University Research Council
February 17, 2009
Meeting Summary
Multidisciplinary Grant Award Report
Valerian Kagan, Professor in the Graduate
School of Public Health, reported on the status of his multidisciplinary grant
project. Faculty members from GSPH, the School of Engineering,
and the School of
Arts and Sciences
participate in the project, which deals with issues related to nanoparticle toxicity (specifically carbon nanotubes). Carbon nanotubes are one-atom-thick rolls of graphite 100,000
times smaller than a human hair yet stronger than steel and excellent
conductors of electricity and heat. They reinforce plastics, ceramics, or
concrete; conduct electricity in electronics or energy-conversion devices; and
are sensitive chemical sensors. Dr. Kagan
and his team developed the first natural, nontoxic method for biodegrading
carbon nanotubes, a finding that could help diminish
the environmental and health concerns that mar the otherwise bright prospects
of the super-strong materials. They found
that carbon nanotubes deteriorate when exposed to the
natural enzyme horseradish peroxidase. These results open the door to further
development of safe and natural methods of cleaning up carbon nanotube spills in the environment and the industrial or
laboratory setting.
Funding Trips
The Provost’s Office will sponsor
two funding trips this semester. The
first event is the annual Washington,
D.C., federal agencies trip. Faculty members from the social sciences and
education will meet with program officers from federal funding agencies. The trip will take place on Sunday and
Monday, March 22nd and 23rd. The second event is a new venture. Faculty members, primarily from the
humanities and social sciences, will discuss funding opportunities with
representatives of the European Union and its member countries. The trip will take place on Sunday and
Monday, April 19th and 20th.
Report from the Office of Research
Debra Evansky from the Office of
Research discussed several items related to foundation and federal research
funding:
- The American Heart Association is developing an electronic proposal-submission
process. The procedures are
undergoing testing.
- Grants.gov and NSF Fastlane were
recently overloaded due to high submission volumes. They may require additional staffing to
overcome the increasing traffic.
- Many foundations are
undergoing severe budget cuts. Several
foundations have gone under due to the severity of the economic decline.
Miscellaneous
Council members discussed several additional items:
- The Multidisciplinary Small
Grant and Central Research Development Fund programs
- The federal economic stimulus
package and federal research funding
- Foundation research funding
and the recession