How to subscribe to this blog

If you are new to blogs and RSS technology, Common Craft provides a brief video explanation. Faculty and staff that have Microsoft Outlook 2007 installed on their office computers may find it easier to read updates to this blog in Outlook.  A number of online feedreaders are available, including Googe Reader.

Resource: Fulbright Webinars

The Council for International Exchange of Scholars holds periodic webinars on topics ranging from Fulbright opportunities in specific regions, to preparing a project narrative for a Fulbright application.  Powerpoint slides and audio from past webinars are also available.

Opportunity: DOE Faculty-Student Teams (Deadline 2/2010

The Department of Education and NSF invite applications to the FaST program.

The FaST program will support a team comprised of one faculty member and 2 – 3 undergraduate students. The program provides hands-on research opportunities in DOE national laboratories during the summer. The faculty member identifies a mutually beneficial research area amenable to collaboration by the faculty member and the laboratory scientist. Potential areas of collaboration are based upon the Project Descriptions described at the specific DOE Office of Science laboratory.

AAPT issues statement on undergraduate research experiences

The American Association of Physics Teachers has issued a statement in support of undergraduate research experiences for students of physics.

Research in the real world involves the intense and often exhilarating experience of studying nature, learning some new things, and then bouncing that knowledge off fellow workers within your discipline to see if they agree. Richard Feynman likened this to cooperatively observing a chess game without knowing the rules – and gradually learning and celebrating a few of those beautiful rules and the evolving simplicity that should make up physics.

Whether in basic or applied sciences, every undergraduate physics major depends on such an experience to mature toward an investigative state-of-mind and self-confidence that will serve them well in their next professional endeavor. While often learning new experimental, theoretical, or analytical skills, they will also experience the very human frustrations, successes, serendipity, and late nights that can take science totally out of the classroom and into the fabric of their lives. Whether in a graduate school application or a job interview, they will have stories to tell about when they really helped figure something out.

Research experiences will necessarily take on different forms depending on the interests and goals of the student and on the resources and capabilities of their department and may begin early or late during the undergraduate years. Thus undergraduate research will not always involve sophisticated equipment or methodology, but it should be both meaningful and appropriate for the student and situation. On-campus faculty-mentored projects, participation in research at NSF-funded REU sites, research opportunities at national and corporate laboratories, and research opportunities provided through other federal agencies and private foundations should be strategically utilized to meet the needs of our students and departments.

 

via Physics Today

Resource: NEH database of funded projects

Faculty interested in applying for grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) are now able to access a database of all NEH funded projects since 1980.  Available information includes project title, organization, award amount, date range and a brief description.  More information about the database and search interface is available in the FAQ.

via CUR newsletter

 

Research News: Industry funding of life-science research is down

In an article published in the November/December 2009 issue of Health Affairs, Darren Zinner reports on a survey of life science faculty members at the NIH-supported universities that indicates that industry support for university research may be down since the 1990s.

Overall, 20 percent of research faculty received industry funding in 2006, a significant decrease from the 28 percent of faculty in 1995. For those with industry support, the magnitude of per-investigator funding remained essentially unchanged, indicating a decrease in overall corporate spending in academic life-science research. As in the previous studies, industry relationships were more common among senior faculty members, with full professors being up to twice as likely as junior faculty to be involved with industry.

EurekaAlert 11/3/2009

Student Opportunity: Amgen Scholars Program (deadline 2/16/2010)

The Amgen Scholars Program places undergraduate students into top research laboratories at places like MIT, UC-Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology.  It is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are sophomores and juniors and who are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in a biomedical field.

CUR councilor nominations due 11/15

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) supports and promotes high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship.

Elections for CUR Councilors will be held in January 2010 for the three year term of Councilor from 2010-2013.  Nominations must be submitted online by 11/15/2009.

CUR is governed by a Council, which is elected by the members of each of our seven disciplinary divisions and one at-large division.   Each of CUR’s ten divisions can have up to 24 Councilors.  CUR committees are comprised of Chairs or Co-Chairs plus Councilors who represent each division.

Divisional councilors serve CUR through the projects and initiatives of their division, and the combined work of these individuals contributes to the national scope of undergraduate research.  They play a key role in ensuring that CUR’s purpose and goals are fulfilled.

CUR National Conference: Request for Abstracts (11/15/09)

Proposals are requested for the 2010 National Conference of the Council for Undergraduate Research.  Participants may propose Workshops or Interactive Sessions.  Proposals must be submitted online by 11/15/2009.

The deadline for submitting Poster Presentations is 1/15/2010.

The theme for the 2010 National Conference is Undergraduate Research as Transformative Practice.  The conference will be held at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah from June 19-22, 2010.

Student Opportunity: 2010 Posters on the Hill (11/10/2009)

On April 13, 2010 the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) will host its 14th annual undergraduate poster session on Capitol Hill. This event will help members of Congress understand the importance of undergraduate research by talking directly with the students whom these programs impact.

CUR is calling for students to submit an abstract of their research that represents any of CUR’s divisions (Arts and Humanities, Biology, Chemistry, Geosciences, Mathematics/Computer Science, Physics/Astronomy, Psychology, and Social Sciences).

Abstract submissions will be accepted via an on-line submission form until 11/10/2009.

Student Opportunity: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Deadline 2/15/2010)

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts offers summer undergraduate research fellowships in ocean sciences, oceanographic engineering, mathematics, or marine policy.  Fellowships include stipends of $468 per week for a ten- to twelve-week program.  Student fellowships and minority fellowships are available and have slightly different requirements.