NSM Faculty/Staff Newsletter

From the Office of the Dean

August 2020

Did You Know?

Posting Undergraduate Research Positions

Faculty can post volunteer and paid research opportunities in NSM’s new Research Portal. Follow these instructions.
Related Article

Office of Research Update

New Proposal Submissions

In July, NSM faculty submitted 19 research proposals (including 3 to NSF, 2 to NIH, 1 to DARPA, 1 to DOD, 4 to NASA, 2 to IARPA and more) corresponding to $10.25M in requested funding.

Awarded Research Grants

Arjun Mukherjee (Computer Science) was awarded a $659,993 grant from U.S. Army Research: “Proactive Defensive Techniques for Deception-Based Attacks.”

Matthew Nicol (Mathematics) was awarded a $368,669 grant from NSF: “Analysis and Simulation of Extremes and Rare Events in Complex Systems.”

Ioannis Kakadiaris (Computer Science) was awarded a $217,410 grant from U.S. Department of Homeland Security: “CBP I94/Mobile Exit App Technical Vulnerability Evaluation and Hackathon.”

Zhigang Deng (Computer Science) was awarded a $204,591 grant from Hamad Medical Corp: “A Telemedicine System for Minimally Invasive Surgeries - Application Towards Surgical Treatment of Cancer and Renal Diseases.”

Alan Haynes (Mathematics) was awarded a $186,734 grant from NSF: “Diophantine Approximation and Aperiodic Order.”

James Flynn (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) was awarded a $197,245 grant from Ramboll: “Ambient Monitoring Near the Granbury Continuous Air Monitoring Station.”

James Flynn (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) was awarded a $133,494 and $115,668 grant from UT Austin/AQRP: “Galveston Offshore Ozone Observations (GO3); Characterization of Corpus Christi and San Antonio Air Quality During the 2020 Ozone Season.”

Yunsoo Choi (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) was awarded a $50,107 grant from Korea Oceanic & Atmospheric: “Development of Numerical Prediction Analysis and Application Techniques Based on Machine Learning.”

Yuxuan Wang (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) was awarded a $13,962 grant from Lamar University/TARC: “Quantifying Spatiotemporal Variations of Surface Ozone Trends in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Area and Identifying the Drivers.”

Bernhard Rappenglueck (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) was awarded a $13,962 grant from Lamar University/TARC: “Improving Local Wind and Ozone Modeling in Southeast Texas.”

Lawrence Pinsky (Physics) was awarded a $10,000 grant from Radiation Detection Technology: “X-DSMSND: A Neutron Camera with Integrated Pixel Read-Out.”

Announcements

National Institute of Health (NIH)
New Vertebrate Animals Section Training Module

Calling all applicants proposing research with vertebrate animals – check out the latest online learning module on the Vertebrate Animals Section in grant applications. This interactive module will assist applicants and offerors in preparing this section of the application and will serve as a valuable resource for reviewers in evaluating the Vertebrate Animal Section of applications and proposals.

This engaging module takes 30 minutes or less to complete and includes:

  • Overview of the requirements,
  • Checklist for applicants and reviewers,
  • Detailed instructions, and
  • Responsibilities of applicants, reviewers, and NIH staff.

See additional resources on the humane care and use of animals in PHS supported research on NIH’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) website.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Deadline Extensions

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NSF has extended upcoming deadlines for certain programs. Please see press statement 20-033 for a full list of extended deadlines.

National Science Foundation Separately Submitted Collaborative Proposals

Effective March 30, 2020, the research community can prepare and submit separately submitted collaborative proposals from multiple organizations in Research.gov. Proposers can now prepare Full, Research proposals in Research.gov that are:

  • Single submissions from one organization (available since April 2018)
  • Single submission collaborative proposals with subawards (available since June 2019)
  • Separately submitted collaborative proposals from multiple organizations

National Science Foundation (NSF) Biosketch and Current/Pending Support Formats

NSF has delayed the requirement to use NSF-approved formats for the biographical sketch and current and pending support sections of NSF proposals until October 5, 2020.

Proposers must continue to format these documents in accordance with the Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) requirements (see PAPPG sections II.C.2.f and II.C.2.h). NSF encourages the community to use these formats and continue to provide valuable feedback as NSF enhances them for future implementation. NSF still urges everyone to transition to the new formats now, so there is time to address any issues before the change.

NSF has made updates reflecting this implementation to the following policy guidance, websites, and frequently asked questions:

In addition, webinars covering the use of NSF-approved formats as well as all of the significant changes to the PAPPG are available on the NSF Policy Outreach website.

All other changes/updates to the PAPPG guide will apply beginning June 1. Specific items of note:

  • For the biographical sketch, the appointments section must list any titled position, whether or not remuneration is received
  • Also for the biosketch, “synergistic activities” must list up to 5 separate, specific entries. Multiple examples/bulleted lists to describe a single activity are not allowed.
  • For current/pending support, all support must be included, whether or not that funding goes to the university or directly to the individual. This includes projects for which the individual may be contributing effort but is not receiving salary support.
  • Projects with no time contributions or those with in-kind support should not be included in the current/pending document. In-kind support intended for use on the project being proposed in the application should appear in the “Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources” section.

Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)

CPRIT is suspending the first cycle of grant applications for fiscal year 2021 (FY 21.1) for Academic Research, Product Development Research and Prevention Program awards. CPRIT is taking this action in response to the unexpected impact to the State’s budget from the COVID-19 pandemic and a projected decrease in oil and gas revenues. CPRIT continues to evaluate releasing Requests for Applications (RFAs) for fiscal year 2021 and is committed to doing so if circumstances support it.

Internal Awards

National Centers Planning Award

The National Centers Planning Award funding is intended to provide up to 14 months of support to teams of researchers led by a UH faculty member to prepare for the submission of a proposal to a targeted funding opportunity.

Applications accepted through September 30, 2020, or until the funds are exhausted.