September 18, 2019
Funding Connection


The National Science Foundation’s Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace program welcomes proposals that address cybersecurity and privacy, and draw on expertise in one or more of these areas: computing, communication and information sciences; engineering; education; mathematics; statistics; and social, behavioral, and economic sciences. 


The Simons Foundation’s  Collaborations in Mathematics and the Physical Sciences   program’s goal is to stimulate progress on fundamental scientific questions of major importance in mathematics, theoretical physics and theoretical computer science.



Biosafety Month 2019
October is the 6th annual Biosafety Month, and the Kansas State University Research Compliance Office, or URCO, is joining the American Biological Safety Association, or ABSA in the celebration.

The theme for this October is, Beyond the Lab: Increasing the Visibility of Biosafety and Biosecurity. This is an opportunity for individuals and organizations at K-State to review and enhance their biosafety and biosecurity standards, and ABSA suggests a number of activities including:

  • Promoting visibility of biosafety and biosecurity professionals in our workplace and community;
  • Highlighting the multidimensional nature of the biosafety and biosecurity profession;
  • Defining how biosafety and biosecurity professionals are more than compliance people;
  • Advocating for the education, training, and support of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, or STEM, fields;
  • Recognizing biosafety as a scientific discipline;
  • Supporting STEM students’ awareness and interest in the profession through outreach and interactions at all educational levels;
  • Fostering dialogue, transparency, and education in work involving biological materials with all stakeholders.

To celebration Biosafety Month, URCO will be featuring a short weekly video on their website that explains the various aspects of compliance that the Institutional Biosafety Committee helps to oversee. 

If your department has biosafety success stories of your own, please email URCO at comply@k-state.edu, and they will featured on the website.

URCO looks forward to the month ahead and is excited to use the momentum to further enhance K-State’s culture of biosafety. 

Find additional information about Biosafety Month.

This week:  Jim Stack is a professor of plant pathology at Kansas State University and director of the Great Plains Diagnostic Network. His areas of research emphasis include detection and diagnosis of diseases in natural and agricultural plant systems, threat identification, vulnerability assessments, and risk analyses for natural, accidental, and intentional threats to plant systems, as well as epidemiology and management of field crop diseases in the Northern Great Plains.

Events and announcements
Research Trainee Program proposals due September 25

The  National Science Foundation’s   Research Trainee Program (NRT)   program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, and potentially transformative models for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduate education training.  Proposals are requested in any interdisciplinary or  convergent  research theme of national priority, with special emphasis on the research areas in  NSF's 10 Big Ideas . Note this is a limited submission with notifications – a working title and a list of team members – due to the Office of Research Development by September 25, 2019 to ordlimitedsubs@k-state.edu . If an internal competition is needed, preproposals are due October 23, 2019.
Major Research Instrumentation Program proposals due October 21

NSF’s  Major Research Instrumentation Program proposals requests support for the acquisition or development of a research instrument or components when combined serve as an integrated research instrument that are too costly or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. This is a limited submission with K-State only able to submit three proposals.  If you are interested in this opportunity, send a notification – a working title and a team list – to ordlimitedsubs@k-state.edu  by September 23, 2019. If an internal competition is needed, preproposals are due October 21, 2019. 

The K-State Libraries subscription to RefWorks will end on Dec. 31, 2019. All users who want to keep citations and PDFs stored in RefWorks must transfer them to an alternate citation manager. After December 31,2019, K-State users' RefWorks accounts will be permanently inaccessible.

Due to declining budgets and the growing financial burden created by the  serials crisis , K-State Libraries must make  ongoing cancellations  to subscription-based materials. The decision to cancel RefWorks was based on the availability of free and low-cost alternatives and declining usage of the product.

More information about the RefWorks cancellation is available at the K-State Libraries' website.
Celebrate National Research Administrator Day
7:45-9:45 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 25
102 Fairchild Hall

September 25 is National Research Administrator Day and the Office of PreAward Services and Sponsored Programs Accounting would like recognize the K-State research administrator community for their hard work, dedication and service to the university. Stop by Fairchild 102 for coffee, juice and rolls anytime from 7:45 to 9:45 in recognition of your integral roll in achieving the goals of K-State 2025.
3:30-5 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 26
126 Leadership Studies

Learn about graduate fellowship opportunities. Key funding opportunities from NSF, DoD, DoE, Hertz Foundation, and the American Association of University Women will be discussed . Opportunities in the humanities and social sciences will also be addressed. Plus, learn to search for fellowships on your own.


Reach statewide audience at Oct. 12 Science Fest with K-State

Science Fest with K-State – a new outreach event in Wichita – has additional space for faculty, staff and students to lead STEM-related activity booths.

The event is Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Wichita Public Library. It is part of Science Communication Week and connects with the 2019 NEA Big Read: Wichita selection of “Lab Girl” by Hope Jahren. For more information, visit  k-state.edu/sciencefest .

To submit an activity, email Erin Pennington at erin120@k-state.edu . 

Science Communication Week
October 12-19

The Kansas Science Communication Initiative along with the Sunset Zoo and other university and community partners, will celebrate science communication with events and activities.


3-5 p.m. 
Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019
K-State Alumni Center Banquet Room

K-State faculty, postdocs, graduate students and staff engaged in research, scholarly, and creative activity and discovery are invited to participate in  Research Connections .




Agency news and trending topics
Allergy to peanut, which is often severe, is one of the most common food allergies in the United States. Although previous studies have shown that peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) — ingesting small, controlled amounts of peanut protein —can desensitize adults and children and prevent life-threatening allergic reactions, the optimal duration and dose is unknown. nih.gov

Research suggests abundant nitrate increases microbes' capacity for carbon dioxide release   nsf.gov

Now, the theremin—a strange little invention that translates hand gestures into pitch and volume—could make a comeback. smithsonianmag.org

Tanya Golash-Boza gives faculty job applicants eight tips for writing a stellar diversity statement that stands out to search committees.   insidehighered.com
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