Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time. ~ Stephen Swid, Chairman and CEO of SESAC, Inc.

Though it can provide neither riches nor wealth, 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 small or limited in scope, such that seeking external funding would be impractical or inappropriate; • 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. Following the October 3 application deadline, faculty review committees completed their work in November and forwarded recommendations to Dr. Alice Clark, Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs. Dr. Clark is pleased to announce the selection of the following individuals as University of Mississippi 2006 Faculty Research Fellows.

Internal Coordination Required ~ What Does That Mean?
For some funding opportunities in the COS database, sponsors accept only a limited number of proposals or applications from an institution or require an institution to rank or prioritize applications before submission. This checkbox allows you to limit your search to just those opportunities. The deadline reflected on the COS Funding Opportunities record is the sponsor's final deadline. In order to coordinate submission to such an opportunity, the UM ORSP must have an earlier internal deadline. Further information about the limit on submissions or ranking requirement is detailed in the deadline note field of each record. For the ORSP, using this field can help us identify opportunities with limited submission requirements that we may want to publicize to faculty to encourage applications, and it can help us schedule the necessary internal deadlines and processes. The bottom line is that these opportunities require extra time on everyone's part, over and above a normal proposal development, review, and submission process.

COS Help is Available Online Any Time
Did you know? for every major function of the COS database service there are online tutorials, instructions, and user tips to help you learn the ins and outs and maximize your results when you use the system. Look for the “Instructions” navigation tab on the Funding Opportunities page and the Expertise page, or the “Help” link under Funding Alerts on your COS Workbench page.

American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting ~ February 15–18
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will hold its fourth annual Biodefense Research Meeting in Washington, DC in February. The purpose of this meeting is to bring together researchers from academia, industry, and government agencies who are carrying out research to defend against the growing threat of bioterrorism and decision makers shaping the future biodefense research agenda. It is intended for scientists, public health researchers and policy makers who need to be informed about the latest scientific developments. The meeting will include a series of keynote addresses by leaders in the field of biodefense and poster sessions presenting up-to-the-minute cutting-edge research on biothreat agents, vaccines, detection and diagnostic procedures, animal and plant pathogens, biosecurity facilities, global surveillance, the training of individuals in BL3 and BL4 labs, and other vital topics. Complete information and registration is at www.asmbiodefense.org.

National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Annual Meeting ~ March 23-25
The NCIIA fosters invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship in higher education to create innovative, commercially viable, and socially beneficial businesses and employment opportunities in the U.S. The program was founded on the premise that invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship are essential components of the higher education curriculum, and vital to the nation's economic future. In March the NCIAA will celebrate 10 years of innovative education at U.S. colleges and universities at its three-day annual meeting. www.nciia.org

Reinventing Mississippi: The Role of Nonprofits and Volunteers ~ April 19-21, 2006
Original manuscripts that address issues pertaining to the importance of volunteerism with an emphasis on social, cultural, political, historical and economic dimensions of volunteering will be considered for publication in an anthology and/or presentation at this conference, to be held in Jackson. Empirical and conceptual/theoretical papers written with practitioners, community groups or individuals from an array of disciplines are strongly encouraged. Sponsored by the Mississippi Volunteer Service Commission in conjunction with the Jackson State University Department of History and Philosophy. Abstracts of no more than two pages, double spaced, or queries, may be submitted by January 15, 2006, to Dr. Elizabeth Overman.

HSARPA Rapid Technology Application Program ~ MANDATORY White Papers January 3, Full Proposals March 6
The Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) is initiating the Rapid Technology Application Program (RTAP) to meet the expressed rapid technology development needs of emergency responders and internal DHS customers. The RTAP will facilitate a number of HSARPA's goals, including (1) fulfilling the expressed needs of emergency responders and internal DHS customers for rapid prototype technology developments; and (2) producing advanced technology prototypes 6-18 months after award of contracts. In this solicitation HSARPA is soliciting white papers and proposals for the rapid prototyping of systems in the following seven specific technical fields: Explosive Countermeasures, Biological Countermeasures, Chemical Countermeasures, Information Technology - Geospatial, Information Technology - Information Sharing, Electronics and Hardware, and Cyber Security. www.hsarpabaa.com/

National Science Foundation Economics Program ~ Deadline January 18
The Economics Program supports research designed to improve the understanding of the processes and institutions of the U.S. economy and of the world system of which it is a part. The program strengthens both empirical and theoretical economic analysis as well as the methods for rigorous research on economic behavior. Topics of current interest are computational economics, the transformation of command economies, human resource-related issues (poverty, labor productivity, the family, gender and racial discrimination, etc.), and global environmental change. The program also funds conferences and interdisciplinary research that strengthens links among economics and the other social and behavioral sciences, as well as mathematics and statistics. The program supports research in almost every subfield of economics, including econometrics, economic history, finance, industrial organization, international economics, labor economics, public finance, macroeconomics, and mathematical economics. www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5437&org=SES&from=home

NSF Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Cyberinfrastructure and Research Facilities ~ Deadline March 1
The Division of Chemistry of the National Science Foundation (NSF), under the umbrella of the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities Program (CRIF), has provided support to research institutions and consortia for the establishment of regional or national instrumentation facilities, the purchase of departmental research instrumentation, and the development of state-of-the-art equipment. This program is structured to enable NSF, through its Division of Chemistry, to respond to a variety of needs for infrastructure to support basic research and education in chemistry. For FY06, NSF is soliciting proposals ONLY for the cyberinfrastructure component of this program; facilities proposals will not be accepted in FY06. www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf06512

Find MORE on the ORSP Funding Opportunities Recent Announcements page

SEARCH for Funding Opportunities using Community of Science

UM Research Park Announced
In November Dr. Alice Clark, Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs, issued a statement regarding the establishment of the University of Mississippi Research Park. The statement reads in part:

“ The University of Mississippi Research Park will provide a vital link to help the country remain competitive as a knowledge- and technology-based economy. The park’s mission is to (1) drive technology transfer and economic development by accelerating the creation and growth of new commercial enterprises; and (2) attract technology-based businesses and government research laboratories that wish to locate in an environment rich in collaborative research and innovation. … The park will capitalize on four clusters of existing research expertise at UM: health care, information management, defense/security and remote sensing technologies. UM is well suited to collaborate in these fields because of the partnerships that already exist among the university’s unique research programs, private industry and federal agencies. … A number of companies, including established firms and startup ventures, have either located near campus or have expressed a desire to relocate to be near the university’s research facilities.”

For the full text of Dr. Clark's announcement, visit www.olemiss.edu../../../researchpark.html.

NIH Partial Funding for Non-Competing Grant Awards ~ For the Time Being
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continues to operate on a continuing resolution (CR) that currently extends through December 17, 2005 . The CR applies the terms of the FY 2005 appropriations for the period covered by the CR. Until the final FY 2006 appropriation is enacted, NIH will be issuing non-competing research grant awards at a level below that indicated on the most recent Notice of Award (generally up to 80% of the previously committed level). NIH will consider upward adjustments to these levels after the final appropriation is enacted, but expects institutions to monitor their expenditures carefully during this period. Questions regarding adjustments applied on individual grant awards may be directed to the Grants Management Specialist identified on the Notice of Award. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-014.html

UM IACUC Adopts Online Training Courses
For over a year, the IACUC has explored various online training courses to enhance and address the need for an effective training program and ensure compliance with federal regulations and policies. After reviewing several online training courses, the IACUC has adopted the AALAS Learning Library (ALL) Online Training Courses as the UM Animal Care and Use Training Program. The ALL is designed to handle the training needs of researchers, technicians, animal facility managers and directors, IACUC members, and other personnel involved with the care and use of laboratory animals. The ALL includes courses on the humane practices of animal care and use; research/testing methods that minimize animal numbers and animal pain or distress; and the use of hazardous agents. If you would like to find out more about the AALAS Learning Library courses, log on and take the free courses. Go to www.aalaslearninglibrary.org and click on “Try it for FREE!” Contact the IACUC office at 915-7482 or at irb@research.olemiss.edu for additional information.

Division of Research
:: November Activity ~ Proposal Development Specialists Lesha Agnew and Mickey McLaurin processed 25 external funding proposals during November 2005. For a complete listing, see the Monthly Report page.
:: FRP Committee Reviews ~ Associate Director Maribeth Stolzenburg and Information Specialist Linda Sperath convened six meetings of faculty reviewers (three committees each meeting twice) for the 78 Faculty Research Program proposals received at the October 3 deadline. After studying the committees' rankings and recommendations, Dr. Alice Clark made the final selections and announced the Faculty Research Fellows Class of 2006 (see FOCUS article above).

Division of Research Integrity and Compliance
:: IACUC Online Training ~ After reviewing several online training courses, the UM Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) has adopted the AALAS Learning Library (ALL) Online Training Courses as the UM Animal Care and Use Training Program. For more information, see the announcement above under Bits & Pieces.
:: IACUC Meeting ~ The full IACUC will hold its next meeting January 27, 2006. Future meetings are posted on the IACUC Meetings page on the ORSP website — please check for dates. For more information and/or assistance, contact the Division of Research Integrity and Compliance at x7482 or irb@research.olemiss.edu.
:: Compliance Forms Page — Check it Often ~ The IACUC Forms section of the Compliance Forms page is being revised to better assist principal investigators and other research personnel. Form instructions and guidance, including samples, are in development. Principal investigators are encouraged to check the forms page at www.olemiss.edu../../../compliance/compliance_forms.html before completing and submitting related forms. Principal investigators using older versions of any form will be asked to resubmit their information on the new version of the form.

Division of Sponsored Programs Administration
:: Subcontract Reporting System ~ On October 28, 2005 the Office of Federal Procurement Policy changed from paper submission of subcontracting reports (SF 294 and SF 295) to an electronic, web-based system. At UM the task of entering reports to the electronic Subcontract Report System (eSRS) will be performed by the Contracts and Grants Accountant in the ORSP. Departments and PIs should continue submitting paper subcontracting reports to the ORSP as usual. The ORSP C&G Accountant will collect reports and enter them into the eSRS. For complete information, see www.olemiss.edu../../../forms/Awards/eSRS_Info.html.
:: November Activity ~ SPA Division staff (Scottie Casey, Euphiazene Gray, Anita Randle, Linda Stone) processed 18 external funding awards during November 2005. For a complete listing, see the Monthly Report page.

For complete information about the ORSP — mission, structure, services, responsibilities, and more — visit the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs page

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, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs

November Proposals Submitted: 25

November Awards Received: 18 totalling $2,021,100

FY06 Awards Total (July 1-November 30, 2005): $33,612,277