Volume 14, Number 3: September 12, 2007
CAMPUS NEWS
NSF STEM Education Funding Forum
Date: Wednesday, October 3
Time: 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.
Place: 310 Peabody Hall
Carolina and other UNC system faculty and staff interested in learning about National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education research and program funding are invited to attend this NSF STEM Education Funding Forum, sponsored by the GrantSource Library, in partnership with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development and the School of Education.
Featured speaker John Cherniavsky, program officer from the NSF Education and Human Resources (EHR) directorate, will talk about the various EHR STEM education funding opportunities for university research and programs, including:
• Alliances for Broadening Participation in STEM (ABP);
• Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI);
• Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU);
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP);
• Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation, a recently-announced 5-year initiative which will begin later in FY2008;
• funding possibilities for collaborations with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs); and
• other programs (for a complete list or EHR STEM programs click here).
Cherniavsky will also address changes and priorities at NSF related to the new American Competitiveness Initiative, which is committed to a 10-year doubling plan for federal investments in NSF programs and those of other federal agencies that fund physical sciences and engineering. The session will conclude with time for questions and answers about EHR's support and priorities for these programs.
Seating is limited and advance registration is required. To register, click here.
For directions to Peabody Hall, click here.
For more information about the forum, contact the GrantSource Library at 919-962-3463. To visit the GrantSource Library's web site and its many funding information databases and resources, click here.
Workshop: 12 Keys to Successful Grantwriting
Date: Wednesday, October 3
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Place: Bondurant G010
Click here to register.
OR:
Date: Thursday, October 4
Time: 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Place: Pleasants Room, Wilson Library
Click here to register.
Designed for the grant writer with limited experience, this workshop starts from the premise that nothing succeeds like a good idea. But there are other important ingredients of success, from assembling a winning team to achieving a strong match between the idea and a potential sponsor. In all, this workshop presents twelve key concepts related to success in grantwriting. It stresses the importance of planning, and presents the sponsor as a potential ally, not an adversary.
This workshop will be taught by Robert Lowman, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, and is appropriate for faculty members and postdoctoral fellows in any discipline.
For more information, contact Jennifer Pruitt at (919) 962-7757.
Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative Innovations Fund Grants
The Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative (CEI) offers competitively awarded grants of $5,000 to $50,000 for development of new programs that will help the CEI achieve its mission of infusing entrepreneurship education across campus and throughout its disciplines. Deadline for the fall cycle is October 16, 2007.
For more information and application instructions, click here.
Travel Funding for Research Collaborations in Asia
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development offers faculty up to $5,000 for travel expenses related to establishing research partnerships in the Greater Mekong region in collaboration with Kenan Institute Asia (K.I. Asia) or entities specified by them. K.I.Asia works to build sustainable development in Thailand and the Greater Mekong by focusing on economic competitiveness; corporate citizenship; small-business entrepreneurs; youth and education; community strengthening and microfinance; environment; public health; and tsunami recovery.
New deadline: November 1, 2007.
OSR Announces Fringe Benefit and Other Related Rates for FY 2008
The Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) has released guidance on fringe benefits and other costs related to compensation for the fiscal year 2008. The memo contains links to two schedules as well as a web site for further information.
READ MORE (pdf)
UNC Human Embryonic Stem Cell Core Facility
The UNC Human Embryonic Stem Cell (HESC) Core Facility is now available for use by Carolina researchers. HESC officials are meeting with researchers to discuss projects involving approved human embryonic stem cell lines.
The HESC Core Facility will provide support for UNC-Chapel Hill investigators by providing training in laboratory protocols and techniques for HESC propagation and culture, and access to necessary equipment and laboratory space to enhance translational and clinical research.
New Center for Innovative Clinical Trials at the School of Public Health
Seeking better ways to design and conduct clinical trials, the School of Public Health has established a new Center for Innovative Clinical Trials.
Faculty and other collaborators within the center will develop new methods of collecting and analyzing data from clinical trials, and then efficiently and rapidly make these scientific advances available to researchers, practitioners, the biomedical community, and the public.
Free Statistical Consulting
The Department of Statistics and Operations Research announces the availability of free statistical consulting as part of a graduate course.
Upcoming Workshops and Programs for Postdoctoral Scholars
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will be hosting the following professional seminars:
Postdoctoral Research Awards Ceremony
Date: Tuesday, September 25
Time: 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Place: The Chancellor's Ballroom, Carolina Inn
Getting the Career You Never Knew You Always Wanted
Date: Thursday, September 27
Time: 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
Place: Bondurant Hall G030
Contact the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at (919) 962-9982 with questions or to register.
School of Public Health Conversational Living Room Postponed
The next Conversational Living Room, originally scheduled for Thursday, September 20, has been postponed. The School of Public Health Office of Research will make every effort to reschedule as soon as possible.
Changes at the Office of Postdoctoral Services
The Office of Postdoctoral Services is now the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA). With the new name comes a new location—OPA can now be found in 301B Bynum Hall as well as in 509 Mary Ellen Jones.
New Patents and License Agreements
The Office of Technology Development (OTD) reports that the university received two U.S. patents and executed two license agreements in August.
One licensing agreement has been signed for a nitric-oxide (NO) releasing nanoparticle technology developed in the laboratories of Novan Inc., a company cofounded by Mark Schoenfisch, associate professor of chemistry. NO has garnered attention as a potential therapeutic because of its role in immune system response, wound healing, and blood pressure regulation.
The other licensing agreement involves NPSR/GPRA knockout mice, which are a valuable tool in investigating the function of G -Protein coupled Receptor in Asthma (GPRA). GPRA is an important target in the development of drugs to treat asthma. This license will allow Novartis to utilize the mice in their internal R&D programs to investigate the role of GPRA and the activity of drugs targeting GPRA in the field of asthma. This technology was developed by Beverly Koller, associate professor of genetics.
To learn more about these new patents and license agreements, please contact otd@unc.edu or call 966-3929. For other information on licenses and agreements, click here.
New Library Resource: Conference Alerts
Conference Alerts: Academic Conferences Worldwide
This site lists dates and locations of future meetings, symposia, congresses, conferences, and conventions of thousands of academic, technical, scientific, and professional organizations worldwide. Listings provide sponsoring organizations and contact information. You can add conferences and subscribe for email alerts to conferences in your areas of research interest.