Faculty Development

EPSCoR continues to support the recruitment of new faculty to the State and offer opportunities for faculty development through seed funding, research opportunity awards, sponsorship of conferences, symposia and workshops and mentorship of junior faculty. 

What Programs are provided to Oklahoma faculty researchers?  

How can I find out more?

For more information regarding this important event, please contact Ms. Shelley D. Wear,
EPSCoR Outreach Coordinator at 405.225.9287 or swear@osrhe.edu or visit the events
page at http://www.okepscor.org/events.htm.

Research Opportunity Awards (ROAs) for Regional University Faculty

The EPSCoR program offers opportunities for regional university faculty members to perform summer research in laboratories at comprehensive research campuses.  ROAs also help regional faculty develop ongoing collaborations with faculty at the comprehensive research campuses expanding Oklahoma ’s research efforts across the state.  Participants are selected on a competitive basis. 

Who currently receives ROA support?


Dr. Mauricio A. Sánchez

Department of Physics and Engineering

University of Central Oklahoma



RESEARCH FOCUS:   

 

Microfluidic Actuation through Thermocapillary Pumping in an Electric Field

Oklahoma EPSCoR provides ROA funding to support Dr. Mauricio A. Sánchez, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Central Oklahoma .  Dr. Sánchez is collaborating with Dr. Feng C. Lai, Associate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma-Norman.  Drs. Sánchez and Lai are developing an analytical and numerical model of microfluidic actuation through thermocapillary pumping in an electric field.  Microfluidics is now rapidly emerging as an enabling technology, having applications ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles to inkjet printing, and from drug delivery to DNA sequencing. 

 

How can I find out more information on ROAs?
For more information on this program, contact Ms Shelley D. Wear, Special Programs Coordinator at 405.225.9287 or
swear@osrhe.edu.  

 
                                                                                                                                                                
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Annual State EPSCoR conference

What is the Purpose of Annual State EPSCoR Conferences?
Oklahoma EPSCoR sponsors a joint annual conference for the NSF Research Infrastructure Improvement Award science theme areas of plant virus biodiversity and ecology and nanoscale science and engineering.  A joint plenary session is offered to foster interdisciplinary interactions between science themes and hosts keynote speakers who are recognized as national leaders
and who are conducting research that bridges the fields.  The program also features scientific presentations and discussions among faculty, students, and industrial researchers and spotlights researchers’ progress at a scientific poster session held during the conference.
 

Who is invited to participate?
All plant virus biodiversity & ecology and nanoscale science & engineering investigators from Oklahoma and nearby states, the EPSCoR External Advisory Boards, and program officers from federal granting agencies are invited to attend.  There is no cost to participants, but registration is required.


What are the goals of Annual State EPSCoR Conferences?
The goals of this EPSCoR-sponsored event are:

·         to facilitate interaction among plant virus biodiversity and ecology and nanotechnology researchers;

·         to provide a forum to discuss national research trends and funding opportunities;

·         to prepare Oklahoma researchers for regional partnering on projects contributing in efforts to an increase in the number of individual and large, collaborative, interdisciplinary proposal submissions.

 

How can I find out more information on this event?
For more information on this or other EPSCoR events, visit http://www.okepscor.org/events.htm
or contact Ms. Shelley D. Wear, Outreach Coordinator at 405.225.9287 or swear@osrhe.edu

 

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Tallgrass Prairie Retreat

What is the goal of the Tallgrass Prairie Retreat?

The goal of the retreat is to foster communication among people studying biodiversity issues in the Tallgrass Prairie.  Participants will showcase research at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, share preliminary findings of the Plant Virus Biodiversity and Ecology project, and encourage new collaborations involving simultaneous research at Konza Prairie and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.  In addition to brief keynote and introductory addresses, informal concurrent scientific sessions will be held which include poster presentations. 


Who can participate?

Anyone interested in the biodiversity of the tallgrass prairie.  We will direct our invitations to researchers already active at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, researchers active at Konza Prairie, and members of the Plant Virus Biodiversity and Ecology project. 


Where will the retreat be held? 

At the Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve located 14 miles north of Pawhuska in northeastern Oklahoma .

Who can I contact to find out more?

For more information contact Dr. Mike Palmer at michael.palmer@okstate.edu or Dr. Ulrich Melcher, at biocukmelcher@okstate.edu.

 

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National Science Foundation (NSF) Grants Workshop

What is the Purpose of NSF Grants Workshops?
The purpose of NSF Grants Workshops is to encourage the increased quality and quantity of proposals submitted by Oklahoma researchers to the National Science Foundation. This workshop held annually provides Oklahoma researchers and grant writers with the “nuts and bolts” of proposal writing.  Also highlighted are funding opportunities and special considerations for researchers when preparing a proposal for the National Science Foundation.   

Who is invited to participate?
Faculty, researchers, postdoctoral associates and graduate students from all Oklahoma research and education institutions are invited to attend the annual workshops.  There is no cost to participants, but registration is required.   

How can I find out more?
To find out more about the next NSF Grants Workshop visit the EPSCoR Events page at http://okepscor.org/events.htm or contact Ms. Shelley D. Wear, Outreach Coordinator
at 405.225.9287 or E-mail to swear@osrhe.edu.

 

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NSF Plant Science Grants Conference

What is the purpose of the conference?
The purpose of the conference is to provide assistance to Oklahoma researchers regarding proposal preparation for the National Science Foundation in the specific area of Plant Sciences.  NSF program officers will review how and when to prepare a proposal, including a discussion of what constitutes a quality project and proposal. Presentations will include information on the do's and don’ts of proposal writing and recent procedural changes, in addition to funding opportunities in Plant Science and Biology.  

Who can attend?

All faculty, postdoctoral researchers and students interested in advancing their grantsmanship and gaining insight into National Science Foundation plant science and biological programs.  

How can I find out more?

For more information visit http://www.noble.org/outreach/nsfgrantwriting/ or contact Emily Edwards at ededwards@noble.org or 580.224.6206 .

 

OK BIOS Conference: Annual Symposium of the Oklahoma Bioinformatics Society  

What is the purpose of the conference?

The use of computational technology in all aspects of biomedical research has become pervasive. Whether or not one actually conducts bioinformatics research, many biomedical researchers rely heavily upon some form of computational analysis to aid them in their research. Oklahoma researchers are no exception, and the aim of this symposium is to bring together researchers, educators and students who are involved in all types of life science research, including the basic biological sciences and medicine to share their work, research and experiences.  

Who can attend?

Attendance is open to anyone (students, faculty, postdoctoral researchers, industry researchers) interested in the areas of bioinformatics, computational and systems biology, biomedical data integration, clinical informatics and biomedical imaging.   

How can I find out more?

For more information visit http://register.perfectorder.com/okbios/2005/agenda.php .

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OU Supercomputing symposium

What is the purpose of the symposium?
Oklahoma EPSCoR is a co-sponsor of the University of Oklahoma (OU) Supercomputing Symposium,  which is an event designed to bring Oklahoma researchers together to discuss the use of supercomputing in science and engineering research.  Dr. Henry Neeman, Director of the OU Supercomputing Center for Education & Research organizes the annual event, which hosts more than 250 faculty, staff and student participants on the OU-Norman campus.  

How can I find out more?
For information about past symposiums or to find out more about the upcoming OU Supercomputing Symposium scheduled for Wednesday, October 5, 2005 , please visit:  http://symposium2005.oscer.ou.edu/ or contact Dr. Henry Neeman at 405.325.5386 or hneeman@ou.edu.

Grant Writing and External Funding Technical Assistance

EPSCoR together with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education funds the position of Coordinator for Grant Writing and External Funding Technical Assistance.

What is the goal of this position?
The mission of the OSRHE Coordinator for Grants and External Funding Technical Assistance is to enhance a robust grants culture in the Oklahoma State Higher Education system, provide direct services to the agency, the regional universities and the two-year colleges.
 

What can the Coordinator do for me?
In order to enhance a robust grants culture in the Oklahoma State Higher Education System, services of  grantsmanship training, grant source researching, partnership and collaboration development, and grant writing assistance can be provided to the regional universities and two year colleges  who request such services. Training may include information specific to a particular grant source, general grant writing skills, or specific topics, either on campus or by videoconference.
 

What information is available?

A regular grant source information  announcement will be sent once or twice weekly to all who wish to receive it;  progress reports for the state, spotlights of institutions with ongoing grants, and grant award announcements  will be included in a regular electronic newsletter. To become a subscriber to the grant opportunity announcement or the newsletter, send an email to lmason@osrhe.edu requesting the Grants E-Letter or the Oklahoma Grantsmanship Newsletter.

What can I learn?
Training may be individualized for your campus or be offered centrally for multiple groups.          

Training may include:

·         Grantsmanship information from the Grants Coordinator to leaders and writers

·         Specific skill training sessions

·         Target audience presentations

·         Target grant source presentations

·         Short brown-bag lunch presentations

·         Small group specialized training

·         Q&A sessions

What help is available?

Perhaps the most valuable service provided by the Regents is facilitation of partnerships and collaborations. Institutions seeking partnering institutions for grant proposals may find it helpful to seek information from a central state-wide resource. Facilitation may include:

·         Networking with statewide institutional grant resource people

·         Locate volunteer grant writing mentors

·         Locate volunteer grant proposal reviewers

·         Partner facilitation

·         Data search and retrieval

·         Brainstorming and planning facilitation

·         Locate grant resources

·         Announce grant availability

·         Provide statewide information about grant projects

·         Identify experts  

How can I find out more information?
For more information please contact Dr. Linda Mason, Coordinator of Grants and External Funding at 1.800.858.8140 or

 405.225.9486 or lmason@osrhe.edu.