Change to NSF MRI internal deadline
VP for Research – Fall 2015 updates flyer
Humanities Fellowship & Grant Writing Group (FGWG)
2016 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR) – Call for papers
Integration of social sciences in medical research – Executive order from President Barrack Obama
Dear colleague letter from NSF – Planned merit review survey
U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) open house
Gould Lecture – Technology and Quality of Life: ‘Engineering for the 21st century – A perspective from the National Science Foundation’
Resources to assist with managing your research data
Limited submission opportunities
NSF – Checking compliance of proposal submissions
Intramural funding opportunities
Extramural funding opportunities
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) education
Upcoming classes in the Research Administration Training Series (RATS)
Research news and publicizing research
Change to NSF MRI internal deadline
Internal deadline: Nov. 16, 2015
The internal deadline for the NSF MRI has been changed to Nov. 16, 2015, (instead of Dec. 8, 2015). This is to give more time to put a good external proposal together for the external deadline which is Jan. 13, 2016.
If you have any questions or concerns please email Cindy Furse, associate vice president for Research, or the project coordinator for the Office of the Vice President, Whitney Reid.
2. VP for Research – Fall 2015 updates flyer
The Office of the Vice President for Research has recently released the 2015 Fall VPR update. This 4-page flyer is a quick PI resource on VPR deadlines, grant resources, budgets, education and training, contact information and more. PIs will receive a flyer in their faculty mailbox, but you may also access it by clicking on VPR Updates.
**Please note that an error was made on the printed flyer regarding the Faculty Research and Creative Grants deadlines. The correct deadlines are Nov. 15, Feb. 15 and Aug. 20. **
3. Humanities Fellowship & Grant Writing Group (FGWG)
Location: Languages and Communication Building Room 2120 (Reading Room by the dean’s office)
The Fellowship & Grant Writing Group (FGWG) is a monthly meeting open to all faculty in the College of Humanities. FGWG is an opportunity to:
Learn about upcoming fellowship and grant opportunities
Share and develop application materials
Meet with program officers from funding agencies
It is ideal for both junior and senior researchers and is an excellent forum for developing proposals. Faculty from other colleges are also welcome to attend FGWG.
FGWG (pronounced “fig-wig”) is led by the Associate Dean for Research Jakob Jensen, and the college Grants Officer Kristina Bailey.
2015-2016 Fellowship & Grant Writing Group (FGWG) meetings:
2015
Oct. 23, 2015 from 2:30-4 p.m.
Nov. 13, 2015 from 2:30-4 p.m.
2016
Jan. 22, 2016 from 2:30-4 p.m.
Feb. 19, 2016 from 2:30-4 p.m.
March 18, 2016 from 2:30-4 p.m.
April 15, 2016 from 2:30-4 p.m.
4. 2016 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR) – Call for papers
We are delighted to host the 2016 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research. The Office of Undergraduate Research at the University of Utah welcomes undergraduate student researchers from all over the state of Utah to participate in UCUR 2016.
Abstract submissions must:
State the central research question and the purpose of the research
Provide a brief discussion of the research methodology
State conclusions and significance
Be well organized
Other formatting guidelines:
Abstracts should be no more than 450 words in length.
References are allowed within abstracts, but are not required. The reference list does not count towards the word limit.
If including images and/or figures, limit them to no more than one page in addition to the abstract text.
Undergraduate Students: Present your research at this annual statewide conference. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to submit.
5. Integration of social sciences in medical research – Executive order from President Barrack Obama
This executive order from the White House is important for us as we consider integration of Social Sciences in the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS).
—Carrie Byington, Associate Research Dean for Medicine
“A growing body of evidence demonstrates that behavioral science insights — research findings from fields such as behavioral economics and psychology about how people make decisions and act on them — can be used to design government policies to better serve the American people.”
“To more fully realize the benefits of behavioral insights and deliver better results at a lower cost for the American people, the Federal Government should design its policies and programs to reflect our best understanding of how people engage with, participate in, use, and respond to those policies and programs. By improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Government, behavioral science insights can support a range of national priorities, including helping workers to find better jobs; enabling Americans to lead longer, healthier lives; improving access to educational opportunities and support for success in school; and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.”
6. Dear colleague letter from NSF – Planned merit review survey
“NSF will be sending out a survey, soon, to many principal investigators regarding the merit review process. If you receive this survey, please take a moment to answer it and provide your feedback. This is very important to NSF to help them improve their processes, and consequently to us as well.”
Thank you,
Tom Parks,
VP for Research
Oct. 2, 2015
From: Dr. Suzanne Iacono, Acting Head, Office of Integrative Activities, National Science Foundation
Dear colleague,
I am sending you this email to let you know about an online survey of investigators and reviewers that the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be distributing in the coming weeks. The survey is intended to help NSF to learn more about the impact of its merit review process on proposers and reviewers. I would like to ask for your assistance in making your faculty colleagues aware of the value of obtaining as many responses as possible to the survey.
From time to time, NSF administers a survey of the members of the research community that seeks to learn about their experiences with the merit review process. The information gathered in such a survey helps NSF to serve better both those who submit grant proposals to NSF and those who undertake the task of reviewing such proposals.
In 2007, NSF fielded a large-scale survey, the “NSF 2007 Proposer Survey”. Significant results of the 2007 survey are described in the “Final Report of the IPAMM Working Group”, published as NSF 07-45.
Since 2007, the frontiers of science have continued to evolve, there has been a growth in the numbers of both single-investigator and collaborative research projects proposed to NSF, and there have been changes both to NSF’s proposal submission system and to the technologies used to support the review process. The 2015 survey, entitled “Satisfaction of Investigators and Reviewers with the Merit Review Process,” seeks to understand how these factors have affected NSF investigators and reviewers. The survey responses will help NSF to measure the burden and benefits associated with preparing and reviewing proposals. This feedback will be used by NSF as it works to make the review process more effective, maintaining the quality of the review process while minimizing the burden on proposers and reviewers and exploring the value of potential technological enhancements.
NSF has partnered with Insight Policy Research to develop and deploy the 2015 survey. The survey should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. The survey participants are individuals who have submitted proposals to and/or reviewed for NSF in the past few years. The participant group covers all of the academic disciplines that receive awards from NSF, embraces a broad spectrum of research and educational organizations, and represents many different demographic groups.
Participants will first receive an email from NSF that invites them to take part in the survey. A few days later, participants will receive an email from Insight Policy Research that contains a link to the online survey. Insight Policy Research will collate the survey data on behalf of NSF.
I would like to thank you in advance for your important contribution to the success of this survey.
Sincerely,
Dr. Suzanne Iacono,
Acting Head, Office of Integrative Activities,
National Science Foundation,
4201 Wilson Boulevard,
Arlington, VA 22230
7. U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) open house
The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) will be hosting an Open Campus Open House at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD on Nov. 3-4, 2015. The VPR for Research has travel funds assist with travel or faculty who have identified research contacts in the Department of Defense.
ARL has been a national leader in fundamental research for over 20 years.
ARL’s research spans the spectrum from high strain rate mechanics and novel materials manufacturing, to cyber defense and advanced electronics, to atmospheric sciences and translational neuroscience. ARL’s Open Campus business model is building an international science and technology ecosystem among government, academia, small business, industry, and entrepreneurs.
This year’s Open Campus Open House will provide members of the science and technology community an opportunity to:
Learn about ARL’s Open Campus business model
Hear details of ARL’s strategic research areas
Interface with ARL’s scientists and engineers to discover new opportunities for side-by-side collaboration
Visit ARL’s specialized laboratory facilities
Participate in technical presentations and poster sessions
Meet one-on-one with some of the Army’s leading researchers
You’re invited to register now!
**Please register soon, because tour availability is limited, and each tour session
will close when it reaches capacity.
Department of Defense
The Department of Defense has a number of programs for funding university research. Some of these programs will show up as calls for proposals on SciVal and other funding search tools, but many DOD grants are awarded straight from individual program managers. The Vice President for Research (VPR) Office provides resources to help you reach Department of Defense program managers, such as travel grants or for a list of DARPA program managers (updated July 2015), tips on writing DOD white papers, or to get the contact person in Washington D.C. email the VPR office.
8. Gould Lecture – Technology and Quality of Life: ‘Engineering for the 21st century – A perspective from the National Science Foundation’
Speaker: Dr. Pramod Khargonekar
Asst. director of NSF’s Directorate of Engineering
When: Nov. 10, 2015 from 12-1 p.m.
Location: Gould Auditorium, Marriott Library
Cost: Free
Have questions?
Contact: Judith Jarrow at 801-581-3421
Gould Lecture on Technology and the Quality of Life given by Dr. Pramod Khargonekar, assistant director for the National Science Foundation’s Directorate of Engineering.
Khargonekar is the former Dean of the University of Florida’s College of Engineering, Deputy Director for Technology at the U. S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Project’s Agency, and is currently the Assistant Director for the National Science Foundation’s Directorate of Engineering.
Khargonekar: In this talk, I will discuss major trends and forces that are shaping the advances in engineering and technology. Success of technological advances is inextricably linked with its connection to people at various levels as individuals, groups, communities, organizations, nations and the world. I will share my thoughts on the enormous opportunities ahead as we look to shaping the 21st century of human progress.
9. Resources to assist with managing your research data
The National Academies—advisors to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine— have recently published the report Ensuring the Integrity, Accessibility, and Stewardship of Research Data in the Digital Age.
The primary areas of focus are:
The roles and responsibilities of the researcher in ensuring that the data produced using federal funds is available to other researchers and the public
The varieties of research data and the challenges they pose
Ensuring the integrity of research data, training, standards, existing barriers to sharing data and questions of ownership are addressed
The Marriott and Eccles Health Sciences Libraries developed a number of subject guides related to Data and Datasets. The Data Management guide, will help you learn about the NSF requirements for a data management plan. This guide will also lead you to new policies in the White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) memorandum, and other guides with information on NVivo, ORCID and FURTHeR. There are still many others that will help with finding a data repository; geospatial data and resources; social science data resources, and the basics of digital preservation.
For information on University of Utah research and data policies visit the Research Handbook and Research Policies.
10. Limited Submission opportunities
NIH—Academic Community Partnership Conference Series (R13)
Internal submission deadline: Oct.13
The purpose of the Academic-Community Partnership Conference Series is to bring together academic institutions and community organizations to identify opportunities for reducing health disparities through the use of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). For additional information visit the NIH website.
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grant
Internal submission deadline: Oct. 26, 2015
The purpose of this grant program is to train postdoctoral health care professionals who may have extensive clinical training but limited research experience. As the nation’s population grows and ages, the need for well-trained primary medical care researchers to study the complex array of issues facing the primary health care workforce gains greater importance. The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Training Grants administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), are awarded to eligible institutions to develop or enhance postdoctoral research training opportunities for individuals who are planning to pursue careers in primary care research.
NSF — Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI)
Internal submission deadline: Dec. 8, 2015
The Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) serves to increase access to shared scientific and engineering instruments for research and research training in our nation’s institutions of higher education, not-for-profit museums, science centers and scientific/engineering research organizations. The program provides organizations with opportunities to acquire major instrumentation that supports the research and research training goals of the organization and that may be used by other researchers regionally or nationally. For additional information visit the NSF website.
Note: Additional extramural equipment funding opportunities can be found at OSP Funding.
11. NSF –Checking compliance of proposal submission
This Dear Colleague Letter has a proposal preparation checklist and it also explains the new features that NSF has implemented in the FastLane system for automated compliance checking and about common reasons for lack of compliance. The goals are to ensure consistency in NSF’s proposal submissions, to enhance the ease of submissions, to reduce the number of submitted proposals that will be returned without review, and to enable a greater number of meritorious ideas to advance.
12. Intramural funding opportunities
Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Awards
Deadline for nominations: Oct. 15, 2015 by 5 p.m.
The Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Awards were established as a means of recognizing University of Utah tenure track faculty members in all disciplines who have made significant scholarly contributions to their fields. No more than three awards are made for the following academic year and consists of a grant of $10,000 to pursue research or creative pursuits. Only tenure track faculty who have been at the University of Utah for a minimum of eight years are eligible to receive this award.
Nominations may be made by any faculty member, department, or college within the University. Email nominations to VPR Grants.
Women’s Reproductive Health Research Career Development Program (WRHR)
Deadline: Oct. 9, 2015
The Utah WHRH Program supports a national program of mentored institutional career development awards for junior faculty who have recently completed postgraduate clinical training in obstetrics and gynecology. It is funded by the National Institutes of Health through 2020.
The goal of the Utah WRHR Program is to increase the number and skills, of investigators from the University of Utah Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, via a mentored research and career development experience that will lead to independent scientific careers as principal investigators in the field of women’s reproductive health.
NSF Innovation Corps Grant
Application deadline: Oct. 10, 2015
The Center for Medical Innovation would like to invite you to apply for the the NSF I-Corps grant. The University of Utah has become a National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Site. Through this program, the NSF seeks to develop and nurture a national innovation ecosystem that builds upon fundamental research. It wants to benefit society by identifying promising research and projects with a potential to impact the greater society through commercialization. Investigators selected for seed grants will receive support – in the form of mentoring, funding and education – to accelerate innovations that can attract subsequent third-party investment.
Feel free to direct any questions to Megan McIntyre 801-587-7281 or Tomasz Petelenz 801-585-1804.
For additional opportunities for seed grant funding (internal and external) see: OSP Commercialization.
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH)
Deadline: Oct. 16, 2015
The goal of the Utah BIRCWH Program is to increase, via a mentored research and career development experience, the number of investigators (Scholars) from the entire spectrum University of Utah junior faculty who will develop successful independent scientific careers in Women’s health research as principal investigators. Successful Scholars will, upon completion of the program, be engaged in fundable interdisciplinary research relevant to women’s health and sex/gender influences on health and disease.
13. Extramural funding opportunities
NSF — 2016 Alan T. Waterman Award
Deadline: Aug. 3-Oct. 23
The call for nominations is currently happening for the 2016 Alan T. Waterman Award.
Congress established the Alan T. Waterman Award in August 1975 to mark the 25th Anniversary of the National Science Foundation and to honor its first director. The annual award recognizes an outstanding young researcher in any field of science or engineering supported by the National Science Foundation. In addition to a medal, the awardee receives a grant of $1,000,000 over a five-year period for scientific research or advanced study in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, social or other sciences at the institution of the recipient’s choice.
National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) Small Starts Grants
Deadline: Nov. 6, 2015
NITC announces the opportunity to apply for awards to support small research development endeavors. The purpose of these awards is to assist researchers interested in transportation but have not had an opportunity to undertake a small project that supports safe, healthy and sustainable transportation choices to foster livable communities. Individual awards cannot exceed $15,000. All grants require 1:1 match. Please visit the NITC website for more information.
Priority (not exclusive) will be given to:
Applications from faculty who have not previously received an NITC grant.
Applications from un-tenured faculty.
Applications from research projects that are interdisciplinary.
Eligibility:
Faculty members, and research faculty, from the following institutions are eligible to submit proposals and serve as Principal Investigators (PIs):
Portland State University
University of Oregon
Oregon Institute of Technology
University of Utah
University of South Florida
Please contact Hau Hagedorn 503-725-2833, if you have any questions.
NSF—Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (CDS&E)
The goal of the CDS&E program is to identify, and capitalize on opportunities for major scientific and engineering breakthroughs, through new computational and data analysis approaches. Please see the program page for more information on this opportunity and relevant deadlines.
MCKNIGHT ENDOWMENT FUND FOR NEUROSCIENCES – 2016 TECHNOLOGY AWARDS
Letter of intent deadline: Dec. 1, 2015
These awards encourage and support scientists working on the development of novel and creative approaches to understanding brain function. The Endowment Fund is especially interested in how a new technology may be used or adapted to monitor, manipulate, analyze, or model brain function at any level, from the molecular to the entire organism. The program seeks to advance and enlarge the range of technologies available to the neurosciences, and research based primarily on existing techniques will not be considered.
A goal of the Technology Awards is to foster collaboration between the neurosciences and other disciplines; therefore, collaborative and cross-disciplinary applications are explicitly invited.
NSF—Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF)
Proposal deadline: Jan. 4 – 19, 2016 by 5 p.m.
DMREF seeks to promote activities that significantly accelerate materials discovery and development by building the fundamental knowledge base needed to progress towards designing and making materials with specific and desired functions or properties from first principles. The program will support efforts that span researchers in materials science, chemistry, mathematics, computer science and engineering, thereby bridging Program and Divisional interests. This collaborative and iterative process will require a team of PIs with the requisite expertise.
14. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Education
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) require appropriate training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) for many types of grants.
Research Education provides several resources for addressing, documenting and verifying compliance with the requirements of RCR instruction, including a Certificate of Achievement program. Additionally, the National Academies Press offers numerous free publications to support RCR training efforts including On Being a Scientist, The Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science, Proposed Revisions to the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects in the Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Ensuring the Integrity, Accessibility and Stewardship of Research Data in the Digital Age.
For more information, please contact Tony Onofrietti, director, Research Education at 801-585-3492.
For questions concerning RATS, please contact Tony Onofrietti (801-585-3492) or visit the RATS website.
15. Upcoming Classes in the Research Administration Training Series (RATS)
Registration is now available for the May 13-15, 2016 Grant Writing Academy (GWA) program. For information please visit the Research Education website or contact Tony Onofrietti director, Research Education.
Best Practice Roundtable: Managing Risk with Contracts
Tuesday, Oct. 13
10-11: 30 a.m.
HSEB, Room 3515D
Basics of Good Clinical Practices
Tuesday, Oct. 13
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, R00m 1750
Introduction to the IRB, the IACUC and the IBC
Wednesday, Oct. 14
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Rm. 1730
Managing the Return of Incidental Findings in Research
Thursday, Oct. 15
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Room 1750
Tissue Banking in Research
Monday, Oct. 19
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Room 1750
URCP Project Design—Silver (PD-S)
Tuesday, Oct. 20
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Room 2120
Investigator Training Workshop: Research Resources and Funding Searches
Wednesday, Oct. 21
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Computer Lab 3100C
Protocol Billing Grids (PBG) and Medicare Coverage Analysis (MCA)
Wednesday, Oct. 21
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Room 2110
Utah Population Database: Introduction and Overview (Session 1)
Thursday, Oct. 22
10 a.m.-12 p.m.
HSEB, Room 5100B
Project Management: Implementing the Award Process
Thursday, Oct. 22
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Rm. 1750
8. Upcoming classes in the Research Administration Training Series (RATS)
For questions concerning RATS, please contact Tony Onofrietti, 801-585-3492 or visit the RATS website.
Registration is now available for the May 13-15, 2016 Grant Writing Academy (GWA) program. For information, please visit the Research Education website or contact Tony Onofrietti, director, Research Education.
Best Practice Roundtable: Managing Risk with Contracts
Tuesday, Oct. 13
10-11:30 a.m.
HSEB, Room 3515D
Basics of Good Clinical Practices
Tuesday, Oct. 13
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Room 1750
Introduction to the IRB, the IACUC and the IBC
Wednesday, Oct. 14
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Room 1730
Managing the Return of Incidental Findings in Research
Thursday, Oct. 15
2-4 p.m.
HSEB, Room 1750
9. Research news and publicizing research
Interested in the cool research going on at the U? For the latest news on research, go to news. If you are interested in publicizing your research, guidelines and information on how-to, along with contact information, may be found at Publicizing Research and Working with the Media.