October 2015 Newsletter
MagLab Director Talks FSU With Science Coalition
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Director Greg Boebinger is featured in a Science 2034 video produced by our partners at the Science Coalition, a multiuniversity group dedicated to promoting the importance of university research. Check out the video on YouTube. In the video, Greg outlines the exciting advancements the MagLab is pursuing in the fields of energy, materials and life.
Facility For Arts Research Offering 3D Software Class
The Facility for Arts Research at FSU is offering a Rhino class that is open to the general public. Rhino is a powerful, free form 3D modeling software. An industry standard used in disciplines such as naval architecture and digital fabrication, Rhino offers tools for object creation and editing, presentation and more. In this comprehensive three-day class, taught by experienced Rhino-certified technicians, you’ll learn to create and edit accurate free-form 3D NURBS models. Seats are limited, and we encourage you to register early to secure a spot. Find more information about Rhino at rhino3d.com. To register, contact Ryler Calabrese at rcalabrese@fsu.edu.
Dates: Nov. 6,7,8
Location: Facility for Arts Research, 3216 Sessions Road
Cost: $695/person (FSU employees and students receive 50 percent discount)
Council on Research & Creativity updates
Planning Grant proposals for the fall 2015 round were due Oct. 1; funding decisions will be made mid-November.
Small Grant Proposals for the fall 2015 round are due Oct. 12, 11:59 pm. Click here to see the Request for Proposal (RFP).
Multidisciplinary Support proposals are due by Oct. 21, 11:59 p.m. Click here to see the Request for Proposal (RFP).
Equipment and Infrastructure Enhancement Grant proposals for the fall 2015 round are due Oct. 30, 11:59 pm. Click here to see the Request for Proposal (RFP).
All CRC funding programs are listed in detail here.
CRC Programs: Submit Early for Technical Review
As with any grant, the programs of the CRC have guidelines that must be followed for submission. Failure to complete all forms and documents as requested can result in a proposal not going forward for review. In an effort to assist faculty, the CRC Coordinator provides faculty the opportunity for a technical review as long as proposals are submitted and received the required approvals seven working days prior to the program deadline.
By submitting your proposal seven days before the due date, the CRC Coordinator will review your proposal to ensure that the proposal follows the program guidelines, the budget is accurate, required documents are incorporated, Chair and Dean approvals have been obtained, etc. If your submission is received after the seven day window, an effort will be made for review; however, there is no guarantee that a technical review will take place. Please note that ultimately, your proposal’s accuracy is in your hands and is not the responsibility of the CRC to correct. Additionally, revisions cannot be accepted after the program deadline.
In order for the proposal to receive a technical review, all the required documents listed in the Request for Proposals (RFP) must be uploaded and submitted in the CRC Submission Portal (or EIEG Submission Portal) seven days before the program deadline.
| Program Deadline | CRC 7-day Technical Review Deadline |
|---|---|
| Monday | the previous Monday at 4:59 pm |
| Tuesday | the previous Tuesday at 4:59 pm |
| Wednesday | the previous Wednesday at 4:59 pm |
| Thursday | the previous Thursday at 4:59 pm |
| Friday | the previous Friday at 4:59 pm |
Workshop Videos
The Office of Proposal Development has uploaded the recorded videos for our two most recent trainings for anyone unable to attend: NIH ASSIST Workshop and CRC Workshop. They can be accessed here.
Exhibit Your Research at Discovery on Parade
For the past six years, the FSU Office of Commercialization has hosted an event called “Sneak Peek” where FSU researchers have shared with the community the impressive work being accomplished by our labs, institutes and centers that have potential for commercial success in the form of licenses, products, or startup businesses. This year, we are excited to announce a partnership between FSU, FAMU and TCC that replaces the Sneak Peek with the first annual “Discovery on Parade,” which is an interinstitutional effort to showcase research and commercialization in all of Tallahassee’s institutes of higher education.
Last year’s Sneak Peek event had nearly 40 FSU exhibitors and attracted more than 300 business, government and community members. With the partnership of FAMU and TCC, we anticipate record attendance for this event and want to make sure we take full advantage of this opportunity to highlight all of the great projects that are in the works on our campus.
Discovery on Parade 2015 will kick off on the evening of Tuesday, December 1 at the FSU Turnbull Conference Center. Each individual or team of exhibitors will have a table to display posters, provide demonstrations, or just talk about the work they are doing and what the end goal for their work will be. In past events, this process has not only made our community more aware of our efforts but has enabled many of our faculty and staff to gain interest from community members that has turned into mentoring and investment support down the road.
If you are interested in participating, please contact Tamika Sisinni (tamika.sisinni@fsu.edu) for more details.
Two New Webinars for NIH R01 Grant Applicants and Administrators
The NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is hosting two new webinars this November. These webinars are designed to give participants useful insights into the National Institutes of Health application submission and peer review processes.
The first webinar is called “Meet the Experts in NIH Peer Review for University Research Administrators” and will take place on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. The second is titled, “Meet the Experts in NIH Peer Review for R01 Grant Applicants” and will take place on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015. To register for these webinars, please visit: http://public.csr.nih.gov/Pages/csrwebinar.aspx
NIDA Releases Strategic Plan Draft
The National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health is in the process of revitalizing its strategic plan to provide a framework for research priorities over the next five years. A draft strategic plan has been posted online. NIDA is seeking input from all interested stakeholders. Organizations are encouraged to submit a single response that reflects the views of their organization or membership as a whole. Read the plan at http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/strategic-plan.
Limited Submissions
In Limited Submission Programs, the sponsor restricts the number of applications or proposals a campus can submit to the agency. The guidelines for these programs require institutions to screen pre-proposals or nominations to determine which applications will be submitted for competition. Generally, institutions are allowed to submit one or two proposals or nominations to the sponsor.
The Office of Research has a Limited Submission site that provides faculty with a listing of upcoming opportunities, along with the internal and external deadline dates. You can also submit your internal request from this site. If you are viewing a solicitation that allows a limited number of submissions, please visit the limited submission site to determine internal deadline date.
FAR Students Provide Innovative Project Design For Neonatal Researchers
Faculty and students from the Facility for Arts Research have collaborated with scientists from the Maitre Lab at the Perinatal Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which partners with The Ohio State University College of Medicine, to design a hapatic air tester to safely and accurately test the neurological response time for children ages 12 to 36 months with cerebral palsy. Read more about it here.
iThenticate Plagiarism Detection Software Now Available
Most faculty are already familiar with the software program called Turnitin, which is used by FSU students to screen their class papers for potential plagiarism issues prior to submitting them to their instructor. The Office of Research is pleased to announce that faculty, staff, and students now have access to an additional plagiarism detection tool called iThenticate.
Where Turnitin is used primarily for student assignments, iThenticate is designed to screen more scholarly works, such as research proposals, journal articles, and conference presentations. The Office of Research strongly encourages investigators to screen draft proposals through iThenticate prior to submitting them to the funding agency. Many federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, also use iThenticate to scan proposals.
For more information about iThenticate and avoiding plagiarism, please visit the Office of Research Compliance Program’s updated website on Research Misconduct.
Funding Opportunities
Please click here to access some of the latest funding opportunities available for the arts, humanities, social sciences, STEM disciplines and medicine.
FSU Awards Report
A monthly awards report is available online. This report will allow interested faculty, staff and others, to learn more about who has been recently awarded research grants. Access the latest report here.
NSF Automated Compliance Checking
NSF has implemented new features in the FastLane system for automated compliance checking and about common reasons for lack of compliance. The goals are to ensure consistency in NSF's proposal submissions, to enhance the ease of submissions, to reduce the number of submitted proposals that will be returned without review, and to enable a greater number of meritorious ideas to advance.
FastLane users are encouraged to check proposals for compliance during the proposal preparation and submission process. The current complete NSF Proposal Preparation Checklist can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf15001/gpg_2.jsp#IIex1.
Below are the most common reasons for return without review for proposals previously submitted to the Engineering Directorate.
PROJECT SUMMARY
- Should ONLY be uploaded as a PDF if the use of special character is required.
- Must include separate sections labeled "Overview," "Intellectual Merit," and "Broader Impacts" if uploaded as a PDF.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
- Must include "Results from Prior NSF Support" over the past five years for each PI and Co-PI.
- Must include a section — with a heading — for "Broader Impacts" of the proposed work.
Research Photos, Videos, Story Opportunities Needed
Do you take pictures of your research? Capture videos of experiments, creative endeavors, etc.? Do you blog? Do you have a paper ready to be published or a new grant you just received? If any of these even remotely apply, we want to hear from you!
Whether it’s @FSUResearch, the FSU research blog, the FSU news website, or news releases in general, we have a variety of ways to promote your research. But we need your help in getting the content so we can communicate it to the masses.
Please contact Tom Butler (tbutler@fsu.edu) and Kathleen Haughney (khaughney@fsu.edu) with any photos, videos or news opportunities you would like to send along.
Washington Update
Please click here to learn of recent activities in Washington affecting higher education. Included are budget and appropriations updates, new funding announcements and other important campus related issues.
New Faces in the Office of Research
Three new team members have recently joined the Office of Research family. Please join us in giving them a warm welcome.
Kathy Pennington
If you work with Sponsored Research Administration, be sure to say hello to Kathy Pennington, a new grants officer on the pre-award side. Kathy is a native of Tallahassee and received both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from FSU. She has worked for the university for more than 12 years.
Carinna Estevez
Be sure to say hi to Carinna the next time you work with the Human Subjects Committee. Carinna is the new OPS file clerk for the committee and will focus on managing the office file room. She is currently obtaining her bachelor’s degree in criminology with aspirations of attending law school.
Sarah Rogers
Sponsored Research Administration has added Sarah Rogers as its new SR Accounting Coordinator to assist with an overflow on compliance’s garnet team. She has an accounting degree from FSU and comes to Sponsored Research from the Florida Department of Health.