Month: December 2017

Building upon our successes

The end of the semester offers a great opportunity to reflect on the progress we’ve made in advancing scientific discovery and scholarship at Clemson University, while taking stock of opportunities that will help us maintain momentum into 2018 and beyond.

Several opportunities will be available to you this spring through the university’s R-Initiatives programs:

• Funding to help research teams compete for high-value external grants
• Funding for equipment purchases and upgrades
• Grants to hire research faculty and postdoctoral fellows
• And grants to fund the completion or initiation of research projects.

R-Initiatives foster cross-disciplinary, team-focused research and lay a foundation for future success with support for faculty and infrastructure investments to make that work possible. In the last fiscal year, a quarter of Clemson faculty participated in R-Initiative applications and nearly $1.5 million was invested in research on prenatal care, computational genomics, dietary therapy for gluten sensitivities, childhood education, emotional expressions, painting in the digital age, and much more. A list of last year’s recipients is posted within each grant program on the R-Initiatives webpage.

I greatly appreciate the participation in our R-Initiatives. I look forward to seeing more applications this spring and learning about the achievements supported by this funding. I encourage you take a moment to learn about the R-Initiatives and begin to plan your proposal.

The Division of Research is working to enhance the quality of scholarly endeavors and growth of research programs with direct input from faculty. The newly created Research Advisory Board (RAB) held its first meeting in November. The board will provide input on a range of matters affecting research and scholarship at Clemson. I value input from faculty and thank our advisory members for their involvement. I would like to introduce the RAB members and I ask that you engage with them on matters affecting research at Clemson.  Share ideas and constructive and innovative suggestions for improvements. The board will meet monthly, with members serving three-year terms. Research Advisory Board members, selected by their colleges, are:

• Andy Wesolek, University Libraries
• Antonis Katsiyannis, College of Education
• Brian Powell, College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences
• Christopher Parkinson, College of Science
• Edmond Bowers, College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences
• Lawrence Fredendall, College of Business
• Lee Morrissey, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities
• Sarah White, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences

During the break, I hope you will spend some time catching up on some of the exciting research news happening across our campuses:

• Two faculty members from the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences received a national award for their work on water use.

• A team of researchers in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities was recognized for their work to conceptualize a safer, more ergonomic hospital operating room.

• As part of an industry partnership, the Clemson University Energy Innovation Center in North Charleston was chosen as the test site of the world’s most powerful wind turbine.

• In January, a doctoral student in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences will travel to Guinea for extensive research made possible by a Fulbright Research Award.

• Researchers in the College of Business have made new links to the role of politics in the workforce.

• The College of Education is developing the state’s first university-led, research-based teacher residency program aimed at improving teacher retention and student achievement.

• An assistant professor in the College of Science recently shared a story of the discovery of learning behaviors in non-human primates.

These are just a few of the great accomplishments and fascinating work done by our faculty at Clemson. You can read more online here.

Congratulations to all of you on another successful semester. Have a happy and safe holiday season.

Go Tigers!

Tanju

Create. Collaborate. Impact.

This is our motto at the Division of Research. Solutions to complex global problems require new knowledge created by collaborative, interdisciplinary teams of scientists with unique perspectives and ideas. We are building these teams at Clemson. I want to thank everyone who is engaging in collaborative research, seeking new discoveries, and working to make Clemson a leader in transformational research.

Funding agencies are rewarding our collaborative efforts:

• Clemson joins a team of researchers at nine other universities in the new MADE in SC program supported by a recent $20 million federal grant. The Clemson team, led by Dr. Raj Bordia, will support education at all levels and will develop materials for next generation computing systems, materials that can self-heal, and biomaterials that can interact with the human body to improve health care outcomes. Six academic departments at Clemson alone are part of the project.

• In another grant, a Clemson team led by Dr. Sarah Harcum received $6 million to lead researchers in three states on a project that seeks lower-cost treatments for some of the world’s most debilitating ailments. At Clemson, the project involves faculty from bioengineering, sociology and anthropology, and genetics and biochemistry.

• In a $2 million federal grant received this year, faculty from engineering will work with colleagues in psychology and education to reimagine the training of civil engineers in a way that allows students to work on projects with real-world impact. The endeavor, led by Drs. James R. Martin and Sez Atamturktur, will result in a national model of engineering curriculum.

This kind of interaction among academic disciplines is critical to impactful research that meets the evolving societal needs of the 21^st Century. To facilitate more of this interdisciplinary collaboration, the Office of Research Development and I invite faculty from all colleges to participate in the formulation of a proposal to become an Engineering Research Center with the National Science Foundation. I want to thank everyone for participating in our first ERC meeting and encourage you all to remain engaged or to attend an upcoming ERC event if you haven’t already. We need researchers from across humanities, social sciences, science and engineering to bring their ideas to this process. For more information, watch this video. Please come meet your colleagues from across campus and begin sharing ideas for transformational research. Or, if you have a major interdisciplinary research project in mind, share your ideas with me at vpr@clemson.edu.

I also encourage you to attend the first event of the ORD Speaker Series created to provide valuable insight on working successfully with the National Science Foundation. These events will give you the tools to become more competitive on grant proposals. This is one of many events ORD is planning to provide useful resources to faculty. A series of CAREER Academy workshops for junior faculty begin Nov. 10. Check the ORD website for information on these events and other opportunities.

As we work to become a perennial Carnegie R-1 institution, we have added a number of R-Initiatives to mentor young faculty, graduate more doctorates, fund more research, increase our competitiveness for large grants of global significance, and promote collaboration across all of Clemson’s campuses. I want to thank everyone for the strong participation in these programs. In 2016-2017, more than one-quarter of Clemson faculty participated as PIs or Co-PIs in the first round of internal funding opportunities – an investment of about $1.5 million – available through R-1 initiatives. Additionally, we awarded $170,000 through our Doctoral Dissertation Completion Awards program, which provides financial support to students as they complete their dissertations. I am excited for these promising students to receive their doctorates in May 2018.

I look forward to your participation in our R-1 Initiatives this spring and hope to see you at an ERC meeting or another upcoming event. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Go Tigers!

Tanju