University
Research Council
Meeting
Summary
REPORT FROM THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH
The Congressionally Directed
Medical Research Program will focus more on the health sciences in the future
than it has in the past. A deadline for
one research project has already passed, but researchers can still apply for
approximately six more projects.
Deadlines for the latter projects vary.
Links to relevant information on the Program can be found on the Office
of Research web site.
The Office of Environmental
Health and Safety is coordinating the University’s efforts to catalogue
potentially dangerous toxins. The
Federal government requires universities to report which “select agents” are
located at the university and which people have access to these agents.
The most recent lecture in the
Office of Research’s Continuing Education Series was held on March 4. The topic was sub-awards and subcontracts. The Office can lend videotapes of the lecture
to those who are interested.
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES MEETING
Senior university research
administrators met recently under the aegis of the Association of American
Universities. Some of the post-9/11
regulations and legislation are adversely affecting universities. New restrictions on foreign students hinder their
ability to enter the country and to conduct research. Academic freedom may be restricted if
definitions of sensitive material are altered.
SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM
Proposals to the Central
Research and Development Fund, i.e., the Small Grants Program, have been
submitted, and the Council now must assess them. David Brienza will
evaluate proposals from the health sciences; Phyllis Coontz will evaluate
proposals from the social sciences and the humanities; and Frank Tabakin will evaluate proposals from the sciences and
engineering.
INSTITUTE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
Copyright Policy
Members of the subcommittee
have commented on the draft policy. The
revised draft will be presented to the Council after the comments are
incorporated into the policy.
Department of Energy
There are no new announcements
Proposal Workshop
The first grant-writing
workshop, which will focus on the social sciences, will be held on April 16. Four representatives from social science
departments will discuss external funding opportunities, and a member of the
English department will discuss technical writing. A second grant-writing workshop, to be held
on April 30, will focus on multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary grants. Individuals from the University’s faculty,
the NSF, and the NIH will speak.
Research Expertise
The Provost’s Office is
encouraging members of the faculty to participate in the Community of Science
database. Deans of the Provost-area
schools are working with the Provost’s Office to complete this task.
Social Science Funding
The federal agencies trip will
be held on March 23-24. Faculty from
both Pitt and
MISCELLANEOUS
Several other issues were
addressed:
·
The Council on Academic Computing and the Provost’s
Office are sponsoring the High Performance Computing Initiative. This Initiative encourages researchers at the
University to use facilities at the
·
The Provost’s Office and the Technology
Commercialization Alliance will host a “Cool Devices” showcase on April
16. University researchers will discuss
recent inventions and innovative research.