IN THE NEWS
UT must use E-Verify for workers on some federal contracts
Effective 8 September, the University of Tennessee will be required to use the E-Verify online system to verify the citizenship of new and existing employees who work on certain classes of federal contracts.
New regulations will require verification of everyone working on federal contracts valued at more than $100,000 and lasting longer than 120 days or any flow-through contracts worth more than $3,000. The rule affects only new contracts granted after 8 September 09 that include the Federal Acquisition Regulation E-Verify clause.
E-Verify is a program operated by the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that allows employers to verify electronically the eligibility of newly-hired employees.
Contractors who fail to follow federal E-Verify requirements may face termination of their memorandum of understanding.
Current UT procedures call for the Office of Research to identify all federal contracts and subcontracts that include a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause and fall under other E-Verify requirements. College and departmental bookkeepers and principal investigators will be required to provide a list of new and current employees working on the relevant contracts, so that the campus Human Resources Officer can E-verify the list.
UT will be required to include the E-Verify FAR clause in any subcontracts issued under federal awards that already include an E-Verify FAR clause. FAR requirements must flow down to collaborative subrecipients and general contracts, including purchase orders for items worth more than $3,000 and not available "commercially off the shelf."
Departments will be responsible for ensuring that these requirements are followed. Procedures for individual UT campuses are under development. Training materials on UT’s E-Verify process and procedures will be available in the future.
More Information: Contact Gail White (gwhite@tennessee.edu) or Priscilla Bright (pbright@tennessee.edu) for general details.
New Undergraduate Resaerch Journal Seeking Submissions
A new journal focusing on research and scholarship by University of Tennessee undergraduate students is soliciting articles for publication in its inaugural issue in spring 2010.
PURSUIT: The UT Undergraduate Research Journal is seeking articles that present analysis-based reports of scientific projects, critical scholarship, or critiques of creative works undertaken by undergraduates at UT Knoxville.
The deadline is 5 p.m., Nov. 9, 2009. Documents must be submitted as MS Word attachments to pursuit@utk.edu.
The journal is the product of an undergraduate editorial board supported by the UT Office of Research and the Chancellor's Honors Program.
PURSUIT does not accept articles written by graduate students or members of the faculty.
The journal is also seeking undergraduates interested in serving on the editorial board. For further information see http://research.utk.edu/pursuit/ or contact Payal Sharma at psharma1@utk.edu.
Increased proposal traffic forces strict emphasis on deadlines
The Office of Research at UT Knoxville is experiencing tremendous growth in sponsored-program activity, and even faster growth is anticipated over the next two years as the full effects of the American Recovery and Restoration Act of 2009 are felt. This increase in activity requires that the office’s proposal-submission deadlines are strictly observed. Below is a review of current proposal-submission deadline procedures.
Electronic Submissions
Proposals to be submitted electronically must be received by Sponsored Programs by 9:00 a.m five (5) business days before the proposal deadline date. This includes the following documents in final form:
The Office of Research at UT Knoxville is experiencing tremendous growth in sponsored-program activity, and even faster growth is anticipated over the next two years as the full effects of the American Recovery and Restoration Act of 2009 are felt. This increase in activity requires that the office’s proposal-submission deadlines are strictly observed. Below is a review of current proposal-submission deadline procedures
- Fully signed document review/approval sheet (yellow sheet)
- Budget
- Budget justification
- Cost sharing request, if applicable
- All supporting documentation from proposed subcontractors,
if applicable
- All other required documents per the solicitation
- Completed grants.gov application (if submission is through
grants.gov)
- If submission is through NSF FastLane or other electronic
submission vehicles, all documents must be uploaded and
access granted to the Sponsored Programs unit
- Draft copy of the project narrative.
NOTE: All parts of the proposal, except the proposal narrative, must be in final form five (5) business days before the proposal deadline date. Otherwise, your proposal is considered late.
A PI can continue to refine the draft proposal narrative, but it must be received in final form by the SP office by 9:00 a.m. two (2) full business days before the proposal deadline date. This allows Sponsored Program personnel to do a thorough review of the final documents prior to submission. If any errors are found, this allows time for corrections. This also allows sufficient time for the submission process. For example, grants.gov recommends that proposals be submitted 2-3 days prior to the official deadline to avoid problems that the system may encounter. Many other electronic submission vehicles are recommending the same.
Hard-Copy Submisssions
Hard copy or paper proposals, i.e. proposals that are not electronically submitted, must be received by the Sponsored Programs unit by 9:00 a.m. three (3) business days before the proposal must be mailed in order to meet the established deadline date. This includes all proposal documents in final form.
NOTE: Proposals that do not meet these deadlines are not guaranteed submission. Sponsored Programs personnel will do everything possible to review and submit all proposals, but proposals that are submitted in adherence to the deadlines listed above will always take priority.
Conflict-of-interest disclosures due September 30
The associate vice chancellor for finance & administration has requested that all UT faculty and staff submit information about certain outside interests and activities as is required yearly by UT fiscal policy on conflicts of interest (Fl0125). The forms must be submitted to the Office of Budget and Finance through the appropriate departments or other entities by September 30, 2009. The conflict-of-interest form has been revised from earlier versions and is available at http://www.tennessee.edu/disclosure. Contact Jonee Daniels-Lindstrom, associate vice chancellor (danielsj@utk.edu).
OMB’s FederalReporting web site is now online
The Council on Governmental Relations reports that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget has activated its FederalReporting.gov web site for registration to report on the disposition of federal ARRA monies received. COGR recommends that recipients first visit the Recipient Reporting Information page before accessing the FederalReporting.gov site. Three guides are available: A Quick Reference Guide For Registration on FederalReporting.gov, the detailed Registration Guide itself, and a Recipient Point of Contact Guide. The OMB help desk is available at support@federalreporting.gov or 877-508-7386.
COGR will be updating its own frequently-asked-questions site on a weekly basis.
Note that accessing the OMB site requires specific browsers: either Internet Explorer 6 or newer or Mozilla Firefox 2 or newer.
UTK joins group promoting undergraduate research
The University of Tennessee Knoxville has become an enhanced institutional member of the Council on Undergraduate Research. CUR is an affiliation of colleges, universities, and individuals that share a focus on providing undergraduate research opportunities for faculty and students in the belief that "inquiry-based learning, scholarship, and creative accomplishments foster effective high levels of student learning." The organization was founded in 1978 and includes almost 500 colleges and universities
The enhanced CUR membership allows any interested UTK faculty, staff, or students to register for a password-based login that will provide access to the group’s members-only web site. Other benefits include an quarterly electronic subscription to CUR Quarterly, a journal on undergraduate research issues, and a monthly e-newsletter. The newsletter covers Washington policy news and information about upcoming programs and meetings. To become a member, click on the "individual online" application link, fill out the online form, and select UT as the institutional affiliation in the dropdown box. There is no charge to UT faculty, staff, or students.
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New UTOR staffer focuses on research development
The Office of Research has hired Robert Porter to help faculty develop new sources of research funding and to hone their proposal-writing skills. Porter comes to UT from Virginia Tech, where he oversaw research development and supervised the university’s limited-submissions process.
Porter, who offers proposal development workshops nationwide, will offer four new faculty-development courses:
- Writing Successful Grants, Parts I & II, 27 & 28 October, 3 & 4 November
- Finding Funding, 10 & 11 November
- Building the NSF Grant Proposal, 17 & 18 November
- Building the NIH Grant Proposal, 1 & 2 December
The workshops are free and open to UTK faculty and graduate students. Registration is required.
The Office of Research offers classroom, departmental, and online training in the following areas:
- Proposal Development
- Finding Funding and Navigating the OR Website
- Document Review/Approval Sheet
(aka: "Yellow Sheet")
- Budget Basics
- NIH Proposal Preparation and the Grants.gov Application Package
- Compliance
- IRB/Human Subjects
- Biosafety
- Radiation Safety
- Export Control
- Responsible Conduct in Research (online only)
Self-paced online training is available through Blackboard (Online@UT). Departmental training is available for groups of four or more.
More courses are coming soon. Check the Office of Research Training web site for updates on available training or contact Lesli Rowan, training corrdinator, (ortraining@utk.edu, 865-974-9310).
Special Collections in new home at Hodges Library
The Special Collections of the UT Libraries reopened Monday, 3 August, in Room 121 of the John C. Hodges Main Library at 1015 Volunteer Blvd. The collections of rare books, manuscripts, and other unique research materials were housed in the Hoskins Library on Cumberland Avenue until structural issues forced the relocation. Library personnel needed almost three months to move the books and documents in Special Collections.
Special Collections is also the access point for the University Archives, including the university’s publications, official records, and other materials that document the history and culture of the University of Tennessee. Manuscript collections and the archives are stored off-site and require advanced notice to allow time for retrieval. Political papers formerly housed in Special Collections have been transferred to the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy on Cumberland Avenue.
More Information or call 974-4480
High throughput DNA sequencing available at UT
The Center for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB) is providing high-throughput DNA sequencing services to all interested on-campus and off-campus researchers. DNA sequencing will be performed using the Genomic FLX pyrosequencer available at UT’s Joint Institute for Biological Sciences. This is the only instrument of this type in East Tennessee and only one of two in the state. Sequencing will use the GS FLX Titanium platform which can yield up to 500 Mbp of DNA sequence in a single run. Applications include genome sequencing and metagenomics, as well as transcriptomics.
All clients must provide high quality DNA for sequencing. CEB staff will further prepare the DNA for sequencing and provide assembled sequence to the client. It is strongly recommended that clients include the cost of sequencing in future research proposals. The CEB staff is available for consultation.
More Information or contact Alice Layton (974-8080, alayton@utk.edu)
Open-access trial met goals, will continue in 2010
A pilot program to support UT faculty and graduate-student use of open-access journals has been tapped by a dozen faculty in seven departments. To date six articles have been published in six peer-reviewed open-access journals, with five more manuscripts still in the peer review process.
The Open Publishing Support Fund, sponsored by the UT Office of Research and University Libraries, made available $20,000 to cover publishing in open-access journals that charge fees. At the end of the trial period, a total of $14,361 was allocated, an average of $1,105 per article. Open Access publishing makes content available via internet with no charge to the end user.
"Goals of the Open Publishing Support Fund are being met," said Linda Phillips, head of scholarly communication at University Libraries. "The concept is gaining traction and will become better understood as we roll out Trace, the digital showcase for the campus' creative and scholarly work."
The program required faculty to negotiate for lower publishing fees, if possible.
Phillips and Greg Reed, associate vice chancellor for research, coordinated the program. On the basis of the trial year, the Office of Research has allocated $20,000 to continue UT’s open-access awareness program in FY 2010.
More Information
AAAS holds science/technology leadership seminar
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has scheduled its Leadership Seminar in Science and Technology Policy for 16-20 Nov 2009 in AAAS headquarters in Washington, DC.
Sessions will be held on how policy is made in genetics, energy policy, etc.; federal budgeting for research and development; scientists' interactions with Congress; and other topics.
More Information or contact Bethany Spencer (202-362-6601, bspencer@aaas.org)
RECOVERY ACT OPPORTUNITIES
NSF recruits review panelists for ARRA proposals
The National Science Foundation is seeking merit review expertise in a wide range of fields to evaluate proposals submitted under its Academic Research Infrastructure -- Recovery and Reinvestment program. The NSF’s ARI-R2 program is the agency’s response to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Reviewers are needed with (a) expertise in a scientific, engineering, or architecture field, (b) experience in managing large facilities and centers, or (c) expertise in computer networking.
The merit review panels will meet for three days in Washington, D.C., at NSF expense. The panel meetings will be scheduled during a three-week period in October. In addition to expenses and per diem, the agency will provide an honorarium to reviewers.
NSF ARRA quarterly report instructions posted
The National Science Foundation has released instructions on quarterly reporting for recipients of awards from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
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OPPORTUNITIES
M-CERV solicits proposals, seminar nominations
The Microbiology across Campuses Educational and Research Venture is plans to offer seminars and solicit proposals that will enhance research associations among microbiologists on the UT campuses in Knoxville.
M-CERV is soliciting nominations for seminar presenters in FY2009-2010 who wil promote multidisciplinary interactions among microbiologists and related scientists in Knoxville. Each chosen speaker will receive an honorarium of $1,000 and a post-seminar reception.
Key Date: Nominations via e-mail to M-CERV codirectors Jeff Becker (jbecker@utk.edu) and Buddy Moore (rmoore1@utk.edu) no later than Friday, September 25, 2009.
M-CERV is also seeking proposals for cross-disciplinary microbiology projects that need seed money to leverage external grant funding. Such proposals must include the participation of more than one-tenure-line investigator from different administrative units, including at least one from UTK. $25,000 maximum for FY2009-2010, with possibility for renewal.
Key Date: Proposals via e-mail to Jeff Becker (jbecker@utk.edu) and Buddy Moore (rmoore1@utk.edu) no later than Friday, October 2, 2009.
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Deadline set for SARIF Equipment and Infrastructure proposals
The UT Office of Research is now accepting proposals for the SARIF Equipment and Infrastructure Awards. The EIA fund -- which provides approximately $300,000 to purchase, upgrade, and repair research equipment on the UT Knoxville campus -- accepts faculty proposals in the fall semester so that the funds can be spent by the end of the fiscal year. Proposals for EIA funding should not exceed five pages in length. The EIA program is part of the Scholarly Activity and Research Incentive Fund that provides support of various types to UT Knoxville faculty.
Key Date: Proposals due by noon, October 16, 2009. Submit electronically to Jane Taylor (tayloje@utk.edu).
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Chancellor’s Grants offer release-time opportunity
The Chancellor’s Grants for Faculty Research in the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Applied Social Sciences support a one-course release for faculty in teaching in those areas. The grants encourage significant progress in research, writing, or creative work, and require completion of a fellowship or grant proposal to external funding sources. All full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty with at least the rank of assistant professor are eligible to apply. Up to 12 grants of as much as $6,000 each will be made to the awardee’s academic unit. Awardees will be notified by mid-October 2009 for awards for spring or fall semester, 2010.
Key Date: Proposal plus seven copies due by noon, 2 October 2009, to Alan Rutenbereg (arutenberg@utk.edu), UT Office of Research, 1534 White Avenue.
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