Sponsored Research News
April 12, 2009

Copies of the slides from presentations on Federal Agencies and Stimulus Programs are available on the web at http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/~pazzani/PazzaniStimulus.pdf (general) and http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/~pazzani/PazzaniStimulusLifeSciences.pdf (Life sciences & NIH oriented).

A presentation on Federal Funding will be in Camden on Monday, April 13.

Camden Meeting
Monday, April 13
12:15 pm
Armitage Hall, Faculty Lounge, 3rd Floor
311 N. 5th St., Camden
Directions: http://maps.rutgers.edu/building.aspx?id=442

Haym Hirsh will give two presentations on April 20 about NSF. The first at 11:00 will be a general presentation on NSF Funding. The second, at 4pm, will focus on a specialized topic that NSF funds.

NSF Funding in the Obama Era: A Personal View

Haym Hirsh
Department of Computer Science, Rutgers University
Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, National Science Foundation
Monday, April 20
11:00

CoRE Auditorium
96 Frelinghuysen Rd
Piscataway, NJ 08854-8018
Directions: http://maps.rutgers.edu/building.aspx?id=88

In 2005 the National Academies study "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future" argued for renewed investment in U.S. science and engineering research and education, including a recommendation to double NSF's budget over a ten-year window. Four years later two members of the committee that compiled the Rising Storm report now serve on President Obama's Cabinet, and the Obama Administration has made investing in science and engineering a top priority, at a pace that will indeed double NSF's budget over the span of a decade. In my talk I'll give an overview of NSF and some of its funding opportunities, especially in light of the increased funds we are seeing this year as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. I'll also give some dos and don'ts and other lessons for seeking NSF funding that I've learned while sitting in the trenches at NSF.

Computers, People, and Information

Haym Hirsh
Department of Computer Science, Rutgers University
Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, National Science Foundation
Monday, April 20
4:00

CoRE Auditorium

The advent of computing has transformed nearly all aspects of our society, and, as computing technologies have evolved, Computer Science has developed a rich understanding of the capabilities and limitations of computing. Nonetheless, we are far from understanding some of the key challenges that appear when we contemplate the relationship of people to computing. How does the addition of people within the context of a computer system enhance or limit what is achievable by people and computers together? How do we design systems that capitalize on people's strengths and recognize their constraints? Can we build computer systems that exhibit the hallmarks of intelligence found in people? How do we build information systems and data technologies that continue to shift the burden of generating and using data from people to machine? In this talk, I will describe some of the challenges that computer and information science and engineering must confront in the design of computer and information systems that work effectively and transparently with people.

The Office of the Vice President for Research web site (http://vpr.rutgers.edu/) has a research news section designed to highlight the results of Rutgers Research in all fields and on all campuses to an academic audience at Rutgers and our peers at other universities. It is designed to complement the news releases produced by Rutgers Media Relations whose goal is to communicate to the general public, often via news media. If you have a research result that you would like others to know about, please contact Lisa Pierce (lisapie@vpr.rutgers.edu) for assistance in posting a summary on this web site. Research "nuggets" sent to NSF would be one example of an ideal story to post on here.

Please remember that Lisa's priority is to copy edit proposals sent to federal agencies. If you have need of assistance in proofreading with a proposal or a proposal abstract or summary, please contact Michael Mueller (micmuell@vpr.rutgers.edu) who is coordinating with Lisa on this task.

When preparing NIH proposals for challenge grants and grand opportunities, please keep in mind the new NIH review criteria. Details are available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-025.html and summarized below.

Significance. Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved?

Investigator(s). Are the PD/PIs, collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or New Investigators, do they have appropriate experience and training?

Innovation. Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions?

Approach. Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project?

Environment. Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success?

NIH has also produced some helpful presentations for Recovery Act Construction Programs. See http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/the_american_recovery_and_reinvestment_act/construction_programs/

The University City Science Center, a large incubator and science park in Philadelphia (http://www.sciencecenter.org/home), has launched the QED Program (http://www.sciencecenter.org/qed-intro) to bridge the funding gap between research grants and private seed investment. The QED program will support proof-of-concept research projects related to life sciences technologies with high commercial potential in the healthcare industry. Researchers at selected academic institutions in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware have been invited to apply for up to $200,000 in grant funding for projects to be completed over a 12-month period. Rutgers is one of those institutions.

Note that the deadline for submitting the white papers to Yair Harel (yharel@otc.rutgers.edu) in the Office of Technology Commercialization is April 28, 2009. Please see http://www.sciencecenter.org/qed-intro for guidelines on white papers and funding including matching. The Office of the Vice President of Research will provide half of the required match and it is anticipated that the PI through academic year salary or other means will provide the other half. Please include information on matching in your white paper.

The New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research is a grant funding program under the auspices of the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services. It is dedicated to supporting research that will lead to treatments and cures for brain injuries caused by traumatic events. Four types of funding categories posted on the NJCBIR web site and available to the NJ community are Individual, Multi-Investigator, Postdoctoral/Graduate Student Fellowship and Pilot Research Grants. See the NJCBIR website, http://www.nj.gov/health/njcbir for additional information, details and application forms. Funding totals are as follows:

• Individual Research Grants not to exceed $495,000 over 3 years.
• Multi Investigator Research Grants not to exceed $1,980.000 over 3 years.
• Postdoctoral Fellowship Grants not to exceed a $162,000 stipend over 3 years based on the postgraduate level of experience.
• Graduate Student Fellowship Research Grants not to exceed a $72,000 stipend over 3 years.
• Pilot Research Grants not to exceed $165,000 over 2 years.

The purpose of the grants is to fund brain injury research projects focused on nerve regeneration as a means to overcome brain injury.

Letters of Intent deadline: June 1, 2009

Closing date for applications: September 1, 2009

The Urban Long-Term Research Areas: Exploratory Research Projects (ULTRA-Ex) competition will provide support to enable teams of scientists and practitioners to conduct interdisciplinary research on the dynamic interactions between people and natural ecosystems in urban settings in ways that will advance both fundamental and applied knowledge.

Due Date: July 17. http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503283

In recent years scholars have been exploring the visual languages of painting and sculpture not just "as a formative tool for political struggle," but as a "location for ongoing political conflict" [David Craven] Sculptural themes of the 1940s suggest that this art production is more divergent ideologically than has been previously recognized. This paper will introduce themes that appear in sculpture of the 1940s, and the historical factors that problematize these works. Sculptors are revealed as both subverting American attitudes toward technological developments, while serving her cultural ascendancy. Advances in technology which had evoked positive responses among artists of the 1930s, now assumed sinister connotations. The promise of a world of peace and prosperity based on the successful utilization of scientific progress was irrevocably broken.

Professor Marter is the author of books on sculptors Alexander Calder (Cambridge) and Theodore Roszak (Washington) and many articles and essays. She has organized numerous exhibitions and written catalogue essays, including Off Limits: Rutgers University and the Avant-Garde, 1957-63, and she was co-author of American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, volume II (Yale). Her recent publication is Abstract Expressionism, The International Context (Rutgers). Marter has been editor of the Woman's Art Journal since 2005.

Broadcast live on RU-TV http://rutv.rutgers.edu/ruiptv.shtml

Directions to Fiber Optics Building
http://maps.rutgers.edu/building.aspx?133
Parking is available in Lots 54 or 68.

Next Talk

Rutgers Distinguished Faculty Talk Series - Greening of Ceramic Manufacturing

May 4, 2009 4pm

by Dr. Richard Riman, Materials Science and Engineering

Talk, Lecture, Seminar

Fiber Optic Materials Research Building, Busch Campus
http://maps.rutgers.edu/buildingsearch.aspx?q=Fiber%20Optic%20Materials%20Research%20Building

101 Bevier Road at 4:00pm

Cliff Davidson, a patent attorney in NY and graduate of Rutgers, will give a seminar on patenting on Friday, May 1 at 10am in CoRe 301.

Faculty and students are encouraged to attend a unique event designed to educate, motivate and inspire those interested in start-up ventures.

Rutgers Entrepreneurship Day Economic Growth through Innovation

Hosted by The BEST Institute

May 13, 2009 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Rutgers Student Center, College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ

Directions: http://maps.rutgers.edu/building.aspx?id=278

Some highlights include:

• Keynote speech by Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and now a partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KP).

• A lively panel discussion chaired by Inc.'s Deputy Editor Mike Hofman will focus on how to start a business and formulate a growth strategy.

• Rutgers Business School Ninth Annual Business Plan Competition- The top five finalists will compete for prizes totaling $35,000, generously contributed by the New Jersey Sales Executive Foundation.

• Elevator Pitch Forum and Poster Session - Attendees can pitch their ideas to VCs and Angel Investors in a small group setting. Posters are welcomed.

This event is free but registration is required. To RSVP, please visit http://www.best.rutgers.edu/rsvp