Vice President's Message

New Research Foundation Central Office Portal-Based Web Site to go Live June 26

Although most of the nitty gritty details that faculty and administrators need to know to manage research activity reside on our local Research website, RF Central's newly improved site provides invaluable information on RF and SUNY policies related to research, as well as access to the RF business systems. The new portal-based site, the fruit of the RF Web Usability Improvement Project (WUIP), will allow customization of content and provide access from anywhere on the Internet. Users will no longer have to connect on-site from a SUNY campus to access the information that previously resided on the RF intranet. The portals will require a user ID and password that users will be able to request from the existing RF intranet site by the end of June. This will allow the portal to customize the information you see based upon your role in the organization. The site provides a sleeker, more visually pleasing and user-friendly design that will provide the information and tools you need to get things done. Usability and design improvements include collapsible/expandable navigation, direct access and status indicators for RF business applications, new RF news and announcements sections, improved search functions, and the ability to easily submit feedback about the site. The site will also present information on technologies available for licensing, compliance information and policies related to sponsored projects (formerly available in EPSS) in a more direct and easily searchable fashion.

The portal is actually four different role-based portals: RF Administrators and Staff Portal, SUNY Administrators and Staff Portal, Principal Investigators Portal, and Operation Managers Portal. This structure will allow information to be tailored to the user's specific needs. For example, the Principal Investigators Portal will have content written for PIs with specific information on funding opportunities and high level policies for managing awards. A major improvement is the provision of access for PIs to the PIAI business application from anywhere.

The rollout of the site will take place from June 21 to July 28 incorporating these steps:

June 21st — Central office users are invited to register and start using the new portal.

June 26th — Campus users are invited to register and start using the new portal (current RF site will remain active but will not be updated).

July 28th — Current RF site is decommissioned except for a "we have moved" message redirecting traffic to the new portal.

Oct. 31st — Traffic is automatically directed to the new portal.

Good News and Coming Events

News

Marine Sciences Research Center

NPR's weekend 'All Things Considered' recently ran a story about David Conover's research at the Marine Science Research Center on the evolutionary effects of fish harvesting which indicate that years of selectively favoring the biggest, strongest fish have an impact on the evolution of the species much faster than was previously expected. Because the biggest and strongest fish are selected by fisherman it turns out that the smaller, 'runts', are able to survive by squeezing though the nets their bigger brethren get caught in. Conover was interviewed on-site at the Flax Pond Marine Lab by NPR science editor David Malakoff. The audio from the interview and a summary of the research can be found on NPR's site at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5434698

BNL/Physics and Astronomy

The 2006 Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) Annual Users' Meeting was held at BNL last week. The theme of the meeting, "Renaissance for Discovery", refers not so obliquely to the $13 million gift from Jim Simons and colleagues at Renaissance Technologies, which helped preserve more than 100 jobs and to continue RHIC operations. Professor Barbara Jacak, Physics and Astronomy, gave a presentation on the "Science Case for RHIC-II" during the plenary sessions.

FAHSS Research and Interdisciplinary Initiatives Fund

The Offices of the Provost, the Vice President for Research and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences congratulate the winners of the FAHSS (Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences) Individual Grants and Interdisciplinary Initiatives Fund. The purpose of FAHSS is to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue, research and to provide funding for teaching initiatives, publication subsidies, special equipment, curricular initiatives, conferences and other items or activities not supported through other channels. The winners of the first round of FAHSS awards are: Professors Frederick Walter, Physics and Astronomy, Bente Videbaek, English, Christa Erickson, Art, Lisa Diedrich, Women's Studies, John Bailyn, Linguistics, James Rubin, Art, Alice Ritscherle, History, Andrew Newman, English, Joseph Monteyne, Art, Ryan Minor, Music, Irene Marchegiani, European Languages, Shirley Lim, History, Ned Landsman, History, Heejeong Ko, Linguistics, Izabela Kalinowska-Blackwood, European Languages, Victoria Hesford, Women's Studies, Grady Gerbracht, Art, Daniela Flesler, Hispanic Languages, Jose Elias-Ulloa, Hispanic Languages, Alexandra Cooper, History, Themis Chronopolous, History and Javier Auyero, Sociology.

Students Experience the NSLS via Webcast

Recently, the lead story of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) web page reported on a Center for Environmental Molecular Science (CEMS here at SBU) — Brookhaven National Lab exercise to allow high school students to remotely access a beamline, from their classroom, while their own teachers participated in an experiment. The students were able to watch and ask questions while their teachers analyzed the students' soil samples. The project was part of a CEMS collaboration with BNL's Office of Educational Programs and the Environmental Science Department. A link to the story can be found here:
http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/newsroom/news/2006/05-X15B_Webcast.htm

Chemistry

Professors Nancy Goroff, Joe Lauher and graduate student Aiwu Sun recently published an article in Science (2006, 312, 1030) reporting on the formation of poly(diiododiacetylene) using elegant co-crystal scaffolding techniques. The paper is also the subject of "Science and Technology Concentrates" in the May 22 edition of Chemical and Engineering News (May 22, 2006; p.35).

Center for Biotechnology

The estate of late scientist Dr. William H. Dobelle has donated artificial vision technology to Stony Brook in return for help in developing a prototype device. The device uses a camera fastened to glasses and a computer linked to electrodes on the brain to allow the blind to perceive contrasting points of light which helps them to 'see' the general outlines of objects. The Center for Biotechnology will work with Avery Biomedical Devices to develop the product.

Events

June 21: Computational Biology Workshop

This workshop will bring together researchers that have an interest in this area and coordinate our efforts toward collaborative research projects, recruiting students, and attracting external funding for education and research. Lunch will be provided. The event will be in the Wang Center, for more information please get in touch with Carlos Simmerling: (631) 632-1336, email: carlos.simmerling@stonybrook.edu

Provost's Lecture Series

June 26: "In Defense of the First Amendment: An Up-Close Look at the Landmark 'Intelligent Design' Case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District"

Eric Rothschild and Stephen Harvey, partners with Pepper Hamilton LLP, along with lawyers from the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, successfully represented in federal court eight families who challenged the Dover policy that included “intelligent design” in the curriculum. 7:30 p.m.
Student Activities Center Auditorium.

July 5–July 29 Science and Research Awareness Series: "Topics in Cell and Molecular Biology as Related to Clinical Sciences"

Over the course of four weeks this lecture and workshop series is designed to bring awareness to enthusiastic students on different aspects of clinical sciences and modern cell and molecular biology. The topics to be presented will try to bridge the gap between basic and clinical sciences, introducing the aspect of translational and applied research as applied to human health and safety. Faculty members who are experts in their fields will assist in the educational program. A $500 minimum donation is suggested. For more information, a copy of the schedule and to download a registration form please go here:
http://anes.anesthes.sunysb.edu/teaching/sas.html

January 12-15, 2007: "5th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities"

Call for Papers/Abstracts/Submissions requested from all areas of the Arts and Humanities. Submission Deadline: August 23, 2006

The 5th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities will be held from January 12 (Friday) to January 15 (Monday), 2007 at the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. The conference will provide many opportunities for academicians and professionals from arts and humanities related fields to interact with members inside and outside their own particular disciplines. Cross-disciplinary submissions with other fields are welcome. Performing artists (live dance, theater, and music) interested in displaying their talents will be accommodated whenever possible. Sponsored by: Asia-Pacific Research Institute of Peking University and University of Louisville - Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods.

For detailed information about submissions see:
http://www.hichumanities.org/cfp_artshumanities.htm
Web address: http://www.hichumanities.org
Email address: humanities@hichumanities.org

Opportunities and Sponsor Information

2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar Awards

Competition for the Fulbright Scholar programs has begun this spring. The program offers lecturing and research awards in some 150 countries for university faculty, administrators, professionals from business and government as well as artists, journalists and scholars. There are awards in 45 different fields and sub-disciplines. Application deadlines for 2007-2008 awards are: August 1, 2006 for Fulbright traditional lecturing and research grants worldwide, November 1, 2006 for the summer German Studies Seminar and for spring/summer seminars in Korea and Japan for academic and international education administrators, February 1, 2007 for the U.S.-Germany International Education Administrators Program and a rolling deadline for the Fulbright Senior Specialists Program.

To get more information, register and apply online please go to http://www.cies.org

NSF Two Year Graduate Fellowships in STEM Disciplines

The fellowships provide $30,000 dollars a year for two years to students who have completed a bachelors degree in the STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) disciplines. In order to be eligible for consideration students must also have participated in one of the NSF Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) programs. The SUNY LSAMP program at SBU has just applied for this NSF Supplement called the Bridge to the Doctorate Program and chances for funding are extremely high. The purpose of this program is to find strong students who may not yet have applied to graduate school or students who have shown that they can handle masters level work and have an express interest in continuing to doctoral programs. For more information or any inquiries please contact Lucy Gluck, Tel: (631) 632-9988, email: Lucille.Gluck@stonybrook.edu

These are the eligible disciplines for the program:

Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, Geosciences, Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Anatomical Sciences, Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Neuroscience, Oral Biology and Pathology, Physiology and Biophysics, Biopsychology

New AAMC Program in Enhancing Team Effectiveness

Applications for the Association of American Medical Colleges program, Enhancing Team Effectiveness are due June 15. Open to all health professions faculty, the six-month program (Sept. 2006-Feb. 2007) is organized as a professional development research activity to study team dynamics and organizational learning and apply what they learn to the enhancement of productivity. A full program description and application are accessible on the AAMC website at http://www.aamc.org/meetings.

NSF-Navy Civilian Service Fellowship-Scholarship Program

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of the Navy would like to call your attention to an opportunity to apply for supplemental funding in areas identified below, of technical interest to the Navy, under the provisions of the jointly-funded NSF-Navy Civilian Service (NNCS) Fellowship-Scholarship Program. This program supports students at the bachelors, masters, or doctoral levels in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) who agree to commit to spending a year as a civilian employee at a Naval R&D Center for each year of support received.

This program invites university PI’s who are currently supported by an NSF award from the Directorate for Engineering (ENG), or have a Science and Technology Center (STC), Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT), Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT), or Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) award to apply for support for their eligible students who are working in areas of interest to one of the Navy’s R&D Centers.The faculty member must also partner with a scientist or engineer at one of the Navy R&D Centers and have that person listed as co-PI on the proposal. Proposals submitted without a Navy co-PI will be returned without review. The funding will be provided for up to two years of fellowship/scholarship support plus a cost of education allowance. At the completion of their degrees, the students will accept civilian employment at a Navy R&D Center for one year for each year of support received.
The deadline for supplement proposals is June 30, 2006. Awards will be made by August 31, 2006.
The full text of the announcement can be found at:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06031/nsf06031.jsp

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

For a complete list of upcoming deadlines, please go to -
http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/fndopp/deadlcal.html

Interdisciplinary Seminars

Please remember that, in an effort to encourage interdisciplinary research on campus, this office will supply $100 toward a speaker's luncheon when your department invites a Stony Brook colleague from an unrelated discipline to give a seminar. Please contact Ann-Marie Scheidt amscheidt@notes.cc.sunysb.edu to determine eligibility. You will be asked to provide a copy of the seminar notice annotated with the number of attendees and a brief description of any anticipated collaborations with the speaker's department.

Music for Meetings

Please remember that the OVPR would like to assist those of you who are planning a research meeting on campus by providing musical interludes. If you would like to have Stony Brook student musicians play at the reception for your meeting it can be arranged by contacting Ann-Marie Scheidt amscheidt@notes.cc.sunysb.edu. OVPR will make a payment to the Department of Music and the Department in turn pays the students. You get to listen to some nice music.

"NIH at the Crossroads: Myths, Realities and Strategies for the Future"

A presentation prepared by Dr. Elias Zerhouni, the Director of NIH, and his staff looks at the current budget situation at NIH and how it will impact the success of grant proposals. It was presented to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) on May 24. A copy of the presentation in PDF form is available here:
http://www.aamc.org/research/apr/ezerhouni.pdf

NIH Announces Plans to Eliminate Mailing of Paper Assignment and Change of Assignment Letters

Effective June 1, 2006 NIH will no longer send paper notification of assignment and change of assignment letters. In September 2005, NIH announced the elimination of the mailing of Peer Review Outcome Letters and Summary Statements (see NOT-OD-05-075; http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-075.html). A major motivation for this change is that effective May 10, 2006 all applications submitted to NIH must include the eRA Commons User name for all Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PD/PIs).

Applicant Organizations must be registered in the eRA Commons before an account may be established for its investigators. The NIH strongly encourages Principal Investigators to contact their institution's Office of Sponsored Programs for registration guidance. For assistance, registration and updates please go to
https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/
For the full text of NIH Notice NOT-OD-06-066, May 3, 2006 please go to:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-066.html

NIH Multiple PI Implementation

The National Institutes of Health will recognize multiple Principal Investigators (PI) on a selected set of grant programs beginning in September, 2006 (http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi/). This notice reminds the research community that the multiple PI option will be available only for programs involved in the pilot; that all participating PIs will need to be registered on the NIH Commons prior to submission; and that Multiple PI applications must include a leadership plan. Finally, this notice describes the management strategies for Multiple PI projects that are in place for the pilot initiatives and special review criteria that will be used for these pilots. Other policies and management strategies will be announced as they are developed. Further details are available at:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-069.html

NIH: Percent Effort to Person Months FAQs and Calculator Now Available

The NIH Extramural Newsletter addresses how the 'person months' unit of measurement collected by the SF 424 (R&R) grant application is different from the PHS 398 application "percent time and effort" measurement unit. The transition to "person months" will be addressed on these NIH webpages:
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Usage of Person Months,
A downloadable Excel-based interactive conversion calculator,
Both are also available on the Grants Policy and Guidance Web site.

Essential Policies, Procedures and Resources

Change in Facilities and Administrative Rate for Evaluative Testing Agreements

Effective July 1, 2006, The Office of the Vice President for Research will be raising the Facilities and Administrative Rate for Evaluative Testing, which includes pharma sponsored and initiated clinical trials from 20% to 25%. This is being done at this time to bring the rate more in-line with the other SUNY schools so that negotiating master agreements with companies will be less cumbersome and to align it more closely with the nationwide rates which currently range from 25-35%. Therefore, all proposed budgets on Evaluative Testing Agreements submitted to the sponsor on or after 7/1/06 should reflect a rate of 25%. Should anyone have any questions, please contract Mr. Ivar Strand, Assistant Vice President, Office of Sponsored Programs at 2-4402, or via e-mail at IStrand@notes.cc.sunysb.edu.

Updated Fringe Benefit Rates

An updated Fringe Benefit Memo has been posted here on our website for your reference. Please note at this time the FY07 rates have been approved by DHHS and the FY07 rate breakdown has been updated.

If you have any questions please contact your Sponsored Programs Administrator or Coordinator at 2-9949/2-4402.

New Office of Clinical Trials

Coming in July: New Office of Clinical Trials, offering assistance, training and support for both new and experienced investigators. The Office will serve as a link between Stony Brook University and Industry and will facilitate bringing cutting edge research to Stony Brook University. Please visit the website at:
http://www.osa.sunysb.edu/octs

--Contributed by Agnes O'Connor, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Tel: (631) 444-7618

Library to Purchase Nature Archive

Since 1869, Nature has published original research in all fields of science and technology; prize papers include the first X-ray picture of a protein, the discovery of the electron, and Watson and Crick's double helix. With support from the Office of the Vice President for Research the library's purchase of the Nature archive will expand its current subscription which begins in 1997 to include all the articles published in Nature from 1950 to 1996. Stony Brook University researchers will be able to access any of these articles 24/7 from any location with an internet connection. The library is hoping to have the archive online by July 1.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Announces the Withdrawal of the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) Published in March, 2005 Regarding Deemed Exports

BIS has, in effect, rejected the Commerce Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommendations on deemed exports—keeping citizenship or permanent residency status as the basis for licensing requirements for deemed exports rather than country of birth and refusing to broaden the definition of "use" in connection with controlled technologies. For more information please go to this link containing information from Robert Hardy at the Council on Governmental Relations.

http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/exports-cogr.html

Rehab in Office of Grants Management (Melville Library)

On Friday, June 23rd the Office of Grants Management, located at W5510 Melville Library, will undergo some structural rehab of its offices. While we expect to provide full service to the research community, please exercise caution as you traverse the suite. Additionally, you may experience minor phone delays in reaching your Grant Specialist as their direct lines will be forwarded to the main line during rehab. We offer this announcement so that you may prepare for any deadlines or upcoming terming grants. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Marie Bilbao at 2-1953.

-Submitted by Aaron Rosenblatt, Assistant Vice President for Grants Management

New Foreign Travel Policy

A new Foreign Travel Policy has been established to provide the latest information on international travel. This policy includes information about travel warnings that are issued by the U.S. government, and the RF documentation required if travel is necessary to a country with a travel warning. In keeping with the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, passports will soon be required for travel back into the U.S. from various North American countries and this policy gives the dates and details of this new legislation.

In addition, advanced approval is required--the approval process details will be forthcoming. Please click here to go to the new policy on-line.

June 2006 Procurement Newsletter

The June 2006 edition of the Procurement Office Newsletter, "Procurement News" is available for your viewing. There is extensive information about changes in the RF travel policies including reimbursement. You may access the newsletter at the Procurement website at:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/procurement/news/

For More Information

Gail S. Habicht is Vice President for Research. She can be reached at (631) 632-7932. An abundance of specific information for the research community is available on our Website, where past issues of this bulletin can also be found.

Office of the Vice President for Research -
http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/

Monday Memo archive - http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/monmemo/mmarchive.html

All Past issue of Monday Memo are keyword searchable.

And if you are challenged by the embarrassment of riches in the over 2,000 individual Web pages that comprise the Website, you may find the alphabetical site index helpful. The index can be accessed at - http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/sitemap.html.