Author: Scott Miller

The Division of Research is accepting applications for grants to assist in the purchase of major research equipment or in the hiring of research faculty and post-doctoral researchers.

Funding is available through the Clemson Research Fellows and Clemson Major Research Instrumentation programs, two of four R-Initiative funding opportunities available this semester to spur collaborative research and boost scientific discovery.

Clemson Research Fellows provides grants to assist regular faculty, academic departments, centers and institutes in the hiring and training of qualified research faculty and post-doctoral researchers. Researchers may be hired to promote collaborative and creative interdisciplinary activities, research and demonstration projects with the goal of pursuing a large funding opportunity, building a major research program or a research center. These grants ($30,000 to $50,000 per year for each position) may run for a maximum of two years. At the end of the two-year period, the researcher position is expected to be fully supported by externally funded grants or the department. The deadline to apply is April 18.

Clemson Major Research Instrumentation(CU-MRI) program provides financial support to researchers for the purchase of major research equipment or to replace or upgrade major research equipment that will likely impact funding, scholarship and research productivity, and the probability of increased extramural funding. The equipment will have a useful life of at least five years and cost more than $50,000. The deadline to apply is May 1.

For details, guidelines and instructions for applying, visit the R-Initiatives webpage. Questions should be directed to Diana Thrasher in the Division of Research at dianas@clemson.edu or 864-656-6444.

The University Industry Demonstration Partnership, of which Clemson University is a member, hosts a free webinar at 1 p.m. Thursday to introduce university faculty to opportunities available via the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers program.

Preliminary proposals for the NSF program are due in April, so register for this webinar and get started. This webinar will be presented by NSF Program Director Andre Marshall.

NSF’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) Program was initiated in 1973 to develop long-term partnerships among industry, academe, and government. NSF invests in these partnerships to promote research programs of mutual interest, contribute to the nation’s research infrastructure base, enhance the intellectual capacity of the engineering or science workforce through the integration of research and education, and facilitate technology transfer. There are currently more than 65 IUCRCs consisting of more than 180 university sites and more than 1,200 industry members.

A new faculty award developed by the Research Advisory Board will celebrate faculty members who have received national and international recognition at the highest level.

The Advisory Board, consisting of representatives from each college and the University Libraries, has been working with Tanju Karanfil, vice president for research, to develop a mechanism to induct the university’s highest-achieving faculty into a university honors society that will be recognized and celebrated annually. Recipients of this new University Research, Scholarship, and Artistic Achievement Award (URSAAA) will be lifetime URSAAA members and will be invited to participate in an annual celebration with their peers.

The URSAAA webpage includes detailed information on criteria for the award, along with information on recommending yourself or another faculty member for the inaugural class. Recommendations are due April 16. Recipients will be announced and celebrated at the 2018 Research Symposium in May.

A seasoned business executive and product-development professional has been tapped to lead the Clemson University Research Foundation (CURF).

As CURF executive director, Chris Gesswein is charged with commercializing innovative Clemson technology and intellectual property and nurturing private-sector partnerships that will advance scientific discovery at Clemson and support economic growth. Gesswein, who joined CURF in 2014 as director of licensing for technology transfer, has served as interim director since 2017.

“CURF serves as the intersection of university research and the economy. Chris’s business savvy and understanding of research-and-development will benefit Clemson faculty, industry and the South Carolina economy,” said Tanju Karanfil, vice president for research.

Prior to joining CURF, Gesswein served as vice president of business development at Ultradian Diagnostics, a start-up he helped nurture to a clinical stage medical device company while overseeing fundraising, regulatory compliance and research grants management. He has more than 20 years of experience bringing various technologies from concept to market working as a new product development and technology transfer specialist for early-stage startups as well as large multi-national companies. Gesswein also operated a consulting business to assist mid-market life-sciences companies and has been a co-author on approximately 21 federal SBIR/STTR and state technology-development grants.

Gesswein received his master’s degree in biotechnology and molecular biology from Johns Hopkins University and his bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University. He has an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and is a member of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry, the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, the Association of University Technology Managers and the Licensing Executive Society.

“With a deep understanding of business, product development and research, Chris is well positioned to lead a great team at CURF and was an easy, unanimous choice by the board to move the organization forward,” said CURF board Chairman George Acker.

The Clemson University Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) corporation organized exclusively for charitable, educational or scientific purposes to promote the research enterprise at Clemson University.

Through an agency agreement with the university, the foundation is commercializing intellectual property through technology transfer; licensing agreements and new venture formations; and assisting with research development through a Foundation-sponsored technology maturation program and participation in early-stage research grants and sponsored research activities.

The Division of Research will award grants through the Clemson Research Fellows program to assist faculty, academic departments, centers and institutes in the hiring and training of qualified research faculty and post-doctoral researchers.

Applications are due April 18 and awards will be announced May 31. Full details are available online.

Through Clemson Research Fellows, researchers may be hired to promote collaborative and creative interdisciplinary activities, research and demonstration projects with the goal of pursuing a large funding opportunity or building a major research program or a research center. These grants ($30,000 to $50,000 per year for each position) may run for a maximum of two years. At the end of the two-year period, the researcher position is expected to be fully supported by externally funded grants or the department.

Clemson Research Fellows is one of four R-Initiative funding opportunities available this semester. The R-Initiative funds are part of the ClemsonForward strategic plan, representing the “R” of the REAL priorities – Research, Engagement, the Academic core and the Living environment.

For details, guidelines and instructions for applying, visit the R-Initiatives webpage. Questions should be directed to Diana Thrasher in the Division of Research at dianas@clemson.edu or 864-656-6444.

Clemson University faculty are encouraged to apply for internal funding under the Clemson SEED program to support the initiation of research or the completion of a scholarly project or product. 

Clemson SEED (Support for Early Exploration and Development) provides two tiers of funding. Priority consideration is given to faculty who may not have large start-up packages or significant financial research support and resources.

In Tier-1 awards, projects or products for completion can include finalizing peer-reviewed publications, scholarly books, chapters in books, or showings as in the case of the visual and performing arts.

Tier-2 initiation awards must include a proposal to an external funding agency as one of its deliverables. Initiation activities can include establishing baseline data, completing a phase of a research project that will lead to greater funding opportunities or developing research partnerships with collaborators at other institutions.

The deadline to apply for a Clemson SEED grant is March 7. Full details are available online.

Last year’s SEED grants supported work by faculty in every college. A full list of last year’s recipients is available online here.

Clemson SEED is one of four R-Initiative funding opportunities available this semester. The R-Initiative funds are part of the ClemsonForward strategic plan, representing the “R” of the REAL priorities – Research, Engagement, the Academic core and the Living environment.

For details, guidelines and instructions for applying, visit the R-Initiatives webpage. Questions should be directed to Diana Thrasher in the Division of Research at dianas@clemson.edu or 864-656-6444.

Hit the Ground Running 

Welcome back! As you all prepare for another successful semester, I want to remind you of ways to engage with the Division of Research to ensure your research advances smoothly, to encourage you to apply for internal funding under the University’s R-Initiatives, and to invite you to join me at the Watt Family Innovation Center for a special event in May.

The deadline to apply for funding under the SUCCEEDS program is Feb. 14. Grants of up to $35,000 are available to position inter-disciplinary faculty teams to compete in major external funding opportunities. Don’t miss the opportunity to collaborate with your colleagues and advance your research. This is just one of four R-Initiatives providing funding this semester. Details are online here.

One of the roles of the Division of Research is to support your success by establishing research policies designed to make your work progress smoothly by mitigating various risk. I appreciate your adherence to these policies. Our website has a repository of Division of Research Policies at this page. We are working hard to update this page, so I encourage you to bookmark it as it will be your resource for policy updates. We expect several updates to the site soon. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the Division of Research or one of its departments.

Additionally, our Conflict of Interest office is working hard to ensure you comply with federal requirements for grant proposals. More federal agencies are requiring researchers that submit grant requests to file annual conflict of interest disclosures. Additionally, the University requires all faculty to complete training on conflicts of interest every four years and to file a disclosure form. Currently, about 85 percent of faculty have completed this requirement. Thank you. The training takes around 30 minutes and will soon be moving to the University’s Bridge Training Management System. All of the information on these policies, training requirements and disclosure forms is available on the Conflict of Interest webpage.

I want to remind you that the Grants and Contracts Administration is now operating as part of Finance and Operations. The move better positions the University to identify and address potential risks before they result in reportable issues by putting the administration under the guidance of the office responsible for internal accounting controls, financial reporting, and coordination of external audits. The Grants and Contracts Administration continues to work very closely with the Division of Research and remains in its current Strom Thurmond Institute location. I appreciate the patience and support you’ve shown during the transition.

I am excited for us to continue our research growth this semester with even more collaboration across disciplines. Faculty from every college is invited to our 3rd Annual Clemson University Research Symposium 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 9 at the Watt Family Innovation Center. This event provides a platform for faculty from all colleges to tell their stories and find colleagues who may share similar or complementary interests. This is the venue to make the connections that lead to fruitful interdisciplinary collaborations. We have had fantastic participation at past symposiums, and I look forward to seeing you there this May.

Go Tigers!

Tanju

A shifting landscape of federal research funding and declining corporate research and development budgets make university and industry collaborations highly attractive.

Learn how to establish and manage these collaborations in a webinar series offered to the university community by the Division of Research’s Office of Industry Contracts with support from the Watt Family Innovation Center and the Clemson University Research Foundation.

Representatives from the Office of Industry Contracts and the Clemson University Research Foundation will be available for questions or further discussion at the end of each webinar.

To help faculty pursue opportunities for industry collaboration, CURF is offering an opportunity for faculty who attend the webinar to receive a travel stipend valued at $250 to be used to support registration or travel expenses (airfare, lodging) to an upcoming industry-related conference or meeting. A drawing for the stipend will be held at the end of each webinar. Those eligible are faculty or research faculty who attend the webinar and are present at the time of drawing.  The stipend will be in the form of travel reimbursement and CURF will require pre-approval of the designated conference/meeting.

The webinar series – “Working at the University-Industry Interface: Effective Strategies for Active Researchers” created by Academic Impressions and the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership – will guide you through the nuances and complexities of research collaborations between university and industry. Over seven sessions, experts at research universities and global corporations carefully cover the most critical considerations for creating win-win relationships:

1. Navigating the benefits and challenges
2. Managing expectations and creating relationships
3. Establishing contacts and handling proprietary information
4. Preparing proposals and budgets
5. Addressing compliance and contracting issues
6. Negotiating intellectual property (IP)
7. Leveraging government involvement

The sessions are ideal for faculty researchers, research center directors, research administrators, technology transfer officers, and any additional stakeholders who cultivate, negotiate or manage industry partnerships.

Upcoming Webinar Sessions

Preparing Proposals and Budgeting
Wednesday, March 21, 1 – 2:15 p.m.
Location: Room 238, Strom Thurmond Institute
Speakers: Abby Benson, assistant vice chancellor for research and innovation, University of Colorado Boulder; and Gaylene Anderson, U.S. director, contracts and alliance management, Boehringer Ingelheim
REGISTER

Addressing Compliance, Contracting and Consulting, and Outside Activities
Wednesday, April 4, 1 – 2:15 p.m.
Location: Room 238, Strom Thurmond Institute
Speakers: Katie Morris, university director, research contracting, Indiana University; and Charles Adelsheim, contracts and licensing manager, research and strategic collaborations, Varian Medical Systems
REGISTER

Managing Intellectual Property (IP) Issues
Wednesday, April 25, 1 – 2:15 p.m.
Location: Room 238, Strom Thurmond Institute
Speakers: Dushyant Pathak, associate vice chancellor for technology management and corporate relations, University of California, Davis; and Mary Jo Meyer, director, intellectual property management, Givaudan
REGISTER

Benefiting from University-Industry Collaborations with Government Engagement
Wednesday, May 2, 1 – 2:15 p.m.
Location: Room 238, Strom Thurmond Institute
Speakers: Theresa Mayer, vice president for research and innovation, Virginia Tech; and Chris Ramming, research manager, VMware
REGISTER

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 Faculty Advisory Board held its first meeting in November. The board will provide input to the vice president for research on procedural matters and other issues affecting research at Clemson. Faculty are encouraged to share ideas and concerns with the advisory board members from their colleges.

The board will meet monthly, with members serving three-year terms. Research Faculty Advisory Board members 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

For planning purposes, please notify individuals in your college/division to use the following proposed pooled fringe benefit rates for Fiscal Year 2018-2019.

The FY2018-19 pooled fringe rates have been proposed and submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services for review.  We anticipate their approval by the beginning of the next fiscal year.

The deadline to apply for seed grants from the Clemson Faculty SUCCEEDS program is Feb. 14. The program provides seed grants of up to $35,000 to help interdisciplinary faculty teams compete for external funding of $1.5 million or more.

SUCCEEDS (Strategic University Challenge for Competitive Excellence and Expertise in Discovery and Scholarship) is one of four R-Initiative funding opportunities available this semester. It provides seed grants to support leading-edge research and scholarship that capitalizes on the existing intellectual capital at Clemson. Preference is given to projects that are multi-disciplinary, inter-institutional and that advance the ClemsonForward strategic innovation clusters: advanced materials; cyber infrastructure and big data science; energy, transportation and advanced manufacturing; human resilience; health innovation; and the sustainable environment.

The goal for each funded Clemson Faculty Succeeds grant is the successful submission of a significant external research proposal.

Last year’s SUCCEEDS grants supported work on prenatal care, computational genomics and virtual reality research, and novel dietary therapies for gluten sensitivities. More information on last year’s grant recipients is available online.

The R-Initiative funds are part of the ClemsonForward strategic plan, representing the “R” of the REAL priorities – Research, Engagement, the Academic core and the Living environment.

For details, guidelines and instructions for applying, visit the R-Initiatives webpage. Questions should be directed to Diana Thrasher in the Division of Research at dianas@clemson.edu or 864-656-6444.