The Franklin Institute is currently accepting nominations for the 2019 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science of individuals who have made significant contributions to Green and Sustainable Chemistry—chemistry focused on the technological design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Objectives of green and sustainable chemistry include: minimizing the use of chemical raw materials, reducing waste, lowering the toxicity of utilized chemicals, and improving lifecycle through the use of more sustainable or renewable raw materials to produce fuels or chemicals, thereby minimizing the environmental impact of chemical processes.
Nominations are encouraged in, but not limited to, the following subtopics:
- New chemical processes with reduced hazardous byproducts
- Applications of supercritical fluids in chemical processes as environmentally benign solvents for chemical reactions, extractions, and chemical analyses
- Utilization of ionic liquids as environmentally friendly alternatives to volatile and flammable solvents in chemical processes
- Use of catalysts that make chemical processes more selective, less energy intensive, or more economical in their use of feedstock
- Chemicals and fuels from renewable raw materials as feedstocks
Nominations for this award are limited to an individual nominee and are accepted from any individual or organization, including self-nominations. Please share this call for nominations with your colleagues and professional associations and post it on relevant websites. Questions are welcome and may be directed to Beth Scheraga, director of the awards program, at bscheraga@fi.edu.
Monthly Archives: May 2018
Spring 2018 – Undergraduate of the Quarter – Eric Qian
Eric Qian has been named one of the Spring 2018 Undergraduates of the Quarter and we couldn’t be happier for him.
Eric has been living in Corvallis since he was 4 years old and his love of the town helped contribute to his choice to stay local for college. He went to Crescent Valley High School, a school he enjoyed due to the passion the teachers had as well as the school’s dedication to the arts which helped him develop an interest in creating jewelry.
When entering college, Eric’s original plan was to be a premed student. He quickly discovered a love of materials science and decided he would focus on chemistry instead of becoming a doctor.
It was through joining Dr. Michelle Dolgos’ lab that he realized how much he enjoyed the chemistry side of his research, focusing on finding new and optimized ways to generate electricity.
Eric recently graduated, but took a short break from research to write his honors thesis, which focuses on the study of Aurivillius phases. His main focus was on ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties and trying to find a new material that is as effective as Lead Zirconium Titanate (PZT) yet wasn’t toxic or lead-based. Eric believes that the material chemistries’ focus towards environmentally friendly and green materials is very noble and focused most of his time there.
Eric plans to take a year off before Graduate School to relax. His main hopes are to get back into playing music because he is a musician at heart, being able to play piano, clarinet, tenor sax, and the organ. He also has an extensive list of nonfiction books he has been meaning to work his way through, including Stuff Matters, a book on materials that shaped human history.
The highest ambitions in Eric’s educational career is to gain a PhD and become a professor himself because of his love of teaching and conducting research. He believes it would be very fun to have a research group of his own in order to pass down his insights and spark the interests of future generations.
COS 2018 Scholarship Dessert
|
|
|
Ecampus RFP: 2-week session over winter break
Dear instructors of Ecampus courses,
To help provide students with greater flexibility and access to courses,Ecampus is requesting proposals for courses to be offered online during a two-week period during winter break 2018-19.
These courses are considered “term-extension courses” as recently communicated by the Office of the Registrar to provide innovative course offerings that the traditional term schedule has not always provided. (See more on the registrar’s website.)
This winter two-week session would run from Dec. 24, 2018, through Jan. 6, 2019. The courses in this pilot would be fully online and asynchronous. If this initial offering of courses proves successful, the hope is to offer a two-week session annually. These courses would be delivered via Ecampus and would use the Ecampus tuition and revenue share model.
Which courses?
Not every course can be offered in a two-week session, but some can be taught successfully in this format. Some course types that might work well include:
- 1- or 2-credit courses, as each credit hour earned requires 30 hours of work
- 3-credit courses could also work, but would require about 45 hours of work per week for students
- Courses that have been offered in condensed formats for past years during the summer
- Courses that serve as introductions to majors, career explorations, or which would benefit from student immersion in the subject over a short period of time
- In-demand, higher-enrollment courses
- Courses that do not require textbook purchase/delivery (e.g. courses that use open educational resources or resources available online through OSU Libraries)
What support is available?
Course development funding ($1,000-$5,000), plus instructional design and multimedia development services, as well as faculty training for online course development and teaching as needed.
How will students know these courses are available?
These courses will display in the traditional schedule of classes, and students can register for them as they would any other course. Academic units will benefit from promoting these unique courses with students in their programs. Additionally, Ecampus and the Office of the Registrar will collaboratively create a list of these courses so advisors have a handy resource to share with students they think could benefit from the opportunity.
Are these courses a good fit for all students?
All students learn differently, and it will be important for students to consider if a condensed class will work for them. Advisors can often help students with this topic. Also, some funding programs (such as veterans benefits) may be limited in how they can support their students. It is important that the student is fully aware of their own funding requirements when they register for these courses.
How can you submit proposals and by when?
If you are interested in teaching courses in this format during this year’s winter break, submit a brief proposal by Monday, May 28, using the Ecampus Online Course Proposal Form. When submitting your proposal, please indicate that you are submitting a proposal for the Winter 2019 Two-Week Session Pilot.
Several questions provide text boxes where you can supply additional information about your proposal. Somewhere in your proposal (such as in the response to “Who is the audience for this course?”), please include information about the following:
- Information about any known audiences for a two-week format for the proposed course, if available
- Has the course been offered in an accelerated format previously, such as during a short Summer Session? If so, was this accelerated offering online, hybrid or face-to-face?
Please share this call for proposals with faculty who may be interested. If you have questions, please let me know.
Shannon Riggs
Executive director
Course Development and Learning Innovation
Extended Campus, Oregon State University
541-737-2613
Spring 2018 – Undergraduate of the Quarter – Jason Srey
Jason Srey has been named one of the Spring 2018 Undergraduates of the Quarter, and we couldn’t be more pleased.
Jason was born in Chicago, Illinois, but spent most of his life in Clackamas. He attended Clackamas High School.
Jason chose chemistry because he wanted to learn more about how atoms and molecules react. His curiosity was piqued when his 7th grade science teacher made a gummy bear explode in a test tube. Jason was also often sick throughout his childhood and spent a lot of time in doctor’s offices and pharmacies. This exposure to the world of medicine along with the introduction to chemistry during 7th grade science class first attracted him to chemistry.
He wants to be in the medical field because of how large of a role it played in his childhood and because it is related to his favorite subject. He researched the world of pharmacy and decided that was where he wanted to go in life, and is using chemistry as a basis for achieving that goal. Jason currently performs research for Dr. Sandra Loesgen, and focuses on discovering new antibiotics or anti-cancer compounds by feeding synthetic compounds to fungal cultures as precursors. He has been there since mid fall term, and credits his introduction to research to Dr. Neal Sleszynski who helped him initially contact three professors who are doing work in areas of interest.
In his spare time Jason likes to listen to, and perform music. He has practiced the violin for five years and taught himself to play the piano through online tutorials in his spare time. He likes all genres of music besides classical, and his favorite movie is Titanic.
ONAMI internship available
We would like to inform you of an internship that may be of interest to your students. This is one of the ONAMI Graduate Internships in Startups program. The internship is with Diatomix, Inc.
The ONAMI Graduate Internships are open to graduate students who are currently working with ONAMI Member Researchers, or who have completed their MS or PhD within the last year. The position description for the internship is attached. Please share this opportunity with your students who may be interested and qualified.
Interested students should send their resume and cover letter to:
About ONAMI Graduate Internships in Startups:ONAMI Graduate Internships in Startups (GIST) Program: ONAMI will fund internships for qualified grad students or recent graduates at ONAMI portfolio companies for 6-9 months. This is a great opportunity for a student to determine if the startup environment is an attractive career option. Experience to date has proven the internships beneficial to both company and student.
When a match is found (this is determined by the student and company), ONAMI will enter into an agreement with the company, and the student will become a company employee or contractor. ONAMI will fund the internship at the rate of $25/hour, paid to the company. The company will provide the intern with salary (at least $25/hour), supervision, training, materials and mentorship. (Any additional compensation or benefits are the option of the company.) ONAMI will fund the company up front for half of the internship. Brief (non-confidential) monthly reports from the student, as well as a mid-term review by both company and student will determine if the internship will proceed. At that point, ONAMI will fund the remainder of the internship.
We look forward to hearing from students interested in the internship.
Cindy
Cindy L. Dahl, PEVice President, OperationsONAMI, Inc.
Invitation to Participate: New Center to Support Entrepreneurship
Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to announce a new OSU-wide entrepreneurship center led by the College of Business that may be of interest to you, as well as your students, faculty and staff –InnovationX, the OSU Center of Excellence for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. While the center lives in the College of Business, we serve students of all majors across OSU. You can find more information here: http://entrepreneurship.oregonstate.edu/.
Below is a quick summary of the services and resources available through the center. I invite you to share this information broadly and to partner with us in this effort:
- FACULTY AFFILIATION. We invite faculty who are engaged in innovation or entrepreneurship research/service/teaching to consider applying to be a Faculty Fellow of InnovationX. Faculty can complete our online interest form (https://bit.ly/2HojF87) to learn more. We look forward to building a robust community of scholars and thought leaders who are dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship.
- LAUNCH PAD. Starting Fall of 2018, a new series of first-year courses for undergrads, called Launch Pad, will be open to first-year students of any major. The purpose of the Launch Pad course series is to attract students to OSU who have an interest in entrepreneurship, no matter what their major. These aspiring young entrepreneurs and their parents have expressed great excitement about this program. We believe Launch Pad will be a unique differentiator for OSU and a program that helps all colleges attract entrepreneurial students! If you’d like to partner to leverage Launch Pad to recruit entrepreneurial students into your undergrad programs, please let us know. Visit http://business.oregonstate.edu/innovationx/launch-pad for details.
- LAUNCH ACADEMY. Launch Academy is a new OSU student incubator that is open to serve all students (grad and undergrad) from any major across OSU. Launch Academy includes access to competitive seed funding, co-working space, mentoring and training to help students advance their ideas. Launch Academy students also have access to the DAMlab makerspace, the Austin Prototyping Workshop Series and the Austin Entrepreneurship Mentor Network. Visit http://business.oregonstate.edu/InnovationX/launch-academy for details.
- LAUNCH-U SPEAKER SERIES. Hosted on Thursdays each term, this speaker series features entrepreneurs and innovators from all backgrounds who share their experiences and help students develop their ideas. The speaker series is open for any OSU student to attend and is co-hosted by the Entrepreneurship Student Club and the College of Engineering. We welcome additional partners.
I hope you will encourage your students, faculty and staff to engage with these new resources. We anticipate extending InnovationX to Portland and Bend over the coming year. I’ll keep you posted as we proceed. I’m also copying Audrey Iffert-Saleem (Audrey.Iffert@oregonstate.edu) on this note. Audrey leads InnovationX and would be glad to chat with you about our work and how we can partner.
Best –
Mitzi
Mitzi M. Montoya, PhD
Sara Hart Kimball Dean
Oregon State University | College of Business | 541-737-6024
FERPA Policy Reminder
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program
I am writing to call your attention to the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program. This fellowship supports graduate students to spend 3-12 months collaborating with a DOE national lab scientist as part of their dissertation research. This program is targeted at existing graduate students that are working towards their PhDs. Please talk to your colleagues and collaborators at UW, WSU or beyond that could be candidates to take advantage of this Program to support the cultivation of new collaborations. Note that the applicants must be U.S. Citizens or Permanent Resident Aliens (a DOE rule). The deadline for submission is May 15th.
The link is: https://science.energy.gov/wdts/scgsr/
The description of ASCR, BES, BER, FES, HEP, and NP Priority Research areas is at the following link:
Keck Foundation – Call for concept papers
From: Aaron Shonk, Senior Director, Foundation Relations
Oregon State University Foundation
Funding Opportunity: Keck Foundation – Call for concept papers
Deadline: May 29, 2018
This is a call for concept papers for research projects in either science & engineering or medical research. Proposed projects should have the potential to meet the funding interests of the W.M. Keck Foundation. Please forward this call for concept papers to department chairs and any faculty who may be interested.
Criteria
The Keck Foundation seeks to support outstanding basic research in science, engineering, and medicine that will have a significant impact in solving complex issues and problems. The Foundation strives to fund endeavors that are distinctive and novel in their approach.
Keck encourages projects that are high-risk with the potential for transformative impact. “High-risk” comprises a number of factors, including questions that push the edge of the field, present unconventional approaches to intransient problems, or challenge the prevailing paradigm. “Transformative” may mean creation of a new field of research, development of new instrumentation enabling observations not previously possible, or discovery of knowledge that challenges prevailing perspectives.
The Keck Foundation looks for projects that would not qualify for federal funding from agencies like NSF and NIH due to the project’s high-risk nature. Projects that have received federal funding or that have applications pending for federal funding are unlikely to be funded.
Keck also looks for outstanding project personnel who are very accomplished in terms of publications and journal citations and highly regarded in their area of research. Keck is open to funding faculty at either the junior or senior level.
The maximum amount of funding available for a Keck research grant is $2 million. Research projects can run from one to five years.
Further details can be found at:
Concept Paper
Concept papers should be limited to one page using 12 point font with 1” margins. Concept papers should include the following:
- Indication as to whether the proposal’s emphasis is for (1) science/engineering or (2) medical research. (Simply state one term or the other at the top of the page in the title.)
- Overview of the research proposed emphasizing unique aspects of the project and pilot studies.
- Brief description of the methodologies and key personnel
- Brief justification of the need for Keck support
- Length of time for the project
- Estimated budget showing major areas of expenditures such as personnel, equipment, consumable supplies, etc.
- Availability of, or potential for, matching funds from OSU or other funding sources\
On a second page, please provide a brief description of any previous or pending funding requests for your project.
Do not include illustrations in the concept paper.
Interested faculty should email their concept paper to Elizabeth Ocampo, Foundation Relations Coordinator at the OSU Foundation by the deadline above. Elizabeth’s email address is Elizabeth.Ocampo@osufoundation.org. Any questions about these concept papers can be directed to Elizabeth at 541-737-7362.
Timing
If you are interested in submitting a concept paper for consideration, please carefully review the following information about the timeline for this funding cycle.
A concept paper submitted for this funding cycle would result in the following deadlines:
May 29 Deadline for concept papers submitted to OSU Foundation
May 30 – June 21 Research Office reviews concept papers and selects 1- 2 concepts
for pre-application advice from Keck.
July 1 – Aug 15 Research Office has pre-application advice session with Keck.
Aug 15 – Aug 30 Research Office notifies PIs of Keck feedback and whether PI
can submit a Phase I application to Keck.
November 1 Phase I deadline
January 15, 2019 Keck notifies PI if s/he is invited to submit full proposal.
February 15 Phase II deadline
June 2019 Keck Board meeting for review and funding decision
Anyone wishing to be considered for this funding cycle at Keck must be available to meet the above deadlines.
Please keep in mind that Keck has two funding cycles per year. A concept paper on your research project could be considered for future funding cycles if the timeline for this funding cycle does not work for your schedule.
Other Considerations
If you have proposed this project to other funders, please provide that information as an addendum to your concept paper. This includes both proposals currently pending a decision and proposals that have been declined.
Keck looks for strong evidence of institutional support for a proposed research project. Keck favors projects that (1) present a matching amount of institutional resources and (2) have obtained or applied for support from external private funding sources. Keck will allow the OSU indirect costs of the project to be counted as institutional support.
Keck asks that the PI of a proposal disclose if he/she is considering leaving the institution.