RAMP Classes for Spring 2010
Would you like to ramp up your skills in research administration? If so, then the ORSP’s Research Administration and Management Program (RAMP) is for you. We are offering the following classes in the spring semester. Class size is limited to ten participants. To register, contact Sandra Allen at x7482 or swallen@olemiss.edu .
Module 1: The Basics
Thursday, February 4, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., 208 Barr Hall
Module 1 will provide an overview of the research enterprise at Ole Miss. Topics will include: how research relates to the University’s mission as a public research institution; how to distinguish between sponsored programs and gifts; how F&A (indirect costs) rate is determined and the purpose; and the role of University offices (including ORSP) that are part of the research infrastructure at Ole Miss.
Module 2: Proposal and Budget Preparation
Thursday, February 18, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., 208 Barr Hall
Module 2 will cover each of the elements of a proposal, focusing intently on the proposal budget. The budget discussion will include: topics related to direct costs and F&A (indirect) costs; allowable and unallowable costs; cost sharing; and certifications and assurances that are commonly submitted along with proposals to external funding agencies.
Module 3: Overview of Regulations and Compliance
Thursday, March 4, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., 208 Barr Hall
Module 3 will provide an overview of regulations and compliance. Topics will include: federal agency-specific regulations governing research grants and cooperative agreements; university policies regarding common transactions on sponsored projects; and compliance issues in university research.
Module 4: Post-Award Administration of Sponsored Projects
Thursday, March 25, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., 208 Barr Hall
Module 4 will focus on post-award administration of sponsored projects – what happens when a proposal is funded? Topics will include: award receipt, award review, award negotiation, award acceptance, account set-up, and the basics of award management. This module will also provide detailed information on some of the most common post-award administration activities including changes to an existing award, subawards, regrants, reporting, award closeout, and beyond closeout.
Module 5: Financial Administration of Sponsored Projects
Thursday, April 8, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., 208 Barr Hall
Module 5 will provide detailed information on financial administration of sponsored projects. Topics will include: account set-up; allowability, allocability, and reasonableness of costs; unallowable costs; special costing issues; account oversight; and account closeout.
Module 6: Effort Reporting and Certification
Thursday, April 22, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., 208 Barr Hall
Module 6 will provide detailed information on the effort reporting and certification process at The University of Mississippi.
UM Research Funding News
Proposal and Award Activity
UM faculty and staff submitted 24 external funding proposals and received 18 external funding awards during December 2009. For a complete listing, see the Monthly Report.
Faculty Travel Support
In December, $2,883 was awarded through the ORSP's Faculty Travel Support program to help support research-related travel. The program provides funds for UM faculty members to take part in development activities that will lead to new or extended research, scholarly or creative work, but typically does not support travel to a conference for presentation of completed work unless the request includes specific development activities beyond the conference itself.
Examples of research purposes for which faculty have recently received support include:
- Conduct on-site library research on primary source material
- Meet with book collaborators and publishers while at conference
- Attend special focus symposium and meet with subject expert
- Conduct field work with collaborators and develop new field research course
- Expand ongoing research project by conducting in-person interviews in new location
Additional Information
Speaking of COS
COS Online Training Sessions
Take advantage of the free live sessions given by the COS training department, or try one of the pre-recorded webinars. Currently available options are listed on the User Training page — watch for new live sessions in February.
Try the Search Wizard
If you are new to using COS, or if you're starting a new project and aren't sure how to begin a search for funding, try the COS Search Wizard on the main COS Funding Opps home page. The Search Wizard asks a few questions and then builds a targeted search; you can make further refinements to narrow and focus the search to give you optimum results. It's a good way to become familiar with the many searching options in the COS Funding Opps database.
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.
A Few Program Announcements and Deadlines
NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program ~ Internal Deadline January 29
Since submissions are limited, internal coordination by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) is required. Those planning to apply (either as lead or as subcontractor) should notify Mickey McLaurin in the ORSP (7482 or mclaurin@olemiss.edu ) no later than January 29, 2010. The IGERT program has been developed to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers who will pursue careers in research and education, with the interdisciplinary backgrounds, deep knowledge in chosen disciplines, and technical, professional, and personal skills to become, in their own careers, leaders and creative agents for change. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education, for students, faculty, and institutions, by establishing innovative models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. It is also intended to facilitate diversity in student participation and preparation, and to contribute to a world-class, broadly inclusive, and globally engaged science and engineering workforce. IGERT traineeship projects involving research in any of the areas appropriate for funding by the NSF are eligible.
DoD Environmental and Energy Technology Demonstrations Funding ~ Preproposal Deadline March 4
The Department of Defense (DoD), through the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), supports the demonstration of environmental and energy technologies that address priority DoD environmental requirements. The goal of ESTCP is to transition environmental and energy technology projects through the demonstration phase, thereby enabling promising technologies to receive regulatory and DoD end-user acceptance and to be fielded and commercialized more effectively and more rapidly. ESTCP is seeking innovative environmental and energy technology demonstrations as candidates for funding. Topic areas for private sector proposers are:
- Protection and Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater
- Military Munitions Detection, Discrimination, and Remediation
- Ecosystem Service Methodologies and Tools for Department of Defense Installations
- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for DoD Installations
National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships ~ Deadline May 4
NEH Fellowships support individuals pursuing advanced research in the humanities that contributes to scholarly knowledge or to the general public's understanding of the humanities. Recipients usually produce scholarly articles, monographs on specialized subjects, books on broad topics, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly tools. Fellowships support full-time work on a humanities project for a period of six to twelve months.
Additional Resources
Some Upcoming Events
ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit ~ March 1-3 in Washington DC
The ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit will bring together the nation’s energy leaders to share ideas, collaborate and identify future technology opportunities and gaps. Participants will include members of the scientific and research communities, venture capital investors, technology entrepreneurs, corporations with an interest in clean energy technologies, policymakers and government officials. The Summit will present ARPA-E’s first round of awardees and - for the first time - showcase many of the 250 additional top-ranking projects – out of nearly 3,700 concept papers submitted – from ARPA-E’s first $150 million solicitation.
ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions ~ March 2-4 in Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge Associated Universities
The theme for this year's meeting is “Educating the Energy Workforce” with presentations on the needs of the U.S. power industry for a well-qualified workforce. Speakers will discuss the needs of the nuclear, renewable, and fossil fuel sectors, as well as the needs of the national laboratories and the federal government. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Kei Koizumi, Assistant Director for Federal Research and Development of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
DHS University Network Summit ~ March 10-12 in Washington DC
US Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate, Office of University Programs
The theme for this year's Summit is STRONG! Science and Technology for Intelligent Resilience. The Summit will focus on the contributions of scientific and technological advancement to economic, community, and individual resilience. Numerous experts from academia, industry, and government will discuss how investments in science and technology can intelligently make the nation more resilient. On the agenda are plenary sessions, town hall discussions, breakout and working group sessions, and poster sessions.
Global Venture Challenge ~ March 24-26 at Oak Ridge
The Global Venture Challenge is a unique educational event that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship by graduate students from around the world. The event features an Idea to Product competition at which graduate student teams compete for significant cash prizes. The competition attracts venture investors who serve as judges and get a glimpse at emerging research and development being conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Two tracks are featured:
- Advanced Materials for a Sustainable Energy Future: Advancing technologies to save energy, increase productivity, and reduce environmental impact
- Community Resilience and Homeland Security: Enhancing the abilities of communities to recover rapidly from natural and man-made disasters
The Venture Showcase highlights promising technologies and early state companies in the fields of energy efficiency and homeland security. Many of the presentations will focus on technologies and intellectual property originating from Department of Energy laboratories across the nation. Both student teams and participating venture investors will have a unique opportunity to learn about future opportunities in these important fields.
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 December 2009
| PI Name | PI Department/Unit | Co-PI Name/s |
|---|---|---|
| Bentley, Sandy | Student Health Services | Lombardo, Thomas |
| Boyd, Carol Minor | Social Work | Christoff, Karen Ann Moore, Debra J |
| Chambers, James | Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics | |
| Cizdziel, James | Chemistry and Biochemistry | |
| Cox-McCarty, Sandra | School of Law | |
| Easson, Gregory L | Geology and Geological Engineering | Slattery, Marc |
| Ferreira, Daneel | Pharmacognosy | |
| Gabrynowicz, Joanne | National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law | |
| Goulet, Tamar | Biology | Bowman, Margaret-Safronia |
| Gurley, Walter | Small Business Development Center | Forster, Robert |
| Hamann, Mark | Pharmacognosy | |
| Higdon, Carolyn Wiles | Communication Sciences and Disorders | Ivy, Lennette Vaughan, Lollie |
| Hussey, Charles | Chemistry and Biochemistry | |
| Johnson, Jay K | Sociology and Anthropology | Haley, Bryan |
| McClendon, Katie | Pharmacy Practice | |
| Repka, Michael A | Pharmaceutics | Majumdar, Soumyajit |
| Smillie, Troy | National Center for Natural Products Research | |
| Tschumper, Gregory S | Chemistry and Biochemistry |
- December 2009 Report: A list of awards received and proposals submitted by The University of Mississippi in the previous month.
- December Proposals Submitted: 24 from 21 Principal Investigators
- December Awards Received: 18 totaling $5,000,204
- FY10 Year-to-Date Number of Active Sponsored Projects: 461
- FY10 Year-to-Date Number of Active Investigators: 259