or select your discipline:
|
|
- The National Science Foundation Science of Organizations program funds research that advances the fundamental understanding of how organizations develop, form and operate.
- The Social Science Research Council Abe Fellowship program strives to promote a new level of intellectual cooperation between the Japanese and American academic and professional communities committed to and trained for advancing global understanding and problem solving.
|
|
NBAF Operational Responsibility Memorandum Signed by DHS, USDA Officials
|
|
Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, and the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, signed a
Memorandum of Agreement on June 20 that formally
outlines how the departments will transfer ownership and operational responsibility for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, from the Science and Technology Directorate of DHS to USDA.
According to the USDA, DHS will retain responsibility for completing construction and commissioning of the $1.25 billion facility being built in Manhattan, while USDA will assume responsibility for all operational planning and eventual operation of the facility. DHS efforts are on schedule and on budget to complete construction in December 2020 and to complete commissioning in May 2021, when ownership of NBAF will be formally transferred to USDA.
“NBAF will be the first facility in the United States with maximum biocontainment, BSL-4 labs, where we can develop vaccines and diagnostics for high-consequence animal diseases – including those that can also affect human health,”said Greg Ibach, USDA’s undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs.
“These expanded capabilities will enable us to be more dynamic and flexible in responding to disease threats—wherever they come from, whatever they look like,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
|
|
- The National Endowment for the Humanities will be conducting a webinar on its Summer Stipends Program on June 26th from 12 to 1 p.m. CDT. They will introduce potential applicants and administrators to the program, describe the nomination process, and offer grant-writing suggestions. There will be a chance to ask questions, and it will be recorded so others can watch it later. Register.
- Kansas State University and Johnson County Community College are hosting an evening with Nancy and Jerry Jaax, two Kansas State University veterinarians and leaders whose response to an Ebola-related outbreak inspired the recently released National Geographic series, THE HOT ZONE, on July 15 at 4 p.m. This is a free event held at the Nerman Museum in Overland Park. Please register.
|
|
Research And Discovery Activity Reporting, or RADAR, is a K-State-developed reporting solution that provides access to research administration data including
Cayuse SP
. Through our continued partnership with Information Technology Services, RADAR will provide unparalleled insight for the greater research community to numerous types of data including awards, proposals, training and protocol. Additionally, our Research Administrator community will have access to run current and pending reports for proposal submissions.
Please reference the Cayuse SP webpage for additional information as it becomes available. For immediate access to RADAR, please request the RADAR access form by sending an email to
radar@k-state.edu.
|
Single Sign-On for Cayuse 424 and Cayuse SP
Effective immediately,
to access the Cayuse suite, both Cayuse 424 and SP,
you will need to utilize your K-State eID and password. As part of the implementation of Cayuse SP, we are aligning the entire Cayuse suite with K-State’s Single-Sign-On service and overall security posture.
The sign-on page can be found
here
.
If you have any issues access the Cayuse suite with your K-State eID and password, please email
cayuse@ksu.edu.
|
|
The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to announce
the July 1 rollout of Cayuse Sponsored Projects (Cayuse SP). Cayuse SP will simplify the entire sponsored project life cycle management from proposal creation to award close-out by providing a centralized system with cloud storage for all project records and easy access for research administrators and principal investigators.
There will be no K-State process changes for sponsored project proposal submissions due prior to July 1. If you are preparing a proposal that will be due July 1 or later please work closely with your
PreAward Services contact who will assist you with the proper routing during this transition. Please discuss any proposal-routing questions with your
PreAward Services contact or email questions regarding the Cayuse SP transition to
mollierobbins@k-state.edu.
In addition,
there will be an approximate two-week period during this transition when award documents will be processed, but these awards may appear in the FY 2020 annual sponsored project award report, instead of the FY 2019 report.
Concurrently, additional data validation efforts are under way with regards to K-State legacy information. It is anticipated that the K-State legacy dataset will be complete for upload and visible in the system near the end of July. For any questions related to this transition please contact
mollierobbins@ksu.edu.
|
|
Global Food Systems Seed Grant Program
Request for Proposals Fall 2019
|
|
 |
Kansas State has a multidisciplinary initiative in Global Food Systems that builds on our strengths and land-grant mission to help
address the challenge of sustainably feeding a world population that will double global food demand by 2050. Given the importance of food production to the Kansas economy, the innovation and knowledge resulting from this initiative are expected to assist with job creation and economic development within the state and to help Kansas remain a leader in food production.
To this end, the State of Kansas has provided K-State with funding for GFS-related research, workforce development, and economic development and innovation activities. The GFS Seed Grant Program addressed by this Request for Proposals (RFP) is supported by this state funding.
The GFS Seed Grant Program invites applications for innovative research in all aspects of global food systems including, but not limited to: increasing food production (crops or livestock, e.g. crop yield improvement, pest management, or animal health); better management of water and other resources/systems related to food production and distribution, better management of the food produced; keeping food systems safe (includes both food safety and bio/agro security); increasing food nutritional value; and combating obesity and nutritional illiteracy. Innovative educational and outreach (e.g., use of the arts as an engagement medium) proposals related to these topics are also sought, as are studies related to the policy, social concerns and economic factors which help drive food systems.
Preference will be given to projects that are interdisciplinary, engaging multiple disciplines and multiple colleges. Students (graduate and/or undergraduate) should be integrated into projects to help develop the future food systems workforce. Collaboration with industry is encouraged, particularly with Kansas-based companies or companies where there is an opportunity for job creation/investment within the state.
Funds made available through this innovation grant may support activities such as pilot projects, workshops, planning activities or program development, equipment purchase, or external consultants with appropriate justification (discuss with ORD prior to inclusion) as appropriate to achieve the stated goals and objectives. Funds may not be used to sustain ongoing projects and awards are not renewable.
The funding available in this call for proposals is $500,000; another $250,000 will be available in a Spring 2020 call. Requests may be made up to a total of $100,000 in direct costs for a 1-year period of performance; however, most awards will be in the $20,000-$50,000 range.
|
|
|
|
Fiscal Year 2020 Fringe Benefit Rates for Proposal Budgets
|
|
Human Capital Services has confirmed fringe benefit rates for fiscal year 2020. These rates are effective immediately and should be used when preparing budget estimates to be included in proposals for extramural support. To facilitate the transition to these new rates, budgets that are in process will be accepted at the old rate until July 19, 2019 at which time
PreAward Services will require the adoption of fiscal year 2020 rates.
Fiscal year 2020 rates are as follows:
- Faculty and unclassified staff: 31%
- 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: 8.6%
- Graduate research assistants and graduate teaching assistants enrolled in six hours or more and who have appointments of 0.5 time or greater: 9% — this includes the percentage allocable to employer's share of health insurance
Please circulate this notification to all who need to know these new rates.
Questions? Call PreAward Services at 785-532-6804 or send email to
research@k-state.edu.
|
|
Agency news and trending topics
|
|
The metrology revolution is gathering pace. Hot on the heels of an overhaul of the most fundamental ‘base’ units of measure in the International System of Units (SI) last month, some metrologists are focusing on their next target: pressure. US researchers have now developed a new way to define pressure and its derived SI unit, the pascal — one that they say will, within a year, begin to replace the mercury-based measurement methods that have been in use since 1643.
Hey science, your posters stink. Mike Morrison, a Ph.D. candidate in organizational psychology at Michigan State University, is way too polite to say it that way. But that's the implicit message behind his #betterposter campaign for less cluttered, more user-friendly scientific conference posters.
Despite decades of talk and years of occasionally substantial investments, academe has made relatively little progress in diversifying the faculty ranks in many science and engineering disciplines. And one of the key causes is something scientists aren’t doing much to resolve. We have all sorts of detailed programs, policies, and procedures to guide us in equitable faculty hiring. Some departments may not always follow those best practices, but at least they are clearly established. Yet we rarely have any such things in place when it comes to recruiting postdocs and other early career scientists.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has elected Qu Dongyu — China’s vice-minister of agriculture and rural affairs — as its next director-general. Qu will be the first head of the agency from China, and succeeds Brazil’s José Graziano da Silva. He will start his four-year term on August 1. The FAO wields considerable influence on almost every aspect of food and agriculture, including global and local policies, and helps to shape agricultural research agendas. With around 11,500 employees, it is the UN’s largest technical agency, and has a US$2.6-billion budget for 2018–19.
Earlier this month, Robert Downey Jr. announced that he was forming a new organization, the Footprint Coalition, to apply technology to "clean up" the planet. The coalition's website is still scant on details, just a teaser for news to come. But regardless of how Downey Jr.'s grand plan shapes up, the idea is notable for its premise: New tools can and should be developed to understand and protect the natural world. I, for one, welcome these new conservation technologists.
Around the world, people have a great curiosity for science but find it intimidating at the same time, according to 3M's 2019 State of Science Index which polled more than 14,000 adults in 14 countries. The results show that 72 percent of people are curious about science and 85 percent say they know little to nothing about the subject. About 85 percent of respondents wish they knew more about science. ' What drives interest in science the most is the belief that advancements will benefit future generations, and many (80 percent) see a future in STEM for their kids.
New rules from the National Science Foundation on reporting sexual harassment by someone with an NSF grant raise questions about due process, university administrators say. Yesterday, a key congressional panel took those concerns to heart by modifying language in a bill that would require the administration to write guidelines applying to half a dozen major federal research agencies.
|
|
k-state.edu/research
researchweekly@k-state.edu
785.532.5110
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
