26 September 2022
A message from Dr. Curtis

There is much to celebrate as we head into a refreshing autumn. I am pleased that this month’s newsletter highlights the significant achievement of our colleague Dr. Mao Lin in being awarded a prestigious Wilson China fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Wilson Center is renowned for bringing together outstanding scholars, practitioners, and public intellectuals in its annual class of fellows. Congratulations, Dr. Lin! We can also extend our congratulations to Dr. Prakash Bhoi, Dr. Seonghoon Kim, and Dr. Masoud Davari who each were awarded significant federal grants in the past weeks from the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. Well done! Georgia Southern faculty continue to lead the way in making a public impact through the discovery of new knowledge.

I also want to bring to your attention to two new resources that can be accessed through the
Research Integrity webpage.
The first of these resources informs you about our exciting new partnership with the NIH in the All of Us Research Initiative. The All of Us project is a longitudinal study with a goal of collecting more than one-million diverse participants who will consent to share participant-provided health information as well as access to electronic health records and physical measurements and specimens. All research work happens within the All of Us research hub workspaces to enhance data security, access to data updates and tools, and participant autonomy.

The second resource provides information, guidelines, and protocols for faculty interested in conducting research on industrial hemp and medical cannabis. Our office, along with legal affairs, continues to stay abreast of the changing policies and legal interpretations in this emergent economic sector. There are some complexities to navigate in this area, and please know that we might not be able to greenlight every proposed project if we cannot ensure its compliance; but the information provided on the webpage lays out some clear parameters and procedures for those interested.

Stay curious, my friends.
Making An Impact
The relationship between China and America with Dr. Lin
Georgia Southern University Associate Professor of History Mao Lin, PhD, has been selected as a recipient of the Wilson Center China Fellowship for 2022-23. This is a year-long non-residential fellowship aimed at producing new research that builds bridges between traditional academia and the policy world in relation to China and its impact. Lin's project is “Bringing China Back Into the World: The Historical Origin of America’s Engagement Policy and Its Implications for Contemporary US-China Relations”.

Through his project, Lin looks at the historical origin of America’s engagement policy with China and how it impacts contemporary Sino-American relations. Seen as a failure by many observers, Lin looks to a period known as the “long 1970s” to see how Sino-American interactions were framed and how America helped bring about the modernization of China.

“It is important to understand the historical origin of the engagement policy because contemporary critics of the policy too often tend to read history selectively,” Lin explained in his project outline. “Many critics argue that the successive American administrations’ obsession with strategic issues was to blame for the failure of engagement, as Washington, reluctant to destabilize U.S.-China strategic cooperation, turned a blind eye to issues that have become explosive in recent years.”

Another key objective, according to Lin, is that the two governments only focus their efforts when presented with a common enemy, such as the threat from the Soviet Union, arms control, and other big-ticket issues. This dims the true range of American engagement with China.

“It has led to the argument that engagement was only a diplomatic expediency through which Beijing and Washington forged a tactic alliance against Moscow,” Lin said. “In the absence of a common enemy and in the face of a rising China, engagement shall be declared a failure and abandoned.”

Lin’s project argues that the understanding of dynamics needs to be more balanced in order to truly implement change between the countries. Focusing solely on the “high politics” will damage the relationship further. By researching the period of the “long 1970s” Lin believes an effective means of engagement can be found.

The fellowship started in August 2022 and runs through August 2023. His non-partisan project aims to help policymakers form better China policies.
Taking the guesswork out of proposals

In the month of July alone, Georgia Southern submitted 31 proposals seeking funds of more than $21 million. Research proposals can be intimidating. From stiff competition to actually writing it all out, the process is full of daunting details. However, abundant resources – from people to templates – are available for every step before, after, and during the proposal process. All it takes is reaching out to the Office of Research.

Research Advocates are subject matter experts when it comes to the research process or proposal preparation. Drs. Tilicia Mayo-Gamble and Amanda Townley are well-versed in planning out a proposal. They can guide you through the progression of the pre-award stages.

Once you are ready to get started, your first stop is the Proposal QuickStart. This survey gathers information on your proposal along with anticipated institutional commitments, budget type, export control, and several other factors. From here, a grant coordinator will initiate an internal proposal record for you, providing you with a detailed proposal needs assessment and a planning timeline to help you meet your goals.

By following the steps provided by your grant coordinator, the entire process is less daunting. After submitting the Proposal Quick, you will need to complete all mandatory training (e.g. Responsible Conduct of Research) and prepare a project summary, budget and budget narrative for internal review and approval. After internal approval, you will generate all of the proposal documents required for submission (e.g. proposal description, biosketches, letters). When all documents are complete, a final administrative review is done to ensure completeness before the proposal is submitted to the sponsor. The timeframe from proposal submission to award can vary from two to 12 months depending upon the agency, the review process and funding cycles - seven to nine months is the most typical timeframe.

In fiscal year 2022, Georgia Southern University submitted 269 proposals, totaling just shy of $83 million, and secured 147 awards for more than $15 million.

Upcoming Proposal Events (via Zoom)
October 12 @ 2 pm: Writing Project Budgets
October 20 @ 9 am: IRB & Compliance for Research