University
of Pittsburgh
University
Research Council
2001-2002
Activities Report
COUNCIL CHARGE
Provost Maher asked the Council to continue to:
·
Enhance
the research climate in fields not traditionally involved in funded research.
·
Facilitate
the formation of multidisciplinary teams.
·
Update
technology transfer policies.
He also requested that the Council:
·
Maintain
the Small Grants Program.
·
Encourage
new faculty to secure external funding.
·
Attend
to policies on copyright.
FACULTY ASSISTANCE
Federal Agency Briefing Trip
The Council compiled a report based upon surveys of prior
participants. Many individuals desire
more one-on-one interaction with federal program officers. Twenty-seven people participated in the most
recent trip (
Central Research
Development Fund (Small Grants Program)
Sixty proposals were submitted for this year’s competition. Three subcommittees, one each for the Health
Sciences, the Sciences and Engineering, and the Social Sciences and Humanities,
reviewed the proposals. The Health
Sciences Subcommittee recommended that seven of 18 proposals be funded; the
Sciences and Engineering Subcommittee recommended that 11 of 17 proposals be
funded; and the Social Sciences and Humanities Subcommittee recommended that 16
of 25 proposals be funded. Twenty-eight
proposals eventually were funded from a budget of $362,397.
Miscellaneous
·
Videotapes
entitled “Writing Successful Research Proposals,” “Writing Proposals for
Foundations,” and “Successful University Researchers” were distributed at the
most recent new faculty orientation.
·
Dr.
·
Dr.
Klinzing distributed copies of a DARPA Nanotechnology RFP. He wishes to form working-groups to evaluate
the announcement.
POLICIES
The following policies have been revised and will be
submitted to the Senate. The Senate
should review them in September.
Commercialization Policy
The policy has been revised and
sent to Senate President, Dr. James Cassing.
Copyright Policy
The Subcommittee and legal counsel currently are reviewing
the proposed changes.
Patent Policy
The Patent policy was modified to reflect current
university operations. Fifteen percent
of post-patent-expense income will go to the Office of Technology
Management. This policy has also been
sent to Dr. Cassing.
OFFICE OF RESEARCH
Mike Crouch, Director of the Office of Research, reported
on the activities of the Office in each meeting. The following are the highlights:
Operations
·
A
limited number of copies of the Office of Research Annual Report for FY 2000
are available. A summary of the report is posted on the Office of Research
Website.
·
The
Office is currently completing its preliminary FY 2001 awards report. The total awards amount increased
approximately 10 percent over the previous year.
·
Two
grants officers were hired. Their
responsibilities include the
Training
·
Numerous
researchers utilized the training certification modules. By the end of February, almost 7900 people
had completed Module 1 (Research Integrity), approximately 6000 people had
completed Module 2 (IRB), and around 4300 people had completed Module 3 (Animal
Care). Module 4 (Radiation Safety) was
not yet operational.
·
The
Faculty and Staff Research Administration Viewbook (a
grant assembly handbook) was updated and is available on the Office of Research
Website.
·
Two
teleconferences were held to educate research and administrative staff in the
areas of compliance with research requirements and responsible conduct of
research.
INFORMATION SESSIONS
Global Studies Program
Dr. Wolfgang Schlör discussed
the new Global Studies Program. The
Graduate Student
Recruitment
The Council discussed whether any centralized procedures
could enhance graduate student recruitment.
Dr. Klinzing suggested that Council work with the University Council on
Graduate Study to evaluate this issue.
NIH Graduate Student
Support
Dr. Edward Stricker from the
Department of Neuroscience discussed a 1999 National Academy of Sciences
report. Results indicate that a surplus
of bioscience Ph.D.s has developed. The
National Institutes of Health are expected to respond according to one of
several scenarios:
·
Standardize
student stipends and raise the graduate student stipend to $25,000 and the
postdoctoral student stipend to $45,000;
·
Limit
both the number of students on research grants and the number of years that
research grants can support students.
Either change would affect how the University functions.
Dr. Klinzing will contact the Governmental Relations office about this matter.
Post-Doctoral
Fellows
Research associates receive benefits, but post-doctoral
fellows do not. Dr. Elizabeth Baranger
wishes to propose a policy that limits the post-doctoral classification to
those individuals for whom the federal government does not provide benefits.
Council members were asked to speak with their colleagues regarding this
matter.
2001-2002 MEMBERSHIP
|
Chair |
Dr. |
|
|
|
|
Representing the |
|
|
|
Dr. Mary Marazita |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Anne M. Robertson |
|
Faculty of Arts and Sciences |
Dr. German Barrionuevo |
|
|
Dr. Irving J. Lowe |
|
|
Dr. Frank Tabakin |
|
Graduate |
Dr. Phyllis Coontz |
|
|
Dr. David M. Brienza |
|
|
Dr. David W. Tipper |
|
|
Dr. Steven H. Graham |
|
|
Dr. Richard A. Steinman |
|
|
Dr. Jack C. Yalowich |
|
|
Dr. Mary E. Kerr |
|
|
Dr. Raman Venkataramanan |
|
Graduate |
Dr. Roberta Ness |
|
Office of the Provost |
Dr. Kevin Ashley, |
|
|
Dr. Steven Husted,
FAS/Economics |
|
|
Dr. John Prescott, KGSB |
|
|
Dr. Evelyn Rawski,
FAS/History |
|
|
Dr. Assad A. Panah, Earth
& Planetary Sciences |
|
|
Dr. John D. Beuthin, Geology & Planetary Sciences |
|
University Senate |
Dr. Patricia W. Dowling,
Medicine/Molecular Genetics & Biochemistry |
|
|
Dr. Gene W. Gruver,
FAS/Economics |