Office of Research

DECEMBER 2020

Monthly Campus Updates from the Syracuse University Office of Research

CUSE Grant Program

Syracuse University’s Office of Research is pleased to announce the request for proposals for the 2021 Collaboration for Unprecedented Success and Excellence (CUSE) Grant Program. The purpose of this intramural grant program is to grow the research enterprise, enhance interdisciplinary collaborations and increase both extramural funding and high-quality scholarly output by Syracuse University faculty. For the 2021 funding cycle, we have added a new COVID-Relief opportunity that aims to assist faculty impacted by COVID-19 to maintain their research productivity and/or complete projects. 

Proposal Deadline: 5 p.m., March 1, 2021

More Information
 
 

Office of Research Events

The Office of Research is pleased to announce the first events for the Spring 2021 semester, including the Office of Research Awareness series and grant writing workshops. More events will be announced in January 2021, including sessions on budget planning and building evaluation plans. 

Office of Research Awareness: Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at SU

Jan. 27 | 11 a.m.-noon ET | Zoom

Join the Office of Research for a presentation that provides an overview of the types of intellectual property protection available for technologies, including software, such as patents and copyrights, and provide tips on when and how researchers should engage with the office. Registration is required.

Register
 

Office of Research Awareness: Introduction to the Office of Research Integrity and Protections

Feb. 3 | 10-11 a.m. ET | Zoom

Join the Office of Research for an overview of the various functions of the Office of Research Integrity and Protections including Human Research Protections, Animal Research, Financial Conflicts of Interest, Responsible Conduct of Research, Foreign Influence in Research and Export Control. Registration is required.                                                                                                                                                       

Register
 

Write Winning Grant Proposals: NSF Focus

Mar. 11 and 12 | 8:30 a.m.-noon ET | Zoom

This workshop will comprehensively address both practical and conceptual aspects that are important to writing competitive grant proposals. The virtual workshop will focus on proposal to the National Science Foundation.

Save the Date
 

NEH Regional Grant Writing Workshop

Mar. 19 | 10-11:30 a.m. ET | Zoom

Join the NEH Division of Education workshop for an overview of NEH grant opportunities, a review of sample applications to discuss application writing strategies, and Q & A. 

Save the Date
 

Building an Evaluation Plan for Projects and Proposals

Mar. 24 | 10-11:30 a.m. ET | Zoom

This workshop will provide strategies and models for designing effective program and proposal evaluation plans. It will offer attendees insights into and resources for developmental evaluation practices, implementation tracking and an overview of evaluation frameworks.

Register
 
 

Research News

Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Training and Scholarship in Water and Energy Continue to Thrive Despite COVID-19

Professor Vir Phoha Elected as a National Academy of Inventors Fellow

BioInspired Institute Awards First Six Seed Grants

Skepticism of Masks, Vaccinations Isn’t New: Ph.D. Candidate’s Research on 19th-Century Britain Provides Lessons for Today

Syracuse University Faculty Provide COVID Vaccine Expertise

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professors Receive Technological Innovation Awards

Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics Professor Awarded for Outstanding Research of a Medieval Monastic Text

Earth and Environmental Sciences Professors Contribute to Study on Future Climate Prediction 

Dacheng Ren Named Permanent Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science

Regina Luttrell Named Newhouse Associate Dean for Research and Creative Activity

Professor Kristen Barnes Named Associate Dean for Faculty Research in the College of Law

 

Campus Safety Reminders

As we continue our on-campus research, please remember the following precautions in University buildings: 

  • Wear face masks or face coverings.
  • Maintain least 6 feet of distance from other people in all directions.
  • Follow posted laboratory occupancy limits.
  • Clean and wipe down work surfaces when beginning work in the lab and prior to leaving the lab at the end of the day.
  • Clean and disinfect shared work areas and equipment after each use.
  • Wash your hands frequently throughout the day with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
  • If you are coming to campus, complete the Daily Health Screening Questionnaire which is sent by email every morning.
 

Campus Research Approvals

Below are reminders for approvals required during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Face-to-Face Human Participant Research—Human participant research is being conducted in person, but requires the submission and approval of a Return to Face-to-Face Research Plan prior to the conduct of in-person research. 

Visiting Scholars Requests—Visiting scholars are those who are coming to campus from outside of the Central New York region for the purpose of long-term academic research.

Approval for Essential Research Travel—University-sponsored travel by faculty and staff for essential research must be approved by the relevant chair, associate dean of research and the interim vice president for research, and for international research by the interim provost.

Service Provider, Vendor and Visitor Access to Campus—Access for service providers, vendors and individuals conducting business with a University office/department must be approved in advance by the relevant dean, director or unit leader (or their designee).

 

Limited Submission Opportunities

The following Limited Submission Opportunities were announced over the past month and are currently open. A full explanation of the process may be found here. Internal applications are accepted until the due dates listed.

2021 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Grants for Arts Projects
Internal Pre-proposal Due Date: Jan. 26, 2021
Number of Internal Nominees: 1
Funding Amount: $10,000-$100,000
Through project-based funding, the program supports public engagement with, and access to, various forms of excellent art across the nation, the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, learning in the arts at all stages of life, and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.

2021 NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program – REVISED (Letter of Intent)
Internal Letter of Intent Due Date: Jan. 6, 2021
Number of Internal Nominees: 2
Funding Amount: Up to $3,000,000 over five years
The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas, through a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based and aligned with changing workforce and research needs. 

2021 NSF Innovation Corps Hubs Program (I-Corps Hubs) (Letter of Intent)
Internal Letter of Intent Due Date: Feb. 1, 2021
Number of Internal Nominees: 1
Funding Amount: Up to $3,000,000 per year for five years
Through this solicitation, NSF seeks to evolve the current structure of the I-Corps Program, in which Teams, Nodes, and Sites are funded through separate programs, toward a more integrated operational model capable of sustained operation at the scope and scale required to support the expansion of the NSF I-Corps Program.

Limited Submissions
 
 

Funding Opportunities

The Office of Proposal Support Services has developed a Sponsored Funding Opportunities webpage that is updated weekly with new federal, state and foundation funding opportunities relevant to campus. Below are some highlighted opportunities:

New York Public Library Short-term Research Fellowships
Supports scholars from outside the New York metropolitan area engaged in research. Fellowship stipends are $1,000 per week for a minimum of two and maximum of four weeks.
Deadline: Jan. 25, 2021 (Applications for residence between June 1, 2020 – May 30, 2021 will be invited.) 

NSF and NIH Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH)
The purpose of this interagency program solicitation is to support the development of transformative high-risk, high-reward advances in computer and information science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, behavioral and/or cognitive research to address pressing questions in the biomedical and public health communities.
Deadline: Feb. 16, 2021

NSF Smart and Connected Communities
The S&CC program supports integrative research that addresses fundamental technological and social science dimensions of smart and connected communities and pilots solutions together with communities. 
Deadline: Feb. 24, 2021

Funding Opportunities
 
 

Sponsored Funding Awards

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) provides monthly updates on all proposals submitted through OSP and awarded to the Syracuse University community. For November 2020, Syracuse University had a record month with $10.6M in sponsored funding awards.

You may access OSP Highlights on answers.syr.edu (NetID and password required).

OSP Highlights
 
 

NSF Updates

NSF Logo

NSF Grants Conference

NSF recently hosted its Fall 2020 Grants conference virtually. Videos of the individual sessions and slides can be found on the NSF Resource Center webpage. Sessions included Introduction, Overview & Funding Types; Merit Review Process; Crosscutting Programs: CAREER; and many more! Take a look at these highly informative resources as you prepare your next NSF proposal.

REMINDER: Enforcement of New Formats

NSF started enforcing new formats for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support documents on Oct. 5. See our session for Office of Research Awareness: Updates to NSF Proposal Formats for more details.

 

NIH Updates

Check Out the New eRA Commons!

The newly redesigned eRA Commons log-in screen and landing screen, providing a cleaner, modern interface that reflects user feedback, will be released in January 2021. The new design will also provide enhanced security and stability for the Commons module.  

Writing a Winning Application—Nail Your Budget

Peer reviewers will use your budget request to gauge your understanding of how much your project will cost. Be realistic, request only what is necessary and reasonable, and justify everything, especially the unusual and “big ticket” items.

Understand Just-in-Time Requests

Some important time-sensitive information isn’t part of your application. Instead, you prepare it separately and send it before award, a process called just-in-time (JIT).

 

Office of Research Calendar

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Learn about what is going on in the Office of Research this month.

Full Events Calendar