Volume 13, number 9: March 7, 2007

CAMPUS NEWS

Bridge Funding Program

The Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development have created a central funding pool for temporary support of lapsed grants. This program will support, not replace, any bridge funding provided by individual units on campus. Since more than 70 percent of Carolina's research funding derives from federal sources, this bridge funding will be critical to maintaining the expertise of research teams for those investigators whose grants are not renewed but will be resubmitted. The program will provide funding only until the next peer review evaluation of the grant. For additional information, including eligibility, amounts, and deadlines, click here.

RENCI Seeks Faculty Fellows for Innovative Collaborative Research

Full-time faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are invited to partner with the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) through the RENCI Faculty Fellows Program. Fellows will collaborate with RENCI to explore new research opportunities and directions; translate new ideas into technology prototypes; develop new community service or educational programs; or develop interdisciplinary projects that integrate the arts or humanities with science.

Fellowships of one academic year or one semester will begin in either the summer or fall 2007 semester. Proposals must be submitted by April 1. For the call for proposals including guidelines and contact information, click here.

Identifying Funding Sources Workshops for Faculty and Staff

The GrantSource Library provides customized workshops for faculty and staff on identifying funding sources for research and other scholarly activities. The following workshops are scheduled in March:

School of Public Health
Thursday, March 15
For details and to register, click here.

Institute for the Environment
Tuesday, March 20
For details and to register, click here.

Susan Gramling, GrantSource Librarian, will provide time-saving tips for conducting a funding search, as well as an overview of resources and services available to investigators through the library. You will learn how to:

Make the most effective use of the COS and SPIN (Sponsored Programs Information Network) multidisciplinary funding opportunity databases;
Set up a customized funding alert via COS and other funding alert services;
Identify UNC internal funding opportunities;
Search for funding using specialized funding resources; and
Research actual awards funded by different agencies.

Seating is limited and advance registration is requested. Your registration will be confirmed by email.

For additional information or to schedule a workshop for your research team or department, please contact the GrantSource Library at gs@unc.edu or 962-3463.

Core Facilities Training Program

UNC-Chapel Hill has a number of shared core facilities, and the UNC Core Facilities Directors want to introduce new users to these facilities, increase the number of users, and encourage sophisticated uses of the core facilities. To assist in that event, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development Tony Waldrop and School of Medicine Executive Associate Dean Bill Marzluff have created a program in which core facilities will be compensated on an hourly basis for conducting customized training for investigators. This initiative is not limited to the School of Medicine; it is extended throughout the entire University.

RAMSeS IPF Attachment Feature

The Office of Sponsored Research and the Office of Research Information Systems rolled out two enhancements to the Internal Processing Form (IPF) Attachments feature in RAMSeS (Research Administration Management System and eSubmission). These enhancements will allow RAMSeS users to more precisely identify specific documents being uploaded to IPFs. Users can designate a security/access level for each document being attached, and the Administration Award Departments can upload the final, complete proposals at any point after the IPFs have been submitted.

OTD Innovations Seminar

Date: Thursday, March 29
Time: 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.
Place: 014 Sitterson Hall

This Office of Technology Development (OTD) Innovations Seminar offers an opportunity to learn from the experiences of Bob Henn, the Chief Technology Officer at Liquidia Technologies. Liquida Technologies is a UNC-Chapel Hill start-up that is developing and commercializing the PRINT (Pattern Replication in Non-wetting Templates) process developed in Joe DeSimone's lab. Henn will discuss the difference between science and technology as it relates to the process of commercializing inventions. He will also address the challenges a company faces in taking an original concept, observation, or scientific results from the lab bench through the research and development phase, ultimately turning it into a commercially successful product.

Future OTD Seminars:

April 19: Planning a Business: A Whole Lot More than a Business Plan
May 10: Innovator Panel: The Good, the Bad, and the Honest Feedback about Technology Commercialization

OSR Policy Updates

Hardcopy proposals (pdf) – Applicants should forward to OSR paper copies of documents if the sponsor requires them.

Residual funds transfer from Sponsored Programs (pdf) – Clarifying guidance on accounting for residual funds from sponsored program awards that remain unspent at the conclusion of the grant period.

Call for Abstracts for the Aging Exchange

The UNC Institute on Aging and its co-sponsors invite fellows and graduate students from all disciplines to submit abstracts for the Fourth Annual Aging Exchange: Education, Research and Service, to be held March 27 at the Carolina Club. For information about the abstract submission process and the Aging Exchange, click here.

SBIR/STTR National Conference Coming to RTP

Date: April 30 – May 3
Place: Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Conference Center, Research Triangle Park, NC

Registration is now open for the Spring 2007 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) National Conference, hosted by the NC Small Business and Technology Development Center. Participants will learn about the SBIR/STTR Program, including how to apply for—and what it takes to win— some of the $2 billion in U.S. Government R&D investments. The four-day conference will give participants the opportunity to meet and network with representatives from 11 participating federal agencies. For more information and to register, click here.

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