Vice President's Message

Intellectual Property Issues: The Basics II

The Continuing Obligation to Disclose Inventions

As discussed in the last Monday Memo, disclosure of inventions made in University facilities is an obligation for all Stony Brook researchers. This review is presented to stress the need to be aware that this obligation is an ongoing one for all researchers.
All disclosures submitted to OTLIR do not result in a patent being filed. There are many reasons for this. For example, the data supporting a new technology disclosure (NTD) may not yet be robust enough to support the filing of a patent. Usually in this situation, the researcher is asked to resubmit the NTD for reconsideration at a later time when more supporting data are available. Sometimes, there simply does not appear to be significant commercial potential, at least at the present time. And, at various points in time, it can even be the case that OTLIR does not have the funds in its patent budget to file a patent at the time a particular NTD is submitted. Often when these situations arise, when so requested, OTLIR will release the rights to the invention so that the researcher can file a patent application.

While these situations can be disappointing, both for the researcher and the OTLIR Case Manager, they should not prevent researchers from returning to OTLIR for services relating to these disclosures or subsequent ones, whether they are related or not. And researchers should remember that they still have an ongoing obligation to disclose potential inventions to OTLIR as a result of the SUNY Patents and Inventions Policy and because federal law and regulations oblige universities to take ownership of any inventions arising during the performance of government-funded research. This even includes the situation where the rights to anything patentable in previous disclosures to OTLIR have been released to the researcher who submitted the disclosure. This is true because technology developed after this release, even if similar in nature to that originally disclosed, can be separately patentable and commercially distinct from the initial disclosure. Also, this follow on work is often done at the university. Since the ultimate responsibility for making decisions on what constitutes an invention resides with OTLIR, the office must be contacted so that this evaluation can be made.

We strongly recommend that any time you have questions about your obligation to disclose information that relates to intellectual property that you contact OTLIR for advice. Its professionals have many years of experience. The OTLIR office is located at N5002 Melville Library (around the corner from the Offices of Grants Management and Research Compliance) and can be reached at 632-9009. Basic information is maintained on the OVPR Website at-
http://www.research.sunysb.edu/ottl/index.html
Future Monday Memos will address other intellectual property issues and provide guidance for clinicians submitting Investigational New Drug (IND) applications.

– Contributed by Chester Bisbee, Director of Technology Licensing and Industry Relations, 632-9009, email Chester.Bisbee@stonybrook.edu

Good News and Coming Events

News

Biomedical Engineering

Professor Emilia Entcheva and graduate student Harold Bien will have their work on "ideal imaging equipment" featured in the December issue of Biophotonics International. They review imaging equipment options for the dynamic viewing of cell cultures using fluorescence imaging.

Center for Nanomaterials and Sensor Development

The Center for Nanomaterials and Sensor Development (CNSD) hosted the visit of delegates from the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, Japan. Dr. Hajime Haneda, Director General of the Sensor Materials Center at NIMS and Dr. Naoki Ohashi, Director of the Opto-Electronics Group also at NIMS met with Dean Yacov Shamash, of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences a Stony Brook and Professor Perena Gouma, Director of the CNSD and signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on the ”Study of Nano-materials synthesis and their properties”. Dr. Yoshio Bando, Director General of the International Center for Young Scientists, at NIMS (in absentia from the meeting) has also signed this agreement. The exchange of graduate students has already been initiated with the internship appointment of Ms. Krithika Kalyanasundaram, a graduate student at Stony Brook, to the Sensor group at NIMS this Fall. Further exchange of researchers and implementation of cooperative research focusing on nanowire semiconductors is currently underway.

For more details go to:
http://www.nims.go.jp
http://cnsd.matscieng.sunysb.edu/

--Contributed by Perena Gouma, Materials Science and Engineering and Director of the Center for Nanomaterials and Sensor Development

Computer Science

Professors Erez Zadok and Klaus Miller received an NSF grant of $760,253, together with professor Ethan Miller of UC Santa Cruz, under the High End Computing University Research Activity (HECURA) program. The researchers are developing scalable tools and techniques for large computerclusters, to identify performance bottlenecks associated with disks and networks.

Professor Zadok also received an NSF grant of $561,727, together with professor Margo Seltzer of Harvard University, under the Computer Systems Research (CSR) program. Zadok and Seltzer are developing techniques to integrate database transactions with modern operating systems efficiently. Such transactions could make operating systems and all user applications more reliable and robust, as well as eliminate many types of cyber-attacks.

Radu Sion, Computer Science, and Professor Zadok received an NSF Cyber-Trust award of $300,000 to develop a secure, remote file storage system. Increasingly, storage is being offloaded to outside providers; however, storage providers often have access to private user data. Sion and Zadok are developing a system that will permit providers to host users' data, but use novel techniques to prevent the providers from viewing the data files, corrupting them.

Marine Sciences and Research Center

Distinguished Professor Robert Aller has been selected to receive the 2007 American Chemical Society (ACS) Geochemistry Division Medal, to be awarded at the ACS meeting in March. Professor Aller was also selected to present the F. Earl Ingerson Lecture of the Geochemistry Society at the Geological Society of America Meeting in Philadelphia this past October.

Mineral Physics Institute

The 2006 Alvin Van Valkenburg Award has gone to Li Li, a research scientist at the Institute who received her Ph.D. from Stony Brook in 2003, for her work in mineral physics. The award is given every second year in honor of renowned physicist Alvin Van Valkenburg, coinventor of the diamond anvil cell, to young scientists who use high pressure in their research. Li's research is in the field of high pressure rheology and has major implications for setting boundary conditions for the origin of deep focus earthquakes.

Siemens Science Competition

Of the 89 finalists selected nationwide in the Siemens Science Competition more than a dozen were mentored by Stony Brook faculty. In addition, more than ten percent of the finalists worked in the Garcia Center for Polymers at Engineered Interfaces. Up to 300 projects are annually awarded semifinalist status nationwide in the first phase of the competition. The 2006-07 semifinalist listing included thirty-two students from New York, Connecticut and California who worked with Stony Brook faculty in the Departments of Chemistry and/or Materials Science and Engineering. Please go to this link to see a complete list of awardees and mentors:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/simons/siemens.htm

Events

Provost's Lecture Series

November 16: Alice Walker, "Eighth Annual George Goodman Memorial Symposium: The World is Burning — A Meditation"

An activist and social visionary, Alice Walker won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for her novel The Color Purple, which was made into an internationally popular film by Stephen Spielberg and is now a Broadway musical. Her other novels include Now is the Time to Open Your Heart, By the Light of My Father's Smile, and Possessing the Secret of Joy. Her new collection of essays is We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness.
4:00 p.m., Student Activities Center Auditorium

November 30: Les Paldy, "Trust–But Verify: Negotiating A Cold War Nuclear Agreement"

Les Paldy is a Distinguished Service Professor of Technology and Science at Stony Brook, where he has taught since 1967. Paldy's awards include the Distinguished Service Citation of the American Association of Physics Teachers and Stony Brook's Distinguished Alumnus Award. His interest in East Asian nuclear issues stems from his service as a Marine Corps officer in Korea. He will discuss how lessons learned during difficult Cold War exchanges with the Soviet Union might help solve the seemingly intractable issues over North Korea's recent nuclear weapons test. In conjunction with the Templeton Lecture Series. 4:00 p.m. Harriman Hall, Room 137

Wine Center Events

November 16: "The Fine Art of Freshness: Creating a Local Cuisine with Chef Americo Mintegui"

Newsday’s Peter Gianotti wrote of the Seafood Barge: "A local landmark becomes a destination once more under chef Americo Mintegui. The waterside restaurant makes a big splash!" Americo is a native of Bay Shore, Long Island, and displayed a precocious interest in cooking from an early age. By the 10th grade, he was working as Executive Sous-Chef at the Huntington Town House. Chef Mintegui's cuisine will be paired with selections from the Lieb Family Cellars known for the high quality estate grown wines. 6:30-8:00 p.m.

November 30: "The Winemaking Heritage of Italian Americans"

Back by popular demand, winemaker, attorney, and natural-born storyteller Sal Diliberto will offer a sampling of his gold medal-winning wines with reminiscences of the roots of his Italian American winemaking tradition. With a tiny five-acre vineyard in Jamesport on the North Fork, Diliberto has become the foremost "garagiste" to be astonishing critics and pleasing customers. Be prepared for his splendid operatic voice and famous meatballs. 6:30-8:00 p.m.

$55.00 for the first person $45.00 for every person in the group after that $40.00 for one person, for three or more events at the same location

Location: Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University Note: You must be 21 or over to participate in wine-tasting events. Registration and payment are required for attendance. Please register as early as possible, as space is limited. Please note that the Center has a 48-hour pre-event cancellation policy.

November 16-18: Civic Performance: Building Bridges to a Better Tomorrow

This three-day conference presented by the Humanities Institute will explore the complex issues facing Long Island, bringing together the University, local communities, scholars, and performers.

Day 1: Sustainability—Immigration and the Long Island Economy
Day 2: Surviving the Teenage Years—Youth and Violence
Sponsored by the Frances L. Brisbane Leadership and Service Foundation
Day 3: Protecting Long Island’s Ecosystem—Competing Interests for Improving the Environment

Pre-Conference Lantern Procession Ceremony at Stony Brook University
Wednesday, November 15, 8:00 pm
A Symbolic Coming Together of Community
Special rates for students and seniors
For more information visit: www.stonybrook.edu/humanities

March 10-11: "33rd Annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference"

The conference, "Engineering Innovations in Life Sciences & Healthcare," will be organized by the Department of Biomedical Engineering. For more information, a schedule of activities and to register please go to the conference website at:
http://bme.sunysb.edu/NEBMES2007/

Opportunities and Sponsor Information

NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program

NSF has up-dated the solicitation for the Major Research Instrumentation program. There have been a number of clarifications and updates, including the following: 

-- Clarified language regarding limitations on curricular use of instrumentation. 
-- Added language regarding an institution exceeding its three proposal limit due to participation as a subawardee in another institution’s proposal. New requirements stipulate that if a proposal includes a subaward, the PI must include a letter from the sponsored research office at the subawardee institution noting that this counts towards the subawardee's three-proposal limit.  Also, new language states that if the institution exceeds its limit due to the subaward, the proposal with the subaward will be returned without review.
--Clarified circumstances under which smaller requests (<$100K) are allowed.
--Proposal titles must start with MRI.
-- New language requires Results from Prior Support for shared instrumentation grants and provides guidance on information that should be provided in this section. 
-- Section on proposal preparation of the management plan has been reformatted for clarification purposes.
-- Proposal preparation section on Supplementary Documents has been expanded. Now there are 3 sections: required, encouraged and not allowed.
-- Letters of collaboration or institutional commitment for operation and maintenance are allowed, but length is limited. Letters of support and RUI impact and eligibility statements are explicitly forbidden. The Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources form is now explicitly encouraged.
-- Language regarding budgetary limitations is clarified.
-- The Office of Cyberinfrastructure has been added to the list of participating NSF organizations.
-- Information on contact person, deadline date and the section on Related NSF Programs for Research Instrumentation has been updated. 
        
Dr. Habicht’s memorandum of 16 October called for pre-applications for internal review and selection to be submitted to Peter Saal no later than Noon, Wednesday, November 15. This date remains in place. Pre-proposals should contain the following elements:
-- description of, and need for, the equipment to be purchased or constructed;
-- a description of similar equipment at Stony Brook or adjacent institutions (BNL, CSHL);
-- the title must indicate “Acquisition” or “Development” in the title;
-- the management plans for maintenance and operation of the instrument(s); a budget;
-- a list of co-PI’s and major users, with cv’s, and current and pending support.

-Contributed by Peter Saal, Funding Opportunities Administrator

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis Young Scientists Summer Program (IIASA) 2007

Summer Fellowship in Austria for Graduate Students in Natural and Social Sciences, Math, Policy, and Engineering

Each summer, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) near Vienna, Austria, hosts a selected group of graduate students, primarily doctoral, from around the world in its Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP). These students work closely with IIASA's senior scientists on projects within the Institute's 3 theme areas of Natural Resources & Environment, Population & Society, and Energy & Technology. The U.S. Committee for IIASA provides airfare and a modest living allowance for the applicants from American institutions who are selected to participate.

APPLICATIONS DEADLINE: 15 JAN 2007. PROGRAM DATES: 4 JUNE-31 AUGUST 2007

IIASA is an international institution, supported by the U.S. and sixteen other governments, that engages in scientific research aimed at providing policy insight on issues of regional and global importance. For more information please go to this site:
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

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

NIH Request for Information (RFI): Possible Page Limit Reduction For the Research Plan Section of the Research Project Grant (R01) Application

The NIH is considering reducing the current 25 page limit for the Research Plan section of the research project grant (R01) application. A significant number of applicants and reviewers have suggested that NIH peer review could be improved by focusing less on experimental details and more on key ideas and the scientific significance of proposed projects.  In addition, recruitment of qualified reviewers has become increasingly difficult, resulting in greater reviewer turnover and reduced consistency from one review meeting to the next.

To ensure that the NIH review process identifies the most promising scientific projects, they are evaluating the possibility of shortening the Research Plan section and focusing it more on ideas and significance. A committee has been formed at NIH to gather additional information from the external community and explore possible options. The committee would like your opinion, as an applicant and/or reviewer, of this potential change. Use the following link, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-014.html, to view the Applicant issues, Reviewer issues, and General issues. Responses should be submitted through the following special website: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfi_files/rfi_research_plan_add.htm . (Alternatively, responses may be submitted by sending an email to orosc@csr.nih.gov.

Responses will be accepted until January 5, 2007. The results obtained from the responses to this RFI will be available to the public on the CSR website. http://cms.csr.nih.gov/. Respondents will receive an automated email notification acknowledging receipt of their responses, but will not receive follow-up information concerning NIH’s assessment of the information received.

Inquiries concerning this Notice may be directed to NIH: Cheryl Oros, Ph.D., Director, Office of Planning, Evaluation & Analysis, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 3030, MSC, 7776, Bethesda, MD,
Phone: 301-435-1133, Fax: 301-480-3965, E-Mail: orosc@csr.nih.gov

-Contributed by Lydia Chabza, Manager of Sponsored Programs

NIH Confirms Plans for R01 February 5 Transition to Electronic Submission

In preparation for every major electronic submission milestone, NIH conducts a thorough analysis of lessons learned to date and current system status. After a significant review of all available data, NIH has confirmed its February R01 transition to electronic submission using the SF424 (R&R) form set. All R01 applications in response to the February 5, 2007 receipt date or beyond will require electronic submission.

Not surprisingly, NIH expects the R01 transition to set new application submission records at Grants.gov and within eRA Commons. NIH is confident that the electronic systems can handle the load within published service targets (two days to process the application in Grants.gov and one additional day for processing in eRA Commons). Remember that the timestamp provided by Grants.gov at the initial application submission determines “on-time” submission. In the off-chance that a system failure occurs, there are plans in place to ensure that applicants are not penalized for system failures.

By mid-November NIH will begin posting R01 announcements including an R01 “Parent” announcement for unsolicited, investigator-initiated research. Did you notice the new Parent Announcement page on the NIH Office of Extramural Research website? Once posted, you will find the R01 Parent announcement on this page or through the new search element on the Advanced Search feature of the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.

-Contributed by Peter Saal, Funding Opportunities Administrator

DHHS White Paper on Contaminated Cell Lines

The Office of Research Integrity of the DHHS has distributed a white paper on contaminated cell lines. It calls for verification of cell line identity and purity as a condition for publication and grant proposals. It merits your attention if you work with any cell lines.
http://ori.hhs.gov/education/CellContamination.shtml

NIH to Offer Webcasts on Electronic Submission Using SF424 (R&R) Forms

On December 5, 2006 two plenary sessions will be held at the Natcher Conference Center on the NIH Main Campus in Bethesda, Maryland that will be simultaneous webcast for remote viewing online.  The afternoon session will be a repeat of the morning; applicants may choose to attend either the morning or afternoon session in person or online.

The presentation will provide an overview of the electronic submission process and use of the SF424 (R&R) and agency-specific forms and walk participants through the submission process. The presentation is targeted towards research administrators, new and experienced investigators, post docs, trainees and anyone who will be applying for an NIH grant electronically.  

To watch webcasts, you will need the RealPlayer software from Real Networks.
For more information on this and additional training options from NIH, please visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-009.html

-Contributed by Stefanie Massucci, Multidisciplinary Project Associate, OVPR

Standard (“Parent”) Announcements for Unsolicited NIH Proposals

On October 10, 2006, NIH posted a series of Parent Announcements for unsolicited or investigator-initiated applications. The announcements can be found at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/parent_announcements.htm NIH created these parent (or standard) application announcements to accommodate the need for a specific funding announcement to facilitate the electronic submission of applications. The parent announcements currently available cover grant mechanisms that require electronic submission through Grants.gov to the NIH eRA Commons. NIH plans to develop an omnibus Parent announcement by November 2, 2006 for the most widely used grant mechanism, the research project grant (the R01), for use by applicants who wish to submit what were formerly termed "unsolicited" applications.

Unless an applicant is responding to a specific announcement, they're submitting an investigator-initiated or unsolicited proposal. The new Parent announcements are NIH-wide, but some NIH institutes may limit their participation, so applicants should check the announcement's statement of interest. Parent announcements will not generally be available for specialized grant mechanisms (e.g. resource programs, construction grants, or education projects).

Just to review: a Program Announcement (PA) identifies areas of increased priority and/or emphasis on particular funding mechanisms for a specific area of science. Applications are usually accepted on the standard receipt dates on an on-going basis. Most investigators apply under a program announcement. A Request for Application (RFA) identifies a more narrowly defined area for which one or more NIH institutes have set aside funds for awarding grants, usually with a single identified receipt date. A Request for Proposal (RFP) solicits contract proposals with, generally, one receipt date. Thus, the Parent Announcements do not describe specific areas of priority or emphasis, special receipt, referral or review considerations and are not linked to set-aside funds. The Parent does provide a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) number and access to the correct application package for submission through Grants.gov

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. Arrangements must be made with this office in advance of the meeting. 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.

Essential Policies, Procedures and Resources

15% IDC Rate for SBIR / STTR Phase 1 Subcontracts to SBU Investigators

The Office of the Vice President for Research and the Center for Biotechnology are pleased to announce a new initiative concerning Research Foundation awards that result from Phase 1 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) projects awarded to companies. Effective 10/1/06, the Research Foundation will assess a facilities and administrative (aka IDC) cost rate of 15% of total direct costs on all such new subcontract awards. Since Phase 1 awards are limited to $80K and $150K (new NSF max.) depending upon awarding institute, as well as a percentage of funds that are subcontract eligible, this has discouraged collaborations between industry and our university researchers. STTR awards permit the academic collaborator to apply as Principal Investigator, but all SBIR and STTR are awarded to the small business with subcontracts to the university. Our hope is that a reduced IDC rate through this initiative, will spark corporate and Stony Brook University collaborations, and lead to long term scientific and business interactions. This initiative shall be evaluated for effectiveness after a one year period. Please note that Phase 2 SBIR and STTRs are not covered under this initiative but can provide up to $750,000 total for collaborative commercialization research. Only a successful Phase 1 project is eligible for application for a Phase 2 grant. Further information on the SBIR/STTR Program can be found at http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/SBIR/

Should anyone have any questions please contact Ivar Strand, Assistant VP for Sponsored Programs at 2-4402 or via e-mail at IStrand@notes.cc.sunysb.edu.

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.

If you have information you would like to contribute to Monday Memo please email it to the editor, Adnan Rangwala, at marc.dempsey@stonybrook.edu