Research News
January 2008 Issue
Table of Contents:
ERIF, Fieldhouse and Starr Fellowship Winners
Sigma Xi - Request for Nominations
Department of Defense New Rule on Indirect Costs
NSF Procedures Guide Revisions
Grants.gov - Application Guide Update
IIT Research ScholarshipsThe Deans of the Graduate College, Armour College of Engineering, and College of Science and Letters have renewed the IIT Research Scholarship program for the 2008-2009 academic year. The Research Scholar program provides a limited number of merit-based scholarships to high-quality science and engineering graduate students. The qualifications are as follows:
- The applicant must be a Ph.D. student who will start graduate studies in the Fall 2008
- Applicants to the following departments are eligible: AM, BCPS, BME, CAEE, CHBE, CS, ECE, MMAE.
- Applicants MUST be nominated by a full, assistant, or associate professor
- U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status is required
The scholarship is for one academic year and is nonrenewable. The scholarship includes 9 credits of tuition for the fall and spring semesters and a $20,000 annual stipend. The scholarship may be supplemented with additional funding from the academic unit. It is expected that academic units will provide financial support from external research funds in their unit following the scholarship period.
Academic units should submit the files of the students that they are nominating to Robert Lapointe by 5:00 p.m. Friday, February 15, 2008 ( lapointe@iit.edu , 7-7135, 301 MB). The nomination file should include the research scholar application form, and copies of the student�s IIT application form, professional statement, transcripts, GRE scores, and recommendation letters. Each academic unit may nominate two students.
As a condition of the award, the following reporting deadlines will be in effect:
- Progress Report due Friday, January 16, 2009
- Final Report due Friday, August 28, 2009
The reports should describe the research scholar�s progress in his/her degree program, including courses completed, research projects initiated, papers submitted/published, and proposals submitted.
All IIT Research Scholarship applicants are strongly encouraged to apply for an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship through the Division of Graduate Education (DGE): http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/dge/programs/grf/
Please note that the Provost Fellowship program has not been renewed for the 2008-2009 academic year.
ERIF, Fieldhouse and Starr Fellowship Winners
The Graduate College is pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 Educational and Research Initiative Fund (ERIF) grants.
- Brant Cage (BCPS)
Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Tracking of Labeled Stem and Cancer Cells - Eun-Jeong Lee (PSYCH)
Acculturative Stress, Stigma Toward Mental Illness, Help-Seeking Behaviors and Preferences for Mental Health Professionals Among Korean Students in U.S. - Dietmar Rempfer (MMAE)
Peter Land (ARCH)
Building Design for Sustainability: Integration of Wind Power Plants for Large Buildings - Matthew Spenko (MMAE)
Agile Mobile Robotics in Challenging Environments - Sammy Tin (MMAE)
The Impact of carbides on the Permeability of Dendrites: characterization and Modeling
The Graduate College is pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 Fieldhouse Fellowships:
- Maria Alonso del Pino (ECE)
Research Mentor: Guillermo Atkin - Yong Chen (CS)
Research Mentor: Xian-He Sun - Jing Huang (CHBE)
Research Mentor: Dimitri Gidaspow
The Graduate College is pleased to announce the winner of the 2008 Starr Fellowship:
- Vimal Paritosh (BCPS)
Research Mentor: Sandra Bishnoi
Request for Nominations
Sigma Xi / IIT Awards for Excellence in University Research
In recognition of the exemplary accomplishments in research, scholarship, and creative activity by faculty members and graduate students at Illinois Institute of Technology, the Office of the Provost, the Graduate College, and the IIT Chapter of Sigma Xi will again sponsor the Sigma Xi / IIT Awards for Excellence in University Research. Sigma Xi, a scientific research society, is a non-profit group of nearly 75,000 scientists and engineers who have been elected to the Society because of their research achievements or potential.
Eligibility
All full-time faculty members and full-time graduate students at Illinois Institute of Technology are eligible for consideration; four awards will be granted. A $500 award will be given to a distinguished senior member of the faculty who has consistently demonstrated extraordinary leadership in research, scholarship, or creative activity. A second $500 award will be given to a junior faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding potential in research, scholarship, or creative activity. For the purpose of the Sigma Xi Award a junior faculty member is defined as an assistant or associate professor who has been employed by IIT for less than 7 years and who has graduated with a Ph.D. degree within the last 10 years. Two student awards of $250 each will be given to graduate students who have demonstrated significant promise in research, scholarship, or creative activity. Each of the awardees will also receive commemorative plaque honoring this achievement.
Faculty nominations from 2006 and 2007 will be reconsidered this year, if the nominator agrees.
Nominations
The nomination material should include the following:
- A letter of nomination identifying the candidate and award level.
- A brief description of the accomplishments in research, scholarship, or creative activity of the nominee, and the significance and impact of this work. This description should be no more than two (2) single-spaced pages in length.
- At least three letters of support that attest to the significance and value of the accomplishments of the nominee or applicant.
- Curriculum Vitae of the candidate.
Please send nominations and applications to Robert Lapointe (lapointe@iit.edu), Graduate College, Main Building, Room 301, by Friday, March 14, 2008. Questions and inquiries can be directed to Ganesh Raman, Graduate College, Associate Dean Research (raman@iit.edu), or to Carlo Segre, IIT Sigma Xi Chapter, President (segre@iit.edu).
Department of Defense New Rule on Indirect Costs
On November 13, 2007, President Bush signed the FY2008 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill, Section 8115. The bill states: �Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available in this Act may be used to pay negotiated indirect cost rates on a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement (or similar arrangement) entered into by the Department of Defense and an entity in excess of 35 percent of the total costs of the contract, grant or agreement (or similar arrangement): Provided, that this limitation shall apply only to contracts, grants or cooperative agreements entered into after the date of the enactment of this Act using funds made available I this Act for fiscal year 2008 for basic research.�
What does this mean for current and future DOD grants? Institutions (such as IIT) that currently have a negotiated rate of 53.8 percent, or less, will be financially unaffected. We have been informed to continue to use our negotiated rate when developing the budget proposal. The awarding agency will be responsible for any adjustments to the budget proposal. However, if upon receipt of the award the adjustment was not made, OSRP must verify the indirect cost rate. Each award will be handled on a case by case basis. Please contact OSRP if you have any questions.
NSF Procedures Guide Revisions
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published a revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF 08-1). This replaces the previous version which was effective June 1, 2007.
While these new changes are effective January 5, 2008, we strongly encourage you to begin complying with these new guidelines now. The new publication can be accessed at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_sum.jsp?ods_key=papp.
These important changes affect your proposal preparations:
- A revision of the to the intellectual merit review criterion. The criterion now specifically includes evaluation of proposals for potentially transformative concepts.
- The Guide contains an update to the designated fonts that may be used when preparing an NSF proposal. The updated proposal margin and spacing requirements section in Chapter II.B.2 of the Grant Proposal Guide can be accessed at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf08_1/gpg_2.jsp#IIB2.
Font types which can be used are: Arial, Courier New or Palatino Linotype 10 points or larger; Times New Roman or Computer Modern family 11 points or larger for both fonts
Please read the full text for more detailed information.Grants.gov - Application Guide Update
The Grants.gov application Guide SF424 (R&R) for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Services (DHHS/PHS) has been updated. These changes will affect all proposal submissions to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposals. Changes include additions of a few new fields, updates to the help text, and several modifications to the lists of values that are presented in drop-down lists, among other changes.
Who are "senior/key personnel" and how do they differ from "other significant contributors?" What about consultants?
Senior/key personnel are defined as individuals who contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project in a substantive measurable way. The program director/principal investigator (PD/PI) is always considered senior/key personnel. The PD/PI may designate other senior/key personnel if they fit the definition. Biosketches, other support information, and level of effort greater than zero person months are all required of senior/key personnel named in the application.
Other significant contributors are those that are committed to contribute to the project, but without measurable effort (zero person months or "as needed"). Biosketches of other significant contributors are required; however, other support information is not.
A consultant is defined as an individual hired to give professional advice or services for a fee. Generally, a consultant is not considered senior/key personnel. Grantees should describe the services to be performed by the consultant(s) in their justification and include the number of days of anticipated consultation, the expected rate of compensation, travel, per diem, and other related costs for each. In those cases where a consultant may actually meet the definition of senior/key personnel, the applicant should list them as such and include the appropriate biosketch and other support information.
Does a significant change in level of effort for senior/key personnel require the prior approval of the grants management official (GMO)?
The NIH Grants Policy Statement requires prior approval of changes in status of senior/key personnel who are specifically designated in the Notice of Award (NoA).
Change in status is defined as withdrawal from the project, absence for any continuous period of three months or more, or reduction of time devoted to the project by 25 percent or more from the level in the approved application. The PD/PI is always named on the NoA and when multiple PD/PIs are involved all are automatically named on the NoA.
NIH program officials use discretion in naming senior/key personnel other than the PD/PI(s) in the NoA. This does not diminish the scientific contribution to the project of the other senior/key personnel; it merely limits the number of individuals that are affected by the prior approval requirement to those specifically named on the NoA.
What about the Key Personnel Report in the PHS 2590 Non-Competing Grant Progress Report?
There are several places where senior/key personnel are mentioned in the Progress Report. The PHS 2590 streamlined non-competing award process (SNAP) instructions request information on (1) changes in other support of senior/key personnel since the last reporting period, and (2) significant changes in the next budget period in the level of effort for the PD/PI or other personnel designated on the NoA from that which was approved for the project.
SNAP Question #1�changes in other support of senior/key personnel�refers to changes in active support of the PD/PI, and of all other personnel considered by the PD/PI to meet the definition of senior/key personnel (i.e., individuals who contribute in a substantive measurable way to the scientific development or execution of the project).
SNAP Question #2�significant change in level of effort�applies only to the PD/PI and other individuals designated on the NoA.
Due to restrictions by various sponsors, we can no longer publicize detailed information regarding awards. In order to give you an idea of what our �numbers� are in regards to proposals and awards, we can provide you with this information.
Please note that the proposal amounts listed in the November 2007 issue of Research News were incorrect. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Editor and Production Coordinator: Julia Chase chasej@iit.edu
Ali Cinar, Ph.D.
Dean of the Graduate College and
Vice Provost for Research
(312) 567-3637 cinar@iit.edu
Ganesh Raman, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research
(312) 567-3554 raman@iit.edu
The Staff of Research Support Services:
Toni R. Allen
Associate Director
Office of Sponsored Research & Programs
(312) 567-3035 allen@iit.edu
Pamela Andrews
Associate Director
Office of Sponsored Research & Programs
(312) 567-3022 andrewsp@iit.edu
Glenn Krell, M.P.A, C.R.A
Director
Office of Research Compliance and Proposal Development
(312) 567-7141 krell@iit.edu
Robert Lapointe, M.B.A
Manager, Research Marketing & Business Development
Graduate College
(312) 567-7135 lapointe@iit.edu
Domenica G. Pappas, C.R.A
Director
Office of Sponsored Research & Programs
(312) 567-3035 pappas@iit.edu
Flo Redmond, M.B.A
Associate Director
(312) 567-3340 redmond@iit.edu