The 2015 National Chemistry Week theme is “Chemistry Colors Our World”. The American Chemical Society is celebrating Chemistry Week to increase awareness for Chemistry. Dr. Mas Subramanian’s research focuses on colorful materials, so he made a graphic featuring his pigment to help the NSF promote Chemistry.
More information regarding the American Chemical Society, the National Science Foundation, National Chemistry Week and Dr. Subramanian’s research can be found on their websites.
Dr. Chong Fang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University, has been awarded one of the prestigious 2015 NSF CAREER Awards.
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide program that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. A CAREER grant should build a firm foundation for the recipient for a lifetime of research excellence and creative leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.
This NSF CAREER Award will fund Dr. Fang’s research for the next five years. His current research focuses on developing state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques to reveal the fluorescence mechanisms of green fluorescent protein (GFP) derivatives and emerging fluorescent protein biosensors. These colorful biomolecules originally derived from jellyfish floating in the Pacific ocean and later from coral reefs near Australia have revolutionized bioimaging for almost two decades. However, these biosensors still suffer from drawbacks in photostability, brightness, detection depth, and color contrast, etc. The key to rationally design the next-generation biosensors with improved and targeted properties lies in the mechanistic understanding of molecular fluorescence, emitted from the chromophore that is an organic moiety embedded in the center of the protein pocket.
The femtosecond Raman methodology implemented in the Fang lab will resolve the choreography of chromophore motions, to the detail of transporting a single proton upon photoexcitation, with the time resolution of a billionth of a millionth of a second. These unique and powerful experiments will provide previously hidden governing factors for the structural evolution of chromophores and the emission outcomes in emerging GFP-related biosensors, and can be extended to other photosensitive systems. The vivid molecular “movie” that is captured during chemical reactions and biological functions opens new ways to study physical chemistry and quantum mechanics in action.
“Winning this NSF CAREER award not only provides the crucial resources we need to bring our current femtosecond Raman methodology to the next level, both in technical innovation and sample applications, but also assures us that the scientific problems we are tackling hold transformative and broad impact.” Fang says. “Our group will use the newly available resources to systematically elucidate fluorescence mechanisms in an emerging group of protein biosensors, and pinpoint strategic atomic sites that protein designers and engineers can target to rationally improve the properties of those biosensors. The fundamental understanding of how things work, at the same time, is always a fascinating journey that keeps us inspired and motivated.”
Dr. Fang grew up in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. He earned dual B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Applied Computer Science at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). He continued on to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania under the tutelage of Prof. Robin Hochstrasser (1931-2013) and obtained his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry (2006). He performed postdoctoral research with Prof. Richard Mathies at the University of California, Berkeley, before joining the OSU Chemistry Faculty in September 2010. Dr. Fang’s research group currently boasts one postdoc and six graduate students. Some of Dr. Fang’s other noted awards are the GRF and RERF Fund Awards at OSU, Dean’s Scholar Award at UPenn and the Guo Moruo Scholarship at USTC.
Chemistry Department Chair, Dr. Rich Carter, stated, “I am thrilled to see Chong’s significant scientific and educational accomplishments acknowledged by the NSF through this award. He is one of the leading young chemists in his area internationally and this honor is well deserved.”
The Office for Research Development is requesting letters of intent for the NSF S-STEM program. This program makes grants to institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented students demonstrating financial need, enabling them to enter the STEM workforce or STEM graduate school following completion of a degree in STEM disciplines. Guidelines: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/nsf-sstem. Information: Mary Phillips, mary.phillips@oregonstate.edu Deadline: June 23, 2014
The Research Office, Office for Research Development is requesting letters for intent for the NSF – High Performance Computing System Acquisition (HPCSA): Continuing the Building of a More Inclusive Computing Environment for Science and Engineering program.
Deadline to submit letters of intent to the Research Office: Monday, March 17, 2014
The current solicitation is intended to complement previous NSF investments in advanced computational infrastructure by exploring new and creative approaches to delivering computational resources to the scientific community. Consistent with the Advanced Computing Infrastructure: Vision and Strategic Plan (February 2012), the current solicitation is focused on expanding the use of high-end resources to a much larger and more diverse community. To quote from that strategic plan, the goal is to “… position and support the entire spectrum of NSF-funded communities … and to promote a more comprehensive and balanced portfolio …. to support multidisciplinary computational and data-enabled science and engineering that in turn supports the entire scientific, engineering and educational community.” Thus, while continuing to provide essential and needed resources to the more traditional users of HPC, this solicitation expands the horizon to include research communities that are not users of traditional HPC systems, but who would benefit from advanced computational capabilities at the national level. Building, testing, and deploying these resources within the collaborative ecosystem that encompasses national, regional and campus resources continues to remain a high priority for NSF and one of increasing importance to the science and engineering community.
Guidance for preparation of letters of intent: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/nsf-hpcsa
NSF – HPCSA: Continuing the Building of a More Inclusive computing Environment for Science and Engineering information:http://nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14536/nsf14536.htm
If you have any question, contact Mary Phillips, Director, Office of Research Development at mary.phillips@oregonstate.edu.
The Office for Research Development is requesting letters of intent for the NSF – SRN competition 2014 Focus: Urban Sustainability. The program seeks to bring together multidisciplinary teams of researchers, educators, managers, policymakers and other stakeholders to conduct collaborative research that addresses fundamental challenges in sustainability. Guidelines: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/nsf-srn. Information: Mary Phillips mary.phillips@oregonstate.edu. Deadline: Feb. 28
Goal: To provide an intensive training environment for constructing a successful grant proposal.
Eligibility: Tenure-stream, untenured faculty (Assistant and Associate Professor only) with a FTE appointment within the College of Science and/or College of Pharmacy.
Expectations of Participant: Individuals selected to participate in this program are expected be actively engaged in the process – including specific writing and reading assignments.
Application Process: Eligible faculty members are asked to submit a 5-page mini-proposal as a PDF file to grant.mentorship@oregonstate.edu (1 inch margins, font size 12 in Times New Roman or larger, line spacing of 14 pt or larger). The title of the email should be “COS/COP Untenured Faculty Grant Mentoring Program.” The first page of the proposal is intended to be a one page summary of the specific aims / project goals for the proposal. Pages 2-5 should include an introduction, scientific approach, significance, innovation, deliverables and broader impacts (science-based and/or NSF-specific types). A timeline for
accomplishing the work would be advisable. The audience for the pre-proposal should be technical in nature for the specialized area; however, it should provide sufficient descriptive text in the introduction and specific aims sections to be accessible by a PhD level scientist in a related area.
Application Deadline for Program: March 24, 2014 at 9 am (PST)
Program Format:
The mentorship program will be structured in four phases.
Phase 1. Funding 101 (Thursdays from noon-1 pm, lunch provided)
• Roundtable Discussion (April 3). Participants share what they would like to get out of the program. Be prepared to share your own stories about grant writing and fund raising.
• The Mechanics of Writing (April 10). Sara Jameson will provide an overview of the mechanics of writing.
• Panel Discussion for Federal Agencies (April 17). Highly successful faculty at OSU will answer questions about their strategies for targeting NSF, NIH etc. Current panel members include: Sastry Pantula (NSF),
Joe Beckman (NIH), Staci Simonich (NIH / Superfund), May Nyman (DOE), Andy Karplus (NIH) Colleges of Science & Pharmacy Oregon State University
• How to Talk to a Program Officer (NOTE Special Date: Tuesday, April 22). Rick Spinrad will provide guidance on how to maximize your interactions with program officers.
• Mini-proposal.v2. (Due April 21, 2014 at 9 am PST) Based on what you have learned from Phase 1, a revised version of your proposal must be submitted to grant.mentorship@oregonstate.edu. Completion of the revised pre-proposal is a requirement to proceed to Phase 2.
Phase 2. Structuring a Proposal with Donn Forbes (May 5-9)
• The Mechanics to Structuring a Winning Proposal. Donn will go over key traits to how to write and structure a proposal.
• Real Time Rewriting of Proposal. Donn will select a subset of the proposals to go over with the group and show how he would recommend modifying.
• Small Group Discussions on Proposal Writing. Small groups will get together to peer review each other’s proposals.
• Mini-proposal.v3. (Due May 26, 2014 at 9 am PST) Based on what you have learned from Phases 1 and 2, a revised version of your proposal must be submitted to grant.mentorship@oregonstate.edu. Completion of
the revised pre-proposal is a requirement to proceed to Phase 3.
Phase 3. Red Team Peer Review by Senior Faculty (June 2014)
• Peer review of Mini-Proposal. Each proposal will receive peer review from two to three senior faculty with written feedback. The reviewers will be expected to provide “real world” (not-sugar coated) feedback to help
the participants hone the scientific aspects and grantsmanship of the proposal.
• Personal Consultation with Reviewer(s). At least one of the reviewers will personally meet with the participant to answer questions and go over how to interpret the feedback.
• Roundtable Discussion (Late June). Participants will get together to discuss what they have learned from this process and provide feedback on additional aspects to further improve future Grant Mentoring Programs. An anonymous survey will be conducted to gather additional feedback.
Phase 4. Participant Follow-up.
• The participant is asked to provided a one page summary by December 31, 2014 and June 30, 2015 to grant.mentorship@oregonstate.edu on grant writing efforts, successes and learning experiences.
The Research Office has become aware of the following National Science Foundation (NSF) program. Please forward this funding opportunity to faculty that may be interested.
NSF – Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) Program
http://nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13594/nsf13594.htm
To ensure coordination of effort, the Research Office is asking for a short statement of intent from PIs that are interested in submitting a proposal to the NSF – I/UCRC program. The statement should include a brief description of the proposed scope of work and identification of all investigators and partners. Submit statement of intent to Debbie Delmore, Research Office at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu by Monday, October 14, 2013.
The I/UCRC program develops long-term partnerships among industry, academe, and government. The centers are catalyzed by a small investment from the NSF and are primarily supported by industry center members, with NSF taking a supporting role in the development and evolution of the center. Each center is established to conduct research that is of interest to both the industry members and the center faculty. An I/UCRC contributes to the nation’s research infrastructure base and enhances the intellectual capacity of the engineering and science workforce through the integration of research and education. As appropriate, an I/UCRC uses international collaborations to advance these goals within the global context.
NSF Letter of Intent Deadline: January 6, 2014
“Data-Intensive Research to Improve Teaching and Learning – An Ideas Lab to Foster Transformative Approaches to Teaching and Learning”
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13565/nsf13565.htm
Synopsis of Program:
The goal of this activity is to foster novel, transformative, multidisciplinary approaches that address the use of large data sets to create actionable knowledge for improving STEM teaching and learning environments (formal and informal) in the medium term, and to revolutionize learning in the longer term. These approaches will involve the work of learning scientists, STEM disciplinary experts, computer scientists, statisticians, database experts and educational researchers who design and study learning environments. Among the potential benefits of integrating approaches from these disciplines are improving student learning and engagement, optimizing personalized instruction, and supporting rapid decision making to help educators respond more effectively to the learning needs of individuals and groups of learners in multiple settings. These approaches may be risky but should have the potential to rapidly advance the field. The scope of this activity does not include infrastructure development focused on data base design and development for education domains. The new approaches envisioned in this solicitation will require the generation and use of data that range from micro-level data on individual learners, to data from online learning sources (such as massively open online courses), to meso-level data from the classroom that provide information to students and teachers about how learning is progressing, to macro-level data such as school, district, state, and national data, including data from federal science and policy agencies. Participants in the Ideas Lab, selected through an open application process, will engage in an intensive five-day residential workshop, the development of multidisciplinary collaborative proposals through a real-time and iterative review process, and, for the participant teams invited to submit full proposals, the subsequent submission of full proposals.
NSF – Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM)
NSF 12-529
http://nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12529/nsf12529.htm
NSF Full Proposal Deadline: August 13, 2013
This program makes grants to institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented students demonstrating financial need, enabling them to enter the STEM workforce or STEM graduate school following completion of an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate-level degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics disciplines. Grantee institutions are responsible for selecting scholarship recipients, reporting demographic information about student scholars, and managing the S-STEM project at the institution.
Each college needs to screen the pre-proposals within their unit. The Dean will determine the proposal to be sent to the Office of Sponsored Programs and to represent Oregon State University for submission to NSF.
NSF – Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
1. An institution may submit one proposal from each constituent college or school that awards eligible degrees. (For example, a university with a College of Engineering, a School of Life Sciences, and a College of Arts and Sciences could submit on proposal from each for a total of three. However, within a College of Engineering, if the Department of Electrical Engineering were submitting a proposal, a proposal from the Department of Mechanical Engineering could be submitted only in a subsequent year. The two departments could also submit a proposal jointly.)
2. An institution without constituent schools (for example, a 4-year college or a community college) may submit one proposal each year.
3. An institution that is part of a larger system is considered separate for this purpose if it is geographically separate and has its own chief academic officer.
The Research Office has become aware of the following NSF – Water Sustainability and Climate (WSC) program solicitation.
NSF – Water Sustainability and Climate (WSC)
NSF 13-535
http://nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13535/nsf13535.htm
NSF Deadline: September 10, 2013
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
Because of the complexity of the teams formed in response to this solicitation, collaborative submissions can include a maximum of four institutions. Other participating institutions must be funded via subcontracts through one of the four lead collaboratives.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI: 2
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NSF – Collections in Support of Biological Research (CSBR)
NSF 13-557
http://nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13557/nsf13557.htm
NSF Deadline: July 16, 2013
Synopsis of Program:
The Collections in Support of Biological Research (CSBR) Program provides funds: 1) for improvements to secure, improve, and organize collections that are significant to the NSF BIO-funded research community; 2) to secure collections-related data for sustained, accurate, and efficient accessibility of the collection to the biological research community; and 3) to transfer collection ownership responsibilities.
The CSBR program provides for enhancements that secure and improve existing collections, result in accessible digitized specimen-related data, and develop better methods for specimen curation and collection management. Requests should demonstrate a clear and urgent need to secure the collection, and the proposed activities should address that need. Biological collections supported include established living stock/culture collections, vouchered non-living natural history collections, and jointly-curated ancillary collections such as preserved tissues and DNA libraries.
NOTE: Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 3
The Research Office would like to have one proposal submission from each of the following colleges:
College of Agricultural Sciences
College of Forestry
College of Science
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W. M. Keck Foundation
The Keck Foundation seeks to support outstanding basic research in science, engineering and medicine that will have a significant impact in solving complex issues and problems. The Foundation strives to fund endeavors that are distinctive and novel in their approach.
Guidance for preparation of concept papers: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/keck
Interested faculty should email their concept paper to Martha Coleman, Director of Principal Gifts for Foundation Relations at the OSU Foundation at: martha.coleman@oregonstate.edu.
Deadline to submit concept papers to Martha Coleman: May 28, 2013
Any questions about these concept papers can be directed to Martha Coleman at 503-553-3409.
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The Research Office, Incentive Programs is requesting letters of intent for the NSF – Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program.
Deadline to submit letters of intent to the Research Office, Incentive Programs: Friday, May 10, 2013
Synopsis of Program:
The PFC program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. Activities supported through the program are in all sub-fields of physics within the purview of the Division of Physics: atomic, molecular, optical, plasma, elementary particle, nuclear, astro-, gravitational, and biological physics. Interdisciplinary projects at the interface between these physics areas and other disciplines and physics sub-fields are also included, although the bulk of the effort should fall within one of those areas within the purview of the Physics Division. The successful PFC activity will demonstrate: (1) the potential for a profound advance in physics; (2) creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, diversity, and public outreach; (3) potential for broader impacts, e.g., impacts on other field(s) and benefits to society; (4) a synergy or value-added rationale that justifies a center- or institute-like approach.
Guidance for preparation of letters of intent to the Research Office, Incentive Programs: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/physics-frontiers-centers-pfc
NSF – PFC program information: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13559/nsf13559.htm
Submit letters of intent electronically to Debbie Delmore at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu.
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The Research Office, Incentive Programs is requesting letters of intent for the NSF – Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) program.
Deadline to submit letters of intent to the Research Office, Incentive Programs: Friday, May 17, 2013
Synopsis of Program:
MRSECs provide sustained support of interdisciplinary materials research and education of the highest quality while addressing fundamental problems in science and engineering. MRSECs address research of a scope and complexity requiring the scale, synergy, and interdisciplinarity provided by a campus-based research center. They support materials research infrastructure in the United States, promote active collaboration between universities and other sectors, including industry and international institutions, and contribute to the development of a national network of university-based centers in materials research, education, and facilities. A MRSEC may be located at a single institution, or may involve multiple institutions in partnership.
Guidance for preparation of letters of intent to the Research Office, Incentive Programs: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/nsf-mrsec
NSF – MRSEC program information: http://nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13556/nsf13556.htm
Submit letters of intent electronically to Debbie Delmore at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu.
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The Research Office, Incentive Programs is requesting letters of intent for the NSF – Online Resource Center for Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (ORCEESE) program.
Deadline to submit letters of intent to the Research Office, Incentive Programs: Friday, May 17, 2013
Synopsis of Program:
The ORCEESE program will fund one five-year award (2014-2018) to collect and curate multi-media materials (including research findings, pedagogical materials, and promising practices) for an online, state-of-the-art resource center that will support efforts by scientists and engineers to incorporate ethical issues and reasoning into their pedagogy and research. The team will incorporate strategies and techniques to keep the Ethics Online Resource Center relevant and up to date.
Guidance for preparation of letters of intent to the Research Office, Incentive Programs: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/nsf-orceese
NSF – ORCEESE program information: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13558/nsf13558.htm
Submit letters of intent electronically to Debbie Delmore at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu.