seasonal image

May 2008

Welcome to ResearchHighlights, the online newsletter of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at The University of Mississippi. Archives of past issues are available here. For more information, or to submit news items or story ideas, please email the editor.

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
University of Mississippi
662.915.7482 voice
662.915.7577 fax
Quotation Corner ~
If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.
FOCUS: Wang Receives UM's Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award


At UM's Commencement on May 10 Dr. Sam Wang, F.A.P. Barnard Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was named the inaugural recipient of the university's Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award.

The Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award recognizes a faculty member on the Oxford campus who has achieved national and/or international recognition in his or her field. Nominees have distinguished careers; are engaged in scholarly and/or creative activity; and demonstrate evidence of encouraging the scholarly and/or creative works of others. In addition, nominees participate in leadership roles in scientific and professional societies. Pharmaceutics International, Inc. provided a gift in financial support of the new award.

For the full UM PR Newsdesk story on Dr. Wang and the Distinguished Research Award, please go to www.olemiss.edu/cgi-bin/news2000/display.pl?id=7037&mode=full .


cos logo

Speaking of COS

Try Excluding to Improve Search Results
By now we hope you've explored using the new COS Funding Opportunities Advanced Search. Remember to use the Exclusion section at the bottom of the screen if you'd like to filter out something particular from your results. F or example, if you set up a search but don't want any federal sponsors to be included in your results, use the Exclusion feature to build that criterion into your search.

Find Collaborators for International Grants
With funding becoming more competitive, it can sometimes be necessary to look at new funding sources. Many grants are being offered that require international collaborations. To find international colleagues, turn to COS. COS Expertise is an excellent resource, with 400,000 profiles populated by the profile holders and their institutions. Its Geographic Search makes it especially easy to search for researchers in specific countries. COS Scholar Universe is an even better resource, with 1.5 million scholar profiles compiled from various sources and carefully edited.

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.

Some Upcoming Events

8th Annual Navy Opportunity Forum ~ June 2-4 in Arlington VA
At this year’s forum 200 Navy and NASA SBIR-funded companies will be making presentations to defense decision makers – both government and contractors – regarding the advantages and fit of their products and systems for Navy and other defense platforms and weapons programs. You can access information on each of these Navy-funded projects and register for the Navy Opportunity Forum by going to www.navyopportunityforum.com .

Gulf of Mexico Extension, Outreach and Education Workshop August 12-13 in Mobile
NOAA extension, outreach and education (EOE) leaders from across the Gulf of Mexico are invited to participate in this inreach program to improve constituent engagement. Workshop topics will include • NOAA’s Science Advisory Board’s EOE recommendations • participation in NOAA’s Engagement Test • how to use Joint Fact Finding to improve engagement • best practices on the integration of research, extension, outreach and education • best practices on Gulf of Mexico EOE. This EOE workshop is sponsored by NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Team. For more information, contact LaDon Swann, director of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, at swanndl@auburn.edu or (228) 818-8842.

Coastal Research Symposium October 28-29 in Biloxi
The Mississippi-Alabama Bays and Bayous Symposium will be held October 28-29 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi. The symposium will provide a forum for the exchange of technical, yet practical, information among scientists, resource managers, elected officials, community leaders, marine industries, community-based organizations and individuals. This year, presentations at the symposium will focus on living marine resources, natural hazards resiliency and the ocean’s role in climate, community action and coastal stewardship, water quality and nutrient input, habitat management and restoration, and extension, outreach and education. People interested in presenting research, field experience or other information at the symposium should submit abstracts describing the content of their presentations to Bays and Bayous organizers. Abstracts for oral or poster presentations must be received by Aug. 1. For more information, including guidelines for submitting abstracts, go to masgc.org/baysandbayous.

A Few Program Announcements and Deadlines

NIH Academic Career Award ~ Deadline June 12
The objectives of this award are to increase the pool of individuals with academic and research expertise in a specific area of biomedical research and to enhance the educational or research capacity at the grantee institution. Support is for either of two types of activities:
1. The Development award fosters academic career development of promising junior teacher-investigators by providing them salary and research development supp ort for mentored career development in areas of biomedical research related to the research mission of the supporting NIH Institute or Center (IC). Individuals applying for a Development Award are also encouraged to include a curriculum development component in their career development plan.
2. The Leadership award develops and implements excellent multidisciplinary curricula through an interchange of ideas and enables the grantee institution to strengthen its existing teaching program by providing more senior investigators the salary and research development support to improve the curriculum and enhance the health-related research capacity within an academic institution.
Sponsor Website: grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-152.html
COS Record: fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=113560

NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 Call for White Papers ~ Deadline June 19
With the potential growth of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) funding in FY 09, the NSF EPSCoR Office has indicated it intends to develop a new Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII)-like program, called RII Track-2, to enhance the infrastructure of EPSCoR states. The program will provide funding for consortia of EPSCoR jurisdictions (i.e., states) to enhance cyberinfrastructure focused on a thematic, regional, or a programmatic need. Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi have formed an alliance based on regional research strengths and interests. Brief white papers are being solicited from teams of investigators outlining existing or planned research projects with emphasis on the use of innovation-enabling cyberinfrastructure that include a consortium of researchers from Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. The resulting white papers will be used to determine possible themes for a single multi-state proposal to be submitted if/when the program is implemented (target end of July 2008). For more complete information and access to the Call for White Papers document and instructions, go to www.olemiss.edu/depts/research/funding/epscor_rii_track2.html.

Southeast Regional Research Initiative ~ Deadline July 10
INTERNAL UM Notice of Intent Deadline: Wednesday, May 29, 2008 ~ Notify ORSP by May 29 if you intend to submit to this program by sending an e-mail to Mickey McLaurin (mclaurin@olemiss.edu).
The Southeast Regional Research Initiative (SERRI) has been established to develop and demonstrate the Homeland Security benefits of leveraging Homeland Security-related research, operational and economic development capabilities within a region of the United States. Because of its diverse and representative infrastructure makeup, the state of Mississippi was chosen as a primary location for initial implementation of the SERRI Program in FY2006 - FY2010. As one principal activity, SERRI will sponsor university research directed toward important Homeland Security problems of regional and national interest. Commercialization and implementation of innovations based upon SERRI-sponsored research will be pursued to transition research results to useful products and services available to Homeland Security responders and practitioners. For more complete information and access to the Expression of Interest document and instructions, go to www.olemiss.edu/depts/research/funding/SERRI_spr08.html.

NSF Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis ~ Deadline July 16
Three clusters within the DEB (the Ecological Biology, Ecosystem Science, and the Population and Evolutionary Processes clusters) encourage the submission of proposals aimed at synthesizing a body of related research projects conducted by a single individual or group of investigators over an extended period. OPUS proposals will often be appropriately submitted in mid-to-late career, but will also be appropriate early enough in a career to produce unique, integrated insight useful both to the scientific community and to the development of the investigator's future work. In cases where multiple scientists have worked collaboratively, an OPUS award will provide support for collaboration on a synthesis. OPUS awards will facilitate critical synthesis, and do so in a way that will acknowledge the prestige of this important component of scientific scholarship. Generally, OPUS funding will not be provided for the production of new data.
Sponsor Website: www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08559/nsf08559.htm
COS Record: fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=91925

Cottrell Scholars Awards ~ Deadline September 3
(Anticipated deadline – check sponsor website for updates.)
The Cottrell Scholar Awards are designed for institutions and faculty members who wish to excel at both teaching and research. They enable recipients to implement their plans to become outstanding scientists and educators as well as tomorrow's academic and scientific leaders. The awards also seek to reinforce faculty mentoring, communication, and a heightened appreciation for instruction in university science departments.
Sponsor Website: www.rescorp.org/grants.php#CSA
COS Record: fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=3087

Guggenheim Fellowships to Assist Research and Artistic Creation ~ Deadline September 15
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation offers fellowships to further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts, under the freest possible conditions and irrespective of race, color, or creed. The foundation provides fellowships for advanced professionals in all fields (natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, creative arts) except the performing arts. The foundation understands advanced professionals to be those who as writers, scholars, or scientists have a significant record of publication, or as artists, playwrights, filmmakers, photographers, composers, or the like, have a significant record of exhibition or performance of their work.
Sponsor Website: www.gf.org/
COS Record: fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=3195

Sloan Research Fellowships ~ Deadline September 15
Internal Coordination Required:
Note that candidates must be nominated by department heads or other senior researchers, and no direct applications are accepted. If you intend to submit one or more nominations, please contact Linda Sperath in the ORSP (lsperath@olemiss.edu) no later than August 31 for assistance with this process.
These awards are intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in specified fields of science. Currently fellowships are awarded annually in seven fields: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics.
Sponsor Website: http://www.sloan.org/programs/fellowship_brochure.shtml
COS Record: http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=10138

American Council of Learned Societies ACLS Fellowships ~ Deadline October 3
(Anticipated deadline – check sponsor website for updates and multiple program deadlines.)
The ACLS Fellowship Program invites research applications in all disciplines of the humanities and humanities-related social sciences. Appropriate fields of specialization include (but are not limited to) American studies; anthropology; archaeology; art and architectural history; classics; economics; film; geography; history; languages and literatures; legal studies; linguistics; musicology; philosophy; political science; psychology; religious studies; rhetoric, communication, and media studies; science, technology, and medicine studies; sociology; and theater, dance, and performance studies. Proposals in the social science fields listed above are eligible only if they employ predominantly humanistic approaches (e.g., economic history, law and literature, political philosophy). Proposals in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies are welcome, as are proposals focused on any geographic region or on any cultural or linguistic group. Specifics of each competition vary; program descriptions, eligibility requirements, and application procedures for each program can be found via individual program links the sponsor’s website.
Sponsor Website: www.acls.org/grants/Default.aspx?id=380
COS Record:  fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?accn=20411&alertid=902245

Find MORE on the ORSP Funding Opportunities Recent Announcements page

SEARCH using COS Funding Opportunities

Bits & Pieces

Seven Receive RAMP Certificates
Congratulations to the following for successfully completing the ORSP’s Research Administration and Management Program (RAMP).

  • Stefanie Delmastro, Electrical Engineering – February 21, 2008
  • Tom Fink, National Center for Physical Acoustics – April 17, 2008
  • Nancy Jones, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences – April 17, 2008
  • Holly Jubera, Accounting – April 17, 2008
  • Patricia Oswalt, National Food Service Management Institute – April 17, 2008
  • Sue D. Thorne, Medicinal Chemistry – April 17, 2008
  • Melissa Wilson, National Food Service Management Institute – April 17, 2008
RAMP consists of a series of six workshops offered over the course of a semester that are designed to facilitate responsible oversight of externally sponsored research projects.  RAMP will be offered again in the fall semester.
ORSP News

Proposal Activity ~ UM faculty and staff submitted 35 external funding proposals during April 2008. For a complete listing, see the April 2008 Report page.

Award Activity ~ UM faculty and staff received 11 external funding awards during April 2008. For a complete listing, see the April 2008 Report page.

Faculty Travel Support
In April a total of $4,800 was awarded among six applicants to help support their research-related travel. Examples of research purposes for which faculty were awarded support include:

  • Meet with/take course from collaborator/work on two grant proposals
  • Meet with collaborators at international conference to develop research group and joint projects/work on proposal revision
  • Meet with subject of book project for final discussion of manuscript
  • Attend international conference/meet with editors and collaborators about developing anthology
  • Meet with collaborators and attend grant-writing workshop as part of international conference
  • Meet with collaborators and visit research sites
The Faculty Travel Support guidelines, application, and FAQ are found on the ORSP Internal Support page: www.olemiss.edu/depts/research/funding/orsp_internal.html .

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

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 Signature

Alice M. Clark, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs

PI Name
PI Department/Unit
Co-PI Name/s
Aranchuk, V. National Center for Physical Acoustics
Cheng, A. Civil Engineering
Eftink, M. Graduate School
Goulet, T. Biology
Lawhead, P. Computer and Information Sciences
Oakley, C. (2 awards) National Food Service Management Institute
Seiner, J. (2 awards) National Center for Physical Acoustics
Shariat-Madar, Z. Pharmacology
Wilkin, N. Center for Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management Lobb, W.
Banahan, B.

April 2008 Report: A list of awards received and proposals submitted by The University of Mississippi in the previous month.

April Proposals Submitted: 35 from 32 Principal Investigators

April Awards Received: 11 totaling $5,667,916

FY08 Year-to-Date Number of Active Sponsored Projects: 513

FY08 Year-to-Date Number of Active Investigators: 221

Copyright ©2008 The University of Mississippi. All rights reserved.
Please send comments and suggestions to ORSP web page manager.
Back to ResearchHighlights Issue Listing