Category: Campus News

12/10/09

Research and Creative Activity Awards

 
The Research and Creative Activity Committee (RCAC) received 10 internal faculty funding proposals; totaling over $141,000.  In total, 5 awards were made and nearly $56,000 was distributed.  Below are the awardees for Fall 09 Research and Creativity funding:  
 
“Complexity and Resiliency-Identities of Children Adopted from China”: Wei Cao, Education, SEHS, Principal Investigator 
 
“Numerical Simulations for Vibrio Cholerae Colonization of the Human Small Intestine”: Daniel J. Coffield, Jr., Mathematics, CAS, Principal Investigator
 
“The Medicaid Payment’s Impact on Nursing Home Quality of Care:  A Multilevel Analysis Using 2004 National Nursing Home Survey Data”: Yu (Sunny) Kang, Health Sciences & Administrations, SHPS, Principal Investigator
 
“Building the Theoretical Model for Investigations and Reaction Mechanism of Matalloproteins”: Jie Song, Chemistry, CAS, Principal Investigator
 
“The Effectiveness of a Combined Unloaded Passive/Active Exercise Program and a Self-Management Education on Function and Self-Efficacy”: Edgar Torres, Physical Therapy, SHPS, Principal Investigator; Becky Rodda, Physical Therapy, Co-investigator; Jason Hamilton, Urban Health & Wellness Center, Co-Investigator

Congratulations to all of our recipients!

The tentative date for the Winter 10 RCAC Request for Proposals is February 1, 2010 with an application submission deadline of March 12, 2010.

11/25/09

Director Candidate Interviews

Candidates have been identified for the Research Director. Join us in open interviews for each of the following candidates:

(1) Terry Van Allen: Tuesday, 12/1/09 from 11:15am-12:00pm in Michigan Room A

(2) Michael Shaw: Thursday, 12/3/09 from 2:00pm-2:45pm, in the Happenings Room

(3) Darren Stoub: Monday, 12/7/09 from 3:00pm-3:45pm, in 329 French Hall

(4) Nancy Birk: Thursday, 12/10/09 from 1:15pm-2:00pm, MI Room B

Please attend and provide your feedback as the search committee works to fill this important position.

11/6/09

Undergraduate Research Conferences

Upcoming deadlines for Undergraduate Research Conferences:

Posters on the Hill

As a final notice, the deadline for the 2010 Posters on the Hill Conference is on Tues. Nov 10, by 11:59 pm. Posters on the Hill is a poster conference hosting by the Council on Undergraduate Research where selected students from across the nation have the opportunity to present their research at the Nation’s Capitol. The deadline to submit an abstract is coming up soon! 

For more information about Posters on the Hill, please visit: http://www.umflint.edu/research/student_programs/CUR/posters_hill.htm or directly on the CUR website at: http://www.cur.org/pohcall.html 

National Conference on Undergraduate Research 

It’s not too late to register for the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. The event showcases the work of hundreds of students from across the nation. Though NCUR is celebrating its 24th year now, UM-Flint has just recently began having students present at the event. If you would like to take your research up a notch and present at the national level, NCUR is for you. 

This year’s event will take place at the University of Montana. Once I know how many students are accepted to present, we will make our arrangements. The last date to submit an abstract is Dec. 4, 2009  The last date to submit an abstract has been extended to Dec. 9, 2009 by midnight.  Any interested students must have a faculty advisor and must list me as the institutional contact. Submit before it’s too late! For more information, please visit: http://www.umflint.edu/research/student_programs/NCUR/home.htm

10/22/09

Introduction to SPSS workshop

spss1The Office of Research is hosting a multi-session workshop designed to introduce users to SPSS, a powerful software tool used for statistical analysis.  The session will be facilitated by Joe Kazemi from the Center for Statistical Consultation and Research (CSCAR). This series is being offered on two different occassions, with four session in the first series and five sessions in the next.  Participation in all sessions is required for each series.

The most upcoming session starts next week, October 29. Sign up today!

To register for the workshop series or for more information about the other workshops available, please visit our Workshop Schedule.

10/19/09

Faculty Presenters Needed!

Earlier this year,  a brief study was conducted examining faculty perceptions of undergraduate research at UM-Flint. A central theme pointed out by many of you was the general lack of research skills students possessed. Even if students had an interest in doing research, they did not always have the requisite skills; thus calling for you to devote even more time preparing and training students. In response to your comments and suggestions, the Office of Research plans to launch a series of workshops next semester; designed to improve general research skills of our students. Tentatively, here are the following topic areas:

  • Getting started (identifying research interests, forming research questions, finding a faculty mentor)
  • Conducting literature reviews
  • Library Research
  • Research Design
  • Statistical Analysis and Interpretation
  • Writing Research Papers
  • Creating a Research Presentation
  • Submitting a Paper for Publication
  • Research Opportunities on Campus
  • Panel Discussion: “From the Students’ Mouths: Perspectives from Research Students” (I plan to recruit some of my UROP students for this panel, but I’d love your suggestions for student researchers)

We plan to host these 1-hour sessions in the winter semester, leading up to Meeting of Minds (which, by the way, will be hosted by UM-Flint this year. More on that in the upcoming months). But before we can start publicizing, we need faculty willing to facilitate any of the workshops above. Also, if you have any other research topic areas you would like to cover (ideally, of a general nature), your suggestions are welcomed!

If you’re interested in presenting on any of these areas, please contact Andre Louis. We would like to have a roster in place by December 1st.

Thanks for all you do in support of undergraduate research on our campus!

10/14/09

Staff Funding Award

Congratulations to Tendaji Ganges; Director of Educational Opportunity Initiatives for being awarded $22,080 from from the State of Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth. The award was for his project:  “GEAR UP / College Day – Year 4.”

10/11/09

Goodbye John!

Thanks for your leadership and for promoting a new culture of research at UM-Flint. Your time spent with us has made a U Difference!

Good luck during the next phase of your career!

09/28/09

Faculty Research Awards

Congratulations to the following faculty for receiving research awards:

  • Paula Nas, Lecturer in the Department of Economics: Paula received funding from the National Council on Economic Education for her project “World Fest 2010” for $9,869.
  • Marsha Lesley, Assistant Professor of Nursing: Marsha received an award from Lapeer County for her project “Clubhouse Enhancement – Improving Health Outcomes” for  $5,496.

Congratulations to our recepients!

09/23/09

Faculty Research Award

Congratulations to Shan Parker, Associate Professor of Health Care, Health Sciences and Administration, who is a co-investigator with colleagues in Ann Arbor on the following award: “Prevention Research Center of Michigan,” Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. $4,799,984 was awarded for the project!

09/3/09

John Callewaert’s Departure

From the desk of Chris Waters, Acting Associate Provost:

It is with great regret that I share with the university community the intention of Sponsored Research and Programs Director, John Callewaert to leave us for an opportunity to which he could not say no. He will be assuming the title of Integrated Assessment Director (research lead) with the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute in Ann Arbor (http://www.graham.umich.edu/). He will be coordinating research projects focused on local, regional and international issues such as campus sustainability and sustainable development in Detroit. The Graham Institute reports to the Provost’s office in Ann Arbor. It offers him a once in a lifetime career opportunity to combine his professional training and experience.

In the all too brief time John was with us he has done much to broaden the scope of and develop our Office of Research both physically and operationally. Since joining us in January 2008, he has become well known and respected across campus. He improved communication about research opportunities with weekly funding opportunity announcements that always also included warm congratulations to those successful in obtaining funding. He has done much to strengthen our ties with OVPR in Ann Arbor and has gone a long way toward creating a sense of a culture of research on our campus. In doing this, John has instituted incentives for faculty and developed workshops as well, both demystifying and rewarding faculty participation in grant writing.

John also presided over the recent renovations in the Office of Research and a couple of successful Office of Research staff hires. He has created an atmosphere that is physically, visually and psychologically harmonious in the process. I am sure his staff will dearly miss him.

John’s last day in his position at the University of Michigan-Flint will be October 9th. I am grateful to him for staying with us as long as he has and as long as he could.

On behalf of the Office of Research staff and the University of Michigan-Flint community, thanks John for the time you spent with us! Good luck during the next phase of your career!