UCR
Research and Economic Development Newsletter: June 17, 2015
Michael Pazzani
Vice Chancellor for Research
and Economic Development
Back Issues of Newsletter: http://research.ucr.edu/vcr/newsletters.aspx
Grant Opportunity Search: http://pivot.cos.com
·
Grants to Support the
Hispanic Health Services Research Grant Program: 8/11/15
·
USDA Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Workshop – 6/19, 1:30-3:30
· USDA NIFA AFRI Exploratory Research
·
Dr. Sally Rockey to Lead the Foundation for Food and Agriculture
Research
·
Tech
Coast Angels at UCR on July 6
·
Funded Collaborative Seed Grants
·
Western Tanager at the Jelly Feeder
The Department of Defense has
released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary
Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI). This program
makes multi-year awards to multidisciplinary, typically multi-institution
teams.
The topics of interest this
year are:
1. Sequence-Defined
Synthetic Polymers Enabled by Engineered Translation Machinery
2. Discovering Hidden
Phases with Electromagnetic Excitation
3. Modeling and Analysis
of Multisensory Neural Information Processing for Direct Brain-Computer
Communications
4. Modular Quantum
Systems
5. Spin Textures and
Dynamics Induced by Spin-Orbit Coupling
6. Defining Expertise by
Discovering the Underlying Neural Mechanisms of Skill Learning
7. Media Analytics for
Developing & Testing Theories of Social Structure & Interaction
8. Fundamental
Properties of Energy Flow and Partitioning at Sub-nanoscale Interfaces
9. Active
Ionosphere-Thermosphere Coupling: Mechanisms and Effects
10. Attojoule Nanooptoelectronics
11. 4-D Electromagnetic
Origami
12. Radiation-Balanced
Lasers – New Vistas in Optical Gain and Refrigeration Materials
13. Quantum Many-Body
Physics with Photons
14. The Role of
Epigenetics in Human Performance
15. Realistic Dynamic
Formalism for Advanced Cyber Interaction
16. Synthetic Electronics
17. Ultrahigh Thermal
Conductivity Materials
18. Characterization of
Gas Transport through Biological Membranes
19. Neural Basis of
Symbolic Processing
20. Prediction of
Multi-Physics Sprays and their Control
21. Dynamic Events in
Solid Composite Materials at Ultra High Temperature and Pressure
Please see the detailed description
of each topic area regarding team size and anticipated budget. Also, this year
some topics are encouraging collaborations with UK institutions.
White papers (4 pp) are due
September 8, 2015. Full proposals will be invited in late September and will be
due December 7, 2015.
The solicitation is available
at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=277226.
MURI full proposals have very
complex budgets and arrangements with multiple universities. Research and
Economic Development will support those selected for full proposals
Grants to Support the Hispanic Health Services
Research Grant Program: 8/11/15
The Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) and The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
are offering awards up to $215,000 for new faculty/new investigators
conducting health services research to implement Hispanic health services
research activities to meet the diverse needs of the CMS populations.
This grant program is
designed to: 1) encourage health services and health disparities research
impacting Hispanic Medicare, Medicaid and Children Health Insurance Program
(CHIP) health service issues; 2) outreach activities to apprise Hispanic
researchers of funding availability for research-related issues affecting
Hispanic communities to expand the applicant pool for grant funding; 3) to
implement its mission focusing on health care quality and improvement;
4) support extramural research in health care for Hispanic communities;
5) promote research aimed at developing a better understanding of health
care service issues for Hispanic populations, and 6) create a network for
communication and collaboration regarding Hispanic health care issues.
More details can be found
here: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=277117
USDA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
Workshop – 6/19, 1:30-3:30
UCR and TriTech
will host a workshop on how to get funding through the USDA Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) program on Friday,
June 19 from 1:30p-3:30p in Genomics. It will feature talks
by Scott Dockum, USDA SBIR program coordinator, and Agenor Mafra-Neto, a local
entrepreneur who has received multiple SBIR awards.
To encourage participation
grant programs like this, UCR waives overhead on SBIR and STTR Phase I grants
(when permitted by the agency). See http://research.ucr.edu/About/News.aspx?K=323.
Scott Dockum
manages the day to day operations of the USDA SBIR Program. He supports the
USDA SBIR portfolio of applied research and development projects supported by
the program. Scott also leads SBIR outreach and commercialization activities
within the program and coordinates SBIR activities, reporting and
administrative requirements as required by
legislation and the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Agenor Mafra-Neto is a chemical ecology researcher and entrepreneur in
the entomological field of insect chemical
ecology. He is the CEO of ISCA Technologies, a company specializing
in the development of semiochemical solutions for
pest management, robotic smart traps and nanosensors.
Dr. Mafra-Neto is the CEO and Director of Research
and Development at ISCA Technologies, Inc. which he founded in 1996 in
Riverside, California. ISCA Tecnologias, Ltda was founded in Brazil in 1997.
Faculty, Postdocs, Students,
and outside collaborators are welcome to attend
Associate Vice Chancellor
for Technology Partnerships – Candidate Presentations 6/19, 9:30 & 6/23,
10:00
Two candidates will be
interviewing for the AVC for Technology Partnerships in the next week.
They will be giving talks in the University Lab Building (ULB) 104 on Friday,
June 19 at 9:30am and Tuesday, June 23 at 10am.
The AVC for technology
partnerships will be responsible for Technology Commercialization (Including
patenting, licensing and new company formation) and Corporate Relationships
(including corporate contracts and corporate gifts).
All faculty are welcome and
encouraged to attend.
USDA NIFA AFRI Exploratory Research
This Program Area Priority addresses the overall priorities of AFRI and provides support proof of concept for untested novel ideas. This includes “high-risk, high-impact” work that will lead to a significant change in US agriculture.
In FY 2015, AFRI invites Research Project applications for Standard Grant type relevant to the priorities of the Exploratory Program Area described below. Some areas are aligned with UCR strengths including Plant Health and Production and Plant Products, Food Safety, Nutrition and Health, Bioenergy, Natural Resources, Environment, Agriculture, Systems and Technology.
Letter of Intent Deadline – accepted anytime between March 1, 2015 and August, 31 2015
Program Area e-mail
address for Submission of Letter of Intent – exploratory@nifa.usda.gov.
Include the program area priority in the subject line of your email submission
(i.e., A. Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; B. Animal Health and
Production and Animal Products; C. Food Safety, Nutrition and Health; D.
Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; E. Agriculture, Systems and
Technology; and F. Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities).
Application Deadline – Full proposal submission is dependent on acceptance of the Letter of Intent and is required within 60 days, with September 30, 2015 being the final deadline for proposal submission.
Total Program Funds – Approximately $2 million
Proposed Budget Requests -
• Standard Grants must not exceed $100,000 total (including indirect costs) for project periods of up to 2 years and are not renewable.
Program Area Priority
Contact – Ms. Charlotte Kirk Baer
(202) 720-5280 or cbaer@nifa.usda.gov
Further instructions and
Letter of Intent instructions and are in the RFA beginning on page 36 and 55
(LOI). http://nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/rfa/FY2015%20AFRI%20Foundational%20RFA_revised_post_7.pdf
Other Program Area
Priority Requirements:
•
The
project narrative is restricted to a maximum of 7 pages
•
The
proposal must include a clear description as to why it is appropriate for
Exploratory Research Program Area Priority, and not appropriate for the
existing program area priorities under AFRI.
Dr. Sally Rockey to Lead the
Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research,
a private foundation formed by the 2014 Farm Bill to catalyze innovation in
agricultural research, has named its first executive director. Dr. Sally Rockey, the current deputy of extramural research at the
National Institutes of Health, will lead the foundation starting in September.
This is a major milestone for the
foundation, and the news was announced via this
press release. The foundation looks forward to exploring partnership
opportunities as they establish research priorities. Notices will be
provided as opportunities arise
Dr.
Rockey received her Ph.D. in Entomology from Ohio
State University, and has spent the majority of her career in the area of
extramural research administration and information technology. She leads or is
active on a number of Federal committees related to science, research
administration, and electronic government and collaborates closely with
academic and scientific communities. Among her many accomplishments, she
managed the successful implementation of ARRA, led the focus on the biomedical
research workforce, and greatly enhanced NIH’s partnership and dialogue with
the extramural community, especially through social media and her “Rock Talk”
blog where she shared information about NIH grants policy, extramural research
activities, and data about NIH-extramural research.
Dr.
Rockey visited UCR last October and was a speaker at TEDxRiverside.
Tech Coast Angels: Monday, July 6 at 4:00PM
One way for UCR faculty or students
to obtain funding to form a company is from angel investors. Angels are
high-wealth individuals who provide funds in exchange for equity (i.e., stock)
in a private business (Occasionally funds are provided as loan, typically
converted in equity at a later date). Angel investors also typically
provide advice on entrepreneurship and business. The Tech Coast Angels (TCA)
are the largest angel investment organization in the U.S. with over 300 that
have invested over $120 million in over 200 companies. Investors
affiliated with TCA funded a company I founded in 1999 (together with investors
from a Silicon Valley group).
TCA will be hosting a meeting
in the Alumni & Visitor center in which companies pitch for funding on
Monday, July 6 from 4:00-6:00PM. The goal of UCR hosting this event is
not for students or faculty to pitch at this event but rather to watch the
process and learn what interests investors and how to pitch for
funding. Those attending will have the opportunity to apply
for funding at a later date.
If
you would like to attend, please inform Linda
Bejenaru (vcredadmin@ucr.edu) by July 1.
Funded Collaborative Seed Grants
I am pleased to announce funding
approval for the following Collaborative Seed Grant Proposals:
|
PI(s) |
Title |
Amount |
|
David Lo, David Cocker, Michael
Allen, Emma Aronson, Jeff Diez, Meera
Nair, Monica Carson |
BREATHE Center small scale
environmental chamber |
$70,000 |
|
Ian Wheeldon,
Phillip Christopher, Charles Wyman, Harvey Blanch |
Drop-In Hydrocarbon Fuels through
Novel Integration of Biological and Catalytic Conversion of Cellulosic
Biomass-Derived Sugars |
$70,000 |
|
Chris Bardeen, Richard Hooley,
Francisco Zaera |
Chemical Methods to make Photocontrolled Surfaces |
$70,000 |
|
Developing Nanophotonics
Research Program |
$70,000 |
|
|
Karine Le Roch,
Stefano Lonardi, Frances Sladek |
An in vivo system to monitor the 4D
mammalian nucleome |
$70,000 |
|
Yadong Yin, Robert Haddon, Lorenzo
Mangolini, Juchen Guo, Byran Wong |
Advanced Manufacturing Technologies
for Next-Generation Rechargeable Battery Materials |
$70,000 |
|
Georgios Vidalakis,
James Borneman, Wenbo Ma,
Philippe Rolshausen, Caroline Roper |
Utilizing the Endophytic
Phytobiome to Manage Huanglongbing |
$70,000 |
|
Jenerette Darrel |
Small Unmanned Airborne Vehicles for
Ecological Research at UCR |
$70,000 |
|
Suveen Mathaudhu, Guillermo Aguilar,
David Kisailus, Yasuhiro Kodera, Huinan Liu, Masaru Rao |
Synthesis and Processing of
Revolutionary Nanostructured Biomaterials |
$70,000 |
|
Richard Hooley, Wenwan
Zhong |
Detection of Post-Translational
Modifications With Synthetic Receptor Based Sensors |
$10,000 |
|
Nathaniel Gabor, Vivek
Aji |
Probing the Structural Origin of
Regulation in Bio-Inspired Quantum Photocells |
$10,000 |
|
Ashok Mulchandani, Russ Hille |
Electroenzymatic Conversion of Greenhouse Gas Carbon
Dioxide to Formic Acid |
$10,000 |
|
Djurdjica Coss,
Emma Wilson |
Obesity-Induced Macrophage Brain
Infiltration |
$10,000 |
|
Huiwang Ai, Prue Talbot |
Redox Reporter-Modified Human Stem
Cells for Assessing Environmentally Induced Oxidative Stress |
$10,000 |
|
Hideaki Tsutsui,
Caroline Roper |
Injectable Colorimetric Lateral Flow
Biosensor in Food Crop Leaves |
$10,000 |
|
Chih-Cheng Tsai, Alexander Raikhel |
The Molecular and Functional
Characterization of Nulcear Receptor Corepressors |
$10,000 |
|
Jessica Purcell, Erin Rankin |
Understanding the genetic basis of
novel social phenotypes in damaging invasive wasps |
$10,000 |
|
Emma Wilson, Cindy Larive |
Metabolism of T cells in infected
brains |
$10,000 |
|
Khaleel Abdulrazak,
Michael Adams |
Novel Pain Suppression Mechanisms
Operating in Predator-Prey Interactions: Pallid Bat vs. Venomous Scorpion |
$10,000 |
|
John Perry, David Martin |
Anacardic Acid Analogues as New Leads to
Treat Acute Myeloid Leukemia |
$10,000 |
|
Zhiyun Qian, Jang-Ting Guo |
Analysis of costs and incentives of
cyber misconduct |
$10,000 |
|
Carolyn Rasmussen, Amir Moradifam |
Mathematical modeling of division
orientation in plant cells |
$10,000 |
|
Ming Liu, Ruoxue
Yan |
An integrated ultrahigh-speed
surface-plasmon optical modulator based on graphene |
$10,000 |
|
Chia-En
Chang, Ian Wheeldon |
Tuning Enzyme Kinetics through
Designed Intermolecular Interactions |
$10,000 |
|
B. Hyle
Park, Jin Nam |
Early detection of cartilage defects
by multi-modal optical coherence tomography |
$10,000 |
|
Masaru Rao, Hideaki Tsutsui |
Ultrahigh throughput mechanoporation proof-of-concept study for adoptive cell
transfer cancer immunotherapy |
$10,000 |
|
Xin Ge, Bryan Wong |
Hybrid Structure Modeling / Quantum
Mechanical Methods for Enzyme Engineering |
$10,000 |
|
Jory Yarmoff,
Nathaniel Gabor |
Surface Adsorption on Graphene |
$10,000 |
|
Haizhou Liu, Yadong
Yin |
Development of Magnetically
Recyclable Photocatalytic Nanocomposites for Highly Efficient Water Treatment |
$10,000 |
|
Patricia Springer, Timothy Close |
Understanding the control of leaf
inclination under drought conditions in cowpea |
$10,000 |
|
Qi Zhu, Nanpeng
Yu |
Proactive Demand Participation of
Smart Buildings in Smart Grid |
$10,000 |
|
Michael Pirrung, Huiwang
Ai |
Luciferin Engineering for Bioassays |
$10,000 |
|
Hamed Mohsenian-Rad, Fabio Pasqualetti, Amit Roy-Chowdhury |
A Data-Driven Platform for Power
Infrastructure Security Analysis |
$10,000 |
|
Valentine Vullev,
Gregory Beran, Ming Lee Tang |
Bioinspired electret multiscale
materials for artificial photosynthesis |
$10,000 |
|
Erin Rankin, Christopher Clark |
Pollination ecology of the Channel
Islands and the evolution of year-round avian pollinators |
$9,992 |
|
David Reznick,
Mark Springer |
“The evolution of placentas in the
fish family Poeciliidae”. |
$9,832 |
Western Tanager at the Jelly Feeder
Some western tanagers have
been hanging around longer than previous years. Perhaps it's the jelly
feeder. Many people feed seed, but ordinary grape jelly is preferred by
some birds including orioles and western tanagers. My favorite jelly
feeder story is that I once observed a gray catbird dip a grasshopper in jelly
and then take it to feed its young.
(click to enlarge)
Michael Pazzani
Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development
Professor, Computer Science & Engineering
University of California, Riverside
200 University Office Building
Riverside, CA 92521
Assistant: Linda Bejenaru
Email: VCREDadmin@ucr.edu