November 2013 - The Erlenmeyer Flask

As you may know, we are currently recruiting trainees for the 2014-2016 IGERT in Aging Sciences program. This IGERT program (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) is funded by the National Science Foundation and will be attractive to many students applying to participating departments at OSU, including Human Development & Family Sciences, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Nutrition & Exercise Sciences, Chemistry, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Design & Human Environment, Public Health, Zoology and Construction & Civil Engineering. Oregon State’s IGERT in Aging Sciences will provide trainees a stipend of $30,000 per year for two years of their doctoral program, along with support for tuition remission and research costs. Doctoral departments will determine funding levels for remaining years in the program.

Students are encouraged to apply to participating graduate departments and indicate their interest in the IGERT program on their applications. We would also appreciate it if graduate advisors would screen for potential IGERT applicants. Six new students will be accepted as 2014-2016 IGERT trainees.

Information on the IGERT program is available at: http://www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/igert/

If you have questions, please contact me at: Anne.Hatley@oreonstate.edu

You are invited to to consider submitting a proposal for an OSU Women’s Giving Circle grant. Founded in the spring of 2003 by a group of OSU alumnae and friends, the Women’s Giving Circle has awarded more than $500,000 in grants to enhance the undergraduate student education and experience at OSU. Last year, the Women’s Giving Circle awarded more than $60,000 to seven OSU programs.

To apply for a grant please visit http://osufoundation.org/howtogive/annualgiving/womens/apply_grant.htm.

Please note all proposals are due by Friday, January 17, 2014. Grants will be awarded in May 2014.

Voltage Sensing Inorganic Nanoparticles

Monday, November 25, 2013

LPSC 402 4:00pm

We will report on efforts to develop voltage sensing inorganic nanoparticles that self‐insert into the cell membrane and optically record, non‐invasively, action potential on the single particle level. Bandgap‐engineered colloidal semiconductor nanoparticles, dubbed voltage‐sensing nanoparticles (vsNPs) that display large quantum‐confined Stark effect (QCSE) at room temperature and on the single particle level were developed. QCSE measurements of several types of fluorescent colloidal semiconductor quantum
dots (QDs) and nanorods (NRs) were performed. It was shown that charge separation across one (or more) heterostructure interface(s) with type‐II band alignment (and the associated induced dipole) is crucial for an enhanced QCSE. Surface functionalization that impart membrane‐protein like properties was developed. We will discuss the possible utility of these nanoparticles for voltage sensing on the nanoscale, and in particular, their suitability for action potential recording.

Eric Drexler, founding father of nanotechnology and author of Radical Abundance: How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization, will speak on Friday Nov. 22, 3-5 p.m., in Construction and Engineering Hall (LaSells Stewart Center).

The Student Sustainability Initiative (SSI) is now accepting applications for project grants. The SSI strives to address all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. Any individual OSU student or student group can apply for up to $6,000 in funding. More information can be found at http://oregonstate.edu/ssi/funding/projects. Applications are due Dec. 15.

Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program

REQUEST FOR LETTERS OF NOMINATION

The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences. Based on institutional nominations, the program provides discretionary funding to faculty at an early stage in their careers. Criteria for selection include an independent body of scholarship attained within the first five years of their appointment as independent researchers, and a demonstrated commitment to education, signaling the promise of continuing outstanding contributions to both research and teaching. The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program provides an unrestricted research grant of $75,000.

Nominees must hold a full-time tenure-track academic appointment, and are normally expected to have been appointed no earlier than mid-year 2008. Awardees are from Ph.D. granting departments in which scholarly research is a principal activity. Undergraduate education is an important component of the nominee’s activities.

View the foundation website at: http://dreyfus.org/awards/camille_dreyfus_teacher_award.shtml

Limit Summary: Institutions may make only one nomination annually.

Deadline: If you wish to nominate one or more faculty from your college/department, letters of nominations should be sent electronically through your Department Chair to Debbie Delmore, Research Office at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu no later than Monday, December 16, 2013. For full consideration by departmental awards committee, please submit request for nomination by Friday, November 22nd to Dr. Rich Carter.

One candidate will be selected to submit their application to the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program by the foundation deadline of February 10, 2014.

OSHA Hazard Communication Training

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all OSU employees who use chemicals (inc. faculty, staff, post-docs and grad students) to complete a training exercise concerning recent changes to world wide hazard communication standards, specifically, the Global Harmonization System (GHS) and Safety Data Sheets (SDS; a new version of MSDS). A due date of Dec. 1 (2013) has been set for this training.

The training requirement can be satisfied by viewing a movie (ca. 20 min) and then completing a short on-line quiz; both are available at the following link. An ONID log-in is required to access the materials and will serve to track who has completed the training.

More information can be found below in the release from EH&S.

Apologies for the short notice, we only today became aware of this training requirement and the impending deadline. Please do what you can to get to the quiz by Dec. 1.

Interested in sharing Thanksgiving with an international student? The OSU Homestay Program is seeking local families to share their Thanksgiving festivities with international students. Applications are currently available at https://uhds.oregonstate.edu/myuhds/form/mf/holidayhost. Hosting application deadline is Friday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. Hosts will be informed of student placement Monday, Nov. 25. If you have any questions, please contact homestay@oregonstate.edu.

Request for Proposals

2014-15 University Graduate Laurels Block Grant Program

Deadline for Proposals – December 16, 2013, 5PM

The University Graduate Laurels Block Grant Program (UGLBG) is administered annually by the Graduate School. The UGLBG enables graduate programs to compete for and manage Laurels Graduate Scholarships in conjunction with other graduate student financial support resources.

The purpose of the UGLBG is to assist graduate programs in the strategic use of graduate student financial support resources to enhance both the quality and diversity of their student populations, thereby enhancing program quality. Block grant allocations will be awarded to select graduate programs that submit a plan showing innovative and/or successful methods:

to deploy funds to recruit and retain graduate students of the highest quality to advance the graduate program; and
to advance the institution’s diversity goals in broadening participation by educationally underrepresented segments of society within the graduate enterprise.

Full program description and proposal submittal guidelines are on the Graduate School website at: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/grad_school/UnivGradLaurelsBlockGrantProgram.php.

The South Carolina Universities Research and Education Foundation (SCUREF) is now accepting applications for the Nuclear Forensics Undergraduate Scholarship Program (NFUSP) 2014-2015 Award Cycle. Attached you will find a booklet with a description of the program and application criteria, as well as an application and instructions for completion. Potential scholars are encouraged to complete the electronic application and associated forms on the SCUREF website at www.scuref.org under the NFUSP tab.

Also attached is a poster announcing the NFUSP Award Cycle, which we hope you will print and prominently display.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, the NFUSP provides scholarships to qualified undergraduate students pursuing degrees in disciplines relevant to technical nuclear forensics including physics, chemistry, nuclear engineering, and material science. Scholars gain hands-on experience through summer research opportunities at the Department of Energy national laboratories, including close interaction with technical experts throughout the national nuclear forensics community. The NFUSP aims to build a viable student career path in nuclear forensics in order to cultivate the next generation of highly qualified scientists in this critically important field.

Please forward the attached booklet and application information to anyone who might be interested and encourage students to apply for this scholarship. This is an opportunity for deserving students to further their career aspirations in a discipline associated with nuclear forensics.

NFUSP 2013-2014

NFUSP Application Instructions 2014

NFUSP Application2014

NFUSP poster

NFUSP_Description2014

NFUSP_poster2014_v02