The Global Food Systems Initiative Seed Grant Program, with funding from the state of Kansas, funds innovative research in all aspects of global food systems, with particular interest in projects that are interdisciplinary; promote job creation and economic development in the state of Kansas; engage graduate and/or undergraduate students; and partner with industry, particularly those based in Kansas.

Every year, the teams present their research findings. You can watch these presentations to learn more about the important food systems-related research happening at K-State.

The OVPR has been busy in 2023 and is looking forward to an exciting year. Reflecting on our “We Will” statements, our commitment to K-State faculty and our collective research enterprise:

• We will seek efficiencies, lower barriers to success, and remove burdens on investigators.

• We will provide concierge-level service that enables faculty and researcher success.

• We will be national leaders within our specialties in research administration.

• We will communicate the value of K-State research to internal and external constituents.



• We will be an exemplar office for efficiency, effectiveness, integrity and professionalism. 

Our office is committed to ensuring faculty are successful in their research, scholarly, and creative endeavors. Research (broadly defined) is one of the core pillars of a land-grant university. Like many of you, we have been engaging in the university’s strategic planning efforts and look forward to research growth and investments to support that growth will emerge among the top priorities. In the meantime, we have been working hard to facilitate new research partnerships, improve core facilities and their operations, update policies and facility use fees, improve tracking and reporting capabilities, and highlight/promote our research and proposal development services.

Of course, most of you also know about the Game-changing Research Initiation Program, or GRIP, with goals to (1) identify and support transdisciplinary teams of researchers in their pursuit of very large (e.g., center-level) research grants and (2) transform K-State’s culture into one that supports, enables, promotes, and invests in transdisciplinary research, discovery, and innovation.

We received 36 pre-proposals for this new program and empaneled a group of faculty reviewers to evaluate their potential as GRIP projects. Ten project teams were invited to prepare full proposals due later this spring. Even before GRIP awards are made, this new program has had the exciting effect of bringing innovative, multi-discipline, multi-college teams of faculty together to explore promising research directions and funding opportunities. We will continue to look for extramural funding sources for those that are most promising but are not selected for GRIP awards.

Finally, we continue to make steady and exciting progress toward the bold goals of our Economic Prosperity Plan. You can follow progress and plans on our website.

David Rosowsky, Vice President for Research

Congratulations to K-State inventors — Patents issued in fourth quarter 2022

The following K-State researchers were issued patents in November of 2022:

Microbial Cells, Methods of Producing the Same, and Uses Thereof

Inventors: James Drouillard, Kevin Miller*, R. Scott Beyer, Celine Aperce*, Solange Uwituze*, Tara Bina*, James Lattimer*, Teresa Douthit, Ciana Bowhay*, Katherine Jordan*, Christina Gunkel* and Taylor Hammett*

Patent Number: 11,492,587

Issue Date: November 8, 2022

Extra-chromosomal Circular DNA-mediated Engineering of Plant Traits

Inventors: Bikram Gill – retired, Bernd Friebev, Dal-Hoe Koo and Mithila Jugulam

Patent Number: 11,492,629

Issue Date: November 8, 2022

*No longer at K-State.

The full list of K-State patent and plant variety protection certificate awardees since 2009, is available on the awards page of the research website.

Have a patentable invention or interested in the commercialization process?

Contact K-State Innovation Partners as early as possible in the discovery process to ensure proper protection of your intellectual property and to gain a comprehensive understanding of the options available in commercializing your research.

K-State Innovation Partners strives to assist K-State faculty, staff and students in developing and protecting their discoveries and inventions to return the greatest advantage to the creators, K-State and the general public.

February 9-10

Kansas City

If you are a faculty member working with a small business interested in collaborating to submit a Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, grant proposal this spring, contact Katie Small to learn about a FREE 1.5-day SBIR Bootcamp on February 9 and 10 in Kansas City.

The federal SBIR grant program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development with the potential for commercialization. It is common for a university or another type of research institution to be a subcontractor on the proposal application. Search for relevant SBIR funding opportunities.

The applications for the ADVANCE Distinguished Lecture Series, or ADLS, for tenured Associate Professors in the Colleges of Agriculture and Arts and Sciences are due February 14. 

Thanks to additional support from the deans of the Colleges of Agriculture and Arts and Sciences, tenured associate professors in these colleges can apply for up to $1,200 to make new professional connections. The colleges of Architecture, Planning and Design; Engineering; and Veterinary Medicine are also eligible. These colleagues may become valuable mentors who can provide advice about transitioning from assistant to associate professor, may become new research collaborators, and/or may serve as outside references for applications for promotion to full professor. The request for proposals, application form, eligible departments and more can be found on the KAWSE website.

Please direct any questions and send application materials to kawse@k-state.edu. 

K-State faculty, staff and students are invited to design and facilitate a hands-on science, technology, engineering, and/or math activity for middle school students at the Girls Researching Our World, or GROW, workshop on Saturday, March 4 on the K-State campus in Manhattan.

Office staff can be reached by email at kawse@k-state.edu, by phone at 785-532-6088 or at 215 Fairchild Hall to answer any questions.

Effective January 30, the National Science Foundation made a number of system updates in research.gov, FastLane and Grants.gov in accordance with the implementation of the revised Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide, or PAPPG, for proposals submitted or due on or after January 30, 2023. Please see the Summary of Changes to the PAPPG and view the Fall 2022 PAPPG Revisions presentation.

1–2 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 2

The Incorporating Human Behavior in Epidemiological Models, or IHBEM, Working Group is hosting a webinar to share information about the NSF-NIH collaboration on a new funding opportunity: IHBEM. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions during a live Q&A session and a panel will answer the questions.

Register to attend.

2–4 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 2

1:30–3:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 10

8:30–10:30 a.m.

Thursday, Feb. 16

Learn about the Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier: Core Research, or FW-HTF, opportunity in 2023 during upcoming Office Hours with NSF program directors. 

The FW-HTF investment responds to challenges and opportunities for the future of jobs and workers in a landscape with rapid social and technological changes.

FW-HTF Office Hours will be held four times in February 2023. Register for virtual FW-HTF office hours in Zoom. 

9:30-11 a.m.

Thursday, Feb. 2

Thursday, Feb. 16

Thursday, March 2

Please join the Human Networks and Data Science Program to discuss questions about the program with the program director.

Office hours take place over Zoom, generally on Thursdays. Please see date(s) listed above.To join, use the Human Networks and Data Science 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.

Several solicitations from BIO and GEO will soon require the submission of a Safe and Inclusive Work Environments Plan that will be considered as part of the Broader Impacts criteria during the review process.

Learn more.

Virtual Office Hour

2:30-3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 7

Program Directors from the Directorates for Biological Sciences and Geosciences will hold a Virtual Office Hour on the new pilot effort regarding Safe and Inclusive Work Environments Plans.

Register to attend.

10-11 a.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 8

The upcoming Graduate Research Fellowship webinar, previously scheduled for Thursday, January 19, 2023 has been moved to Wednesday, February 8 at 11:00 am EST. If you’ve already registered, you will not need to re-register.

This webinar will give an overview of NIJ’s annual Graduate Research Fellowship program to potential FY23 applicants. The program is open to Ph.D. students from all branches of science and engineering whose dissertation work is relevant to issues of crime and criminal justice.

The presenters will discuss program scope, eligibility, application elements, and frequently asked questions. A Q&A session will conclude the webinar. Live captioning will be available.

Register to attend.

The Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP, works to maximize the benefits of science and technology to advance health, prosperity, security, environmental quality, and justice for all Americans.

OSTP is composed of a Director’s Office and six core policy teams: Climate and Environment, Energy, Health and Life Sciences, National Security, Science and Society, and the U.S. Chief Technology Officer.

OSTP advises the President jointly with the Office of Management and Budget on Federal research development in budgets, works closely with the National Security Council on the American Pandemic Preparedness Plan, and leads the White House Cancer Moonshot.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Must be a U.S. citizen. 
• Must be 18 years of age or older. 
• Males must be registered with Selective Service.
• Must be currently enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate college, community college, or university.
• Must obtain a favorable security determination and pass a pre-employment drug test.

Key Dates for Upcoming Sessions

OA offers three internship programs each year: Fall, Spring, and Summer. 

SUMMER 2023

1. Program Start Date: Monday, June 5, 2023
2. Program End Date: Friday, August 11, 2023
3. Application Open Date: Tuesday, January 17, 2023
4. Application Close Date:  Friday, February, 10, at 10:59 p.m.

Noon-1 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 10

NSF will host a webinar to introduce and answer questions related to the 2023 Future Manufacturing program solicitation.

Program directors will discuss the research thrusts, types of proposals, proposal requirements and evaluation criteria specific to this solicitation. 

11-Noon

Feb. 2, March 2

Please join this I-Corps Teams webinar to ask an I-Corps program director questions and hear updates about the I-Corps program, curriculum, and important dates.

Register for the I-Corps Teams webinar on Zoom.

February 23-24

Arlington, Virginia

USDA’s 99th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, will be held in person at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott on February 23-24, 2023, and all sessions will be livestreamed on a virtual platform.

More than 30 sessions and 100 agriculture leaders and subject matter experts will discuss key issues impacting the sector including:

• USDA’s initial forecast for the agricultural economy, commodity markets, and trade in 2023 and the U.S. farm income situation.
• Climate smart agriculture.
• Supply chain challenges and solutions.
• Factors impacting U.S. trade update & the global marketplace.
• Food prices outlook.

Learn more and register to attend.

Rising Diesel Prices Complicate Farmer's Fuel Buying Decisions Farms.com

Use calving pasture rotation to prevent disease spread The Eagle

Joint project on agri-tech launches in Mondulkiri The Phenom Penh Post

Colette Revolutionized French Literature With Her Depictions of Female Desire Smithsonian magazine

By Women, For Women in Top City for the first time KSNT-TV

Chuck Rice: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Agriculture Prairie Hallow Productions



Reading, writing, and paychecks. What’s a teacher worth? Yahoo! News

525-million-year-old fossil defies textbook explanation for brain evolution

A U.S. National Science Foundation-supported study published in Science provides the first detailed description of Cardiodictyon catenulum, a wormlike animal preserved in rocks in China's southern Yunnan province. Measuring barely half an inch long and initially discovered in 1984, the fossil had hidden a crucial secret until now: a delicately preserved nervous system, including a brain. NSF

Cellular 'glue' to regenerate tissues, heal wounds, regrow nerves

Researchers at UC San Francisco have engineered molecules that act like "cellular glue," allowing them to direct in precise fashion how cells bond with each other. The U.S. National Science Foundation-supported discovery is a major step toward building tissues and organs, a long-sought goal of regenerative medicine. NSF

Will an AI be the first to discover alien life?

SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, is deploying machine-learning algorithms that filter out Earthly interference and spot signals humans might miss. Nature

Protein decoys for viruses may battle COVID-19 and more

As the fight against COVID-19 wears on and the virus continues to mutate, vaccines and several monoclonal antibody drugs are losing some of their punch. That’s added urgency to a strategy for preventing and treating the disease that, in theory, could stop all variants of SARS-CoV-2. The idea is to flood the body with proteins that mimic the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, the cell-surface protein that SARS-CoV-2 uses to gain entry into cells. These decoys would bind to the virus’ spike protein, disarming it. The molecules might both protect people from getting infected and help COVID-19 patients clear the virus from the body. Science

Could a parasitic fungus evolve to control humans?

The zombie-creating fungus in The Last of Us is real, but there are many other fungi to fear. Of the 5 million fungal species in the world, a few hundred are dangerous to people. National Geographic

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researchweekly@k-state.edu

785.532.5110