As discussed at the CLT meeting last Tuesday, attached is the new College of Science per diem exception memo for hosting official guests of OSU.  As you can see, the amounts of the limits are the same as in the past: $50 per person for dinner, $20 per person for lunch, and $15 per person for breakfast, plus up to a 15% tip.  However, there are a few important reminders and changes to note:

1. Please remember that alcohol expenses ARE included for purposes of applying these limits, even though they are billed separately to the OSU Foundation

2. This exception applies ONLY to hosting “official guests” of OSU, which means that it does NOT apply to meals with just other OSU employees or students

3. The number of OSU employees who may accompany a guest for a reimbursable meal is now limited tothree, unless an exception is approved by the Dean or Executive Associate Dean

4. Meals above the exception memo amounts must obtain PRIOR approval of the Dean or Executive Associate Dean in order to be fully reimbursable

Please pass this information along to anyone in your units who may be hosting official guests.  As the letter states, employees are expected to use good judgement and act as good stewards of OSU and OSU Foundation funds.  Expenses must be reasonable for the event and must provide a clear benefit to OSU and its mission.  Hosting employees should ask the budget authority, Dean, and/or ASBC about unclear cases prior to spending, or risk having to pay all or a portion of the expenses with their personal funds.

All cases NOT falling under this memo (i.e.: all meal costs NOT related to hosting an official guest of OSU) are still limited to the federal per diem amounts for the area in which the meal is held.  Please see the travel page on OSU Business Affairs website (https://fa.oregonstate.edu/travel-1) if you are not aware of the limits for your area.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Nick Dollar, CPA | Finance & Accounting Manager

Arts & Sciences Business Center | Oregon State University

2042 Cordley Hall | Corvallis, OR 97331 | Phone: 541.737.1220

E-mail:  Nick.Dollar@oregonstate.edu

ASBC website:  fa.oregonstate.edu/asbc

(He, Him, His pronouns)

EPA is opening the hiring gates a bit—5 positions here in Corvallis/Newport and over a hundred positions across the Office of Research and Development within EPA. Are there any mechanisms to alert the University community about these opportunities? Can you point me to the right person?

Two post-docs (one in Corvallis and one in Newport)

• https://cfpub.epa.gov/ordpd/PostDoc_Position.cfm?pos_id=1112
• https://cfpub.epa.gov/ordpd/PostDoc_Position.cfm?pos_id=1106

Beyond what’s going on in Oregon, EPA is hiring a total of 70 (!!) post-docs

• https://cfpub.epa.gov/ordpd/PostDoc_SearchResults.cfm

In addition, we have three Recent Graduate Pathways positions posting soon (probably by the end of the month at usajobs.gov). There will be an additional 30-40 of these positions across Office of Research and Development within EPA.

1. Administrative Officer – starts at GS-07 – Minimum bachelor’s degree
2. Analytical Chemist – starts at GS-11 – Minimum master’s degree, prefer PhD
3. Statistician – starts at GS-11 – Minimum master’s degree, prefer PhD

These positions are potentially convertible to permanent federal employees after a year.

Dear Materials Community:

The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) has created a new opportunity for early career professionals in materials science and engineering.  The new award is called the Frontiers of Materials Award and is aimed at early career scientists who can bring new and exciting topical areas that are not well captured in existing TMS programming.  The newly extended application deadline is April 8, 2019.  A link with a full description and application materials is https://bit.ly/2Tjbi70.  Professor Tim Rupert of UC Irvine is one of the volunteers for TMS that was involved in developing the award, and any questions or concerns may be directed to him at trupert@uci.edu.

With warm regards,

Linda

Linda S. Sapochak, Ph.D.

Division Director

Division of Materials Research

National Science Foundation

lsapocha@nsf.gov

Where Materials begin and society benefits!

The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) invites exceptional young researchers to apply for an ARL Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship (www.nas.edu/arl). This fellowship provides recipients the opportunity to pursue independent research while working alongside some of the nation’s best scientists and engineers. Applicants must display extraordinary ability in scientific research and show clear promise of becoming outstanding leaders. Successful candidates will have already tackled a major scientific or engineering problem or will have provided a new approach or insight, evidenced by a recognized impact in their field.

Eligibility criteria

• By the application deadline, applicants must have completed all the requirements for a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree in the physical sciences, life sciences, computational sciences, behavioral sciences, or engineering. Applicants who intend to defend their dissertation after the application deadline are not eligible.
• As of the application deadline, applicants may not be more than five years beyond the award date of their Ph.D. or Sc.D.

• There are no citizenship requirements; however, selected fellows must pass a Department of Defense clearance process, requiring a background security investigation.
• Foreign nationals must get further DoD approval, requiring a background investigation.
• Applicants must demonstrate exceptional qualifications with respect to academic and scholarly achievement, as evidenced by research and publication.
• Candidates are expected to have conducted research on a major scientific or engineering problem during their thesis work or have provided a new approach or insight, evidenced by a recognized impact in their field.

Fellowship terms and benefits

• An annual stipend of $100,000
• Health insurance (including dental and vision)
• Paid relocation and a professional travel allowance
• One-year appointments are renewable for up to three years based on performance.
• Fellowship appointments require a full-time commitment to the research program at ARL.
• Fellows must be in residence at ARL during the entire period of the appointment.

Sincerely yours,

1. Ray Gamble
   Director, Fellowship Programs Office
   National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
   500 5th Street NW, Keck 531
   Washington, DC 20001