Like so many ‘Boomers’, my siblings and I grew up being told to eat our vegetables, taking for granted that we’d have three nutritious meals a day, and enjoying abundant opportunities to stay physically active (even in the middle of New York City!). I didn’t realize as a child that not everyone was so privileged.

Now each year through a special program, more than 70,000 Oregonians of all ages - in all 36 counties and in 3 tribal lands – are educated to make nutritious food choices, engage in physical activity, handle food safely, and manage their resources so they have food at the end of the month.

Please join me in thanks and hearty congratulations to Sally Bowman, Core Director of the Parenting and Family Life Core of the Hallie E. Ford Center, who oversees the Oregon Nutrition Education Program, and the 130 OSU Extension Service faculty and staff who provide nutrition education around the state.

With a recent grant of almost $7Million from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service and a contract with Oregon Department of Human Services, they are reaching those who are receiving benefits or who are eligible for The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Education program

Sally is the Program Leader for Extension 4-H Youth Development and Family and Community Health. She has made many significant contributions over the years to address the needs of rural and vulnerable populations, on issues ranging from hunger to parenting. She received the L.L. Stewart Faculty Scholar award in 2009, and the Extended Education Faculty Achievement Award in 2004.

SNAP was formally known as Food Stamps. According to Sally, this program is now regulated by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which will transform the SNAP-Ed program into a nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program.”

In 2011, the Oregon program had about 698,000 direct educational contacts with adults, families and youth, in series or single events. In addition, it reached 250,000 participants through demonstrations, displays, or newsletters.

Again, please join me in celebrating Sally’s past and ongoing accomplishments.

-Rick Spinrad
VP for Research

Recognizing the growing importance of research that addresses complex societal challenges, we know that innovative integrative approaches to the research process itself are required. At the same time, many sponsors have been emphasizing projects requiring interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams.

To succeed in an increasingly competitive funding environment, most major research institutions have invested in capacity for “research development”* – many have thus dramatically increased their research proposal success and revenue.

OSU’s Strategic Plan and supporting Research Agenda already lay out a broad vision for expanding the research enterprise and achieving international recognition. Last year an OSU task force led by Cherri Pancake studied best practices at other institutions and the background of and capacity for collaborative research at OSU. The group, including participants from six colleges and the Research Office, met throughout the year to develop recommendations for our research development, focusing on strategic support for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and proposals.

The resulting strategy is a complement and can jump-start our implementation efforts. It is broad-based, for researchers at all levels. While I know that resourcing this strategy will be a challenge, many of the recommendations are immediately “actionable” with our existing resources, and there was excellent thought put into phasing for long-term success.

With appreciation for the fruitful efforts of the task force members (named at end of this blog post), I am pleased to share below a brief summary.

Facilitate development of large-scale proposals: Establish “strategic criteria” that can assess the institutional importance of particular large-scale proposals and develop a fast-track for expediting large proposals supported by selected and trained clerical staff that could evolve into a “SWAT team” providing proposal management services .

Institutionalize our “lessons learned”: Track OSU’s experience, success rate and lessons learned with medium-to-large group proposals, and make information about funding successes and valuable contacts available to potential proposers.

Position OSU to compete successfully on large-scale opportunities: Adopt mechanisms to bring in faculty who will engage in transdisciplinary activities and create flexible ways to credit/reward researchers participating in large scale proposals. Build relationships with Minority Serving Institutions, private sources and foundations to support these activities.

Foresee and create new opportunities for large-scale research: Identify our “resource people” for foreseeing new opportunities and establish a mechanism for identifying in advance what solicitations for large-scale efforts will be emerging. Proactively “market” our research and cultivate relationships with agencies, foundations, industry, and private donors.

Make interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary research an institutional priority: Make it part of the role and responsibilities of someone at the Research Office to take ownership of the future success of OSU’s interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research proposals. Establish metrics that reflect what is needed to achieve success and track progress toward success.

(Please note that the report does not imply that single investigator and/or single-discipline research are not valued at OSU,especially for less-experienced researchers. Many of the needs identified are also important to individual researchers, and the recommendations would have positive impact on them as well.)

Thanks again to the task force:(CAS) Susan Capalbo, Dan Edge; (CLA) Kathleen Dean Moore; (COAS – now CEOAS) Phil Mote; (COE) Terri Fiez, Cherri Pancake; (COF) Barbara Bond, Jim Johnson; (COS) Aaron Wolf; (Research Office) Pat Hawk

* Research Development encompasses a set of strategic, proactive, catalytic, and capacity-building activities designed to facilitate individual faculty members, teams of researchers, and central research administrations in attracting extramural research funding, creating relationships, and developing and implementing strategies that increase institutional competitiveness.

Research Development professionals initiate and nurture critical partnerships and alliances throughout the institutional research enterprise and between institutions—and with their external stakeholders. With the goal of enabling competitive individual and team research and facilitating research excellence, Research Development professionals build and implement strategic services and collaborative resources that span across disciplinary and administrative barriers within their organizations and beyond.

Research Development includes a broad spectrum of activities that vary by institution, including: funding opportunity identification and targeted dissemination, grant/contract proposal development, budget preparation, forms and submission assistance, research team building, interaction with funding agencies and institutional research administration and leadership, and outreach activities and training.

from National Organization of Research Development Professionals

If you are interested in the full report which includes specific recommendations, please contact the Research Office.
I am very interested in your responses and ideas, whether you are faculty, staff or student – please comment via this blog.

- Rick Spinrad
Vice President for Research

The Cayuse web-based proposal development and submission system has been in use at OSU for five months now. It’s been exciting to train faculty and staff and to see the system work well. We’ve submitted proposals to the Army, ONR, DOE, DOT, NIFA, NIH, NOAA, USGS and NSF. We’ve also seen proposals reviewed and approved going to sponsors including Idaho State University, Portland State University, the International Whaling Commission, and Hewlett Packard.

Now that we’ve finished the discovery process, Cayuse staff will program our customized system requirements for Phase II, which brings some nice features that we are sure faculty will appreciate:

System-generated concurrent routing. Currently, Cayuse routes proposals in a linear fashion. With the Phase II implementation, a lead PI (or designee) starts the routing process and then the proposal will route concurrently between all units.
Drop-down menus for agencies and F&A rates on the proposal summary form, making it easier to complete the summary form and describe where the project takes place.
Division of indirect cost recoveries can be documented in the proposal record as part of the summary form.
Listing of project personnel (co-PIs) will take place on the summary form as well as the agency forms.
Additional data elements to assist in measuring international and industry partners.
Additional data elements to assist in accreditation requests.
Improved reporting capabilities.

These new features will not change how the Federal forms will be completed, and any additional training should be minimal. In addition, The link to the Cayuse website is now more prominent on Sponsored Programs’ website.

We anticipate that a version will be available for testing in the Office of Sponsored Programs in early January, with roll-out to campus in the spring.

While the Office of Sponsored Programs plans to retire the Proposal Transmittal Form at the end of June 2012, some forms will still be required and will remain on the Sponsored Programs website: F&A waivers; Attachment A – justification for direct charging clerical and administrative costs; and fabricated equipment.

Pat Hawk
Director, Office of Sponsored Programs

link to Cayuse login

Oregon State University has established a new Center for Latino/Latina Studies and Engagement, and named a prominent faculty member as interim director.

Susana Rivera-Mills, a professor of Spanish and diversity advancement, will direct the new center, known as CL@SE (pronounced claw-SAY), which is designed to meet the research and outreach needs relating to Oregon’s growing Latino population. Rivera-Mills also is the associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and has been an active leader on the OSU campus in advancing diversity.

“Research and outreach on issues surrounding the Latino population
affect every discipline at OSU,
and are integral with our university’s strategic areas and our research agenda.”

- Sabah Randhawa, Provost and Executive Vice President

The new center will integrate studies of Latino communities in the United States with analyses of their histories, politics, cultures and societies, officials say. Among the research themes that will be explored are colonialism, race, gender, nationalism, globalism, immigration, economic development, language and identity.

“The center will promote engaged research and outreach
devoted to advancing knowledge and understanding of Latino contributions
and the issues surrounding this population in our state, region and beyond.
I am enthusiastic about the opportunities.
Our action-based agenda will promote
economic, political, physical and educational well-being and development.”

- Susana Rivera-Mills

Rivera-Mills has been on the OSU faculty since 2007, and has mentored Latino students and been involved with the university’s internationalization and transnational efforts, as well as been a leader in student engagement and global learning initiatives. She specializes in Spanish language maintenance and loss, sociolinguistics, and Spanish as a first and second language.

CL@SE will be affiliated with both the OSU Provost’s Office and the Research Office, officials say.

“Our recently developed research agenda emphasizes
relevance, integration, collaboration and leadership.
Its principles support team-based research, student involvement,
partnership with communities, and transdisciplinary research.
CL@SE has at its core all of these principles
and reflects the values of the OSU research community.”

- Richard Spinrad, Vice President for Research

“The advancement of social justice
is among the important things that will be fostered
with Susana’s able leadership.”

- Scott Reed, Vice Provost for University Outreach and Engagement

CL@SE will collaborate with several units on campus, especially the colleges of liberal arts, science and education, and Outreach and Engagement.

The Research Office fields many questions. One frequently heard concern comes from practically every level within OSU – from the newly minted junior faculty member through senior academic administrators: ‘What happens to all that Facilities and Administration (aka F&A, overhead, or indirect costs) money we bring in via grants and contracts?”

In order to provide a broader context, allow me to explain very briefly what F&A funds are, where they come from, how they really contribute to OSU’s overall financial health, and, most importantly, how they are distributed.

F&A funds are collected as a percentage of grant/contract expenditures. The University gets F&A based on actual direct grant expenditures. If you, as researchers, don’t spend it, OSU doesn’t get it.

The F&A funds are used to help defray the costs of activities that are essential for the conduct of research, but which cannot be charged directly to a grant. For example a laboratory may host multiple, separately funded research projects. It would be unrealistic to allocate space and meter utility usage for each project, so such expenses are “lumped” under the F&A rate. Similarly, the administrative costs associated with obtaining and managing grants are incurred at every level of the university, from departments and colleges, through the Business Centers and into the central administration.

So, why bother collect F&A at all? Don’t they just run up the costs of a grant and make us less competitive, and how can such a “small” amount of money contribute to the financial health of the university in any event? Well, actually, F&A funds are a significant contributor to OSU’s budget. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, faculty research activities generated $36,358,254 of F&A funds. This is equal to almost half of the non-targeted, state-appropriated funds received from the legislature for fiscal year 2011. In other words, the money recovered from F&A has a huge impact on our ability to serve all of the varied missions to which OSU is committed!

Next, how are F&A rates determined? The federal F&A rates are based on what we have actually spent to support federally funded research. The process: In conjunction with our federal oversight agency, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), a base fiscal year is identified. Upon closing of the base year’s books, OSU goes through a detailed analysis of research-related expenditures not attributable directly to grants or contracts. This is done according to a strict set of rules and accounting principles; the university does not have much flexibility about what can be included. This analysis takes 4-6 months. The results are submitted to DHHS, which reviews them for inappropriately included expenses. There is a negotiation to settle differences; then the agency tells OSU what our rate will be for the following 3 to 5 years. Typically, we end up with a rate that is one or two percentage points below what we believe is a reflection of our true costs.

If the grant/contract’s sponsor is a private corporation, the university tacks an additional 5% surcharge onto the F&A rate. This 5% supports the Office for Commercialization and Corporate Development, and is being used to develop a more robust campus-wide program of industry collaboration. This effort supports both the university’s Strategic Plan and our recently deployed Research Agenda. A more thorough discussion of this effort will be presented later this year.

So, focusing on just the federally negotiated F&A, how does it get distributed? The basic structure of the distribution has been in place for more than a decade, as outlined in the table below. The model for distribution is stable for the first four entries, but there is a bit of fluidity among the other categories from year to year.

Percentage Allocation of F&A	Recipient	Notes

4%	Chancellor’s Office	Centralized Services provided by OUS
8%	Research Equipment Reserve Fund (RERF)	Mandated in our federally negotiated rate package.
4%	Building Use Credits (BUC)	Mandated in our federally negotiated rate package.
~31%	F&A returned to the college generating the F&A	26% is returned to most colleges in addition to special arrangements made with depts. and colleges
~2.3%	University libraries	Actually a fixed dollar amount: $768,000
~6.9%	Special Initiatives	Determined by the Provost. In addition, if F&A earning exceed the budgeted amount, 53% of the overage goes into this category.
~34.2%	Education and General Funds	Discretionary state dollars
~8.6%	Centers and Institutes	Actually a fixed dollar amount: $3,125,000
1%	Audit Disallowances	Based on actual audit results

100%	Total

The first cut taken out of the “F&A pie” goes to the Chancellor’s office – 4% of all of the F&A recovered by OSU. Each of the seven institutions in the Oregon University System pays the same percentage; however, OSU contributes more to this fund than all of the other OUS institutions combined. Those funds are used to support mandated federal and state reporting requirements among the other services provided by the system.

The next two categories of money, 8% for Research Equipment (RERF) and 4% for Building Use Credits (BUC), are mandated in our federal negotiation. While the university gets to depreciate capital equipment and facility expenses, we are not allowed to amortize the costs for federally funded equipment (i.e., we cannot charge equipment depreciation to a grant if that equipment was purchased using federal money). These allocations in the indirect cost rate are to help offset that depreciation.

A large allocation of F&A resources goes directly to colleges as Returned Overhead (ROH). Except for COAS and a few special cases, colleges receive 26% of the F&A earned from grant/contract indices assigned to each college’s organization code (Note: our financial system allows for distinct indices to be set up for different component parts of grants, and these indices can be aligned with different academic units.) Deans have discretion about how to disperse the funds within their units. Some reserve all of it for strategic investments, some take a small slice and return the majority to the department or school that generated the grants, and some have more finely tuned distribution models. Check with your dean about how your college distributes its returned overhead.

The University library gets a flat amount out of the F&A pool, which amounts to about 2.3% of the F&A earning expected for FY2012.

Research centers and institutes draw on a percentage of the F&A. The majority of this is used to cover federal matching requirements, for example with our Sea Grant and Space Grant Programs, or to cover maintenance and safety costs associated with major facilities such as the Hatfield Marine Science Center that the university does not otherwise support.

A small percentage of our F&A, about 1%, is set aside to cover disallowed costs, i.e., items charged directly to grants or contracts that, upon review/audit, are determined to fall outside appropriate or allowable expenditures. Thankfully, this is usually a pretty small amount.

In the last several years, the Provost has made strategic investments in the research enterprise. For example, the Provost funded multi-year transdisciplinary initiatives in six areas a few years ago, and, more recently, he has made significant investments in new faculty hires. More broadly, the Provost has provided ongoing support for major multi-college user facilities such as interdepartmental mass spectrometry, electron beam instruments, and laboratory animal resources. These are all large investments that benefit a broad spectrum of high impact, multi-user research facilities across campus.

The balance of F&A resources, about a third, are combined with the non-targeted, state-appropriated and tuition dollars; these are distributed as part of the base budget for units at OSU.

The bottom line here is that the majority of F&A dollars gets reinvested into academic units and the broader research enterprise, either directly through the ~31% allocation, or less directly through the distribution of RERF, BUC, Provost Initiatives, Centers and Institutes, and the university’s resource allocation model. The F&A resources do not actually cover the costs OSU incurs for supporting research, but the money does make many things possible that would otherwise go undone.

OSU’s research enterprise collectively is a vibrant and high impact endeavor, all of which is made possible by the dedication and hard of each and every one of you, the members of our faculty. A great faculty is the first and most critical requirement for a great university, and you all play a huge role in that! Thank you.

Rich Holdren
Associate Vice President for Research

In my ongoing thrust to build our relations with federal agencies, this September I again had productive meetings in D.C. with representatives. I offer here summaries – the “Bumper Stickers” are my take-home messages for us at OSU.

Department of Defense - Stu Wolf (Assistant Director (Physics) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering)

DOD 6.1 (basic research) funding is holding its own, and has enjoyed good support from Secretary Gates as well as the House and Senate. There is some question, of course, on how much research Secretary Panetta will support, but clearly his history in the White House, Congress and the CIA suggest he will want to maintain strong research budgets in DoD.

Dr. Wolf shared that the Defense Sciences Board is preparing a strategic plan on Defense Basic Sciences. This is something we should watch for, and be prepared to respond. He also emphasized that we focus on several information sources and opportunities:

*

• Annual solicitations for Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives (MURI)

• Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) – incidentally, OSU has just submitted three proposals to DURIP

• Industry briefings from DARPA – check the DARPA website

US Geological Survey

Marcia McNutt (Director) – Marcia was the Director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, so it was nice to have a chance to talk briefly about some of the key issues in the oceanographic community (e.g. ship construction and operations).

We spent a long time talking about the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, and the prognosis for sustained capabilities past the Landsat 8 launch scheduled for late 2012. USGS is facing difficulties finding the resources (from somewhere other than out of hide), but apparently has good support from Congress to do this without penalty to the agency. They are looking at a range of options, and may want some help from the academic community in assessing capabilities. Stay tuned.

Doug Beard, Chief of the USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) and Robin O’Malley, USGS NCCWSC Partnership and Policy Coordinator

I had a chance to catch up with Beard and O’Malley in their offices in Northern Virginia. The last time we talked at any length was in the summer of 2010, when Phil Mote had organized their visit to Corvallis, while we were competing for the USGS Climate Science Center leadership (which Phil and Co. won!). Getting USGS personnel on campus as part of the Center is a high priority for Doug Beard, and he indicated we can expect to hear an announcement of who will be the USGS Center lead “very soon” (before 1 Jan). That will set in motion further activity to bring into the center at least two more USGS employees.

We also had a good discussion regarding coordination of various agency climate activities. Doug and Robin made clear that their USGS priority for climate science is attending to immediate regional issues (rather than completing assessments, for example).

National Science Foundation – Farnam Jahanian, Assistant Director for Computer & Information Science & Engineering Directorate

Dr. Jahanian shared his view that everything that CISE supports (and consequently their position in coordinating with the NSF “domain” sciences) should advance the frontiers in computer sciences and communications. He emphasized a focus on exploiting advances in technologies in areas such as data access, broadband, and sensor development. He added that, as with all of the Directorates at NSF, they are aiming at issues of sustainability, lifelong learning, health and security. He indicated that while 70% of the CISE funding will go to core computer science and information science research, the remainder will be cross-cutting. He cited as examples of the cross-cutting effort initiatives and programs: SEES, focusing on sustainability and energy security; and Smart Health and Well-Being, focusing on chronic health issues and aging populations. Going beyond NSF, Jahanian also discussed the emerging collaborations with NASA, NIST and NIH in the National Robotics Initiative.

U.S. Department of Agriculture – Rich Guldin, Director of Quantitative Science Research and Development, U.S. Forest Service

We were scheduled to meet with the head of R&D for the Forest Service, Jim Reaves, but he was called away at the last minute; Guldin is one of Reaves’ Deputies, working mostly on USFS remote sensing issues. So I used this opportunity to hear more about the USFS needs for Landsat data continuity (see above, for discussion with Marcia McNutt). Their concerns with any changes in satellite sensor technology is that they would lose the bands that are critical to their applications. In connection with that discussion, I asked Guldin what his toughest challenges are in remote sensing. In short, he said he needs work in site- and ecosystem-specific algorithm development, as well as improved capabilities for polygon definition to support evaluating categories of environments of interest. We also had a good discussion of the potential utility of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for USFS applications. He stated that UAS are potentially valuable for forest inventories, especially where there is 10% tree cover or less. For any readers who want to pursue this UAS discussion further, Guldin’s staff point of contact is Ken Brewer.

Chavonda Jacobs-Young (Acting Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture {NIFA})

When I last visited this office in the winter, I met with Dr. Roger Beachy, who was full of expectations about what he’d be able to do at NIFA. Three months later, he left NIFA!

Chavonda stated that work needs to be done to get Office of Management & Budget to see NIFA as a “real player in the science arena.” She pointed out that NIFA’s leadership in some important technical areas (e.g. bioenergy, food safety and nutrition, environmental prediction) is not recognized. She sees several opportunities for the community to address these misperceptions: getting ag people on President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, National Research Council NRC panels, etc. It’s clear that she feels a strategic imperative is needed for NIFA, so much of what they do will be implemented with that in mind. “CAP grants will be awarded strategically,” she said. In closing, she asked, somewhat rhetorically “What is USDA’s ‘Man on the Moon’?”

Environmental Protection Agency- Lek Kadeli (Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Research and Development {OED}), Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta (Acting Division Director, Environmental Public Health Division), Rick Linthurst (National Program Director for Ecology), Thomas D. Fontaine (Director, Western Ecology Division), Tony Olsen (Western Ecology Division) Seema Schappelle (Special Assistant/Immediate Office of the Assistant Administrator, Office of Research and Development)

When my meeting with ORD Assistant Administrator Paul Anastas was cancelled last-minute, we had the wonderful opportunity to do a video telecon with Anastas’ deputy, Lek Kadeli and his staff from Research Triangle Park (RTP) and Corvallis. It turned into a great discussion on a range of issues. Tom and Tony talked about the vibrant relationship with OSU faculty (e.g. Robert Tanguay, Phil Mote, John Bolte and Jeff McDonnell), and expressed interest in pursuing other relationships, including perhaps renewing some of the old relationships with our Environmental and Molecular Toxicology folks.

I asked about what programs we should watch for and got some good intel. Lek recommended we watch for an RFA on molecular design, aimed at risk mitigation (based on recommendations from an NRC report on sustainability, chaired by Bernie Goldstein, released last week). Jennifer indicated they’d be redesigning a number of their programs around sustainability and that the EPA Science Advisory Board web site is a good reference for us to infer the direction they’re getting. Tom talked about their emphasis on Pacific NW water features.

Since I haven’t yet visited our Corvallis EPA neighbors, I wangled an invitation from Tom and Tony to come by for a tour soon.

Department of Energy (DOE), Jose Zayas, Program Manager for the Wind and Water Program

This was a great opportunity to meet the new program director in charge of our wave energy program, the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, run by Belinda Batten. Jose’s been on the job just a few weeks, coming from Sandia National Lab. He’s clearly a strong advocate for the program, and we had a good discussion about how we can help him sell the marine hydrokinetics program, and what he expects of us. He made two good points:

We should become known well and uniquely for certain broad competencies (he used the example of U Maine’s recognized expertise in deepwater wind energy research). He pointed out that this will require an even stronger within-campus coordination of what’s going on in engineering, oceanography and Sea Grant.
Working together with the national labs is critical. NREL, PNNL, Sandia, etc. must be seen as meaningful partners in our work.

I returned to campus encouraged and inspired.

- Rick Spinrad, Vice President for Research

*
“5 x 5″ – Radio terminology used to signify that the signal has excellent strength and perfect clarity – therefore, that something is fine.

The Research Office Quiz 2011 debuted at the University Day expo. Here it is again, in case you missed the chance to figure out the answers, or want another go at it – or hope to stump your colleagues.

The winner of our U.Day quiz participation drawing is
Mike Hinds, IT Communication Manager for Information Services!
Mike will receive his choice of a book by an OSU author.

If you are not Mike, yet participated at the event, thank you – your prize can be a subscription to The Spin on Research. Congratulations!

Match each numbered question with an answer from the list below.

Which coffee shops are nearest the Research Office?

2. What is the least turn-around time you should allow for proposal review at the Office of Sponsored Programs (to avoid turning into a pumpkin)?

3.What are the values that inform the new OSU Research Agenda?

4. What system, named after a horse bred by a Native American tribe, will make your funding life easier?

5.Which unit in the Research Office may help get the results of your work out there to benefit your neighbors?

6. Say your project includes a simple survey to be filled out by dog owners. Which office should you consult with?

7.Why do two Research Office leaders have names starting with R-I-C ?

8. What green technology is available for able-bodied people to get up to the Research Office?

9. How can you get the inside scoop on the OSU research enterprise?

Match each question with its answers . . . from among the options below

a. Three full business days

b. The Office of Research Integrity – Institutional Review Board (IRB)

c. The stairs

d. That’s a rich topic for research!

e. Java Stop II in the Valley Library; and shops in McNary Dining Hall

f. Subscribe to The Spin on Research blog

g. Most specifically The Office for Commercialization and Corporate Development

h.Relevance, Integration, Collaboration, Leadership, Accessibility

i. Cayuse, for electronic proposal submissions.

To verify answers or find out more, please see oregonstate.edu/research, or call 541-737-3467

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Brett Tyler has accepted the position of the Director of OSU’s Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing (CGRB). He has also been appointed as the Stewart Chair in Gene Research, tenured professor in the Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, and adjunct faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He will assume responsibilities on January 1, 2012.

Tyler has been a professor at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute and the Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Virginia.

As a leader in this important field, he will contribute immensely to our research portfolio, and will inspire expanded discovery as well as impact.

“We are excited about Brett leading the CGRB. He brings world-class credentials to our institution,” said Sonny Ramaswamy, Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Tyler received his Ph.D. in molecular immunology from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia and postdoctoral training in fungal genetics at the University of Georgia. His current research interests are focused on the systems biology of infectious disease, principally regarding oomycete pathogens of plants. His research employs a combination of structural and functional genomics, bioinformatics, molecular biology, and mathematical modeling to dissect the network of signals that tie together the biochemical and regulatory networks of pathogens and their hosts.

Tyler’s team recently discovered a widespread class of small secreted proteins produced by oomycetes, fungi and insects that can enter plant and animal host cells by binding to phosphoinositides. In 2008 Tyler was awarded the Noel T. Keen Award for Excellence in Molecular Plant Pathology by the American Phytopathological Society.

“I am excited to join the research community of Oregon State University, and to participate in leading the community to excellence, especially in the fast-moving areas of genomics and biocomputing,” said Tyler.

CGRB facilitates the development, application and training in computationally intensive, genome-enabled research at OSU and across the state. Research in the CGRB and faculty affiliate laboratories seeks to improve health, better utilize natural and agricultural resources, understand our global environment, and develop new bio-based products and energy sources. The Center offers leadership and services to faculty, staff and students through core laboratories, computational facilities, seminars and technology workshops and conferences. It also provides a focal point for researchers to establish contacts, initiate collaborations and apply new technologies in their own laboratories.

We appreciate Dan Arp for acting as the Interim Director of CGRB. Tyler will fill the position vacated by Jim Carrington, who became president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Please join me in welcoming Brett Tyler to campus and this leadership role.

Rick Spinrad
Vice President for Research

Link to CGRB

I thank the members of the task force who collaborated tirelessly and effectively to create this document. We learned much through this process. We hope that the result, unique and comprehensive, will ably guide the OSU research enterprise into an ever more productive role in service to knowledge and society. – Rick Spinrad

Oregon State University Research Agenda

September 1, 2011

link to pdf (printable version)

link to Research Agenda webpage

Overview – OSU research, rich and extraordinarily diverse, has significant impact on Oregon and the world. This research agenda consists of statements of values, principles, and research thrusts that provide the foundation for OSU’s research enterprise.

The Challenge — The OSU research portfolio has grown dramatically over the last decade as a result of the initiative and quality of the University’s faculty, staff and students. Continued expansion of research at OSU will depend on our ability to create and support core capabilities and commit resources to hire and retain the best faculty. We must foster a climate that rewards creative, high-impact research. Our research must improve fundamental understanding, create solutions to global challenges, and address emerging opportunities while aligning with funding sources.

Our Values — The OSU research community, a vibrant group of faculty, staff and students, shares values that establish the culture and foundation upon which we build our agenda. We value collaboration, open mindedness, authenticity, curiosity, knowledge creation, creativity, integrity, collegiality and an entrepreneurial spirit. These values have served us well through the years; the research agenda will reinforce them.

OSU research emphasizes:

RELEVANCE: We create high impact solutions to the pressing needs of local and global communities in order to ensure a healthy and sustainable world.

INTEGRATION: Our transdisciplinary[1] research addresses needs with transformative approaches, both basic and applied, both short-term and long-term.

COLLABORATION: We collaborate locally, nationally and internationally with communities, industries, academia, and the public and private sector.

LEADERSHIP: We lead the research community and educate and mentor the next generation of leaders.

ACCESSIBILITY: We openly exchange ideas, approaches, data and results while protecting intellectual property.

Our Principles — At the heart of the research agenda are the principles that guide our research investment decisions. These principles complement and align with our values and the goals outlined in the strategic plan. The four principles serve as the compass for OSU’s future research investment:

1. OSU will support innovative and flexible organizational structures to enable a diverse portfolio of both individual and team-based research.

2. OSU’s programs will be models for Land, Space, Sea and Sun Grant institutions in the 21^st Century. OSU’s research will

a. Include a healthy spectrum of fundamental and applied research that enhances knowledge creation, the wellbeing of people, the environment, and the economy in the state of Oregon, the nation, and the world; and

b. Integrate with undergraduate and graduate education to develop emerging leaders and sustain a work force that meets the current and anticipated employment needs; and

c. Create and sustain partnerships with communities, agencies and businesses through outreach and engagement to solve critical social and environmental problems and support economic vitality.

3. OSU’s research programs will be highly competitive for private and public funding. To do this, OSU will

a. Promote and invest in transdisciplinary, transformational and high risk research.

b. Actively engage with public and private sponsors to help influence future funding trends and opportunities.

c. Seek collaborative opportunities from all sectors including academic, industrial, governmental and non-governmental.

d. Work to minimize barriers to collaborative research, both internally and with external partners.

4. OSU will enhance the professional growth opportunities and workplace climate for all members of the University research community. OSU will

a. Recognize research contributions and achievements.

b. Foster leadership development of students, faculty and staff at all levels.

c. Enhance opportunities for research support for faculty and students by promoting transdisciplinary research and creative activities.

d. Work to enhance communication across disciplines, thereby enhancing not only the research enterprise but also the campus climate and acceptance of diverse perspectives.

OSU’s Research Thrusts

OSU’s Strategic Plan focuses on three Signature Areas of Distinction

“Advancing the Science of Sustainable Earth Ecosystems; Improving Human Health and Wellness; and Promoting Economic Growth and Social Progress. All three build upon the University’s core teaching and research strengths, the skill and capacities of its faculty, and OSU’s many established national and international partnerships and collaborations. Collectively, the Signature Areas represent OSU’s greatest opportunity to lead in solving complex societal problems, and to creating superior learning opportunities for students…”[2]

These Signature Areas invoke a rich and complex set of research opportunities that can be captured in highly integrative and overarching research thrusts.

How do natural systems work and how can we live sustainably within them?
What factors and systems influence and promote health, wellness and long-term quality of life?
What fundamental understanding, discoveries and solutions are needed to advance economic and social well being?

This research agenda is an important part of the framework defining the 21st century OSU land grant mission:

“As a land grant institution committed to teaching, research, and outreach and engagement, Oregon State University promotes economic, social, cultural and environmental progress for the people of Oregon, the nation and the world. This mission is achieved by producing graduates competitive in the global economy, supporting a continuous search for new knowledge and solutions, and maintaining a rigorous focus on academic excellence…²”

In moving forward with this research agenda, invoking the values and principles identified above, and addressing the critical research thrusts, we will ensure that our mission is met.

[1] Transdisciplinary research “implies the conception of research questions that transcend the individual departments or specialized knowledge bases because they are intended to solve research questions that are, by definition, beyond the purview of the individual disciplines” (Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? Educating Health Professionals for the 21st Century, Institute of Medicine. 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.)

[2] http://oregonstate.edu/leadership/strategic-plan

4 baby birds on reed, used with permission, copyright Bruce Marbin. — Tree Swallows ("Gape" coloration around beaks helps parent guide food into open mouths). photo BAM, info MG.

The creek’s world let us in, early one morning. A yellow-eyed heron, engrossed in its walking meditation/fishing, tolerated our binoculared stares. Four fluffed round tree swallows, cuddled on a curving reed, were oblivious to everything but the treats swooped to their mouths by their parents. On thick leaf pads, husky yellow blossoms, a local version of lotus?, ignored our bumping as we glided in to peer at their delicacies.

We relished the benign neglect that the wildlife offered us. Paddling our kayaks silently upstream, we could blissfully feel we were one with nature, and all was right with the environment. Is that sound still the automobiles? No – it’s the swash of the ocean waves.

After disembarking and reloading the kayaks on top of our cars, we became one with that traffic to Newport’s featured human event: the open house for the new Marine Operations Center-Pacific of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). We had figured that waiting until the weekend’s final hours would mean “the public” would be gone. Ha. We waited in lines to get in through the doors and out onto the vast pier of our federal government come-to-town. Over three thousand curious people, the gatekeepers figured, had already come through.

Artist's rendering of facilities, bay, bridge, ships. — courtesy Port of Newport and gLAs Architects, LLC.

Because I work for Rick Spinrad, who not long ago was the assistant administrator for research of NOAA, and having for years known Jane Lubchenco, who is now NOAA’s head, I was pretty aware of this Department of Commerce bureau. Yet I had so much to learn. In the warehouse, we shuffled past table-top displays about the science, created especially for this celebration, and in the administrative building we saw permanent exhibits. Scientists and other guides remained intensely enthusiastic after hours of explanations.

We got to look up-close at antique and new artifacts, including: A lead line mold. Intricate model ships. A chronometer. Drift bottles. Sextants. China from the Captain’s table. A huge wooden ship’s wheel. A precise level. Tools for hand-drawn maps, including India ink.

There were illustrations of a salmon’s life cycle, and what it needs from its environment at each stage. Hands-on demonstrations of salinity-testing tools. Instructions on how to escape a flood and survive a tsunami.

The information shared made it clear that our species does much more than peep at and enjoy nature, and is trying to figure out how to stop bumping it.

I found that the active verbs of NOAA include “protect, research, collect, understand, support, monitor, maintain, steward, manage, educate, explore, alert, oversee, deploy, provide . . .”

Did you know? : the US Coast and Geodetic Survey began releasing “messages in bottles” in 1959 to learn about ocean currents. NOAA is home to “the seventh uniformed service” of the United States. Four of the nine ships in the MOC-P fleet are homeported in Newport. Rachel Carson worked early-on for NOAA. NOAA Fisheries has had a presence in Newport for 35 years. A “NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards,” portable and battery-powered, can automatically alert you to severe conditions, including lightening. A salmon finds its way home to its breeding ground through its sense of smell. Susan Solomon, formerly of NOAA, is known as the Ozone Hole Sleuth. NOAA does not own the Newport property - it has a 20-year lease.

Kayaking that day kept me in touch with the brilliance of nature. NOAA’s official vision of the future: “Healthy ecosystems, communities, and economies that are resilient in the face of change” helps assure me that it (and OSU) are helping create a better symbiosis of the natural and human-made environments, for a vital world.

- Jana Zvibleman

Note

If you weren’t among the hordes in Newport that weekend, you can still view some of the scientific displays at the Hatfield Marine Science Center for a little while. And, if your group arranges a tour, you may be able to get into NOAA’s administrative building to see the mini-museum of photos and artifacts.

From http://www.moc.noaa.gov/mop_faqs.html

We plan to offer the public opportunities to visit the facility and ships as we are able. Visit opportunities will be posted to this website

To view the current location of any NOAA ship: NOAA Ship Tracker

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The Spin on Research

Updates from the VP & the Research Office

Nutrition Education Statewide

Research Development: How best to do it

New Electronic Proposal Submission Process – Next Steps

Latino/Latina Studies – New Center

“Research and outreach on issues surrounding the Latino population
affect every discipline at OSU,
and are integral with our university’s strategic areas and our research agenda.”

“The advancement of social justice
is among the important things that will be fostered
with Susana’s able leadership.”

Where does all the F&A go?

Federal Agencies

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Your Research Office: The Quiz