disciplinary program, but will be considered for co-review by this program that may be selected as a secondary program. Proposals that use established mathematical, statistical, and computational tools to address problems in the biological sciences are typically not appropriate for consideration by the disciplinary programs within DMS. This program interacts with every division in the NSF Directorate of Biological Sciences, and its interests overlap those of the biology programs. This program regularly seeks joint reviews of proposals with programs in the Directorate of Biological Sciences. Investigators are encouraged to discuss their project with program officers in both areas to determine if it should be considered for co-review.
Additional Resources
Some Upcoming Events
NIH Regional Workshop
November 13 in Mobile
The University of South Alabama is hosting an NIH Regional Workshop on Thursday, November 13, 2008. Dr. Marvin Salin, a Scientific Review Administrator from the NIH National Cancer Institute, will provide insights into the proposal review and evaluation process at NIH during a morning session. His presentation will include:
- Overview of review process for a grant application
- Locus of review - who gets to review the application?
- Grants review cycle
- Review criteria
- What to look for in RFAs, PAs and PARs
- Priority scores and percentiles
- What determines which applications get funded
- Some factors which contribute to an application being funded vs. unscored
Following lunch, Dr. Salin will be available for a general Q&A session and one-on-one meetings with individual/group researchers as time permits. Reservations are required—kholmes@usouthal.edu or 251-460-6456.
2008 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference
November 20-23 in Washington
The 2008 Meeting will feature talks by Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director Charles Elachi, Inforex President Robert Boily, General Motors engineer Patrick Usoro and University of Oxford mathematician Mason Porter. Also featured is a one day mini-conference on Saturday, November 22 focusing on the critical issue of water. Peter H. Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, Andras Szollosi-Nagy, director of UNESCO’s Division of Water Sciences, and Peter Thum, founder of Ethos Water will participate in a special panel discussion. Student Research Conference events will be held on November 21-22. Undergraduate and graduate students will present research, participate in mentoring and networking activities, panel discussions, and other events. Complete meeting information is at http://www.sigmaxi.org/meetings/annual/index.shtml.
Global Venture Challenge 2009
March 25-27 at Oak Ridge
Global Venture Challenge 2009 is an educational event designed to foster entrepreneurial spirit by engaging students, industry, government and the investment community in the discovery and development of innovative ideas. The ultimate goal is to encourage students to launch new technology-based businesses that can improve the well-being of the world. Specific areas of interest include Bioenergy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies. Global Venture Challenge 2009 builds on a successful event held at Oak Ridge for the last two years. Fifteen interdisciplinary graduate school teams from the U.S. and the United Kingdom presented business ideas and competed for a $25,000 cash prize. Additionally, investors met with start-up companies from across the southeastern U.S. The focus of this year's event is again on energy, one of the world's most critical issues. Graduate school teams from across the globe are being recruited to develop unique and innovative product ideas that can solve existing market needs and have the potential to become sustainable businesses. Another feature of the event is the Energy Venture Showcase which highlights selected start-up companies and gives them the opportunity to interact with industry and the investment community. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.globalventurechallenge.com after October 1, 2008.
2009 World Congress on Computer Science and Information Engineering (CSIE 2009)
March 31-April 2 in Los Angeles
CSIE 2009 intends to be a global forum for researchers and engineers to present and discuss recent advances and new techniques in computer science and information engineering. In addition to research papers, CSIE 2009 also seeks exhibitions of modern products and equipment for computer science and information engineering. Paper/Abstract Submission Deadline: September 30, 2008. For more information, visit http://world-research-institutes.org/conferences/CSIE/2009.
Congratulations from the VCRSP
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs oversees funding for research, service, and 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
Summary of Awards Received in September 2008
| PI Name |
PI Department/Unit |
Co-PI Name/s |
| Bell, Deborah H | School of Law | |
| Chambers, James | Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics | Hickey, C. |
| Chambers, James (2 awards) | Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics | |
| Cheng, Alexander H D | Civil Engineering | |
| Davis, Cynthia | Mississippi Judicial College | |
| Easson, Gregory L | Geology and Geological Engineering | |
| Ervin, Elizabeth | Civil Engineering | |
| Gilbert, Kenneth | Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics | |
| Gross, Alan M | Psychology | |
| Haley, Bryan | Sociology and Anthropology | Johnson, Jay K |
| Haws, Robert J | Public Policy Research Center | |
| Higdon, Carolyn W | Communicative Disorders | |
| Jensen, Carl | Legal Studies | Barnard, Marie |
| Johnson, Jay K | Sociology and Anthropology | |
| Lutken, Carol | Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute | McGee, Thomas M |
| Majumdar, Soumyajit | Pharmaceutics | |
| McCaffrey, David | Center for Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management | |
| Oakley, Charlotte | National Food Service Management Institute | Knight, Kathy B |
| Oakley, Charlotte | National Food Service Management Institute | |
| Reed, David (2 awards) | Biology | |
| Sabatier, James | Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics | |
| Seiner, J. | Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics | |
| Snow, Marilyn S | Leadership and Counselor Education | |
| Sukanek, Peter (2 awards) | Chemical Engineering | |
| Summers, Don | Physics and Astronomy | Cremaldi, Lucien M |
| Valliant, Melinda | Family and Consumer Sciences | |
| Wang, Sam | National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering | |
- September 2008 Report: A list of awards received and proposals submitted by The University of Mississippi in the previous month.
- September Proposals Submitted: 31 from 28 Principal Investigators
- September Awards Received: 30 totaling $8,699,642
- 2009 Year-to-Date Number of Active Sponsored Projects: 399
- 2009 Year-to-Date Number of Active Investigators: 200