IN THE NEWS
Office of Research wants input on compliance activities
The UT Office of Research is seeking input from faculty and staff who work in research or other sponsored programs that involve compliance issues, including human subjects, biosafety, radiation safety, and export control.
The office has created a separate survey for each of the four areas to identify strengths and weaknesses in its compliance activities.
Research projects at UT fall under federally mandated regulations covering activities as diverse as the ethical treatment of human subjects, laboratory safety, and control of internationally sensitive data.
The university’s eligibility for various programs and activities depends on its compliance with those requirements; failure to comply can carry drastic penalties for both the institution and individuals. The Office of Research is charged with ensuring that the university is in
full compliance.
The goals of the UTOR compliance units are thoroughness and accuracy, coupled with processes that are as efficient as possible for faculty, staff, and students. To improve our compliance processes, we are inviting you to provide feedback to the office so that we can enhance program operations.
The office is asking all researchers and their staff/students to take any and all surveys that involve their work and teaching at UT. Inclusion of students and staff is vital because these people are on the front line of implementing compliance procedures.
Each survey takes no more than five minutes. Access the Surveys website
More Information: Lesli Rowan (ortraining@utk.edu, 865-974-9310)
New undergraduate research journal seeking submissions
A group of undergraduates at UT Knoxville is soliciting articles for a new journal devoted to research and scholarship by UT undergraduates.
Articles for PURSUIT: The UT Undergraduate Research Journal, must be submitted by Friday, 9 November 2009, at 5 p.m. to pursuit@utk.edu. Publication is planned to coincide with the Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity in spring 2010.
PURSUIT seeks to publish articles that present analysis-based reports of scientific projects, critical scholarship, and critiques of creative works. The journal has an undergraduate editorial board that will select papers for publication and is supported by the UT Office of Research and the Chancellor's Honors Program.
Faculty and graduate students are ineligible to submit articles, but faculty who have undergraduates with exceptional research or scholarly papers are encouraged to have the students submit their papers to PURSUIT.
More Information: PURSUIT website
Courses available for NSF-mandated ethics training
Faculty and student training in the responsible conduct of research are now available in two options through the UT Office of Research web site.
Researchers can access research ethics courses either through a subscription arrangement between the university and the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI), or through a 12-module course developed by Glenn Graber, the chair of UT’s Institutional Review Board.
A new rule from the National Science Foundation -- effective 4 January 2010 -- will require that institutions certify that they have programs in place that will promote “the responsible and ethical conduct of research” to any students participating in a proposed project, from undergraduates through postdoctoral researchers. The requirements are part of the America COMPETES Act, Section 7009.
The CITI training includes modules on protection of human research subjects in both biomedical and social/behavioral projects, as well as ethics courses in clinical practice, health information privacy and security, lab animal welfare, and the responsible conduct of research. It can be accessed by following instructions on the Office of Research - CITI website.
The university-developed program is available through UTK’s Blackboard web-based instructional software (Online@UT).
Each program provides a certificate of completion for researchers who take the coursework.
More Information: Lesli Rowan (ortraining@utk.edu, 865-974-9310), or visit the Faculty & Staff Development website
Ongoing workshops develop proposal writing skills
Four new workshops on finding and responding to funding opportunities are being offered by Robert Porter, the newest member of the UT Office of Research’s proposal development team.
The workshops are
- Writing Successful Grants, Parts 1 & 2
- Finding Funding
- Building the NSF Grant Proposal
- Building the NIH Grant Proposal
Each workshop lasts two hours and will be presented twice: Tuesday afternoons from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Porter, who has a Ph.D. in speech communications from the University of Michigan, is the UTOR director of research development. He has 30 years of experience as a tenured professor, private consultant, and research administrator at Swarthmore College, Susquehanna University and Eastern Washington University, and most recently at Virginia Tech. He consults and speaks nationally on proposal development and has published prize-winning articles on grant writing in the Journal of Research Administration.
More Information: Bob Porter (reporter@utk.edu, 974-3053) or visit the Faculty & Staff Development website
Training available in research-related topics
The Office of Research offers classroom, departmental, and online training in the following areas:
- Proposal Development
- Document Review/Approval Sheet (The Yellow Sheet)
- Budget Basics
- NIH and the Grants.gov Application Proposal Process
- Finding Funding with Online Databases (online only)
- 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 Information: Lesli Rowan (ortraining@utk.edu, 865-974-9310), or visit the Faculty & Staff Development website
Research organization offers undergrad registry
The Council on Undergraduate Research is hosting a registry of student researchers as a way of connecting undergraduates with research experience to graduate schools in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, mathematics, computer science, economics, geosciences, engineering, the social sciences, and the humanities.
Juniors and seniors may fill out a simple curriculum vitae form at no charge in order to connect to graduate programs interested in recruiting students. The registry will not be available to businesses or organizations seeking student names for other purposes. Students pursuing a master’s degree and intending to seek a Ph.D. may also register.
Through the Office of Research, UT Knoxville has membership in the council, which entitles UT students, faculty, and staff to use the registry and other CUR services and publications.
More Information: CUR Registry website
UT Health Science Center changes domain name
The UT Health Science Center in Memphis changed its e-mail domain on Friday, 9 Oct 2009. UT faculty, staff, and students in Memphis now have new e-mail addresses in this form xxxxx@uthsc.edu. Messages to recipients at utmem.edu will go through in the immediate future but will be phased out in a few months. The domain change applies to web sites also.
Training evaluations completed
First Quarter FY 2010 UT Office of Research Faculty & Staff Development training evaluations.
Note: Porter workshops on proposal development not included.
OPPORTUNITIES
UTRF accepting Maturation Funding proposals
UT researchers looking for funding to advance a technology for potential commercial development can apply for support from the UT Research Foundation’s Maturation Funding Program.
Started in 2007, the Maturation Funding Program provides up to $15,000 in direct costs to UT faculty, staff, or students who need support to mature their technologies.
Proposed projects must be related to an existing invention/creation disclosure on file with UTRF or to a disclosure submitted simultaneously with the proposal.
Proposals should not exceed three pages and should describe the technology, a work plan, expected results, a budget, and an assessment of the technology's commercial potential.
Judgment criteria include demonstration of a path for commercial development, the market potential, and the technology's stage of development.
Key Date: Submission of proposal to UTK Office of Research -- November 20, 2009
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Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowships
Microsoft Research is seeking nominees for its fellowship program who are advancing computing research in novel directions or who demonstrate the likelihood of becoming thought leaders in computer science. Microsoft Research will name seven fellows in 2010, joining about 30 early-career fellows already selected.
Nominees must hold a tenure-track faculty position and may be no more than six years from the completion of their most recent PhD, ScD, or MD. They must be in, at most, the third year of their first faculty appointment.
LIMITED SUBMISSION: The University of Tennessee may nominate no more than one faculty member for this fellowship, and the nomination must be confirmed by a letter from the chancellor. Contact limitsub@utk.edu by Nov. 3, 2009 with a statement of interest.
Key Date: November 16, 2009, 12:00 noon (Pacific Time)
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Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards
Oak Ridge Associated Universities is soliciting nominations for the Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards. Only full-time assistant professors within two years of their initial tenure-track appointment are eligible. Technical areas include engineering and applied science, life sciences, mathematics and computer sciences, physical sciences, and policy, management or education.
LIMITED SUBMISSION: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, can submit only two nominations for the Powe awards. Contact limitsub@utk.edu by Nov. 6, 2009 with a statement of interest.
Key Date: February 5, 2010, submitted electronically from the UT vice chancellor for research (UT’s ORAU councilor) to ORAU.
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NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)
Through its CAREER program, the National Science Foundation recognizes Junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research integrated with excellence in education. All junior faculty at CAREER-eligible organizations are encouraged to apply, especially women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities. Proposers may submit only one CAREER proposal per year and are limited to a total of three proposals.
Fields included are engineering, mathematical & physical sciences, geosciences, computer & information sciences and engineering, biological sciences, social behavioral & economic sciences, education & human resources, polar programs, international science & engineering, cyberinfrastructure, and experimental programs to stimulate competitive research.
Applicants for CAREER awards will be screened for inclusion in the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The NSF nominates CAREER awardees to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which makes the final decision.
Key Dates:
Biological sciences, computer & information sciences and engineering -- July 20, 2010
Education & human resources -- July 20, 2010
Engineering -- July 21, 2010
Geosciences, mathematical & physical sciences -- July 22, 2010
Social behavioral & economic sciences, polar programs -- July 22, 2010
NOTE: The Office of Research sponsored programs unit must receive all proposals by 9 a.m. five full business days before the agency due date.
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Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF)
Disney Worldwide Outreach will fund programs that promote and enable wildlife conservation through partnerships with scientists, educators, and organizations committed to preserving earth’s biodiversity. The program seeks to further support for established programs, preferably long-term, that contain a strong in situ component; promote education and awareness; demonstrate a marked benefit to participants, habitats and species; and ensure welfare of animals identified in the study. An e-mail of inquiry must be sent in order to receive an invitation to submit a proposal.
Key Date: January 25, 2010 at 6 p.m. (EST)
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Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences with grants of $75,000. Nominees must hold a full-time tenure-track academic appointment with an appointment date not before mid-2004.
LIMITED SUBMISSION: The University of Tennessee can make only one nomination for the award. Contact limitsub@utk.edu by Nov. 6, 2009 with a statement of interest.
Key Date: February 11, 2010
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NSF Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE)
The National Science Foundation is soliciting proposals for research and educational projects to improve ethics education in all of the fields of science and engineering that NSF supports. Proposals must focus on improving ethics education for graduate students in those fields.
LIMITED SUBMISSION: The University of Tennessee, as accredited, can submit only one proposal as lead organization. Contact limitsub@utk.edu by Nov. 6, 2009 with a statement of interest.
Key Date: March 1, 2010
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