The Kansas State University community is invited to a reception honoring Vice President for Research David Rosowsky for his time at K-State.

The celebratory event will be hosted by President Richard Linton from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, July 12, in the Tointon Great Room and north patio of the K-State Alumni Center. Formal remarks will begin at 5 p.m., and heavy hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be provided.

All members of the K-State community are encouraged to attend this event to show their support and appreciation for Rosowsky's dedication in advancing research at the university.

Final fringe benefit rates for fiscal year 2025 have been confirmed. You may begin using these rates when preparing budget estimates to be included in proposals submitted for extramural support that has a start date in FY2025. To facilitate the transition to these new rates, budgets that are in process will be accepted at the old rate until July 12, 2024 at which time the Office of Sponsored Programs will require the adoption of fiscal year 2025 rates.

Fiscal year 2025 rates are as follows:

·        Faculty and unclassified staff: 33%

·        University support staff: 45%

·        Student hourly employees and enrolled graduate research assistants and graduate teaching assistants with appointments less than 0.5 time: 1%

·        Student hourly employees and non-enrolled graduate research assistants and graduate teaching assistants with appointments less than 0.5 time: 9.0%*

·        Graduate research assistants and graduate teaching assistants enrolled in six hours or more and who have appointments of 0.5 time or grater: 14.0% - this includes the percentage allocable to employer’s share of health insurance

*Add 13% to this rate to include health insurance for benefit eligible graduate students not enrolled during the summer.

The above rates are to be used for estimating purposes. An individual’s actual fringe benefits will be charged to the sponsored project account.

Details regarding the different rates are available on the OVPR website.

If a particular employee’s actual fringe benefit rate is known to be higher than the estimates detailed within the table due to higher health insurance costs, then you may use that individual’s substantiated actual rate for budget estimating purposes. Payroll documentation will be obtained and secured as a part of the sponsored proposal/award record.

Please circulate this notification to all who need to know these new rates. Questions? Call Sponsored Programs at 785-532-6804 or email research@k-state.edu.

As a Research Security Officer/Facility Security Officer at Kansas State University, you will be responsible for implementing NSPM-33 guidance to safeguard our research initiatives. This role requires a bachelor’s degree and 5-10 years of relevant experience, with a preference for advanced degrees and extensive security program experience. Key qualifications include strong interpersonal skills, the ability to manage competing demands, and the capacity to work independently. Applicants must be able to obtain a high-level security clearance and meet other security requirements.

Learn more and apply here.

Hello, RAC Community!

NSF’s Proposals and Awards Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1, which is effective for proposals submitted or due on or after May 20, 2024, includes, among other revisions, updated guidance for Common Forms versions of the Current and Pending (Other) Support and Biographical Sketch documents. The updated SciENcv C&POS Instructions for Researchers is attached to this email and can also be found on our website.

For both the Biographical Sketch and C&POS, please ensure that researchers are using the SciENcv “Type”: “NSF Current and Pending (Other) Support (for proposals submitted or due on or after May 20, 2024)”. If you are uncertain or reviewing the PDF, you can identify the version by the document’s footer: The 24-1 Common Forms version will indicate “v.2024-1”, while the old version will indicate “v.2023-1 (rev.01/31/2023)”. Note that the 2023 version will cause an error in Research.gov and will not be accepted on or after 20 May 2024.

Primary updates to the Biographical Sketch Common Form:

• Consistent with NSPM-33, individuals are required to disclose contracts associated with participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities, including foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs.
• In accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 19232, individuals are prohibited from being a party in a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
• A table entitled, NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Pre- and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support ^[28] has been created to provide helpful reference information regarding pre-award and post-award disclosures.
• There is no page limitation to the Biographical Sketch.
• As before, NSF will continue to use ORCiD as the optional Persistent Identifier.
• Senior/key personnel must only identify all domestic and foreign professional appointments and positions outside of the primary organization for a period of up to three years from the date the proposer submits the proposal to NSF for funding consideration.
• Synergistic Activities will no longer be part of the Biographical Sketch but will instead be uploaded to the proposal as a separate document. See PAPPG 24-1 for additional information on this change.
• Certification Statement language updated to confirm the researcher is not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.

Primary updates to the C&POS Common Form:

• Consistent with NSPM-33, individuals are required to disclose contracts associated with participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities, including foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs.
• In accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 19232, individuals are prohibited from being a party in a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
• A table entitled, NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Pre- and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support ^[28] has been created to provide helpful reference information regarding pre-award and post-award disclosures.
• As before, NSF will continue to use ORCiD as the optional Persistent Identifier.
• In-Kind Contributions must only be disclosed if they have a dollar value of $5,000 or more and require a commitment of the individual’s time. In-kind contributions that require no time commitment or have a dollar value of less than $5,000 need not be reported.
• Certification Statement language updated to confirm the researcher is not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
• Certification date must be within the same calendar year as the submission to NSF.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Office of Sponsored Programs grant specialist or the Office of Sponsored Programs at research@ksu.edu.

The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement-Focused EPSCoR Collaborations Program (RII-FEC), formerly known as “EPSCoR Track-2 program”, builds interjurisdictional collaborative teams of EPSCoR investigators in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) focus areas consistent with the current National Science Foundation Strategic Plan. Projects are investigator-driven and must include researchers from at least two EPSCoR eligible jurisdictions (states) with complementary expertise and resources necessary to address challenges, which neither party could address as well or as rapidly independently. 

The new RFA for this program was released in mid-May announcing the renaming of the EPSCoR Track-2 program. NSF designates a focus area for this program typically announced in the annual RFA. Under the new RII-FEC program, the focus area will be announced in a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) every two years. The DCL for the current RII-FEC was released late in May. The focus area for this and next year is ‘Building capacity towards use-inspired research’."  NSF defines “Use-inspired research” as work whose rationale, conceptualization, and directions are inspired by potential use cases.  

This is a limited submission program with K-State allowed to submit only one proposal each year. Thus, if you are interested in submitting to this program, you must notify (working title, team list and a 2 to 3 sentence synopsis of the planned project) the Office of Research Development by 5 pm September 3, 2024 via ordlimitedsubs@ksu.edu. If there are two or more interested groups who notify, an internal competition will be required with preproposals due by 5 pm September 30, 2024. If you have questions, please contact Mary Lou Marino at mlmarino@ksu.edu.

The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Summer Stipends program supports continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months. NEH funds may support recipients’ compensation, travel, and other costs related to the proposed scholarly research. This is a limited submission; thus, if you are interested in submitting to this program you must notify (working title and a short, two to three sentence synopsis of your project) the Office of Research Development by August 2, 2024 via ordlimitedsubs@ksu.edu. If two or more faculty members notify by this date, an internal competition will be held with preproposals due by August 16, 2024.

This program’s anticipated due date to NEH is September 18, 2024. The new 2024 application should be available on the NEH website by June 18. Typically, NEH hosts a webinar for this program in mid-August, but due to the changes NEH is making to this program the webinar will be July 10 at 1-2 p.m. CT. Again, remember that to apply to this program, you must first go through the internal process outlined above because K-State can only nominate one tenure-track/tenured faculty to apply to this program. However, non-tenure track faculty may apply without nomination and without going through this process, but the Office of Research Development (ord@ksu.edu) would like to know in this case if you will be submitting.

We are excited to announce the 2025 Active Living Conference, taking place March 17-20 in Manhattan, Kansas! Hosted by Kansas State University, this conference will bring together researchers, practitioners, and community leaders focused on creating active and healthy places for all.

The theme for the 2025 conference is Bridging the Research to Practice Gap. We will explore how to develop strong partnerships and effectively translate research findings into actionable strategies. By working together, we can create evidence-based, culturally relevant programming that meets the needs of diverse communities.

The conference will feature:

• Presentations from leading practitioners and researchers in the field of active living
• Interactive workshops and sessions focused on translating research into practice
• Opportunities to network and collaborate with colleagues from across the globe
• A focus on building capacity to create active and healthy communities

To make the most of your experience, we encourage you to arrive on Sunday, March 16th as there will be a networking social that evening, and the conference will kick off on Monday morning. The local airport to fly into is Manhattan, Kansas (MHK).

Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information! We'll be sharing details about registration, the conference program, and accommodations in the coming months. A Call for Presentation Proposals will be released on mid-July with a deadline of September 16, 2024.

In the meantime, please visit the conference website for more information. You can also contact Convening Coordinator, Amanda Walker, with any questions or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities.

We look forward to seeing you in Manhattan, Kansas in March 2025!

Effective July 1, 2024, the U.S. National Science Foundation enabled six new product types in the NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR): audiovisual, data paper, educational aid and curriculum, posted content, software, and sound. The NSF-PAR search and filter feature has been updated to include all 11 supported product types. There are no changes to NSF’s Public Access policy or project reporting requirements.

Principal Investigators and co-PIs may also need to enter a digital object identifier (DOI) depending on the product type being added to the NSF-PAR: 

• Audiovisual, software, and sound products must be entered with a DOI.
• Data paper and posted content products can be entered with or without a DOI.
• Educational aid or curriculum products can only be added without a DOI.

Adding New Products to NSF Project Reports

The six new product types do not currently auto-populate from the NSF-PAR into NSF project reports in Research.gov, but PIs and co-PIs can manually add these product types to project reports. See the table below for navigation instructions in the Research.gov Project Reporting System to add the new product types.

Research.gov About Public Access Page

Visit the Research.gov About Public Access page for Frequently Asked Questions and updated how-to guides that include the six new product types. Also see the NSF Public Access Initiative page for the latest information on open science.

Questions? If you have IT system-related questions, please contact the NSF IT Service Desk at 1-800-381-1532 (7:00 AM - 9:00 PM ET; Monday - Friday except federal holidays) or via rgov@nsf.gov. Policy-related questions should be directed to policy@nsf.gov. 

The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced a new risk mitigation process, the Trusted Research Using Safeguards and Transparency (TRUST) framework, which will guide the agency in assessing grant proposals for potential national security risks. The revised procedures will help safeguard U.S. taxpayer investments in research and innovation while strengthening international collaboration.

The full news release can be found on the NSF website.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science monthly virtual office hours are opportunities to share information and ask questions about our six research programs and two research and development and production offices. Researchers at all institutions are welcome to attend and learn more about our programs. Topics will vary each month.

Learn more about the programs, dates and times using the links provided below:

• Advanced Scientific Computing Research 
• Basic Energy Sciences 
• Biological and Environmental Research 
• Fusion Energy Sciences 
• High Energy Physics 
• Nuclear Physics 
• Accelerator R&D and Production 
• Isotope R&D and Production 

The office hour will be in the form of a zoom meeting, starting with a brief presentation on the monthly topic, followed by questions. 

Are you interested in serving as a reviewer for the Linguistics Program and/or the NSF Dynamic Language Infrastructure - NEH Documenting Endangered Languages Program?

We want to hear from you! Help us learn more about you and your area of expertise by taking a short survey.

July 8, 2024, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.



You are invited to a Zoom webinar to learn about the Biodiversity on a Changing Plant (BoCP) program.

More information can be found here.

Tuesday, July 9, 1 - 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 24, 2 - 3 p.m.

The U.S. National Science Foundation invites you to attend "Office Hours: Intro to the NSF SBIR/STTR Fast-Track pilot."

In this session, Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program directors will introduce the new SBIR/STTR Fast-Track pilot that allows startups to develop new products and services based on prior NSF-funded research. Eligible companies can submit one proposal for more than $2 million for a "Fast-Track" award to support research and development activities that may take up to three years to complete. In this webinar, program directors will discuss eligibility and how the pilot is structured. After an initial presentation, ample time will be allotted for questions from attendees.

Register here.

Before the webinar, please review the SBIR/STTR Fast-Track solicitation to learn more about the program.

July 10, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov

Staff from the National STEM Teachers Corps program will be hosting a series of webinars.

Register here.

July 9, 2024, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov

Please join this Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Q&A webinar to learn about the PFI program. During the webinar, you will have the opportunity to ask questions about the PFI program and what to expect for the submission deadline.

July 9, 2024, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announce the sunset of the joint NSF-NIST Disaster Resilience Research Grants (DRRG) program. NSF and NIST program officers will offer an informational webinar related to this announcement.

Register here.

July 9, 2024, 2-3 p.m.

NSF staff will host a webinar for those interested in applying to the BIO REU Sites program (solicitation NSF 23-601). During the webinar, program officers will present the BIO Research Experience for Undergraduates Sites (BIO REU Sites) program and discuss the details of the NSF 23-601 solicitation. The 30-minute presentation will be followed by an open Q&A session with program officers.

Register here.

July 9, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

August 9, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov

The U.S. National Science Foundation will share information and answer questions about the Engineering of Biomedical Systems program (EBMS). The goal of the EBMS program is to provide opportunities for fundamental and transformative research projects that integrate engineering and life sciences to solve biomedical problems and serve humanity in the long term.

More information can be found here.

The National Endowment for the Humanities will hold a Summer Stipends webinar on July 10 at 1 - 2 p.m. CT. This webinar will be important to attend if you are interested in applying to this program because NEH has made several substantial changes to the program including to eligibility, increasing the stipends from $6,000 to $8,000 and reducing the number of nominations an institution can make from two to only one. If you are unable to attend this webinar, NEH typically includes a YouTube video of its annual webinar on its Summer Stipends website.

July 12, 2024, 12:30 – 2 p.m.

July 23, 2024, 12 – 1:30 p.m.

Learn more about a new NSF funding opportunity: Privacy-preserving Data Sharing in Practice (PDaSP). The new PDaSP program aligns with a tasking in the recent Executive Order on the "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence."

Register here.

ExpandAI Virtual Office Hours

July 16, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov.

Representatives from across the division will be available to discuss specific programs and funding opportunities. There will then be an open question and answer period – questions can be on any NSF or DBI topic. Join us remotely and bring your questions!

Register here.

July 16, 2024, 3 - 4 p.m.

August 20, 2024, 3 - 4 p.m.

September 10, 2024, 2 - 3 p.m.

Program Officers will present an overview of the NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Initiative. Following the brief presentation, office hour participants will have the ability to ask questions about the INCLUDES Initiative.

Register here.

July 17, 2024, 3-4 p.m.

The U.S. National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) team is excited to announce its next EPSCoR Live! event.

Join us for a deeper dive into exploring the critical role of the required Administrative Core component of the EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems Research Infrastructure Improvement (E-CORE RII) Program. E-CORE RII is designed to connect all aspects of the research ecosystem in EPSCoR jurisdictions, including the EPSCoR state offices, the broader research environment, researchers, stakeholders, and STEM research, education, and workforce development activities.

This virtual session will include a walkthrough of the role and promising models of the E-CORE Administrative Core, which includes jurisdiction-wide functions of supporting, operating, managing, and disseminating research capacity building activities in the jurisdiction. The session will further complement the June 2024 EPSCoR Live! on Exploring EPSCoR Research Ecosystems, which highlighted best practices and innovative solutions developed by the EPSCoR community to optimize connections within the jurisdiction’s current research ecosystem.

Advance registration is required. Click here to register. Please use an institutional email address for registration

July 17, 2024, 1-2 p.m.

August 14, 2024, 1-2 p.m.

Please join the Decision Risk Management Sciences Program to discuss questions about the program with the program directors.

Office hours take place over Zoom monthly, generally on Wednesdays. Please see date(s) listed below and note that times listed are in the Eastern time zone.

To join, use the Decision Risk Management Sciences office hour Zoom link

• All meetings during office hours are 1-on-1. Guests are seen in the order they join. You may have to wait if others join before you.
• If you need captions or other accommodations, please contact Claudia Gonzalez-Vallejo or Bob O'Connor in advance. 

For more information about the program, visit the Decision Risk Management Sciences program page.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is hosting a virtual grant writing webinar series: Debuting Your Research Career: How to Plan for and Write Your First (or Next) NIH Grant Application. This monthly webinar series is free and open to all to pre- and post-doctoral fellows, clinician-scientists, as well as early-stage and mid-career research investigators.

The series will provide information on the funding opportunities for early career researchers at NIAID, navigating the F, K, DP2 and R38/K38 awards, and understanding the peer review process.

Remaining dates and topics:

• July 18, 2024: Understanding the Peer Review process

Register here.

Join us Thursday, July 18th, 2024, 12 - 1 p.m. for the next IOS Virtual Office Hour where we will be joined by our colleagues from NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Our GRFP colleagues will tell you a bit about the program, outline important information about graduate research fellowships, and address questions. 

Please be sure to let students (later-stage undergraduates, post-baccalaureates, and early-stage graduate students) in your lab and at your institution know that they are most welcome to attend this VOH!  

Mentors are encouraged to attend as well! Come learn more about GRFP so you can help current and future students. 

REGISTER HERE TO PARTICIPATE 

If you can’t make it to this or any future office hours, don’t worry! We post recaps and presentation slides of all IOS Virtual Office Hours on our blog. 

July 19, 2024, 10 - 11 a.m.

Join Germano Iannacchione, Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation's Division of Materials Research (DMR), and DMR Program Directors for our monthly Zoom office hour and Q&A session. 

Register here.

July 22, 2024, 2-3 p.m.

The Community Infrastructure for Research in Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CIRC) program drives discovery and learning in the core disciplines of the three participating CISE divisions [Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF), Computer and Network Systems (CNS), and Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS)]

Register and learn more here.

July 25, 2024, 6 – 7 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov



Join this question-and-answer session to learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by the National Science Foundation. A Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer program director will answer questions about how to get started, the basics of eligibility and what they look for when they review project pitches.

Register here.

Criminal justice researchers, practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and those interested in promoting safety, equity, and justice for all are encouraged to join us in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 16-18, 2024. 

During the three-day research conference, we will cover current and emerging challenges and present strategies for applying research findings into practice, including guidance on equitable and community-engaged research designs.

Plenaries include: 

• Ten Years of Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science 
• Violence Against Women Act 30-Year Anniversary 
• Advancing Justice for the Missing and Unidentified Through Research 

Let’s come together to advance justice through science. 

Bionic leg moves like a natural limb — without conscious thought

A robotic leg that can be fully controlled by the brain and spinal cord has enabled seven people who had lost a lower leg to walk roughly as fast as people without amputations. nature

An ant that selectively amputates the infected limbs of wounded sisters

Saving lives through surgery is no longer exclusive to humans. In a study publishing July 2 in the journal Current Biology, scientists detail how Florida carpenter ants, a common, brown species native to its namesake, selectively treat the wounded limbs of fellow nestmates—either by wound cleaning or amputation. EurekAlert!  

Deep-sea discovery opens up ocean of potential

New research by U.S. National Science Foundation-funded scientists making use of NSF facilities has provided insight into how related ocean creatures have adapted to live in vastly different environments. The study may also provide new knowledge about the inner workings of human brains. NSF

‘Epigenome editor’ silences gene that causes deadly brain disorders

Prion diseases are caused by misfolded proteins, but a new tool can stop them forming in mice. nature

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