02/10/09

Updates in eResearch

A new version of eResearch (2.0), the web-based regulatory management system that centralizes the review and approval process for human subjects research applications, is scheduled to go live March 1.  Please be advised that due to the upgrade, it is anticipated that the system will be down February 27-March 1.  

The new system will be particularly helpful for exempt and not-regulated projects – reducing the number of questions by as many as 60.  More information on the new system and training dates will be sent soon.

02/10/09

Award News

Congratulations to Jonathan Jarosz in University Outreach who recently received a $1,625 grant for the following project: “Artistic Activism.” Jonathan’s work is being supported by the Greater Flint Arts Council/Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

02/4/09

Call for Proposals: RCAC

The Office of Research and the Research Creative Activity Committee (RCAC) would like to announce the Winter 2009 Call for Proposals. Proposals are due in the Office of Research by Friday, March 13 at 5:00 pm.  Please note that all proposals must be submitted in hard copy and electronically. Please follow the guidelines located on our website at:

http://www.umflint.edu/research/faculty_funding/RCAC_guidelines.htm. 

Be sure to review the guidelines carefully as there have been some changes made recently to the eligibility criteria and eligible project components sections.  If you have any questions or need assistance please feel free to contact the Office of Research at 810-762-3383.

01/27/09

UM-Flint students to present at the American Chemical Society

UM-Flint undergraduates Anthony Vida, Alexander Findlater, Hyeonjin Cho, and Trisiani Affandi will be presenting results of their research projects at the American Chemical Society in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 21-24. 

Anthony will be presenting work from his project entitled “B-Amino acid conformational energies and solvent effect.” Alexander’s project is entitled “Ground and low-lying excited states of C2O4.”  Hyeonjin (or Katie, as she likes to be called) will present her work on “Theoretical studies of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) monomers”. Finally, Trisiani will present her work on “Ground state and low-lying exciting states of NIC2.” Dr. Jie Song is serving as faculty advisor for all four students.

Congratulations Anthony, Alexander, Katie, and Trisiani!

01/23/09

UM-Flint student to present at NCUR

University of Michigan-Flint Honors student Cameron Waites will present his paper at the 23rd annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse on April 16-18, 2009. In doing so, Cameron will become the first student from the UM-Flint campus to ever present at the event. Dr. Maureen Thum is his advisor.

Waites’ paper “Pathetic Fool Or Political Operator: The Role of Polonius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet” explores the role of one of the playwright’s most misunderstood characters. The paper looks to examine how Shakespeare used Polonius as, according to Waites, “an astute manipulator who puts politics before personal relationships.” 

As an NCUR presenter, Waites will have 15 minutes to present his paper, in addition to a five minute session for responding to audience questions.

Established in 1987, NCUR has consistently been one of the largest national conferences for promoting undergraduate research, creative, and scholastic achievement. This three-day event draws thousands of visitors each year as well as hundreds of talented students representing over 400 colleges and universities nationally. Additonal information about NCUR can be found at http://www.ncur.org/.

Congratulations Cameron!

01/15/09

UM-Flint student publication featured

CSCAR consultant and doctoral student Brady West and UROP student Madhur Lamsal recently had a co-authored piece featured in both the New York Times, the Kansas City star, and the Ann Arbor News.  Brady and Madhur developed a statistical model for rating college football teams, leading to a paper “A New Application of Linear Modeling in the Prediction of College Football Bowl Outcomes and the Development of Team Ratings”, published in the Journal of Qualitative Analysis in Sports.

Congratulations Brady and Madhur!

01/13/09

Updated U-M Policy on ownership of student inventions

The language in the Tech Transfer Policy (SPG 303.4) concerning the ownership of student inventions has been updated to better reflect U-M’s existing student ownership practice and our commitment to student entrepreneurship.  The earlier Policy language provided that the University would claim ownership if the student was either an employee OR created the invention with “direct or indirect support of U-M-administered funds.” The new policy states that U-M will claim ownership of inventions ONLY when created in a student’s capacity as an employee (and where the invention relates to their employment).  Thus, any student-created invention, other than one made via employment or pursuant to a voluntary written assignment to the University, will belong to the student.

It is hoped this change in policy language will be attractive to students who should now feel free to bring their ideas into the campus setting without the perceived risk of U-M claiming ownership.  Direct comments or questions to:  Kenneth J. Nisbet, Executive Director U-M Tech Transfer, 734.763.0614, [email protected].

12/16/08

Bryer Research Fund Award

The Office of Institutional Advancement and Office of Research are pleased to announce the first recepient of the Dr. Ben F. Bryer Foundation Medical Research Fund award:

Dr. Joseph Sucic from the Department of Biology for his project “Subtilisin-like Proprotein Convertases and Metastasis.” Congratulations Dr. Sucic!

The Bryer fund was established by the family of Ben F. Bryer to encourage and support the medical research endeavors of University of Michigan-Flint faculty.  This research fund honors the accomplishments of Ben Bryer, surgeon, scientist, educator, author, and humanist, in his pursuit of medical knowledge.  Several excellent proposals were received and the Research and Creative Activity Committee selected Dr. Sucic’s proposal for the award ($6,795).  Special gratitude is extended to Dr. Bryer’s sister and foundation trustee, Bess Hurand, and her husband Arthur for making this fund possible. 

For more information about the Bryer award, please visit our website.

12/8/08

Research and Creative Activity Awards

In response to the fall 08 Request for Proposals, the Research and Creative Activity Committee (RCAC) received 10 proposals requesting more than $155,000 in funding.  In total, 6 awards were made and nearly $65,000 was distributed.  Below is a list of the Principal Investigators and titles for funded projects. 

  • Stephen Bernstein, English, Letters Home:  Alice Munro’s Poetics of Place
  • Guluma Gemeda, Africana Studies, The Education of Freed Slaves and the Building of Public Schools on the Sea Islands, 1861-1878.
  • Kazuko Hiramatsu, English, Preliminary Data Analysis of a Bilingual Child
  • Nathan Oaklander, Philosophy, C. D. Broad’s Philosophy of Time
  • Joseph Sucic, Biology, Metastasis as a Response to Environmental Stresses with a Tumor
  • Cristen Velliky, Communication & Visual Arts, The Development of a Unique Slip-Casting Body that has a Compatible Coefficient of Thermal-Expansion and Viscosity of Billet Cast Glass

The Winter 09 RCAC Request for Proposals will be issued February 2, 2009 with an application submission deadline of March 13, 2009.

Congratulations to the recepients!