Starting in Spring 2025, the Office of the Vice President for Research and K-State Libraries are excited to host a monthly networking poster session for K-State researchers. Faculty can enjoy light refreshments and wine while discussing ongoing research and endeavors. 

This month’s session will highlight the second of four items on K-State’s Next Gen Opportunity Agenda: sustainability. 

This focus area includes considerations of water and resource management practices, the natural and environmental factors that impact resource usage, our health, environment and society; the conservation and restoration of biodiversity; and economic policies and cultural practices and their impacts on human ecology. 

Through this, K-State is working toward a more sustainable future in water, air, energy, soil, climate change, biodiversity and community resilience. 

We welcome a wide array of presentations, including traditional scientific posters, as well as creative expressions such as paintings, photographs, poetry, prose, or other artistic works that explore and reflect on sustainability. This event celebrates the full spectrum of creativity and scholarship at K-State, offering a space for dialogue and discovery. 

Please join us from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, 2025, on the 5th floor of Hale Library.  

Register here if you would like to attend the event or present your research poster. 

Kansas State University, in collaboration with the University Press of Kansas, will host a workshop designed to demystify the academic book publishing process on Thursday, April 3rd, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. in the Hemisphere Room, Room 581 of Hale Library.

This comprehensive event, presented by the Office of Academic Affairs and Innovation, the Graduate School, K-State Libraries, and the New Faculty Institute, aims to empower faculty and graduate students with the knowledge and strategies needed to successfully publish their scholarly work. Joyce Harrison, Editor-in-Chief of the University Press of Kansas, will lead the session, offering expert insights on crucial aspects of academic publishing, including:

• Transforming your dissertation into a compelling book: Gain practical advice on revising and adapting your dissertation for publication.
• Developing a strong book proposal: Understand the key components of a successful proposal and how to effectively present your work.
• Navigating the publishing process with confidence: Learn essential strategies for each stage of the publishing journey, from initial inquiry to final publication.



The event is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, K-State Libraries, the Graduate School, and the Teaching and Learning Center. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and gain valuable insights into the journey of successful academic authors.

Please register in advance to attend.

The Office of the Vice President for Research announces several opportunities to enhance the use and operations of core facilities in alignment with the Next-Gen K-State strategic plan. Core facility directors may request support to upgrade the physical infrastructure and large equipment related to their operations. Additionally, faculty members can apply for grants to facilitate their use of core facilities and offset vivarium costs. This funding comes from the Strategic Investment Fund and is supplemented by the recovery of OVPR funds, offset by the BRI Debt Relief support received from the state.

1. Funding for renovations and large equipment purchases: Annual call for core facilities to request funding for renovations and large equipment purchases. This will require a 1:1 match and requests can range up to $200K for total project costs of up to 400K. Total funds available: $500K. Application window has closed.
2. Mini grants to fund pilot projects: Ongoing call for researchers to request mini grants to fund pilot projects requiring core facility use up to $5,000 in total costs. If start-up funds are available, there is a 1:1 match requirement. Total funds available: $75K. Funding requests accepted on a rolling basis.
3. Mini grants for vivarium costs: Ongoing call for researchers to request mini grants to help pay vivarium costs that exceed that budgeted in existing grant funding. Limit of $50K per investigator; total funds available: $125K. If start-up funds are available, there is a 1:1 match requirement. Funding requests accepted on a rolling basis.

Please visit the OVPR website to learn more and submit a proposal.

The National Science Foundation’s CAREER awards require the recipients to show evidence of research and education excellence. This 3:30 p.m. April 2, 2025, zoom session, presented by the Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation (OEIE,) will help you demonstrate this in your NSF CAREER proposal/project. During this workshop, OEIE will provide resources to assist CAREER award applicants and recipients in developing evaluation plans and collecting evaluation data. Logic models will serve as the foundation for the discussion about how to:

1. determine evaluation activities based on professional goals
2. consider data collection methods that fit the award timeline
3. tailor reporting to demonstrate the overall impact of the work.  

If you are interested in attending, please register here.

For questions about the workshop, please contact Besangie Sellers at besangie@ksu.edu.

Structure:

• One-hour daily writing blocks
• Once a week, join your team for an in person writing session
• Together, establish internal due dates to promote a sustainable proposal preparation pace
• CNAP staff and peers to offer regular direction, guidance, and feedback on materials.

The collaborative will begin April 7th with ongoing rolling registration.

Register or learn more using the provided link or QR Code.

Please contact cnap@ksu.edu to learn more!

Attend K-State's inaugural President's Distinguished Lecture Series

The CRISPR toolbox and its many applications in microbiology

Technical Lecture: April 9, 11:30 a.m.

1014 Throckmorton

Refreshments at 11:00 a.m.

Repurposed from obscure adaptive immune systems in bacteria, CRISPR molecular machines have been broadly deployed in the past 10 years, to manipulate the genomes of microorganisms relevant to medicine, biotechnology and agriculture. We now have access to a portable CRISPR toolbox enabling flexible engineering of bacteria from a single nucleotide base edit to large scale manipulation of genomic islands in excess of 100kb in diverse microorganisms relevant for infectious disease, industrial biomanufacturing and the food supply chain.

Rodolphe Barrangou, T.R. Klaenhammer distinguished professor at North Carolina State University

If you or your lab group would like to meet indi-vidually with Dr. Barrangou, please email: cwrice@ksu.edu or dray@ksu.edu for schedule

As part of the Office of International Program’s Vernon Laron Lecture Series, Fulbright Visiting Scholar Dr. Kudzai Mukumbi will be presenting “Agricultural Extension in the Digital Age: Insights from Land Grant Institutions” on April 23, 2025, at 3 pm in the Staley School of Leadership’s Town Hall. Her presentation will be followed by a Fulbright Panel whose members will discuss their experiences with Fulbright’s overseas programs and what they have meant to them.  At 4:30 pm, a reception will be held in the Staley Atrium for Dr. Mukumbi, Fulbright Alums and Visitors as well as for anyone interested in Fulbright’s programs and networking with faculty and students who have experience with these programs. Please click here to register for any of these activities. (Note that due to a registration issue, please re-register if you registered before March 29 and you have not heard from Beth Powers.)

Dr. Kudzai Mukumbi is a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Iowa State University, where she is conducting research on best practices in designing, managing and evaluation of agricultural extension and outreach programs. She holds a Doctorate degree in Retailing (International Retailing & Marketing majors) and a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics (Agribusiness) from Michigan State University. She has led the Agribusiness & Community Development Unit at Africa University in Zimbabwe and taught undergraduate and graduate agribusiness courses. She trains leaders for Africa and beyond, equipping them with skills and knowledge in Agribusiness. Her research interests include food systems, agribusiness strategy, international business and policy.

These events are sponsored by K-State’s: Office of International Programs, College of Agriculture’s International Agriculture Programs, Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research, and Office of Research Development.

To streamline processes and enhance university security, Information Technology Services is implementing new policies for employees who leave the institution, which may affect research data retention.

Please use the provided link to learn more about alterations to:

• Relocating work/research documents
• Updating external service email addresses
• Returning K-State property
• Returning keys and access controls
• Setting an away message
• Retaining personal documents

Should you require support or have any additional questions, please reach out to your unit IT director or the Office of the Vice President for Research technology team at vprit@k-state.edu.

The National Science Foundation is hosting a variety of office hours and webinars throughout 2025 covering a wide range of programs and topics. Links to register and more information for each series can be found below:

• Decision, Risk and Management Sciences Office Hour: April 16, 2025 - June 18, 2025

Thursday, April 10, 3-4 p.m.

This EPSCoR Live! session will be of particular interest to researchers and leaders within research administration in EPSCoR jurisdictions, who would like to learn more about the E-RISE funding opportunity.

In this session, EPSCoR Program Directors Casonya Johnson and Jeanne Small will discuss the new solicitation NSF 25-522 for the EPSCoR RII program: EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence (E-RISE), which supports hypothesis-driven or problem-driven research and fosters the development of partnerships and products that aim to drive long-term improvements in research infrastructure, enhance R&D capacity, and boost the research competitiveness of EPSCoR jurisdictions.

Advance registration is required. Click here to register. EPSCoR Live! participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance through the registration form or by sending an email to epscor-live@nsf.gov. 

With the start of 2025, the U.S. National Science Foundation continues to support exciting engineering research and education projects that will power our economy and strengthen our nation's health and security.

In the past month, the NSF Directorate for Engineering has invested in new projects to advance semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, manufacturing and more. This fiscal year we have already invested in groundbreaking ideas in 38 states and the District of Columbia.

Most of our awards are supported through engineering core programs — the discovery mainstay of NSF ENG. Core programs supports engineering creativity and discovery across disciplines and topics, and they accept proposals at any time. They fund multiyear research projects, conferences, short-term exploratory research (EAGER), and industry collaboration (GOALI). See more proposal mechanisms available for consideration. 

When you have a great research idea, I encourage you to look into ENG core programs for support. Our program directors welcome you to reach out to them to discuss your brief project concept.

Keep up to date:

Learn about NSF's implementation of recent executive orders. Questions and answers are updated regularly on our website.

Are you thinking about developing your first flight mission proposal in the next few years but have no idea where to start? Are you working or studying in any NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) discipline? If you are a scientist who would like to submit a NASA space mission proposal in the next few years but don’t know where to start, this August workshop is for you! We are interested in expanding the pool of potential NASA space mission Principal Investigators.

Workshop Description:

Ames Research Center, in collaboration with the University of Arizona, the University of Michigan, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC and the Heising-Simons Foundation, will host the PI Launchpad to guide participants through ways to turn their science and technology questions into a mission concept. Participants will go step-by-step through the process of developing a science case, defining requirements, building a team, securing partnerships, and obtaining support from the home institution. Participants also will have time for networking and personal reflection as they mature their mission concepts.

We are interested in expanding the pool of potential NASA space mission PIs. We will select between 35-40 participants from eligible applicants depending on funding availability and on the merit of the applications. Please visit the NASA NSPIRES website for the Pre-application Virtual Session Connection Information, application details, etc.

Please email questions to the 2025 NASA PI Launch Pad Organizers at this shared address hq-smd-piworkshop@mail.nasa.gov.

APHIS is making up to $100,000,000 available in FY 2025 to support high-value and high-impact projects that explore vaccines, therapeutics, research, and other strategies to combat avian influenza, lower egg prices, and protect the U.S. poultry industry. Eligible applicants are invited to submit proposals that align with and support the priority topics listed below by the deadline on May 19, 2025. Priority topics include:

1. Develop novel vaccines to protect poultry from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that are safe, potent, and efficacious across multiple avian species and against current circulating clades.

2. Develop novel therapeutics to address HPAI in poultry, including preventing, controlling, or eliminating HPAI virus, characterizing genomic targets for disease resistance, and supporting poultry health.

3. Conduct research to further understand avian influenza in poultry and to improve response strategies.

For questions about the HPAI Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge program and about this funding opportunity, required documents, or the ezFedGrants application process, please refer to the detailed information provided on the HPAI Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge website or contact SM.AP.HPAI.Challenge@usda.gov.

Applications are currently being accepted for the Fall 2025 term of two undergraduate internship programs offered by the Department of Energy Office of Science: The Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) program and the Community College Internships (CCI) program. The application deadline is May 21, 2025. 

Through SULI and CCI, undergraduate students and recent graduates discover science and technology careers at the DOE national laboratories and gain new knowledge, skills, and experience to further their educational and career goals. Interns work directly with national laboratory scientists, engineers, and technical professionals, assisting them on research or technical projects that support the DOE mission. SULI is open to full-time students attending either 2-or 4-year colleges and universities or recent graduates within two years of receiving their bachelor’s degree or associate degree, while CCI is exclusively for community college students. Both programs are stipend-based and offered three times annually in fall, spring, and summer terms. 

The program office invites applicants and letter of recommendation writers to attend SULI and CCI Office Hours to answer administrative questions such as those pertaining to uploading transcripts, submitting letters of recommendation, and general inquiries. Office hours are scheduled on April 30, May 7, and May 14. Registration (register here) is required for attendance.

Tiny tardigrades may hold clues to cancer care

Researchers found that a protein made by tiny creatures called tardigrades can protect mouse and human cells from radiation damage. NIH

Non-opioid compound for chronic pain relief

Scientists developed a compound that appeared to relieve pain in mice without adverse side effects. NIH

Ultrathin conductor developed for nanoelectronics could be better than copper

Researchers created a material that could make nanoelectronics more efficient and powerful — and solve longstanding bottlenecks in energy use. NSF



Daily physical activity, even at light intensities, linked to lower cancer risk

NIH study finds number of steps taken daily may be more important for cancer risk than the intensity of activity. NIH

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