Nominations Sought: 2009 AACR Scientific Achievement Awards

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.

Nomination Submission: awards@aacr.org
 

2009 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Competition

The National Science Foundation invites applications for the 2009 Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) competition. This program offers up to three years of graduate school support worth over $120,000 to each awardee - last year 913 awards were granted. Benefits include a $30,000 annual stipend, a $10,500 annual cost of education allowance, a one time $1,000 travel allowance, and access to TeraGrid supercomputing facilities. U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents at or near the beginning of their graduate study seeking research-based Master’s and/or PhD degrees in NSF-supported science (including social science and psychology) and engineering disciplines are eligible to apply. The application process is currently open and closes early November 2008. We encourage interested applicants to visit www.nsf.gov/grfp/ or www.nsfgrfp.org for additional information concerning benefits, eligibility, and tips on applying. Interested applicants should strongly consider preparing their applications as early as possible to help increase their chances of winning.

The GRFP is sponsored by the NSF, which is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…" With an annual budget of about $6.06 billion, NSF is the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing. NSF funding opportunities can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/funding/. The NSF-GRFP Operations Center is administered by the American Society for Engineering Education (http://www.asee.org/fellowships).

Complete List of GRFP Supported Fields
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LINGUISTICS
ECONOMICS
POLITICAL SCIENCE
GEOGRAPHY
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
SOCIOLOGY
PUBLIC POLICY
CHEMISTRY
COMPUTER SCIENCE
ENGINEERING FIELDS
BIOENGINEERING
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
MATERIALS ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
GEOSCIENCES
ANIMAL SCIENCES
BIOCHEMISTRY, BIOPHYSICS & STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
ECOLOGY
ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE SCIENCES
GENETICS & EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
MICROBIOLOGY & CELL BIOLOGY
MOLECULAR & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
NEUROSCIENCES & PHYSIOLOGY
PLANT & OTHER LIFE SCIENCES
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
ASTRONOMY
PHYSICS
PSYCHOLOGY
ANTHROPOLOGY
ARCHEOLOGY
 

ORSP Open House and Faculty Orientation September 30

Faculty and researchers, especially those hired since July 2007, are invited to attend the ORSP Open House and Faculty Orientation: Introduction to Research and Sponsored Programs at Ole Miss. This come-and-go welcome event will be on Tuesday, September 30th, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. at Barr Hall, across the street from the Johnson Commons Ballroom. Please plan to stop in and visit with us during this important and informative session.

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs works with and supports every subject area from Accountancy to Theatre Arts and everything in between – so whatever the discipline, come get to know us and let us get to know you.

Dr. Alice Clark, Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs, will be there to welcome participants and hear about their goals and needs for research and scholarship, and ORSP staff members will be on hand to greet visitors and answer questions. We’ll have ice cream and toppings for refreshment during the open house, and all who attend will have the opportunity to register for prizes. If you have questions or need more information, please email lsperath@olemiss.edu.
 

MASGC Coastal Storms Program, Community Risk and Resiliency Special RFP

The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC) has announced a special request for proposals for the Coastal Storms Program, Community Risk and Resiliency. MASGC, in cooperation with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Storms Program (CSP), is seeking proposals to fund community resiliency related projects. Local governments, non-profits, homeowner associations, business organizations, and community/university partnerships are eligible. The MASGC will fund projects that help coastal communities plan for, respond to, and recover from coastal storms. Proposed projects should support community resiliency efforts in the coastal counties of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana east of the Mississippi River. Note: Disaster resilience is defined as the capacity of a community exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing, in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure. Resilience is determined by the degree to which the community is capable of organizing itself to increase its capacity for learning from past disasters. Full information on this special opportunity may be downloaded in PDF format via the following link: MASGC Coastal Storms, Community Risk and Resiliency RFP. Letters of Intent are due October 20, 2008.

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.

Reservation Required:
Karmen Holmes, USA Office of Sponsored Programs
Email: kholmes@usouthal.edu
Telephone: 251-460-6456

September Research Highlights Newsletter

The September 2008 issue of the Research Highlights newsletter is now online and ready for reading. To access the newsletter, go to http://www.research.olemiss.edu/ResearchHighlights/current.

The September issue includes these items:

  1. A feature article about export control regulations and how they affect research and researchers;
  2. News about recent UM research funding activity;
  3. Updates and tips for using COS online services for UM researchers and scholars;
  4. A few brief notes on news you can use or explore further;
  5. A few recent program announcements and upcoming deadlines, as well as tools and links to help you find more;
  6. Some upcoming local, national and international events of interest;
  7. Congratulations to last month’s recipients of external funding awards, as well as a complete listing of awards received and proposals submitted last month.

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs publishes Research Highlights for University of Mississippi faculty, staff and students who are interested in and involved in research, scholarship, and creative activities. We hope this publication is a useful tool for UM researchers and scholars in all disciplines. If you have questions or suggestions, or if you wish to submit news items or story ideas, please email the Research Highlights editor at research@olemiss.edu.
 

American Society for Engineering Education Announces Scholarship and Fellowship Opportunities

These opportunities are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA). Each year, these agencies fund over $100,000,000 and attract over 14,000 applicants to eligible individuals in the STEM fields. Funding is available for undergraduate and graduate students, post doctoral researchers, faculty, and those on sabbatical leave. For more specifics, please see www.asee.org/fellowships.

  • Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program ~ December 15
  • National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program ~ January 5
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program ~ early November
  • National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes Program ~ December 9
  • Office of Naval Research (ONR) Summer Faculty Research and Sabbatical Leave Program ~ December 5
  • Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program ~ November 21
  • Navy Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs ~ rolling admission
  • Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program ~ January 12
  • Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program ~ January 26
  • NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program ~ January

 

ORSP Unveils New Website Design

For much of this year ORSP staff have been working behind the scenes to re-create the ORSP website in a new visual configuration with improved functionality. Although the pages look different, the same familiar structure underlies the new site.

Most of the original site's major sections have been carried over (with a few name updates) and are accessible via navigation buttons at the top of each page. The primary difference experienced users will notice is the menu tree down the left side of the screen. Each major section has its own menu tree, which allows the user to see all section contents and navigate quickly to the desired page. To change sections, click on one of the navigation buttons in the top banner.

Other new features include:

  • an accumulating News column with an RSS feed
  • quick-link menus on the Welcome page (home page) targeting different types of users
  • a link at the bottom of each page to open a “printer-friendly” version
  • related downloadable forms gathered together with explanatory text
  • manuals and guides in a new easy-to-navigate web format with option to print pages

We hope users will be patient as we work out any unanticipated problems and fine-tune the site to serve campus needs — links are provided at the bottom of each menu to send suggestions and feedback.
 

Research and Patent Strategy Seminar September 17

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Division of Technology Management, has invited Richard Myers, patent attorney from Nashville, to present a seminar entitled “Current Issues in Patent Strategy: How They Affect Your Research” on Wednesday, September 17th. The seminar will take place in the Thad Cochran Research Center, Room 2066, at 10:30 a.m. and is open to the entire university.

Richard Myers prepares and prosecutes patents for the University of Mississippi in a wide variety of chemical and mechanical arts. He has also served as a Patent Examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His seminar will focus on important considerations for filing a patent application as well as how inventorship is determined.

If you have questions or need more information, please contact Jennifer Harjes (jrharjes@olemiss.edu or x1604).
 

Fall RAMP Workshop Schedule

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 fall semester. Class size is limited to ten participants.  All classes are 10-11:30 in 208 Barr Hall.  For more information about the content of each module, see www.research.olemiss.edu/cms/orsp/services/RAMP .  To register, contact Sandra Allen at x7482 or swallen@olemiss.edu.

Module 1:  The Basics ~ Thursday, September 11

Module 2:  Proposal and Budget Preparation ~ Thursday, September 18

Module 3:  Overview of Regulations and Compliance ~ Thursday, October 9

Module 4:  Post-Award Administration of Sponsored Projects ~ Thursday, October 23

Module 5:  Financial Administration of Sponsored Projects ~ Thursday, November 6

Module 6:  Effort Reporting and Certification ~ Thursday, November 20