University
Research Council
2005-2006 Activities Report
THE PROVOST’S CHARGE
Provost James Maher delivered the Council charge at the
September 8 Council meeting. He asked
the Council to:
The Provost also asked the Council to consider how the
University can best harness its research resources, human and otherwise, so that
it can define research questions for the nation. He wishes to create a process through which
the University can identify cutting-edge research questions and the individuals
at the University who are best equipped to address them.
COUNCIL RETREAT
Members of the Council met on May 10 to create an agenda
for the upcoming academic year. Issues
of interest included:
FACULTY RESEARCH ASSISTANCE
Central Research
Development Fund
Thirty-eight individuals applied for funding from the
Central Research Development Fund (CRDF).
Applications were evaluated by one of three Council subcommittees, whose
members specialize in the health sciences, the sciences and engineering, and
the humanities and the social sciences.
Eight of the 19 applications from health science fields were funded,
seven of the eight applications from the science and engineering fields were
funded, and 10 of the 11 applications from social science and humanities fields
were funded.
Members of the Council discussed procedures for evaluating
CRDF proposals and how to simplify the proposal-evaluation process. They previously have suggested that CRDF
proposals be submitted, distributed, and reviewed electronically.
Multidisciplinary Small
Grant Program
The Council sponsored the second annual interdisciplinary
small grant competition. The program is
designed to enhance opportunities for the University’s faculty to engage in
multidisciplinary research, scholarship, and creative endeavors. The program encourages
faculty with different skills and training to
address complex problems that span the humanities, social sciences,
engineering, physical sciences, and/or the biological and health sciences. The Council funded one of the 13
proposals. Richard Schulz, Director of
the
Carrie Leana, Professor in the
Katz Graduate School of Business, and Sherry Cleary, Assistant Professor in the
Department of Instruction and Learning, reported on the status of last year’s multidisciplinary
small grant program award. The project
is entitled “Work Discretion and Job Crafting in the U.S. Child Care
Industry.” Drs. Leana
and Cleary have compiled available data on childcare providers in
Federal Agency Briefing
Trip
Twenty members of the University of Pittsburgh’s and four
members of Duquesne University’s engineering and science faculty, as well as
several grant administration staff, participated in this year’s annual federal
agencies’ briefing trip. Representatives
from NSF, NIH, DOD, the Department of Energy, and the American Association of
Universities spoke at the March 27 meeting.
The speakers provided information on discipline-specific research
programs, agency contacts, and proposal review criteria. They also discussed undergraduate research
programs, joint research and educational programs, and teacher education
programs.
CONDUCTING CUTTING-
Project-Development
Models
Carey Balaban, Professor in the Department of
Otolaryngology, discussed methods that can be used to develop cutting-edge
research projects. These projects often
integrate multiple disciplines while maintaining the rigor associated with each
discipline’s research tradition. They
also usually utilize the expertise of senior faculty both to provide guidance
for the project and to develop new lines of research for junior faculty.
Some government agencies, such as DARPA, specialize in
nontraditional research programs. They
use an iterative process to develop projects.
An “advanced concepts group” invites research groups to submit white
papers or brief proposals, selects several groups to continue to the “proof of
concept” stage, and then funds the most promising projects. Projects are evaluated on a periodic basis by
advisory groups and may take five to ten years to reach fruition.
Federal Funding for
Cutting-Edge Research
Dennis McBride, Director of the Potomac Institute for
Policy Studies, outlined two models of federal funding: the peer-review
approach and the “red-meat” approach.
The former model is traditionally used by the NIH and the NSF. However, personal relationships, professional
reputation, and inside information are subjective elements that can alter the
objectivity associated with peer review.
The latter model is frequently used by DARPA. Program officers will subject proposals and
white papers to rigorous review, but they possess greater leeway in committing
funds to projects and need not necessarily follow the traditional
proposal-submission process.
Dr. McBride also discussed trends in interdisciplinary
scholarship. Nanotechnology, energy, the
social sciences and national security, and genetic approaches to the sciences
are up-and-coming interdisciplinary topics.
Dr. McBride highlighted four obstacles to this type of research:
OFFICE OF RESEARCH
Allen DiPalma, Director of the
Office of Research, frequently reported on the activities of the Office. Milestones and achievements often were
announced. The following is a breakdown
by area:
Electronic Research
Administration
The first module of the Office’s Internal Grants
Management Software (InfoEd) was launched in November,
tested during December, January, and February, and then released for general
use. This module captures all
relevant pre-award and immediate post-award information so that investigators
and administrators can track proposals. The second module will support
integrated proposal writing and electronic reporting and tracking
capabilities. It should be launched in
the fall of 2006.
Grants.gov
Universities throughout the country are concerned that
Grants.gov may become the required proposal-submission platform before the
universities are prepared to use it. The
NIH will require researchers to submit proposals via Grants.gov earlier than
many other federal agencies. The Office
of Research’s staff is developing standardized procedures to enable faculty and
staff to properly utilize the system. In February 2006, the Office of
Research instituted a year-long training program geared towards users of the
site. The Office sponsors an open forum
on the system each month. Departments
and schools can request more targeted training.
Material Transfer
Agreements
External research sponsors are introducing increasingly
restrictive language into grants and contracts.
The Office of Research’s staff often must address proposed limitations
on the use of intellectual property and conflicts with University
policies. The additional effort required
to resolve these issues increases the time required to process grants and
contracts. In order to process these
agreements more efficiently, the Office’s staff has developed a checklist of
compliance issues that must be addressed prior to signing material transfer
agreements (MTAs).
The Office of Research sponsored a University-wide forum that dealt with
MTAs.
NIH eRA Commons
The NIH altered several of the eRA
Commons’ operating procedures. The NIH will
not require a principal investigator’s signature as part of the application or
reporting process. The NIH will require
the investigator’s organization to secure and retain the required written
assurances at the institutional level. Proposals
submitted to the NIH will be delivered to the relevant officials by default if
all information on the proposal is correct.
Previously, the principal investigator had been required to verify
electronically the information even when no errors were found.
INVITED
PRESENTATIONS
NSF Graduate
Fellowships
Amy Eckhardt, from the
University’s
Undergraduate
Research Programs
Joe Grabowski, Associate Professor in the Department of
Chemistry, discussed undergraduate research programs at the University. Research universities are cultivating
undergraduate researchers to a greater degree than they have in the past. Many universities have developed programs
that encourage faculty to mentor undergraduate students, sponsor undergraduate
students in research labs, and incorporate research components into
undergraduate degrees. Undergraduate
research at the
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Office of Experiential
Learning sponsors numerous programs that are related to undergraduate
research. Examples include the First
Experiences in Research Program, which offers opportunities for second-semester
freshmen to become involved in faculty research projects; the Research
Experience for Undergraduates Program, which gives students an opportunity to
work in research labs for an extended period of time; and the Brackenridge
Undergraduate Research Fellowships, which enable undergraduates to complete
independent research projects.
Grants.gov
Allen DiPalma
discussed Grants.gov, the federal government’s new Internet-based,
grant-application site. Grants.gov is an initiative that is designed
to improve access to federal funding programs.
It is a one-stop shop through which researchers can apply for funding
from more than 1000 programs. Grants.gov
should reduce the time and costs associated with applying for grants, limit the
need to interface with multiple agencies, and reduce redundant information and
data requests.
Unfortunately, as with most new systems, users must invest
some effort to become familiar with the site and to eliminate any bugs in the
site’s software. Both principal
investigators and Office of Research staff must learn new procedures. Researchers also must download PDF-generation
software (i.e., PureEdge viewer) in order to apply
for grants. A Macintosh-compatible
version of PureEdge does not yet exist, but this
software should be available to Macintosh users in November of 2006.
MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
Members of the Council discussed several recurring issues
during the academic year. These issues
included:
Copyright Policy
Members of the
Hurricane Katrina
and
Dr. Klinzing discussed the effect of Hurricane Katrina
upon
MEMBERS
|
Chair |
George E. Klinzing, Vice Provost for Research |
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Faculty
of Arts and Sciences |
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Graduate
|
John
Mendeloff |
|
Graduate
|
Stephen
Wisniewski |
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Office
of the Provost |
Nicole Constable, FAS |
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|
Esther Gal-Or, KGSB |
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Janelle
Greenberg, FAS |
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Peyman Givi |
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Mike Lovell |
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Rory A. Cooper |
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Michael Lewis |
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Raman Venkataramanan |
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Gregory L. Page |
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John Mullennix |
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University
Senate |
Patricia W. Dowling, Medicine |
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|
Gene W. Gruver, FAS |