Author: Scott Miller

I am excited to share that Clemson was reconfirmed as a Carnegie R1 research university in January. This is the top designation Carnegie awards to doctoral universities with the highest levels of research activity.

A key goal of the ClemsonForward strategic plan, the R1 designation improves our reputation, helps us recruit the best students and faculty members, improves our competitiveness for funding, and invites world-class collaborators both from academia and industry.

Clemson has now reached R1 status for three consecutive classification cycles, moving us closer to our goal of becoming a “perennial Carnegie R1 research institution.” This success is shared by everyone at Clemson; Carnegie tracks research activity and PhD productivity across all disciplines. Despite a global health pandemic, Clemson has continued to improve in the metrics tracked by Carnegie. You can view Clemson’s performance in those metrics in my latest report to the Board of Trustees. I am proud to share that our research enterprise remains healthy. Here are few highlights from the report:

• Clemson’s research enterprise operates efficiently, with strong increases in per-capita productivity over the past eight years.
• Research awards remain strong at $76 million through the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 as Clemson faculty continue to earn high-value awards, and proposal submissions remain high at $313 million through the second quarter.

The quarterly research report also highlights numerous faculty and student achievements. In fact, three faculty members spoke during the quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees Research and Economic Development Committee to share the impact of their research:

• Rhondda Thomas, Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature;
• Lior Rennert, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences; and
• Derek Dalton, Powers Distinguished Fellow in the College of Business.

You can read more about their work, as well as the work of other faculty members, in the full research report online here.

Updates from Funding Agencies

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently issued updates to proposal requirements.

National Science Foundation (NSF): On Jan. 10, 2022, NSF issued an updated list of activities that must be included in Current and Pending Support documents. This update now requires the following:

1. disclosure of start-up packages provided by an organization outside of Clemson University; and
2. a brief statement of overall objectives for each item listed on the Current and Pending document (view Item 11 on the FAQ).

National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH’s Other Support disclosure table is available here. This updated list clarifies the following:

1. disclosure of all Honoraria;
2. disclosure of mentoring support from outside organizations as in-kind Other Support “if the post-doc or graduate student is performing research activities in support of the PD/PI or other senior/key personnel’s research endeavors;”
3. effective Jan. 25, 2022, researchers must certify by electronic signature that the information provided on their Other Support document is “accurate, current and complete.” Information on creating and using an electronic signature is available here. The updated Other Support form with the signature block is available on the NIH FAQ page;
4. if foreign appointments and/or employment with a foreign institution are included on the Other Support document, associated contracts/agreements must be provided to NIH with the Other Support form; and
5. Other Support disclosure requirements apply to Just-in-Time (JIT), annual progress reports (RPPR), the final progress report, and as soon as possible when it is discovered that Other Support has not been disclosed during any of these instances

A special note on consulting activities:  Both NIH and NSF require disclosure of all consulting activities not already disclosed or approved by the university. Clemson faculty are required to disclose all outside activities as described in the Faculty Consulting Policy and the Conflict of Interest Policy, both of which are very broad, so it’s highly unlikely that consulting will need to be disclosed at all on either Current and Pending Support or Other Support documents. If you have questions about whether a consulting activity needs to be disclosed, we recommend that you consult with the Office of Sponsored Programs directly.

If you have any questions about these changes, please contact Dr. Sheila Lischwe, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs, at slischw@clemson.edu.

Thank you for all you do to support scholarship and discovery at Clemson.

–Tanju

As our research enterprise continues to grow, the scholarly community is increasingly recognizing the quality of your work and using your research to advance scholarship and discovery around the world. Those are the key points in my fiscal year-end report to the University’s Board of Trustees.

Fiscal Year 2021 was another banner year for our institutional research metrics:

• Expenditures from competitive awards increased 9 percent to $114 million in FY2021 and exceeded the ClemsonForward goal of $100 million for the third consecutive year.
• Research awards increased 37 percent to $162 million in FY2021 as funding agencies reward your high-quality proposals.
• Proposal submissions increased 4 percent from FY2020, which had been a high mark, to $762 million.

Of course, when the awards are received, it is time to do the work: conducting the research and writing the papers and books, and so forth. The scholarly community is increasingly recognizing the quality of Clemson’s research. The average annual number of peer-reviewed journal publications authored by Clemson faculty have increased 29% since 2014 and citations of Clemson authors have increased 44%. That is outstanding.

You can read my full report to the Board of Trustees online.

To help continue our momentum, we have several efforts at the Division of Research aimed at nurturing research activity and professional development. The Office of Research Development, for example, is again offering its CAREER Academy in the Spring. The CAREER Academy provides a dedicated support structure for untenured junior faculty who are planning to submit National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) proposals.

These awards are career catalysts and the most prestigious awards junior faculty can receive. I know, personally, my CAREER award helped to propel my research portfolio and set me up for future success. And, Clemson faculty are becoming increasingly successful earning CAREER awards, in part due to the support provided through the CAREER Academy. Clemson faculty have earned 10 CAREER awards each of the past two years. That is an incredible accomplishment.

Applications for the 2022 CAREER Academy will be accepted from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30, 2021. Additional information is posted online.

On Friday, we will welcome to campus Sue Clark, deputy laboratory director of science and technology at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to speak with you about conducting research at SRNL. As many of you know, Clemson is a member of the Battelle Savannah River Alliance recently selected by the Department of Energy to manage research at SRNL. This is a tremendous opportunity for Clemson faculty and students to conduct research at one of the nation’s premiere national laboratories.

Sue will give a 15-20 minute presentation to share tips on engaging SRNL in research collaborations and then will answer questions from attendees. The event is 9:30-11:30 am. Nov. 12 at the Watt Family Innovation Center auditorium. More information about Sue and BSRA is posted online.

Lastly, I want to remind you that Calls for Proposal for this year’s R-Initiatives are now online. As I mentioned in a recent email to all faculty, we are expanding the SUCCEEDS initiative to provide four different funding programs, including two that were formerly part of the CU SEED program and another program that is new this year. Full details on the SUCCEEDS programs are posted online.

I encourage you to review our R-Initiatives webpage, mark the upcoming deadlines on your calendars and prepare proposals to take advantage of these opportunities. I truly believe there is something here for everyone. Since we launched R-Initiatives in 2017, we have invested in research projects involving 418 faculty members spread across every college. These funds have helped faculty secure $14 million in additional external funding, acquire 20 new pieces of instrumentation, publish 10 books and 66 journal articles, and conduct 10 art exhibitions. Additionally, funds have helped 97 students earn PhDs and have assisted in the hiring of 23 postdocs and research faculty.

Thank you for continued support of scholarship and discovery at Clemson.

–Tanju

Seeing so many colleagues and the students back on campus has really been inspiring. Though I must say, all of you involved in research at Clemson have remained inspired throughout one of the most challenging years I can remember.

Consider the momentum we have maintained in fiscal year 2021:

• Competitive research expenditures increased 9 percent to $114 million, surpassing the ClemsonForward goal for the third consecutive year.
• Competitive research awards were up 37 percent from the prior year at $162 million, the highest amount for decades. Incredible. Research awards are a testament to the quality of our research ideas and our proposals. We are competing with the best research institutions around the country to earn these grant awards, and Clemson faculty continue to succeed.
• Even as you have taken on more projects, you have remained committed, submitting $762 million in proposals, an increase of 4 percent from FY2020, which also was a banner year.

I am proud of your high-quality work and commitment to the pursuit of scholarship and discovery. Let’s keep the momentum going.

To help, our Office of Research Development has launched the Successful Grant Seeking series of professional development workshops. These events – led by experienced faculty – will provide insights on working with funding agencies, writing project overviews, forming successful research teams and communicating with reviewers. The workshops will be held in-person and online via Zoom. I encourage you to take advantage.

Additionally, the Office of Research Development will be offering its Clemson CAREER Academy to help junior faculty compete mainly for NSF CAREER Awards. These are the most prestigious awards junior faculty can receive. They are highly competitive and serve as a catalyst for your research program. Only the highest quality proposals are funded. The Academy has been successfully helping faculty craft competitive CAREER proposals. Junior faculty earned 10 early-career awards two years in a row in FY2020 and FY2021. Clemson has now more CAREER award winners per tenured/tenure-track faculty than many institutions around the country. I highly encourage all eligible junior faculty to take advantage of this very successful CAREER Academy and to pursue CAREER award competitions of various funding agencies. If interested, you can learn more about our CAREER Academy during a workshop on Oct. 18 that will be held at Watt Center as well as on Zoom.

Also, we are finalizing plans for our R-Initiative funding programs. Through these programs, we have invested $6 million over the past four years in projects involving more than 400 faculty members. Faculty members from every college have received funding, and I truly believe R-Initiatives provide value for everyone. Since we launched R-Initiatives in 2017, funding has helped faculty author 10 books and 66 journal articles; hold 10 art exhibitions; acquire 20 new pieces of equipment; hire 23 postdocs and research associates; and secure $14 million in additional external funding. Additionally, R-Initiatives have supported 117 students working to complete their PhDs. You can visit our R-Initiatives webpage to view opportunities. We will update the site and notify you when Requests for Proposal are available.

Lastly, I want to introduce Rhonda Shaner Ryals. Rhonda joined the Division of Research this summer to lead the Office of Export Compliance and Research Security. Research has no boundary, and international collaboration is important to scholarship and discovery that is relevant and impactful. Rhonda will work to support successful international research collaboration while protecting the intellectual capital of university research. For the past decade, She has worked with the Office of Research Integrity Assurance at the Georgia Institute of Technology, most recently as associate director. In this role, she has completed export reviews for internationally sponsored research, evaluated research agreement terms, drafted plans to safeguard export-controlled technology, evaluated risk and identified improvements to process and policy, among other responsibilities. She has also developed and delivered training to Georgia Tech faculty and staff involved in research with export-controlled materials. Clemson will benefit from Rhonda’s experience and I hope you take time to meet her, if you have not already.

I wish you all the best this academic year and beyond. The Division of Research is here to help.

-Tanju

For the past year, I have been living my professional life through a tiny square video screen on my computer. Adjusting to Zoom was difficult at first. Feedback would ring through our speakers when we didn’t mute our microphones. We would speak at the same time and then sit awkwardly silent while waiting for the other to continue. No, you first, please.

Now, we excel at meeting virtually, but I really miss seeing you in person.

I hope we can see each other on May 4 at this year’s Research Symposium, which will be a hybrid event with sessions available on Zoom and in-person at the Watt Family Innovation Center. In-person attendance requires advance registration. Register online here. Those attending via Zoom do not need to register.

One of the highlights of the Research Symposium, to me, is celebrating our Researchers of the Year and our recipients of the University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Awards. For Researcher of the Year, each college nominates a senior faculty member and a junior faculty member who received their terminal degree within the past 10 years. We have outstanding nominees, and I want to congratulate all of them. Regardless of who wins, being nominated by your peers in your colleges is an incredible honor; and it is priceless! Congratulations! Meet the Researcher of the Year nominees here and tune in at the Research Symposium May 4 as we announce the winners.

Research momentum

This has been an unforgettable academic year. There have been and continue to be many challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those challenges make the collective accomplishments of our research enterprise even more impressive:

• Clemson total R&D expenditures has continued to increase in 2020, reaching $229 million, highest since 2013.
• Fiscal Year 2021 new research awards are up 46 percent at $117 million through February when compared to the same period the prior fiscal year.
• You are publishing more papers and being increasingly cited, a sign your work is relevant and highly regarded by the scholarly community. Published papers have increased 29 percent since 2014, and citations are up 44 percent.
• Clemson junior faculty are increasingly successful earning prestigious early career awards. So far this year, Clemson faculty have earned eight CAREER Awards from the NSF.

More impressive than the numbers you are putting up is the impact you are having. My latest report to the Board of Trustees, which you can read here, includes some examples of that impact and the significant recognition you have received.

I am inspired by your commitment and dedication to scholarship and discovery at Clemson. Thank you.

–Tanju

You continue to make big news, despite the unrelenting pressures of a global health pandemic that has uprooted all of our norms.

Consider a few examples of the major accomplishments I was able to report to the University’s Board of Trustees last month:

• The U.S. Department of Energy awarded a 10-year, $3.8 billion contract for an alliance that includes Clemson to manage the Savannah River Nuclear Laboratory near Aiken. This is the first time the lab has ever been managed separately from the Savannah River Site. Through this partnership, Clemson will be a key player in the nation’s energy, environmental, and national security research and workforce development efforts.
• Clemson faculty have earned numerous high-value awards in the past several months, including $16 million to support the development of autonomous military vehicles, $5 million to conduct specialty crop research, and $3 million for teacher development support. The diversity of disciplines earning these high-value awards is impressive.

• 

  Clemson faculty, students and alumni are earning significant national and international recognition. Clemson professor Aleda Roth had a national research award named in her honor. Two Clemson Science graduates were named among the nation’s 12 rising stars by Chemical & Engineering News. Professor Hala Nassar is one of just four professionals from across the country to be named a 2020 Fellow by the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.

• In just a few months, Clemson faculty raced to validate new COVID-19 tests and establish a CLIA-certified lab that has been a great benefit to the University and the surrounding community, as well as a unique learning resource for students and an innovation hub for future Clemson research.

These are just a few examples of the outstanding work you are doing. You can read more about these achievements and others in my quarterly report to the Board of Trustees here. At the meeting, Trustee Joe Swann, who chairs the Board’s Research and Economic Development Committee, and other trustees in attendance applauded your efforts to advance research at Clemson, as did President Clements.

Despite all this great news, I know the pandemic has created hardships, both personally and professionally. I hope you will find programs at the Division of Research helpful as you advance your research portfolios. Our R-Initiative programs have invested nearly $6 million in research projects involving 250 faculty members since 2017. These programs have helped faculty from all colleges publish books, conduct art exhibits, acquire equipment and hire research faculty. We are currently soliciting proposals for numerous R-Initiative programs.

Our Office of Research Development has also developed a series of professional development workshops designed to help you advance your research. I encourage you to attend these virtual sessions, and if you have missed one, you can watch past workshops online.

Additionally, I encourage you to attend the Research Symposium May 4. This will be a hybrid online and in-person event. The event brings together faculty from all colleges and the libraries to share ideas and form collaborations. My Faculty Advisory Board is seeking ideas for symposium topics. The Symposium theme this year is “Collaborate! Global problems, human solutions.” When thinking of symposium sessions, please consider topics that will bring researchers with similar interests together to foster new collaborations. Examples of potential session themes include: AI and ethics; pandemic readiness, response, and resilience; emergent knowledge from big data research; food, energy, and water in a changing world: security and scarcity; global movements and migrations; and translating local and regional problems into a global context.

The ideas for symposium topics can be sent by Feb. 26 to Sarah White, Erin Goss and Penny Reid. I hope to see you there.

Thank you for your continued support of scholarship and discovery at Clemson.

Go Tigers!

–Tanju

Last spring, we missed one of, in my opinion, the highlights of the academic year: our annual Research Symposium.

I greatly enjoy the camaraderie the Symposium provides: meeting with faculty from other disciplines, sharing ideas, brainstorming, learning, celebrating our successes while game-planning for new opportunities. In addition to numerous interdisciplinary workshops, panel discussions and networking opportunities, we announce our Researchers of the Year and honor our newest recipients of the University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Awards. The event is a fitting end to the semester.

We launched the university-wide symposium four years ago and we have seen participation increase each year. Last year, at least 150 people attended, and we had participants from every college, including attendees from our off-campus locations. Disrupting that momentum made cancelling last year’s Symposium even more disappointing, even if it was necessary.

I am happy to report that my Faculty Advisory Board is working hard to bring back the Research Symposium in May, possibly in a hybrid online/in-person format. Please mark your calendar for May 4 and look for future updates on the Research Symposium webpage. The Advisory Board is working hard to establish an agenda, line up presenters and finalize the many details that go into such a large event. You’ll likely be hearing from the Advisory Board as they gather input on making this event a success. Please share your ideas and plan to attend in May.

R-Initiatives

The COVID-19 pandemic has been painful for all of us, the Division of Research included, and I have been working to cushion the financial sting to our own business operations without disrupting the services our office provides to you. That said, I think it is important, particularly now, to continue to support your research through our R-Initiative funding programs. We just posted calls for proposal for four R-Initiatives:

• Clemson University Core Incentivized Access (CU-CIA), which provides access to our core facilities at no cost;
• Research Fellows, which provides funding for hiring and training researchers;
• Major Research Instrumentation, which provides funds to purchase or upgrade research equipment;
• And SUCCEEDS, which aims to position interdisciplinary faculty teams to successfully compete for significant external funding.

For the R-Initiatives, we are trying to use limited resources strategically, while reducing some of the burden on you. To do that, we have lifted the cost-share requirements from some competitions this year in hopes this will provide you more opportunities to submit a proposal. However, because our resources are limited, proposals that are able to offer cost-share may receive preference. Please review details on these R-Initiatives using the hyperlinks above and take advantage of these opportunities.

Finally, I would like to commend you all again on your productivity through this pandemic. I will be meeting with the Board of Trustees Research and Economic Development Committee later this month, and you give me a lot to brag about. I will be sharing faculty features provided by each college and including numerous announcements on various awards and honors I have read on the Clemson News site. As always, my report to trustees will be posted online after the meeting.

While I am still finalizing the report and gathering data, it appears that we continue to post strong results in our research metrics, thanks to your hard work. There is much for us all to be proud of. Thank you again for your ongoing support of scholarship and discovery at Clemson University.

Go Tigers!

–Tanju

This has been an incredible semester, one unlike any other in my 24 years at Clemson. I am increasingly proud of how you have navigated the challenges brought on by COVID-19, and I want you to know we are working to provide support.

First, I want to share my gratitude. Despite COVID-19, institutional research expenditures remain strong and proposal activity has been exceptional. You submitted $734 million in research proposals in fiscal year 2020, a banner year for Clemson. That is outstanding and a testament to your unwavering desire to feed knowledge to the world. Thank you. Please keep up your great work.

That said, I know from my own research activities that operational disruptions due to COVID are painful. That pain may not be felt equally across campus, however. While some of you may be continuing to work in your labs and offices, we know researchers from some disciplines still can’t access off-campus sites to continue their projects. Schools, hospitals and other community sites, for example, may limit access and in-person interaction still. I know some faculty and students have missed important travel opportunities and events. Some have been unable to advance the work necessary for tenure or graduation.

We are not alone in this. I have been meeting regularly with my peers through the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) and the Council of Government Relations (COGR), as well as the funding agencies. We are continuously providing information and presenting a strong case for federal support for university research that would help us ease the effects of COVID-19.

In the meantime, we plan to support your research through our R-Initiative funding programs. While trying to cushion the financial sting to our own operations, the Division of Research anticipates releasing calls for proposals for numerous R-Initiative funding programs. You can view the list of current and upcoming R-Initiative solicitations, submission deadlines, and other details here.  We are trying to use limited resources strategically, while reducing some of the burden on you. For example, we have lifted the cost-share requirements from some competitions for this year in hopes this will provide you more opportunities to submit a proposal. However, because our resources are limited, proposals that are able to offer cost-share may receive preference.

Finally, with the University reverting to online-only instruction from the Thanksgiving holiday through the end of the Fall semester, I want to clarify facility access for conducting research during this time.

Faculty, students and staff will continue to have access to facilities during the period of online instruction. Core research facilities (Godley-Snell Research Center, Clemson Light Imaging Facility, Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, and Electron Microscopy Facility) will continue to provide pre-approved access. Users should continue to follow the guidelines for these facilities posted to the COVID-19 Research Resources webpage.

During holiday breaks, buildings will be locked, as they have been in the past. In addition, buildings will also remain locked during times of reduced staffing. General building access for faculty, students and staff will be unavailable these dates:

• November 26-29
• December 14-January 3

You will need card access to enter buildings on these dates. If you have any issues with access on these dates, please contact your Department Chair and Building Security Coordinator to request access. You can search for your Building Security Coordinator here.

Thank you for your patience and productivity throughout this semester and next.

Go Tigers!

–Tanju

This fiscal year, Clemson University faculty collectivity submitted $734 million in research proposals, a 23 percent increase from the prior year.

Your productivity in the months on-campus access was limited was extraordinary. As you juggled online instruction, uncertain funding guidelines, childcare, remote working and many more matters that I’m sure I am forgetting, you did not rest on your research. You seized the opportunity to do more. You sought more projects. You pushed forward. In fact, in the months of April, May, June and July, you submitted $311 million in research proposals, twice as much as the same period a year ago. Congratulations and thank you. I am so proud to work with such an extraordinary group of scholars who are constantly seeking answers to society’s grand challenges.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, our competitive expenditures exceeded our Clemson Forward goal for a second year, and seven years ahead of schedule. Our competitive awards again increased. You can read more about our research activity in my September 2020 Research Report to the Board of Trustees. During my report to trustees, Trustee Joe Swann, who chairs the Research and Economic Development Committee, asked me to pass along his appreciation for all of the work you are doing. He said the entire report, which highlights your research productivity, made him very proud.

Challenges persist. We must remain United as Tigers to protect our own health and the health of the entire Clemson Family, so we can continue with in-person instruction and research. Wear a mask. Stay home if feeling ill. Wash hands regularly. You all know the routine. We have developed several guidance documents to provide tips for ramping up laboratories after extended shutdowns, sanitizing equipment and limiting coronavirus spread in laboratories. You can view those documents and other information on our COVID-19 Research Resources webpage. We will update this page as necessary, and I will email you and your college leadership with important updates on research activity, as needed.

Please note that while in-person instruction resumes, some members of the Division of Research team continue to work remotely. That said, the entire Division of Research is available and ready to support you. You can reach us via the emails listed on the Division of Research website, as well as the webpages for each office within the Division of Research. You can also call us on our office numbers, which will forward to team members’ mobile numbers if they are working remotely. If you receive voicemail, my expectation is that we will respond as quickly as possible. Like others, our team members will be taking furlough over the next several months. We will work to manage this time off with little disruption to the services we provide.

As you have likely noticed, the university has revamped Clemson.edu. As part of that, we have a new Division of Research landing page.  Here you will find information on our R-Initiative support programs; links to our offices, which provide support for proposal submissions, grant administration, industry collaboration, compliance training and more; along with introductions to the Division of Research Leadership Team. You’ll also find timely announcements and notices of upcoming events and workshops aimed at helping you advance your research. Important links that you may have bookmarked for safety, compliance or regulatory programs have not changed. If you notice anything working incorrectly, please notify Division of Research communications director Scott Miller at srm@clemson.edu.

Finally, I want to congratulate our Researchers of the Year and recipients of our University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Awards. Please take a moment to read about these outstanding faculty members. They are doing outstanding work and serving as role models for all of us, continuously seeking to impact society through their research. Unfortunately, but necessarily, our research awards celebration had to be conducted virtually this year. You can watch the video here. The event included some surprise award presentations that I hope made the occasion memorable. It is important for us to continue to celebrate our accomplishments together and to support each other in our efforts to improve the world.

Thank you for all you do and for your ongoing commitment to scholarship and discovery at Clemson University.

Go Tigers!

–Tanju

I want to thank you again for your patience and perseverance as we continue to manage a major disruption to our personal and professional lives. Your response to this unprecedented challenge has been inspiring. You have adjusted to online instruction here at Clemson, while in some cases homeschooling your children, too. You are juggling work-from-home schedules with your families. I have seen PhD students defend their dissertations on Zoom calls. I have seen our faculty members race to the call for research support from our health care partners. You have quickly ramped down your research projects to help protect the health of our Clemson family.

You have done all of these things while faced with the uncertainty and stress of a global pandemic. The Clemson COVID-19 Updates page includes a list of resources available for support. Your health and wellbeing is the top priority.

I thank you for all you have already done and appreciate your patience and support as we continue to work through this.

Research Operations

This is not over, and we will continue to work under modified operating conditions until further notice, with only essential research activity performed on site. A couple reminders on essential research:

• Approval for new “essential research” and changes to existing projects, including personnel changes and facility access schedules, should be submitted to your Associate Dean for Research. The University will review requests on the second and fourth Friday of each month.
• Consult the Guidance for Essential Research Activities During Modified Operations for additional information.
• Visit our COVID-19 Research Resources page regularly for updates.

We are monitoring funding agency responses to this pandemic and have compiled a list of frequently asked questions at our COVID-19 Research Resources webpage that may answer some of your questions about research funding and operations. Please review and if you have additional questions not listed there, email vpr@clemson.edu so we can find answers to share with the entire Clemson research community.

I have been communicating regularly with vice presidents of research at regional universities, Atlantic Coast Conference universities and with others around the country to compare continuity plans and learn from their planning and experiences. We have been monitoring COVID-19 responses at major universities across the country. Clemson is not alone. This is an unprecedented challenge to the global academic community.

Opportunities

I encourage you to continue to push research forward however possible: reading literature; analyzing data; writing and/or revising publications, including student theses and dissertations; preparing new ideas and developing new proposals. New opportunities may be on the horizon, so we must prepare.

With the United States reeling from recession in 2009, Congress invested heavily in an economic turnaround through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That stimulus package amounted to a one-time increase to research spending of 25 percent, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Could a similar opportunity come in COVID-19’s wake? Very likely in my opinion.

Economic concerns have already pushed Congress to pass the CARES Act, which provides billions in taxpayer payments, cash-flow assistance to small businesses, loans to large corporations and other stimulus aid.

The act provides federal research agencies with additional funds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19.

Additional federal research funding includes:

• $75 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF) for RAPID grant awards;
• $945 million to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for COVID-19 research;
• $99 million to the Department of Energy’s Office of Science to support the national laboratory system’s work on COVID-19; and
• $60 million to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with $50 million for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership to support manufacturing research and $10 million for Manufacturing USA to spend on pharmaceutical and biotech research.

The Office of Research Development has compiled an online list of COVID-19 Funding Opportunities available. Check this site regularly because we are updating it daily.

Additionally, we have worked with the School of Health Research to identify Clemson faculty members interested in collaborating on COVID-19 research. Be sure to add your information to the page.

This pandemic will challenge higher education operations. We are hopeful that the CARES Act and potentially future stimulus packages will provide support for higher education. The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and universities across the country have banded together.

In the meantime, prepare yourself for new opportunities. Think creatively. Consider how you could shift your research to support this pandemic in some way. Find collaborators. Keep moving forward.

I empathize with what you and all of our Clemson faculty, students and staff members are facing. I continue to conduct research under the modified operational conditions. I am working with graduate students and postdocs, writing proposals and manuscripts, and searching for answers as research stalls. Like all of us, I want to see this situation resolve quickly. These unprecedented circumstances will test our ingenuity and resolve, but I believe we can tackle this challenge through empathy, cooperation and support of one another.

Sincerely,

–Tanju

Adam Lapidas joined the Office of Industry Contracts as a contracts associate.

He will be working with the Industry Contracts team to review proposals to industry and negotiate sponsored research and other research-related agreements with industry.

Prior to joining Clemson, Lapidas served as the contracts officer in the Office of Research Administration at East Carolina University.  Prior to that, he was responsible for grant proposals and research agreements in the Office of Research at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Lapidas received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his Juris Doctor from the Wake Forest University School of Law.

Experienced university compliance officer Robin Tyndall has joined Clemson University as director of the Office of Research Compliance.

Before joining Clemson, Tyndall worked as director of Research Protections at Appalachian State University, where she served as administrator of the Institutional Review Board (IRB), the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), as well as the conflict of interest manager and the responsible conduct of research training coordinator.

In addition to her experience in academic research compliance, Tyndall has directed lean operations and quality control programs in the private sector for notable corporations, including IBM and the Lenovo Group.

Tyndall succeeds Tracy Arwood, who has transitioned to her new role as chief ethics and compliance officer.

Modified Operations

The Office of Research Compliance remains active and assisting faculty members as Clemson operations are modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Any adjustments to existing research projects should be communicated to Research Compliance. Additionally, faculty members planning to apply for federal or private funding to conduct research related to COVID-19 should notify Research Compliance.

The growth in our research enterprise is being noticed. In December, President Clements was contacted by a PhD student studying higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania. The student is researching Carnegie R2 universities who achieved R1 status in 2015 and had that status reaffirmed in 2018. Clemson, of course, fits the bill. “And, in looking at the research trends over time, Clemson didn’t just cross the line, Clemson jumped over it and is forging ahead. Hence my interest in studying whatever special is going on at the university,” the student wrote in his request.

To better understand what is making Clemson’s research enterprise special, the student visited Clemson in January to interview numerous people, including me. As I considered the answers to his question, one thing became clear: Together, we are nurturing a research culture with big aspirations. We are pursuing and securing large grant projects. We are joining our colleagues to form interdisciplinary teams that can tackle big societal questions. We are increasing our expenditures. We are increasing our PhD productivity. We are conducting more research than ever before.

Next month, I will present on our “research efficiency” to the Board of Trustees. I am proud to show them how favorable our growth is compared to our peer Carnegie R1 institutions and how much hard work you all have done. Thanks for all that you do to support scholarship and discovery at Clemson. All of my Board of Trustees reports are archived online here. The February report will be posted after the meetings in February.

In the meantime, I want to provide a couple important reminders from agency sponsors:

No. 1: Faculty seeking awards from the National Science Foundation must complete biosketches in a new format under a revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide. This is just one change implemented under the new guide. Read this announcement from the Office of Sponsored Programs to learn more of your responsibilities under this policies and procedures guide.

No. 2: Individuals supported by research training, fellowship, research education, and career development awards from the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be required to have Open Researcher and Contributor Identifiers (ORCID IDs). Read more on that here.

As you settle into another semester, I want to provide a few additional reminders for conducting research at Clemson:

• Do not sign any research-related documents (e.g., non-disclosure agreements, grant agreements, research contracts, consulting agreements). Contact the Division of Research.
• Visit our Office of Research Development to view various funding opportunities.
• When you identify a funding opportunity for which you plan to apply, first notify the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) Support Center in your college. Contacts are listed here.
• If you haven’t already, complete the Sponsored Programs Certification Program here. You will not be able to submit proposals through Clemson University without the certification.
• Register when applicable for any electronic registrations/accounts (NSF Fastlane/gov, eRA Commons, etc.) required by the funding agencies.
• Faculty should have a current Conflict of Interest Disclosure on file to be able to submit proposals (e.g., NIH, NSF). Access COI training here and submit your disclosure through InfoEd here.
• Make sure to set up your lab on the new online BioRAFT platform to begin managing your research safety requirements. Login in with your university credentials and follow the BioRAFT Quick Start Guide. If setting up a new lab or beginning research in a new area, include the Office of Research Safety in your planning.
• Register for a Brown Bag Series seminar to better understand research integrity and compliance and earn credits toward required Responsible Conduct of Research training, when applicable. If you have questions or concerns related to research integrity/misconduct, please contact the Research Integrity Officer.
• Prior to beginning a research project, make sure that all regulatory and compliance protocols regarding animal care, biosafety, human subjects and other research have been submitted and approvals are in place. Consult with the Office of Research Compliance on regulatory and compliance matters.
• Once you have been awarded funds, OSP will forward the award to the Grants and Contracts Administration (GCA), which will setup the award and provide an account number. Do not start your funded research project prior to account setup, unless you obtain a risk account.
• Review your Sponsored project dashboard with the Faculty Business Information System (FBIS), which provides an expense summary, transaction details and burn-rate information. Use the Sponsored Program Verification System to manage your semi-annual compensation reporting requirement online.
• To disclose an invention, license intellectual property, or identify an industry collaborator, contact the Clemson University Research Foundation.
• For assistance with any research or research-related agreements with industry, contact the Office of Industry Contracts.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please reach me directly at vpr@clemson.edu.

Thank you again for your contributions to scholarship and discovery at Clemson University.

Go Tigers!

— Tanju