UCR Research and Economic Development Newsletter
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Michael Pazzani
Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development
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- Continuation of Sabbatical
- Associate Vice Chancellor, Research Facilities Appointment
- NEW Industry Contracts Online Portal
- SBIR/STTR Resource Center
- NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I Deadline Extended!
- Limited Submission: Simons Investigators in MMLS
- Limited Submission: Simons Investigators in Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics and Theoretical Computer Science
- Limited Submission: NEH Dialogues on the Experience of War
- NSF STEM Education for the Future
- DOD FY2019 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship Competition
- Lazuli Bunting
- Fox News
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Continuation of Sabbatical
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On July 1, I will be resume my sabbatical from UCR. Senior Associate Vice Chancellor Gillian Wilson will be leading Research and Economic Development during this time.
I will continue workin
g on a DARPA grant on Explainable Artificial Intelligence]at UC San Diego. I will not be reading my UCR mail during this time, so please contact Gillian ( [email protected]) for any issues and opportunities for Research and Economic Development.
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Associate Vice Chancellor, Research Facilities Appointment
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I am pleased to announce that David Kisailus has been appointed as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Facilities effective October 1, 2018.
Dr. Kisailus is the Winston Chung Endowed Chair of Energy Innovation and Professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering as well as Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California at Riverside. Dr. Kisailus, a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and a UNESCO Chair in Materials and Technologies for Energy Conversion, Saving and Storage, received his Ph.D. in Materials from the University of California at Santa Barbara, 2002; M.S. in Materials Science (University of Florida) and B.S. in Chemical Engineering (Drexel University). Dr. Kisailus was a post-doctoral researcher in Molecular Biology at UCSB and a Research Scientist at HRL Laboratories working on synthesis of materials for fuel cells and batteries.
Dr. Kisailus directs a $7.5M Multi-University Research Center focused on making impact and energy absorbing materials. He has over 20 years of experience investigating the synthesis and crystal growth mechanisms of nanomaterials and semiconductors and more than 15 years studying biological mineralizing organisms. He has published in journals such as Science, ACS Nano, Advanced Materials, PNAS and JACS. He has also been granted more than 10 patents (with more than 25 pending). His research is highlighted in high profile media including Nature, New York Times, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and BBC.
As the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Facilities, Dr. Kisailus will work closely with the Vice Chancellor for RED supporting the growth of research through the management of RED research facilities. In addition, he will will have principal oversight and supervision for RED managed research facilities to support fostering multidisciplinary research, increases in industry partnerships, and ensuring overall strength in core research infrastructure.
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NEW Industry Contracts Online Portal
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Check out the status of your industry contracts in real time. Do you have a sponsored research agreement with a for-profit company? You can find the status of your agreements at this link:
(Note: the link is only live when you have an agreement in negotiation status)
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SBIR/STTR Resource Center
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Do you want to submit an SBIR/STTR? Did you know UCR has a SBIR/STTR Resource Center that can help faculty and small businesses with SBIR/STTR proposal support. Whether it be matching up with a partner to submit, assisting with registration questions, or reviewing the proposal, we have over 15 mentors that can help. For more information, please contact
[email protected]
or visit
https://sbir.ucr.edu/
.
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NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I Deadline Extended!
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The National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I proposal deadline has been extended by one month from June 14, 2018 to July 10, 2018.
If you would like more information or help on submitting, please contact the EPIC-SBDC SBIR/STTR Resource Center Manager -
[email protected]
.
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Limited Submission: Simons Investigators in MMLS
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Internal Deadline: 08/14/2018
Nomination Deadline: 10/31/2018
Number of Submissions Allowed: 2
The aim of the Simons Investigators programs is to identify and support the most active and creative researchers during the years when they are developing into and serving as the intellectual leaders of the field and to provide them with resources to undertake new and creative investigations. The nominees are judged on their potential for innovative, new contributions to science over the coming years.
Basis for Awards: The intent of the Simons Investigators in MMLS program is to help the research careers of outstanding scientists working on mathematical and theoretical approaches to topics in the life sciences. Nominations will be evaluated on the basis of nominees’ potential for scientific accomplishment in these areas.
Level and Duration of Funding: A Simons Investigator in MMLS is appointed for a period of five years. An Investigator in MMLS receives research support of $100,000 per year. An additional $10,000 per year is provided to the Investigator’s department. The Investigator’s institution receives an additional 20 percent in indirect costs.
Allowable Expenses: The funding provided to the Investigator in MMLS may be used at the Investigator’s discretion to support research expenses, including salary support for postdoctoral, graduate or undergraduate research assistants, domestic or international travel, short or long-term visitors and research equipment.
Funding provided for the Investigator’s department is used at the discretion of the department chair to provide support for seminars, visitors, refreshments and related expenditures that benefit the research activities of the department.
Eligibility: To be a Simons Investigator in MMLS, a scientist must be engaged in research related to the program; must not previously have been a Simons Investigator; and must have a primary appointment as a faculty member at an educational institution in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom or Ireland, on a campus within these countries, and the primary department affiliation must have a Ph.D. program. At the time of appointment, an Investigator should be in the early stages of an academic career and must be within ten years of the start of his/her first faculty position.
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Limited Submission:
Simons Investigators in Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics and Theoretical Computer Science
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Internal Deadline: 08/14/2018
Nomination Deadline: 10/31/2018
Number of Submissions Allowed: 2
The aim of the Simons Investigators programs is to identify and support the most active and creative researchers during the years when they are developing into and serving as the intellectual leaders of the field and to provide them with resources to undertake new and creative investigations. The nominees are judged on their potential for innovative, new contributions to science over the coming years.
Basis for Awards: The intent of the Simons Investigators in Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics and Theoretical Computer Science programs is to support outstanding scientists in their most productive years, when they are establishing creative new research directions, providing leadership to the field and effectively mentoring junior scientists.
Level and Duration of Funding: A Simons Investigator in Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics or Theoretical Computer Science is appointed for an initial period of five years. Renewal for an additional five years is contingent upon the evaluation of scientific impact of the Investigator.
An Investigator receives research support of $100,000 per year. An additional $10,000 per year is provided to the Investigator’s department. The Investigator’s institution receives an additional 20 percent in indirect costs.
Allowable Expenses: The funding provided to the Investigator may be used at the Investigator’s discretion to support research expenses, including salary support for postdoctoral, graduate or undergraduate research assistants, domestic or international travel, short or long-term visitors and research equipment.
Funding provided for the Investigator’s department is used at the discretion of the department chair to provide support for seminars, visitors, refreshments and related expenditures that benefit the research activities of the department.
Eligibility: To be an Investigator in Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics or Theoretical Computer Science, a scientist must be engaged in theoretical research in mathematics, physics, astrophysics or computer science; must not previously have been a Simons Investigator; and must have a primary appointment as a tenured faculty member at an educational institution in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom or Ireland, on a campus within these countries and the primary department affiliation must have a Ph.D. program.
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Limited Submission: NEH Dialogues on the Experience of War
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Internal Deadline: 08/07/2018
Agency Deadline: 10/24/2018
Number of Submissions Allowed: 3
The National Endowment for the Humanities offers the Dialogues on the Experience of War program as part of its current initiative, Standing Together: The Humanities and the Experience of War. The program supports the study and discussion of important humanities sources about war, in the belief that these sources can help U.S. military veterans and others think more deeply about the issues raised by war and military service. Although the program is primarily designed to reach military veterans, men and women in active service, military families, and interested members of the public may also participate.
The program awards grants of up to $100,000 that will support
- the convening of at least two discussion programs for no fewer than fifteen participants; and
- the creation of a preparatory program to recruit and train program discussion leaders (NEH Discussion Leaders).
Discussion programs may take place on college and university campuses, in veterans’ centers, at public libraries and museums, and at other community venues.
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NSF STEM Education for the Future
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NSF invites proposals to solve educational challenges created by the technology revolution. To effectively respond to many of the problems facing our nation, new scientific advances are needed, as defined in the
Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments
. Achieving these advances will require changes in what people learn and how they learn it. Through this STEM Education for the Future Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), existing NSF education and workforce development programs encourage innovative proposals to prepare scientists and engineers for work in new contexts created by technology and big data.
Specifically, through this DCL, NSF aims to support STEM educational research and development projects whose results can enable our country to: better prepare its scientific and technical workforce for the future; use technological innovations effectively for education; advance the frontiers of science; and adapt to both new work environments and new education pathways needed to prepare students at all levels for those environments.
Technology, Computation, and Big Data are driving changes to daily life. Computing, sensing, data storage, data access, communication, and hardware technologies continue to change our lives and work. These technologies produce unprecedented volumes of data and vast interconnectivity capabilities, such as data provided by ubiquitous sensing and the Internet of Things. Personal, behavioral, transactional, and environmental data in a myriad of formats (numerical, image, audio, and others) are available at ever greater speeds, propelling innovations such as artificial intelligence-aided automation. Such automation in the home, office, and classroom also challenges long-standing expectations about privacy, security, and the veracity of the underlying data
Although it is expected that technology, computation, and big data will have positive impacts on the human condition, the world still faces persistent societal, cultural, and economic challenges, e.g., hunger, poverty, our dynamic Earth, and energy security. Moreover, we must continue work to ensure equitable access to precisely those technologies that give rise to these changes. Equally important is the challenge of ensuring equitable access to high quality education, which leads directly to questions important to the NSF: How do these new technologies change the way we learn and do science, math, and engineering? How do we navigate such change? How do we use technological innovations to ensure full participation of all groups in the STEM workforce?
To answer these questions related to learning, researchers will need to cross disciplines, define the potential impact of technologies, and develop new technical competencies. Furthermore, all scientific and technical workers will need new knowledge and skills so they can perform new tasks or perform current tasks with new tools.
This DCL seeks proposals related to harnessing the data revolution and the future of work at the human-technology frontier. This DCL encourages educational research and development proposals that are original, creative, and transformative, and that can help the nation educate the STEM workforce of the future, in contexts of:
All proposals responding to this DCL should address education issues related to FW-HTF, HDR, or to both. Proposals can also include activities that are relevant to other NSF Big Ideas.
This DCL will support three categories of proposals:
- Proposals focused on educational transformation: These proposals will leverage technology, computation and/or big data to develop, implement, and analyze educational interventions designed to prepare a diverse workforce, researchers, and innovators of the future. Proposals that explore how students learn to integrate knowledge across disciplines to solve complex problems fall into this category.
- Proposals focused on the science of teaching and learning: These proposals will leverage technology, computation and/or big data to develop, implement, and analyze new tools for assessing and evaluating convergent education strategies that aim to promote student learning at all levels.
- Planning grants, Research Coordination Networks, Conference Proposals: These proposals will create communities of STEM educators to address convergent curriculum and pedagogical challenges across disciplinary boundaries brought about by the human-technology frontier, the data revolution, or both.
This DCL emphasizes proposals that cross departmental and disciplinary boundaries. This DCL encourages original proposals for curricular innovations that cross boundaries, so that students gain the tools and knowledge needed to thrive in the technology revolution and become the creators/innovators of the future.
This DCL encourages proposals that reflect a coordinated effort from interdisciplinary research teams of at least two PIs from different disciplines. Such teams can make learning a convergence experience and accomplish learning goals that are not otherwise achievable. Examples include, but are not limited to: computational skills in an application area such as genetics; automation and sensing in natural and manufactured environments; calculus, modeling and simulation of physical contexts and objects; art, psychology, conceptual design and mechanical design for better product development; or sociology and earth sciences to address adaptation to our environment. Proposals that use convergence approaches to instill the development of needed non-technical abilities for the 21st century are also appropriate, including ones that focus on development of teamwork, higher level thinking, problem solving, creativity, adaptability, and the ability to communicate across disciplinary boundaries.
In summary, competitive proposals will propose an approach that reflects convergence in education and human resource development, using technology and data beyond disciplinary boundaries to create student outcomes that will benefit society.
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DOD Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship Competition
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The Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF) program is sponsored by the Basic Research Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD (R&E)). VBFF supports innovative basic research within academia, as well as opportunities intended to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers for the defense workforce.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) manages the VBFF program for USD (R&E). To accomplish this task, ONR is soliciting proposals for the VBFF program through this FOA. This FOA seeks distinguished researchers for the purpose of conducting innovative basic research in areas of interest to the DoD and fostering long-term relationships between the VBFF Fellows and the DoD.
As defined by the DoD, basic research is “systematic study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or products in mind. It includes all scientific study and experimentation directed toward increasing fundamental knowledge and understanding in those fields of the physical, engineering, environmental, and life sciences related to long-term national security needs. It is farsighted high payoff research that provides the basis for technological progress.” (DoD 7000.14-R, vol. 2B, chap. 5, para. 050105.B) (
http://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/documents/fmr/Volume_02b.pdf
) The DoD’s basic research program invests broadly in many scientific fields to ensure that it has early cognizance of new scientific knowledge.
VBFF is oriented towards bold and ambitious “blue sky” research that may lead to extraordinary outcomes such as revolutionizing entire disciplines, creating entirely new fields, or disrupting accepted theories and perspectives.
Objectives of the program are to:
- Support unclassified basic scientific and engineering research that could be the foundation for future revolutionary new capabilities for DoD
- Educate and train student and post-doctoral researchers for the defense workforce
- Foster long-term relationships between university researchers and the DoD
- Familiarize university researchers and their students with DoD’s current and projected future challenges
- Increase the number of talented technical experts that DoD can call upon.
All awardees will receive a research grant and the title of VBFF Fellow. VBFF Fellows and their students are provided with opportunities that are designed to enhance their understanding of DoD’s critical research needs and interact with DoD senior Science and Technology (S&T) program leaders. Fellows and their students are expected to attend VBFF activities scheduled throughout the year. These activities may include an orientation meeting, site visits to DoD labs, technical workshops, and an annual meeting to report the progress of VBFF–sponsored research. VBFF Fellows may also be encouraged to serve as members of DoD advisory boards, panels, or groups. For a list of current VBFF Fellows, refer to:
http://basicresearch.defense.gov/vannevar-bush/
There will be an information webinar on the VBFF program and the current FOA
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I recently attended a conference in Salt Lake City. In addition to interacting with colleagues from around the world, I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful botanic gardens at University of Utah.
During the visit, I had an opportunity to photograph Lazuli Buntings, a bird that I've only had fleeting glimpses of as it migrates through Southern California.
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A lot of interesting wildlife lives in Riverside. For the past few years, we've had a fox family that visits our yard in June and July. I don't know where they live the rest of year, but it seems to be nice place to raise young. The link below is a video taken by a security camera.
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