ORD Opportunities: Visiting Funding Agencies in Washington, D.C.

Twenty-two early career tenure-track faculty members from the colleges of agriculture, architecture, planning & design, arts and sciences, engineering, and K-State Polytechnic traveled to Washington, D.C. April 23-25 for the purpose of visiting Federal funding agencies to learn more about the types of research funding available from each agency. The faculty members also had individual meetings with one or more funding program officers at the agencies to discuss and get specific feedback on their own research ideas. 

Accompanying the group were members of the planning committee, including agriculture associate dean Draper and research administrators from arts and sciences and engineering. The trip was organized by the Office of Research Development, with four staff members in attendance. 

Individuals and small groups visited a wide range of funding agencies, including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Department of State, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, and the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute for Food and Agriculture. We were joined in D.C. and on agency visits by consultants from McAllister & Quinn to allow them to better understand faculty research interests and fine-tune their assistance. 

Pre-trip activities included two group orientation sessions to better prepare faculty to take advantage of this opportunity and maximize the benefits of meeting with funding agency officials. A post-trip debriefing survey will gather feedback and suggestions for improving the experience for possible future visits. 

OVPR has tracked the outcomes regarding proposal submission and outcomes for previous cohorts of travelers 2013-2018 and preliminary analysis indicates benefits such as funding success for faculty in disciplines historically underrepresented in research award data and increased success with award programs aimed specifically at early career faculty. In addition, multiple previous D.C. travelers report being invited to serve on grant review panels as a direct outcome of the experience.

How China is redrawing the map of world science

On a freezing November morning, Ashraf Islam is 3,000 kilometers from his family in balmy Bangladesh, but the weather is far from his mind as he gushes about the science opportunities he has encountered in Beijing. “We have good facilities at home, but the facilities here are nothing like what I’ve used before,” says Islam, who is working towards a PhD in China researching techniques to remove organic matter from wastewater, an acute problem in Bangladesh. Htet Aung Phyo, a PhD student from Myanmar, is using his Chinese-funded fellowship in Beijing to develop ways to use bacteria to extract copper from low-grade ore. If his project succeeds, it could help to extend the lives of copper mines in Myanmar, some of which are operated by a Chinese company. A breakthrough would also mean more jobs in his own country. “This is why I am here,” he says proudly. Phyo and Islam are two of 1,300 graduate students from dozens of countries who are spending up to four years in Beijing carrying out research to help solve scientific problems back home.

Another Big Move Hits Higher-Ed Publishing, as Wiley Buys Knewton

Another big publisher in higher ed is making a strategic move. John Wiley & Sons  announced on Monday  that it was buying the assets of Knewton, an 11-year-old company that has at times been held up as the  poster child for ed-tech overhype. Knewton was initially known for its adaptive-learning tools designed to work with content from commercial publishers, but more recently it has shifted focus toward its platform that incorporates open educational resources, or OER. The move came on the heels of last week’s  merger announcement  from Cengage and McGraw-Hill.

Male researchers’ ‘vague’ language more likely to win grants

Grant reviewers award lower scores to proposals from women than to those from men, even when they don’t know the gender of the applicant, an analysis of thousands of submissions to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has found. That’s because male and female scientists use different types of word on grant applications, according to the study, published by the US National Bureau of Economic Research. The study finds that women are more likely to choose words specific to their field to describe their science, whereas men tend to use less precise terms. These broader terms seem to be preferred by the reviewers who decide how to distribute the cash, says the analysis — even though proposals containing those words don’t lead to better research outcomes.

It's hard to know how much oil we have left, but this is our best guess

The pockets of oil trapped between Earth’s strata are finite, at least on a human time scale. It takes millennia of immense pressure and heat to transform ancient remains into fossil fuels. Economists and geologists are still debating when, whether, and how we’ll run out ­— the answer is a moving target. In the meantime, here’s our best guess as to how much of Earth’s milkshake we’ve got left to drink.

What Indian Elections Could Mean for Higher Ed

India has been undergoing the long process to elect its next Central government since April 11. The final counting is scheduled for 23 May.The results will have a lasting impact on the country’s higher education and research priorities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making a strong political pitch for a second term. He has been India’s Prime Minister since 2014. While his government had launched various flagship programs such as  Global Initiative of Academic Networks ,  National Institutional Ranking Framework ,  Atal Innovation Mission ,  Institutions of Eminence , etc., for improving the competitiveness of the system, the sector has had also been the locus of many controversies. Chauvinistic claims  about ancient India’s scientific and technological contributions made by a few ministers along with politically-motivated government interference in prominent academic institutions such as  Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi,  Film and Television Institute of India  in Pune,  University of Hyderabad , etc., have drawn criticism from many quarters, both nationally and internationally.

NIH researchers identify method to verify if children fasted before medical testing

Testing the blood for free fatty acids could help doctors verify if children fasted before undergoing tests for diabetes or other medical conditions, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Their study appears in  Pediatrics . An overnight fast is required for the blood glucose test used to diagnose  type 2 diabetes . However, earlier studies suggest that at least 6% of patients don’t fast sufficiently, potentially raising blood glucose and leading to an incorrect diagnosis and additional testing. Researchers from NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and other institutions paired the blood glucose test with a blood test for free fatty acids. Unlike blood glucose, which declines after a fast and increases after a meal, the blood level of free fatty acids increases after a fast and drops after a meal.

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