Vol. 8, No. 12; January 23, 2009
Published
by the Office of the Vice President for Research
Editor: Amy Danielson
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1. Minnesota Futures Grant Program: Symposia and Funding
The Office of the Vice President for Research's MN Futures Grant Program is sponsoring three symposia in January and February:
- "Exploring Spatial-Temporal Futures of Geo-Informatics" will be held Friday, January 30 through Saturday, January 31, 2009 on the fourth floor of Walter Library. For more information and to register, visit http://geospatial.umn.edu/futures/.
- "Developing a Research Agenda for Early Detection and Intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorders," will be held Friday, February 13, 2009 from 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. in the Great Hall of Coffman Memorial Union. A Web page with more information will be released soon.
- "Developmental Origins of Cancer" will be held on Saturday, February 28 through Sunday, March 1, 2009 at the McNamara Alumni Center. For more information and to register, visit www.cancer.umn.edu/docsymposium.
The program has released a call for Interdisciplinary Research Proposals from groups who have not previously worked together and have a novel or innovative approach, as well as from groups involved in the symposia. Awards will be for up to $250,000 over two years (up to three awards). For more information, visit http://cflegacy.research.umn.edu/opportunities/intramural/MNFutures.html.
2. NIH Salary Cap Increased to $196,700
NIH announced that the Executive Level I salary rate increased from $191,300 to $196,700 effective January 1, 2009 (NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-09-037). Existing awards will not be augmented by NIH to cover this increase, but if funds are available, investigators may re-budget to pay the higher amount. Competing (new or renewal) NIH proposals containing categorical budgets should continue to use the actual institutional base salary or use the new capped amount plus an explanation in the budget justification that the institutional base salary exceeds the current cap.
3. On-Time Proposals Critical for February and March NIH Deadlines
February and March will be the first major NIH deadlines that require Adobe forms for Grants.Gov applications (instead of PureEdge forms). There are a number of problems associated with Adobe forms that may impact processing times. Investigators are strongly urged to ensure that Grants.Gov proposals are submitted to SPA on-time for these deadlines. Proposals submitted with fewer than five days lead time are at an unusually high risk of not being successfully reviewed and submitted on-time. For more details on the issues and challenges associated with the Adobe forms, please see the announcement at http://www.ospa.umn.edu/announcements/On_timeproposals.htm.
4.
New Postdoc Mentoring Section Required in NSF Proposals
Each NSF proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers must now include, as a separate section within the 15-page project description, a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals. Additional information about this new requirement is included in NSF’s Grant Proposal Guide, Chapter II, Section C. 2. d. i.
5.
NSF Eliminates “Summer” Requirement for 2 Month Salary Limitation
NSF proposals submitted after January 5 may request salary compensation for senior project personnel of up to 2 months of their regular institutional salary during the year. This change moves away from the concept of "Summer" salary and allows for reimbursement of two months of salary per year at whatever time during the year the effort on the grant is expended. This limit applies to salary compensation received or paid on all NSF grants. Any compensation in excess of two months must be disclosed in the proposal budget, justified in the budget justification, and must be specifically approved by NSF in the award notice.
6. GUIRR Examines International Research Collaborations
Excerpted from the Dec. '08/Jan. '09 issue of the NCURA Magazine, published by the National Council of University Research Administrators.
In October 2008, the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR) launched a Working Group on International Research Collaborations, which has been designing a work plan to conduct a systematic, practical study of international research collaborations. This group was brought together out of common concern for strengthening international research collaboration and addressing the major issues integral to such collaboration. Nine issues and concerns are discussed, as well as next steps the group will undertake.
The entire article is available on page 10 at http://www.ncura.us/docs/magdecjan09.pdf.
7. Second Round of ResearchChannel Video Submissions Announced
The ResearchChannel provides an exciting opportunity to promote the outstanding research and discovery at the University of Minnesota. The University will provide a total of 10 hours of programming over the course of the 2008-09 academic year.
University faculty, staff, and eligible students are invited to submit their videos by January 30, 2009, for the University’s second round of content submission to the ResearchChannel. To view the selection criteria and for additional information, visit the OIT Video Solutions–ResearchChannel Web site at www.umn.edu/oit/researchchannel.
All submissions will be reviewed and rated by the University’s ResearchChannel Advisory Committee members. Based on the rating received, the top-ranked submissions will be submitted to the ResearchChannel. For more information, contact OIT Video Solutions at OITVideo@umn.edu.
The ResearchChannel is a network that features academic research and discovery through its cable television distribution and Web site. ResearchChannel programming is available to more than 30 million subscribers through satellite and cable television networks, and via streaming video on its Web site. The channel also is available on 70 university- and school-based cable systems in the United States and was recently launched on iTunes University and YouTube. For more information, visit http://www.researchchannel.org.
8.
Funding Opportunities and Program Announcements
-
Research Grants to Support Inquiry into Writing In and Across the Disciplines
The Center for Writing’s Interdisciplinary Studies of Writing (ISW) program supports research into the ways in which writing can foster learning in and across disciplines. They encourage proposals that merge theory and practice, involve interdisciplinary connections, and have multidisciplinary implications. They also welcome proposals for inquiry into effective ways of teaching with writing in specific disciplines or with specific populations of students. For details, visit http://writing.umn.edu/isw/grants.htm.
Letter of Intent: February 2, 2009
Full Application: March 30, 2009
- The Leukemia Research Foundation is currently funding New Investigator grants up to $100,000. For details, visit http://www.leukemia-research.org/Page.aspx?pid=216.
Deadline:
February 13, 2009
- The Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE) program accepts proposals for research and educational projects to improve ethics education in all of the fields of science and engineering that NSF supports, especially in interdisciplinary or inter-institutional contexts. Proposals must focus on improving ethics education for graduate students in those fields, although the proposed programs may benefit advanced undergraduates in addition to graduate students.
This opportunity limits the number of applications from an institution. To register interest with the University, go to http://cflegacy.research.umn.edu/opportunities/extramural/UMGuidelines.cfm?
oppid=100&yearid=2009. For details, visit http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08530/nsf08530.htm.
U of M Internal Review Deadline:
February 27, 2009
Sponsor's Application Deadline:
March 2, 2009
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