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GRANT NEWS FOR DECEMBER 2009 Oklahoma Higher Education
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January 4, 2010
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Dear Faculty and Administrators,
This newsletters provides you with announcements of grants that have been won by Oklahoma higher education faculty and administrators. We hope 2009 was a robust grant year, and we look forward to another very productive upcoming 2010! We all know that grants are gifts that are earned, and not easily. The energy and persistence required to obtain grants is rewarded with better programs for Oklahoma students and creative research. Please enjoy this monthly newsletter; if you have news about your grant to share with others in Oklahoma higher education, send it and a jpeg photo to [email protected]. Happy New Year and New Decade, Dr. Linda Mason Coordinator for Grant Writing Assistance
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NSU Gets GEAR UP Grant
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Dr. Kay Grant and Northeastern State University received $116,307 from the US Department of Education for a GEAR UP Project (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for University Programs). In order to make a difference in the lives of
high school students who are having difficulty with reading, the faculty and
candidates involved with Northeastern State University's Masters in Reading
program will be working with a cohort of students involved in GEAR UP at four
high schools within Tulsa Public Schools. NSU will provide individual and small
group tutoring for students during the school day. Specialized professional
development will be provided for teachers throughout the year and in the
summer. More intensive tutoring and assessment will be provided to students
during a three-week summer reading camp on the NSU-Broken Arrow campus in
conjunction with a graduate reading class.
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Aircraft Training Grant |
Canadian Valley Technology Center
has joined forces with the Oklahoma's
Workforce Investment Board and the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute to help
dislocated workers become Federal Aviation Administration-certified aircraft
mechanics, officials with all three organizations announced this week. The
Canadian Valley Career Technology Center of El Reno, the Aerospace Institute
and the Central Oklahoma Workforce Investment Board have formed a partnership
that will help train new aircraft mechanics. To fund the program the Aerospace
Institute will manage a US Department of Labor grant through the Oklahoma
Department of Commerce to equip workers with the skills needed to aid the Tinker Air
Logistics Center. Training
will be offered at as an evening class. Interested residents should call the
Workforce Oklahoma Centers at (405) 713-2208 or (405) 713-2296.
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UCO Professor Honored
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University of Central Oklahoma biology professor David Bass received the
distinction of Fellow from the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and will be honored in February at the association's Fellows Forum
during the 2010 annual meeting in San
Diego. Bass will be presented with an official
certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin, representing science and
engineering respectively. Bass was elected as a fellow for teaching excellence,
positively impacting students, original and definitive research on
fresh water invertebrates of the Caribbean Islands,
and outstanding service to the profession and public. The association includes 262 affiliated societies and
academies of science. It is the publisher of the journals Science, Science
Translational Medicine and Science Signaling.
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OCCC OCAST Grant
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Oklahoma City Community
College received a two-year, $49,408 grant from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science
and Technology (OCAST). The funding supports OCCC's Internships for
Biotechnology Program Students project. Sixteen internships will place
students at local biotechnology development companies and agencies, including
the Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Hyalose, Cytovance Biologics,
DNA Solutions, Immuno-Mycologics, Crescendo Bioscience, University of Oklahoma
Health Sciences Center, Analystical Research Laboratories and the Dean A. McGee
Eye Institute. Dr. Fabiola Janiak-Spens, Professor of Biotechnology, is the
Project Director and is pictured here in the back, right of the photo, along
with program interns. The program will begin in February, 2010.
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NSU Reading Clinic Grant
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Gregg Wadley and his wife, Dr.
Betsy Brackett pledged $1 million to Northeastern State
University, in memory of
Wadley's mother, Cappi. The donation - the largest in NSU's
history - will be used for a clinic to help young students overcome reading
deficiencies, and to aid educators in helping these youngsters learn to read.
The gift neatly caps off a recent remodeling project that restored the third
floor to the Education
Building. now
appropriately named Bagley Hall. Many children have reading difficulties, and until the basic
roadblocks are removed, those kids can't progress normally on a path to
superior education. And in today's world, a good education is unquestionably
the key factor to future success and well-being.
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USAO Partnership Art History Grant
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The Chickasha Area Arts Council, the City of Chickasha, the
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, and the Office of Oklahoma Art in
Public Places are seeking three emerging artists to work as a team under the oversight of
a professional sculptor to design and create a public art sculpture for
installation in the historic Rock Island Depot area, downtown Chickasha. The resulting sculpture will symbolize the historic cultural
connection between the college and the community. The artists chosen for this
project will meet on the campus of the University of Science
and Arts of Oklahoma for an intensive three-day workshop to implement the
creation of sculpture.
Within the next six months, under the direction of Sculptor Archie
Held, the artwork will be fabricated, delivered and installed. The sculpture is
to be installed by September 2010 with its dedication scheduled for October
1, 2010. Sculptor Archie Held was
chosen to lead this project given his international reputation for site
specific public art and his connection with the Chickasha community. His site specific
sculpture entitled "Flight" was the first public art project on the USAO campus
and was the first project supported by the Office of Oklahoma Art in Public
Places.
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OU Meteorology Scientist Receives Humboldt Foundation Research Award
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University
of Oklahoma meteorology professor Evgeni Fedorovich is one of fewer than 100 scientists
and researchers to be selected to receive a Humboldt Research Award from the
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany. While
in Germany, he will work on numerical algorithms for simulation of turbulent flows in the
nighttime atmospheric boundary layer and in low-level jets. Both atmospheric flow types are common to Oklahoma
and the Great Plains.
In
addition to receiving the research award, Fedorovich is invited to undertake
prolonged periods of research in collaboration with researchers in Germany. He
will spend part of 2010 at the Meteorological Institute of Hamburg University
and at the Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology before returning to OU in the
fall. Fedorovich
joins an international network of more than 23,000 scientists and scholars who
have been supported in different ways by the foundation since its founding in
1953.
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LU Gets Preservation Grant |
Langston
University has received a
$500,000 federal grant to restore cottages on its campus that are more than 70
years old. Langston officials said the money from the National Park Service
will assist the university in preserving its Cottage Row Historic District,
which contains structures built by Langston students in the 1930s to house
faculty members. The cottages later served as office buildings until 2006, when
they were converted back into private living quarters at the request of current
university President JoAnn Haysbert (pictured). The cottages are located on the southern end of the rural Logan County
campus.
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OPSU Library Gets NEH Preservation Grant
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The Oklahoma Panhandle State University McKee Library and Elaina Stewart received a $6,000 Preservation
Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to preserve a special collection of poetry
donated to the library.
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SWOSU Receives Robotics Competition Grant |
Madeline Baugher and the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Department of Entrepreneurship and
Computer Systems received $4,183 from the Oklahoma
NASA Space Consortium to host the First Tech Challenge (FTC) Regional
Robotics Competition Event at SWOSU on December 5, 2009. This
regional competition is for high school robotic teams from across the
state. More information about the Robotics Competition can be obtained from Brad Fitzgerald at [email protected]. In the photo are SWOSU
students, Daniel Houk, Chris Parton, and Jarred Bechtel.
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If you received this newsletter from someone else and would like to be on the regular mailing list, send your request to [email protected].
Sincerely, Dr. Linda Mason Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
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Grant Tip: Build Relationships With Grant Officials Early |
| Contact a program director early! If you wait for a grant's RFP or application package
to be issued before getting to know program staff, you may miss out on valuable
insights or on chances to influence the grant guidance.
Here is a tip to give you a head start: Contact the program staff person once you have decided what you
want to know. For example, you might ask to be brought up to date on the
program and its history and how the work of your organization may relate to the
goals of the grant program.
If you develop a good rapport with the staff
person, you may be able to gain insights into the program that give you a competitive edge.
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Send your email address to [email protected].
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Foundations Needed More by Social Service Agencies
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Week after week, the economic crisis is hitting Oklahoma as hard as a natural
disaster. Hot lines for emergency help with food and lodging are busier than they have ever been. Charitable foundations are needed more than ever, and they do respond.
For example, the George Kaiser Family Foundation is more
vital than ever. It will distribute $6.6 million to more
than 100 local social service agencies this month. The money will help offset a general
decline in fundraising and support local charities as they face an
unprecedented demand for services.
For the last 10 recessions in the US, charitable foundations have not decreased their giving, and some even increased during hard times! Federal agencies are enhanced right now with ARRA stimulus funds. So, with robust foundations and enhanced agencies, it is a good time to write grant proposals to fund your project.
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OCAST Awards 6 Gants
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The Oklahoma Center
for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) has awarded $295,752 for six research and development faculty and intern
partnerships over the next two years. The program pays half of the student's salary for interning
with a private company with oversight provided by university faculty. Each internship requires a background in a technology-driven
field. The partnerships include:
� Surendra Singh of the University of Tulsa received $60,000 to mentor interns who will design and develop transceiver modems and redesign
of legacy products to include the new modem and a new magnetic detector.
Qual-Tron Inc. is the private sector participant.
� Ricardo Prada-Silvy with
Southwest NanoTechnologies Inc. in Norman received $59,910 to direct student interns in nanotechnology research.
� Ranji Vaidyanathan with the Oklahoma State
University New
Product Development
Center received $42,434 to oversee
interns who will develop the technology for composite over-wrapped storage
containers. The National Science Foundation Partnerships for Innovation will
provide the private sector match for the award.
� The Oklahoma Life Science Fund directed by William Paiva
receuved $24,000 to oversee interns in the New Venture Professional Development Program
in biotechnology and the venture capital industry. Seven portfolio companies
in the Oklahoma Life Science Fund will participate in the project.
� Fabiola Janiak-Spens at Oklahoma City Community College received $49,408 to oversee interns in various
biotechnology programs develop a skilled biotechnology
workforce.
� David Makanani of OMEDtech LLC in Edmond
received $60,000 to work with four undergraduate engineering interns at Oklahoma Christian
University to develop and
test novel medical devices.
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ECU Flute Professor Receives Prize
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Juliana Overmier, an adjunct flute
instructor at East
Central University,
has been named a prize winner in the 2009 Solo Artist Competition sponsored by
the Chicago Flute Club. The competition was held at the Music Institute of
Chicago in Evanston. Overmier was one of five finalists
chosen from recorded entries of applicants from across the nation. She then
performed before a panel of international judges who awarded her one of the
three cash prizes.
After earning her bachelor's degree
at DePauw University
in Indiana, traveled to Paris
to study at the Conservatory of Bourg-la-Reine/Sceaux, where she received
a gold medal, the highest diploma awarded. In 1996 she earned her master's
degree in flute performance from the University of Southern California. She joined the faculty at ECU in
2004.
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OSU IT's Natural Gas Program Receives Gifts |
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Ten Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology students in
the Natural Gas Compression program received $1,500
scholarships from DCP Midstream, LLC, which is headquartered in Denver,
Colorado. This is the first year that DCP Midstream has issued the
scholarships to students pursuing a two-year degree in an
energy-related field at an accredited community college or technical
school. The students who received scholarships are: Mason Beavers from
Elgin; Skye Bergman from Blackwell; Jordan Bedwell from O'Keene; Marvin
Boehm from McLoud; Matthew Campbell from Glencoe; Warren Geionety from
Apache; Jeremy Willingham from Blanchard; Brandon Willis from
Chickasha; and Brian Wise from Broken Arrow. Also receiving a
scholarship were Timothy Dainty, Jr. from North Zulch, Texas and Samuel
Spade from Buffalo, Wyoming.
Two prominent Oklahoma-based entities combined resources and
presented $150,000 to Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
in Okmulgee, to
benefit the school's Natural Gas Compression Program. The Gas Processors Suppliers Association and the Pat and
Pete Bartlett family each contributed one-half of the donation. The gift will create an endowment earmarked
to provide scholarships for students enrolled in the Natural Gas Compression
Program, the largest on the
school's campus and boasts a 100 percent employment rate for those who
successfully complete the training.
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OSU Technology Business Assessment Group Awards 5 Faculty Research Projects
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| The Oklahoma State University Technology Business Assessment Group has
awarded more than $111,000 to five faculty research projects:
- Advanced Honeycombs for Aerospace
Applications, Jay Hanan, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, $25,000
-Fiber
Optic Sensor for Measurement of Web Lateral Position, Prabhakar Pagilla,
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, $20,000
-Novel Method for Water
Softening, Allen Apblett, Chemistry, $25,000
- Solvent Protection Pellets, Allen
Apblett and Nick Materer, Chemistry, $29,092
-Comparison of the absorption
rate and plasma level concentration of liquid and tablet dosing of glucosamine,
chondroitin, and MSM in companion animals, Lara Maxwell, Center for Veterinary
Health Sciences, $11,934
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2010 Summer Grant Writing Institute
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The Oklahoma State
Regents for Higher Education invite 40 first-time and novice grant writers
to participate in the 2010 Summer Grant Writing Institute, July 26-30. The purpose of the
Institute is to complete a grant proposal by the end of the Institute. Participants
will select a grant proposal topic and an agency or foundation solicitation and
send all information regarding the proposal with the application. Participants will select
one of two tracks for the Institute, Track 1: individual or collaborative
scientific research project or Track 2: department or collaborative
program development project, including facilities enhancement, curriculum
revision, professional development, student fellowships and scholarships,
student recruiting, summer bridge programs, and other projects. Apply now to attend the 2010 OSRHE Summer Grant Writing Institute. For more information, see http://www.okhighered.org/grant-opps and select Training Opportunities. First priority will be
given to individuals and teams of faculty and administrators of public and private Oklahoma
Higher Education institutions and their project partners.
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Offer Expires: April 30, 2010
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