NSM Faculty/Staff Newsletter

From the Office of the Dean

July 2020

Did You Know?

Mentors Needed for New Transfer Students

Faculty and staff can volunteer to mentor new Fall 2020 transfer students. Learn More

Office of Research Update

New Proposal Submissions

In June, NSM faculty submitted 25 research proposals (including 6 to NSF, 9 to NIH, 2 to DOE, 3 to DOD, 2 to NASA, 1 to NCAE, and more) corresponding to $26.28M in requested funding.

Awarded Research Grants

Mini Das (Physics) was awarded a $3,159,781 grant from NIH: “Development of Spectral Phase Contrast Micro-CT.”

Ricardo Azevedo (Biology & Biochemistry) was awarded a $559,941 grant from NSF: “Collaborative Research: Speciation in Laboratory Populations of Bacteriophage T7.”

Chengzhi Cai (Chemistry) was awarded a $491,730 grant from NSF: “Collaborative Research: Surface Functionalization to Promote Beneficial Biofilm Formation and Stability.”

Annalisa Quaini (Mathematics) was awarded a $481,454 grant from NSF: “Fusion-Inducing Liposomes for Efficient Intracellular Delivery: Continuum Models and Experiments.”

Yunsoo Choi (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) was awarded a $464,374 grant from NASA: “Inverse Modeling Using Aura Omi and AI Deep Learning Approach to Investigate NOx, HCHO, and Ozone Sensitivity for a Historical Period Over the Continental United States.”

Arne Lekven (Biology & Biochemistry) was awarded a $359,451 grant from NIH: “Olympus FV3000 Confocal Microscope for the Biology and Biochemistry Imaging Core Facility at the University of Houston.”

Andreas Mang (Mathematics) was awarded a $299,930 grant from NSF: “Fast Algorithms for Nonlinear Optimal Control of Geodesic Flows of Diffeomorphisms.”

Maxim Olshanskii (Mathematics) was awarded a $200,818 grant from NSF: “Numerical Analysis and Methods for Fluid Deformable Surfaces and Their Interaction with the Bulk.”

Aron Laszka (Computer Science) was awarded a $110,000 grant from NTT Research Inc.: “Joint Research Agreement.”

James Flynn (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) was awarded a $107,572 grant from Ramboll: “HOTCOG-Waco Ambient NOx Monitoring.”

Aron Laszka (Computer Science) was awarded a $44,945 grant from NSF: “Collaborative Research: Rapid: Addressing Transit Accessibility and Public Health Challenges Due to COVID-19.”

Lawrence Pinsky (Physics) was awarded a $40,960 grant from MDACC: “Salary Reimbursement Agreement for Bikash Panthi.”

Yunsoo Choi (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) was awarded a $34,782 grant from Anyang University: “The Optimization of Emissions of Precursors of Ozone and Aerosols for the Community Multiscale Air Quailty Modeling System (Cmaq) Using Artificial Intelligence Deep Neural Networks.”

Announcements

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.

Center for Carbon Management in Energy

The Center for Carbon Management in Energy at UH seeks to advance carbon management to help transform global energy markets and achieve sustainable energy development.

Proposals are being sought to generate new transformative research concepts in carbon management. The grants will foster the development of these concepts by providing preliminary data and concept proofs, as well as build a base for significant industry and marketplace support of impactful and relevant research that will attract industry investment and result in a long-term research program. Learn More