2024 University Distinguished Professors
Author Archives: Luanne Johnson
NSF Call – Sustainable Polymers
https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/353837
The Molecular Foundations for Sustainability: Sustainable Polymers Enabled by Emerging Data Analytics program (MFS-SPEED) is a cross-directorate funding call in response to The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 and the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. It is supported by the NSF Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP), and five industry partners: Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, BASF, Dow, and IBM. The goal of MFS-SPEED is to support fundamental research enabling the accelerated discovery and ultimate manufacturing of sustainable polymers using state-of-the-art data science, and to enhance development of a cross-disciplinary workforce skilled in this area.
In particular, through this solicitation the research community is encouraged to address the discovery and elaboration of new sustainable polymers or sustainable pathways to existing polymers by the creation and use of a data-centric environment where research projects are: (1) focused on new approaches to predicting structure and properties of polymers and advanced soft materials, (2) with insights enabled by data analytics including Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning; (3) This includes more efficient, scalable preparation of monomers and polymers using existing or new synthetic routes (4) and this call aims to train a technical workforce that leverages data analytics to create sustainable polymers and soft materials. Molecular Foundations for Sustainability: Sustainable Polymers Enabled by Emerging Data Analytics (MFS-SPEED,) research grants – Awards will be supported in FY24/25 up to $2M per award for up to a three-year grant period, commensurate with the scope and team size. This program seeks to fund collaborative team research that transcends the traditional boundaries of individual disciplines to achieve the program goals.
The full document isn’t available but will be in a couple of days.
Have a great week,
jh
Jeff Hare, PhD
Program Coordinator
College of Science
Oregon State University
OSU – Corvallis is located within traditional homelands of the Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya, who were forced onto reservations in Western Oregon after 1855. Living descendants are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.
Richard Stephen Knutson Obituary
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of one of our alumni.
Richard Stephen Knutson
Richard Stephen Knutson (Steve to his many friends) was born 19 March 1941 in Springfield, Oregon and died 7 April 2024 in Corbett, Oregon.
Steve was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin T. and Bernice Knutson, and by his siblings Joan, Alice, and Dana. Steve is survived by his nephews, Zachary and Garth Chouteau.
Steve graduated in 1959 from Beaverton High School and attended Reed College on a full scholarship. Steve was always interested in science and completed the coursework at Oregon State University for a PhD in Chemistry.
Steve was very adventurous and while at Reed he was a member of the Reed Outing Club and began rock climbing and mountaineering. He climbed Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier and many other peaks in the Cascades. He rock climbed in the Columbia Gorge, Smith Rocks and other climbing areas in Oregon, Washington and California. Steve pioneered a number of first ascents of Cascade peaks and rock climbing routes. I’m told there is still a piton embedded in what was at that time the tallest building on the Reed College campus, from the time Steve climbed the building in the early sixties. Steve had a climbing accident on Mt. Hood where he fell and slid down the Palmer Glacier for several hundred feet and received a broken jaw and several broken bones. He was one of the first helicopter rescues from the mountain. Afterward Steve joined the mountain rescue team that rescued him, to show his appreciation.
Continuing his thirst for adventure, he attended the Jim Russell School of Racing and raced his Triumph TR3 in local sports car events
Steve developed an interest in cave exploring and became well-known for caving in America, Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru. He led a five year plus project of exploring and mapping of the main cave at Oregon Caves National Monument. During this effort he discovered bones including the skull of a prehistoric mountain lion. His work resulted in a map that is still being sold at the gift shop there. He participated in a 1974 expedition to Castleguard Cave in Canada. He participated in many expeditions to caves in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru. He led Lost World Explorations to explore these caves, always wanting to “go where no one had gone before” and experience the thrill of new discoveries. One of his Peru expeditions was featured in an episode on the History Channel titled “Mummies of the Clouds” in which Steve led the camera crew into the cave to film the indigenous cave burials of the Chachapoya culture of the Northern Andes. This was the first proof that prehistoric humans in the area mummified their dead and placed them deep into caves. Steve contributed his data from these trips to the archaeology department of Peru’s government
Steve wrote many articles for various caving publications and was the author of a book: “Oregon Caves, The Pioneer Exploration and the New Discoveries.” He was the editor of American Caving Accidents from 1976 to 1993. His long membership in the National Speleological Society and his contributions led to his being named an NSS Fellow in 1977 and to his receiving the Lew Bicking Award in 1989 for exceptional service in cave exploration and mapping.
Steve’s working career centered around his desire to experience and contribute to preserving the great natural resources of our world. He worked for the National Park Service at Mammoth Cave and Oregon Caves National Parks. He worked for Shasta National Forest as a surveyor and fire fighter.
In recent years, Steve had some health problems. He had a bout with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and suffered chemo and radiation treatments and in 2023 his heart slowed and he had a pacemaker surgically inserted. But being Steve, he ignored any health problems and was recently hiking with a 40-pound pack getting in shape for trips to the Marble Mountains. He is greatly missed by all his friends and associates. Keep the carbide light of his legacy glowing!
DOD DEPSCOR Research Collaboration
Please share the following DOD opportunity below with potentially interested researchers. Leah Gorman shared a table of research interests below. White papers due: June 24, 2024
| Topic Number | SERVICE | TOPIC AREA | PROGRAM OFFICER |
| 1 | Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) | Natural Materials and Systems | Dr. Bennett Ibey |
| 2 | AFOSR | Atomic and Molecular Physics | Dr. Boyan Tabakov |
| 3 | AFOSR | Mathematical Optimization | Dr. Warren Adams |
| 4 | AFOSR | Ghz – Thz Electronics | Dr. Kenneth C. Goretta |
| 5 | Army Research Office (ARO) | Fluid Dynamics | Dr. Jack R. Edwards |
| 6 | ARO | Polymer Chemistry | Dr. Robert H. Lambeth |
| 7 | ARO | Information Processing and Fusion | Dr. John S. Hyatt |
| 8 | ARO | Physical Properties of Materials | Dr. Katherine J. Duncan |
| 9 | Office of Naval Research (ONR) | Novel, fast-response, infrared (IR) detector concepts enabling higher temperature operation | Dr. Richard Espinola |
| 10 | ONR | Vertical Cloud and Aerosol Profiling | Dr. Josh Cossuth |
| 11 | ONR | Multifunctional Marine Antifouling Surfaces | Ms. Danielle Paynter |
| 12 | ONR | Understanding Mind and Body Relationship Through Respiratory Control | Dr. Sandra Chapman |
| 13 | ONR | Novel Attachment Methods for Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics | Mr. Bill Nickerson |
Bettye
From: CARE <care-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu> on behalf of Gorman, Leah <Leah.Gorman@oregonstate.edu>
Date: Monday, April 22, 2024 at 3:16 PM
To: adrac@lists.oregonstate.edu <adrac@lists.oregonstate.edu>, CARE List <CARE@lists.oregonstate.edu>
Subject: [Care] DOD DEPSCOR Research Collaboration
FY24 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) – RESEARCH COLLABORATION
White papers due: June 24, 2024
We wanted to bring to your attention the DOD DEPSCOR Research Collaborations program. We are a DOD “ESPSCOR” state, which qualifies our faculty to apply for this unique program which pairs faculty who have never been a lead PI on DOD funded research with a DOD-funded “mentor”. The “mentor” could be at our institution or a different institution.
Here is the list provided in the recent webinar about the program of areas of special interest this year, and the program officers that our faculty should reach out to about concepts. This is basic research that informs an area of interest to DOD. Award ceiling is 600K and this is a great opportunity to build relationships with the sponsor to grow a research program. Contacting program officers prior to white paper submission is strongly recommended.
Please share with faculty with interests in the following areas:
This funding opportunity aims to create basic research collaborations between a pair of researchers, namely 1) Applicant/Principal Investigator (PI), henceforth referred to as Applicant, a full-time faculty member who has never served as a PI on a prior DoD directly funded research Prime award and 2) Collaborator/co-Principal Investigator (co-PI), henceforth referred to as Collaborator, an investigator who will provide mentorship to the Applicant and has served as a PI on a DoD directly funded research Prime award actively between 1 October 2016 and 30 September 2023. This structure is aimed at introducing potential applicants to the DoD’s unique research challenges and its supportive research ecosystem.
Public Trust in Science-Research Participants Request
Adjunct position PSU Summer General Chemistry
We are looking for an adjunct to teach General Chemistry III this summer. I am hoping you can help me spread the word.
· General Chemistry Lecture 3
· CH 223 6/24-8/4 MonTuesThurs 830am-1020am PSU campus
· 4 credits
· $8,000 for course as Adjunct Instructor ($2k per credit)
· Many of the students are part of a cohort that took CH 121 (prep chemistry) in Fall before entering the CH 221/2/3 general chemistry lecture sequence in Winter.
If you are interested in working with us this summer
· FIRST: let me know via a response to this email so we can discuss specifics (t.m.mccormick@pdx.edu).
· THEN: submit your information via our online application portal so we can formally proceed with the hiring process.
o Note the applications lists AY 24-25, but we are including Summer 2024 too (with the course availability as I listed above)
If you have any questions as you work through the application file direct any questions about this process as follows:
· General process = Department Manager, Sarah Bartlett, sbart2@pdx.edu
· Hiring decision process = Department Chair, Theresa McCormick, theresa5@pdx.edu
· Technical Assistance with the application = Human Resources, askhrc@pdx.edu
Please share with your networks or any interested parties.
Sloan: Equitable Pathways to STEM Graduate Education
Please share the following opportunity with your faculty:
From Aaron Shonk at OSUF: “I wanted to connect with you on an opportunity with Sloan that may be great for the College of Science: https://sloan.org/programs/higher-education/equitable-pathways”
This is a call for letters on Intent due July 1st.
This is a limited submission since we are only allowed on application. The RO deadline is May 1st.
You can find the link to the limited submission here: https://oregonstate.infoready4.com/#freeformCompetitionDetail/1935632
There will be two informational webinars:
April 18, 12:00-1:00PM EDT – Register here
May 9, 3:00-4:00PM EDT – Register here
Grantees awarded via this initiative will engage the expertise of MSIs—and the unique experiences of their faculty and students—to model effective systems and practices that remove barriers and create opportunities for equitable learning environments in STEM graduate education so all students can thrive. Grant awards will support sharing MSIs’ institutional know-how on equitable undergraduate and graduate education, as well as modeling that know-how to create systemic changes that enhance pathways from MSIs to master’s and doctoral degree programs in astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, data science, Earth sciences, economics, engineering, marine science, mathematics, physics, and statistics at partner institutions.
Three types of grants will be funded:
- Planning grants to support two or more institutions to conduct internal reviews of existing barriers to student success and for analysis and planning for a future partnership(s) (up to $75,000 for up to 1 year)
- Seed grants to two or more institutions that seek to formalize an existing partnership(s) and launch one or more pilot initiatives (up to $250,000 over 1-2 years)
- Implementation grants to two or more institutions that allow for the augmentation or scaling of existing partnerships/collaborations (up to $500,000 over 2-3 years)
DUO Passcode Retirement
| April 15, 2024 Dear OSU Community, As we continue to see increasingly sophisticated and malicious phishing attacks targeting the OSU community, we are working to improve our security posture and increase our resiliency by adopting new security measures. Effective May 8, 2024, the use of passcodes for Duo multi-factor authentication will be disabled. What is changing? Passcode authentication, which uses a numeric passcode generated by a hardware token or the Duo Mobile app will no longer be available starting May 8. How will this impact me? If you use passcodes to authenticate with Duo, please switch to a phishing-resistant authentication method, including Duo Verified Push or physical security keys, which plug into your computer to verify your identity without a code. Duo bypass codes will continue to be available. For more information about this change, visit beav.es/duo-passcodes. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Service Desk at beav.es/help or by calling 541-737-8787. Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to minimize opportunities for cyber attackers and increase the protection of our data, our community, and the university. Respectfully, David McMorries Chief Information Security Officer, Office of Information Security Oregon State University | University Information and Technology |
| Oregon State University University Information and Technology uit.oregonstate.edu |
Avantor Vendor Showcase
Smith College Chemistry/Biochemistry Lab Instructor Position
I am writing to bring to your attention an opening at Smith College for a full-time lab instructor position in Chemistry and Biochemistry. The successful candidate will teach courses in the introductory general chemistry lab sequence and the biochemistry lab sequence. A copy of the job ad is attached. Application information can be found at https://apply.interfolio.com/144058.
Please inform qualified candidates in your department/program of this opportunity. Potential candidates are welcome to contact me directly with any questions.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
