UCR Research and Economic Development Newsletter:  May 12, 2017

Michael Pazzani

Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development

http://research.ucr.edu

Back Issues of Newsletter: http://research.ucr.edu/vcr/newsletters.aspx

Grant Opportunity Search: http://pivot.cos.com

 


·         After Outcry Over Rejected Department of Education Grants, DeVos Forbids Formatting Rules

·         Antarctic Artists and Writers Program (AAW)

·         NEH Summer Stipends

·         Pew Biomedical Scholars

·         GRAMMY MUSEUM® GRANT PROGRAM

·         National Renewable Energy Laboratory talk: The Road Ahead for Solar, Wind, and Bioenergy Technologies

·         NASA: Computational Modeling Algorithms and Cyberinfrastructure

·         Golden-headed Manakin

 


After Outcry Over Rejected Grants, DeVos Forbids Formatting Rules

By Goldie Blumenstyk May 08, 2017

Washington

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her department faced public criticism following news reports that the department had flat-out rejected dozens of colleges’ Upward Bound grant applications based on minor line-spacing and font-size errors. Now, Ms. DeVos has issued an order forbidding department officials from mandating any page or formatting rules in grant applications.

Details in the Chronicle of Higher Education: http://www.chronicle.com/article/After-Outcry-Over-Rejected/240022

The new policy memo is available at http://www.chronicle.com/items/biz/pdf/Internal%20memo%20within%20DoE.pdf and reads in part

 

“Effective immediately, program offices may only establish voluntary page limit and formatting requirements for grant applications and may not reject grant applications that do not meet those voluntary requirements. Program offices may suggest page limits and formatting standards (such as font size, line spacing, and the like) but may not use ignoring these suggestions as a basis to reject grant applications.”


 

Antarctic Artists and Writers Program (AAW)

Full Proposal Deadline Date: June 1, 2017

Program Guidelines: NSF 16-542

 

The Antarctic Artists and Writers Program furnishes U.S. Antarctic Program operational support, and round-trip economy air tickets between the United States and the Southern Hemisphere, to artists and writers whose work requires them to be in the Antarctic to complete their proposed project.


Details at https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503518&WT.mc_id=USNSF_39&WT.mc_ev=click


Limited Submission: NEH Summer Stipends

 

UCR may nominate two faculty for this program.  The internal deadline for pre applications is: June 26, 2017.

Apply at https://research.ucr.edu/ord/limitedsubmissions.aspx following the instruction that reads  “complete only the cover sheet and attach a one-page narrative on the project idea, how it aligns with the RFP, and roles of investigators.”

 

NEH Summer Stipends support individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both.  Eligible projects usually result in articles, monographs, books, digital materials and publications, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources.

Summer Stipends support continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months. Summer Stipends support projects at any stage of development.

Eligible projects usually result in: articles, monographs, books, digital materials and publications,  archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources.

 

Summer Stipends may not be used for

·         projects that seek to promote a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view;

·         projects that advocate a particular program of social action;

·         specific policy studies;

·         research for doctoral dissertations or theses by students enrolled in a degree program;

·         the preparation or revision of textbooks;

·         curriculum development;

·         the development of teaching methods or theories;

·         educational or technical impact assessments;

·         empirical social science research, unless part of a larger humanities project;

·         inventories of collections; works in the creative and performing arts (for example, painting, writing fiction or poetry, dance performance, etc.);

·         the writing of autobiographies, memoirs, or works of creative nonfiction; or

·         the writing of guide books, how-to books, and self-help books.

https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/summer-stipend


Pew Biomedical Scholars

 

The current grant level is $240,000; $60,000 per year for a four-year period.

 

UCR may nominate two faculty for this program.  The internal deadline for pre applications is: June 21, 2017.

Apply at https://research.ucr.edu/ord/limitedsubmissions.aspx following the instruction that reads “complete only the cover sheet and attach a one-page narrative on the project idea, how it aligns with the RFP, and roles of investigators.”

 

 

Eligibility for the 2018 award

Based on their performance during their education and training, candidates should demonstrate outstanding promise as contributors in science relevant to human health. Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and innovative approaches.  Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles, and brings in concepts and theories from more diverse fields, are encouraged to apply.  Risk-taking is encouraged. Selection of the successful candidates will be based on a detailed description of the work that the applicant proposes to undertake, evaluations of the candidate’s performance, and notable past accomplishments, including honors, awards and publications. In evaluating the candidates, the National Advisory Committee gives considerable weight to evidence that the candidate is a successful independent investigator and has published significant work.

An award of $60,000 per year will be provided to the sponsoring institution for use by the scholar over the four-year period.

The awarded funds may be used at the discretion of the Pew scholar, for personnel, equipment, supplies, or travel directly related to the scholar's research and as to best advance his or her research and career. During the four-year scholarship term, program participants are required to attend an annual meeting held in March. All expenses for attendees’ travel, lodging, and meals are paid by Pew. The meeting provides Pew scholars with an opportunity to present their research and for scientific collaboration and exchange with other scholars and members of the National Advisory Committee.

The Limited internal deadline is: May 18, 2017

Pew Deadline is: July 6, 2017

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-biomedical-scholars/program-details?utm_campaign=2017-05-02+BioMed++Scholars&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Pew


GRAMMY MUSEUM® GRANT PROGRAM 

Funds Will Provide Support For Archiving And Preservation Programs And Research Efforts

That Examine The Impact Of Music On Human Development

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (May 8, 2017)—The GRAMMY Museum® Grant Program announced today that more than $200,000 in grants will be awarded to 14 recipients in the United States to help facilitate a range of research on a variety of subjects, as well as support a number of archiving and preservation programs. Research projects include a study that will investigate the effects of group singing therapy on people with Parkinson's disease, a study that examines the effects of household sounds on infants and their development, and more. Preservation and archiving initiatives will evaluate the sound collections of the Fort Sill Chiricahua/Warm Springs Apache tribe, digitize traditional Yiddish folk recordings, preserve carillon music, and more. The deadline each year for submitting letters of inquiry is Oct. 1. Guidelines and the letter of inquiry form for the 2017 cycle are available at www.grammymuseum.org.

https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/press-release/grammy-museum-grant-program-awards-200000-for-music-research-and

 


The Road Ahead for Solar, Wind, and Bioenergy Technologies

 

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

3:00 PM-4:00 PM

WCH 205/206

 

Martin Keller

Director of National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Golden, Colorado

 

Martin Keller will be joining us a seminar speaker on May 17, 3:00PM. This is the schedule.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_yXCq4DRMxurEWomUJ4LWiuuoJTzPuyS9xXEqf2Iygw/edit

 

Abstract:

Every day, we face fluctuating oil and gasoline prices. We hear reports on the rising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and its impact on the climate. And we see a growing world population with increasing needs for energy. Solar, wind, and bioenergy technologies are at the forefront of renewable, sustainable energy options that are meeting these needs now. Although renewable technologies have gained much greater levels of cost parity with fossil energy sources, continued innovation is necessary to meet global de-carbonization targets. Solar electricity can be generated by photovoltaic technologies. Scientific advances in this area continue to squeeze more power from the solar modules, but are also boosting efficiencies, reducing costs, and improving reliability of other photovoltaic devices such as thin films, multijunctions, and emerging technologies. In the area of solar fuels, research targets semiconductor devices that can efficiently and economically split water to produce hydrogen as an energy carrier. Wind energy will continue to be a fundamental component of the next era of energy projects that connect to the electricity grid. Interest in wind power continues to grow as technologies continue to make wind an affordable clean energy solution. Bioenergy technologies include biological and chemical approaches to create solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels for electricity, transportation, and chemicals for industrial uses. Solid biomass can be combusted directly for heat and power. Various energy crops are used to produce a range of fuels. Significant new innovation in the solar, wind, and bioenergy areas are pushing the boundaries for the science and deployment of renewables. This presentation will feature the latest scientific accomplishments and discuss the global imperative of continued investment in clean energy research.

Bio:

Martin Keller became the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) director on November 30, 2015. NREL is the Department of Energy’s primary laboratory for energy efficiency and renewable energy research and development. NREL is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC (Alliance). Martin also serves as the President of Alliance. Martin joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in July 2006. He was appointed to the role of Associate Laboratory Director at ORNL in 2009. In 2010, a new directorate was formed, Energy and Environmental Sciences, and he was asked to lead this newly-established directorate. As Associate Laboratory Director of this directorate, he was responsible for the energy, biological, and environmental research programs at ORNL supported by DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institutes of Health. Martin served as the Founding Director of the DOE BioEnergy Science Center, and, before being named Associate Laboratory Director at ORNL, he served as the Director of the Biosciences Division. Between 1996 and 2006 Martin held a series of research management positions within Diversa Corporation, a publicly-traded biotechnology company in San Diego. Martin joined Diversa Corporation in June 1994 as a consultant to build and develop the microbiology expertise within Diversa, before joining Diversa Cor-poration full time in 1996.Martin was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2013. Martin received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Regensburg, Germany.

 

If you have not signed up to meet with him, you may do so by clicking the link below.

http://doodle.com/poll/e2k6ninmgy4nt78iaa7braan/admin

 

 


 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration ROSES 2017: Computational Modeling Algorithms and Cyberinfrastructure

Notice of Intent Due: May 25, 2017

Proposal Due Date: July 27, 2017

Expected Number of Awards:

Estimated Total Program Funding:

Award Ceiling:

Award Floor:

Funding Opportunity Number: NNH17ZDA001N‐CMAC

Purpose: The Earth Science Division (ESD) within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) pioneers the

scientific use of remotely sensed measurements to advance understanding of the Earth as an integrated

system and to provide direct societal benefits. Numerical models represent key achievements in NASA’s

Earth science endeavors, as the models codify consistently our quantitative knowledge about selected

portions of the Earth system. Coupled with data assimilation systems, models are used to synthesize

diverse arrays of information from satellite and in situ measurements; high‐fidelity models driven and

constrained by sufficient data can yield accurate predictions and essential insights into a wide range of

complex Earth system processes and interactions, spanning many space and time scales and involving

many aspects of our environment. NASA considers the use of data‐driven models to be central to our

approach to Earth system science. Because the most advanced models are run on supercomputers

available only at computing centers, the Computational Modeling Algorithms and Cyberinfrastructure

(CMAC) program funds research and development activities to optimize the products and services at

high‐end computing (HEC) centers to increase the productivity of the users who use HEC to produce

modeling products and the users who need to analyze the modeling results using the HEC resources.

CMAC builds advanced modeling infrastructure used at NASA computing centers to support Earth

system science investigations while fundamentally utilizing both models and data.

Contact: Tsengdar Lee, Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and

Space Administration Telephone: (202) 358‐0860. E‐mail: tsengdar.j.lee@nasa.gov

https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={344D6EF1‐D56F‐

60FD‐505E‐A31035E2B19C}&path=init

Note: if the link is broken, look for the FON at

https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/solicitations.do?method=init&stack=push

 

 


Golden-headed Manakin

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Here’s a photo of A Golden-headed Manakin from the Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad arguably one of the best birding spots in the world.