Oklahoma State Regents for Higher EducationApril/May 2012
 

GRANT NEWS

Oklahoma Higher Education

Greetings!
Dr. Mason 
We hope you are enjoying the beginning of a great summer! This newsletter will let you know about some of the successful grants recently obtained by your colleagues around the state. When you receive your grant, let us know by the 27th of each month. Congratulations to all the grant writers whose excellent contributions to Oklahoma higher education changes the lives of our students! Thank you!

Sincere best wishes for grant success, 
 
Dr. Linda Mason 
SWOSU GRANT
OK-INBRE - $34,498
SWOSU logo
 
Dr. Tim Hubin, Professor of Chemistry at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, received a grant from the Oklahoma IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence to synthesize and screen for biological activity, compounds that will modify the activity of two chemokine receptors, CXCR4 and CCR5, which have been implicated in a number of diseases including cancer and HIV. 
In This Issue
SWOSU GRANT
OUHSC GRANTS
OU GRANTS
ECU GRANT
UCO GRANTS
EPA AWARD
INASMUCH FOUNDATION
OCAST INTERN PARTNERSHIPS
EPSCoR REU RECIPIENTS
EPSCoR ROA RECIPIENTS
Quick Links
Join our Mailing List by sending your name and email address to [email protected]!
OUHSC GRANTS
OUHSCNational Institute of Enivronmental Health Sciences - $148,000
Randy Gallucci, an Associate Professor at OUHSC's College of Pharmacy, received funds from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to research why oil spill workers have a high rate of skin irritation. His team is also collaborating with Michael McShan, a microbiologist and an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the OU College of Pharmacy. Gallucci's research will evaluate differences in skin irritation from exposure to fresh crude versus weathered crude oil. He said findings may help determine risk assessment and exposure guidelines during future spills.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security - $490,000
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center will collaborate with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland. The study will evaluate how law enforcement officers utilize awareness of their surroundings to collect and then analyze intelligence related to potential terrorist threats.
OU GRANTS
 
Environmental Protection Agency - $90,000
A team consisting of Lisa Holliday, Assistant Professor of Construction          Science, Daniel Butko, Professor of Architecture, and students Matt Reyes, Molly Lyons, Kyle De Freitas, Herve Sivuilu, and Aaron Crandell, from            OU's Sustainable Building Program won second-phase funding at the EPA's    annual P3 Expo and Competition to test the viability of compressed earth block, or CEB, technology and building methods and ultimately make it available for Habitat for Humanity. Students will compare the CEB home to a conventionally wood framed house recently built to National Green Building Standards on an adjacent lot. Both houses will be monitored and studied for all aspects of sustainability as defined by federal standards.
 
U.S. Department of Education - $26 million
OU's Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education and Oklahoma City School District were awarded a seven-year grant designed to improve college readiness and boost high school graduation rates. Staff from OU's K20 Center for Educational and Community Renewal will work with about 4,500 sixth- and seventh-grade students at 10 low-income middle schools: Centennial, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, John Marshall, Northeast, Rogers, Roosevelt, Taft and Webster. One of the goals of the program is to help teachers tailor their instruction to allow students to take a larger role in what they do in class. That style of instruction helps students understand how the lessons they're learning apply to the real world. Part of the aim of the program is to make students more comfortable with the idea of going to college. To do that, coordinators will try to get students onto a college or university campus at least once a year.
ECU GRANT
Wilburn and Carol Smith - $250,000
East Central University received funds to create the Wilburn L. Smith Center for Entrepreneurship inside the Harland C. Stonecipher School of Business. A formal program announcing the Wilburn L. Smith Center for Entrepreneurship will be held on May 8 at ECU. This luncheon event is part of the school's annual "Entrepreneur of the Year" recognition made available via the Leonard Limes Endowed Lecture. Several of LegalShield's top sales people will be on hand for the event to comment on the influence Wilburn Smith had on their careers.
UCO GRANTS
National Science Foundation - $26,254
Dr. Clark Ovrebo, Professor of Biology at UCO received funds from the National Science Foundation's Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections (ADBC) program for "The Macrofungi Collection Consortium: Unlocking a Biodiversity Resource for Understanding Biotic Interactions, Nutrient Cycling and Human Affairs."

UCO Jicheng Fu
OCAST Health Research - $135,000
Dr. Jicheng Fu, Assistant Professor of Computer Science received funds from O
CAST Health Research for "Robotic Assistance for Young Wheelchair Users."
UCO RECEIVES GREEN POWER CHAMPION AWARD FROM EPA
live centralThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named the University of Central Oklahoma the 2011-12 Green Power Champion of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Per EPA estimates, Central's purchase of green power from Edmond Electric is equivalent to offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions of more than 2,000 average American homes, or nearly 4,000 passenger vehicles, annually. UCO's relationship with the EPA began in 2006, when the university joined the Green Power Partnership, a voluntary program that encourages organizations to use green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use.
INASMUCH FOUNDATION - $11.3 million

 

The Inasmuch Foundation awarded grants to organizations in the category of Education as follows:

 

  • $1,000,000 to American Indian Cultural Center Foundation for construction of the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum.
  • $500,000 to Science Museum Oklahoma for a new Children's Hall.
  • $500,000 to the University of Oklahoma for construction of The Scholars Walk, a major beautification project.
  • $378,000 to Smart Start Central Oklahoma for addition of an office manager and program coordinator and support of the Early Birds program.
  • $150,000 to Oklahoma Arts Institute for Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute scholarships.
  • $100,000 to Girl Scouts - Western Oklahoma for a capital campaign to renovate, equip and endow a facility in Oklahoma City.
  • $100,000 to KIPP Reach Academy for general support.
  • $100,000 to Payne Education Center for two pilot studies to determine how to train university faculty and teacher candidate students.
  • The following education organizations received grants of less than $100,000: Oklahoma Children's Theatre; Community Action Project of Tulsa County; and Tulsa Community Foundation.
OCAST INTERN PARTNERSHIPS - $191,000

 

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology Intern Partnerships program awarded two-year internships for seven applicants.

  • Principal investigator Goutham Kirikera was awarded $15,000 to oversee two student interns at Sercel-GRC Corporation in Tulsa. The project targets the design, manufacture and commercialization of two products to increase the efficiency of hydrocarbon extraction. 
  • The University of Tulsa and Advantage Controls will work with one intern under the direction of principal investigator Kaveh Ashenayi, who was awarded $23,400. The intern will focus on developing a more efficient pump for injecting chemicals required to reduce scaling and corrosion within a cooling tower.
  • Robert Sheaff was awarded $60,000 to oversee work by two interns at Cancer Treatment Centers of America and the University of Tulsa. The project features a device that uses high temperatures to kill cancer cells.
  • Catherine Cyran was awarded $20,100 to serve as principal investigator for an intern at Nordam, a Tulsa-based aerospace firm currently developing integrated propulsion systems for next-generation large cabin business aircraft. The intern will be involved in nacelle ventilation and cooling and inlet dry air and flight icing performance tests.
  • ATC New Technologies of Oklahoma City was awarded $18,500 to hire two interns under the direction of Bryan Schultz to develop more robust batteries that can tolerate multiple faults and still function. Work will be conducted in concert with faculty associated with development of an electric vehicle at the University of Oklahoma.
  • ATC New Technologies and Schultz were also awarded $24,900 for two interns conducting research into the second life of high-voltage vehicle batteries.
  • Khalid Hossain of Amethyst Research in Ardmore was awarded $30,000 to direct an intern in using hydrogen-termination for cleaning of semiconductor surfaces.
EPSCoR SUMMER 2012 REU RECIPIENTS
Eleven undergraduate students from across the state have been selected to participate in the Oklahoma EPSCoR Summer 2012 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Award recipients and their lab sponsors will perform bioenergy research during the collaborative summer program in labs at Oklahoma institutions of higher education, including University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and East Central Univeristy
 

Summer 2012 REU Recipients: 

  • Christina Bruxvoort, University of Central Oklahoma, will study "Mechanistic Studies of Dihydrodipicolinate Synthase," this summer with Lilian Chooback, University of Central Oklahoma - Award Amount:  $5,000
  • Jessica Stromski, Oklahoma State University, will study "Genetic Determinants of Biomass Gain and Drought Tolerance in Foxtail Millet" with Andrew Doust, Oklahoma State University - Award Amount:  $5,000
  • Matthew Wallace, the University of Oklahoma, will study "Functional Group Contributions to Heats of Absorption of Bio-oil Compounds on Oxide Surfaces" with Friederike Jentoft, University of Oklahoma - Award Amount:  $5,000
  • Onovwie O. Rachael, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, will study "Biochar for Conditioning Biomass-Generated Syngas" with Ajay Kumar, Oklahoma State University -
    Award Amount:  $5,000
  • Kathryn Parsley, Cameron University, will study "Identifying Functional Biomarkers Associated with Tillering in Switchgrass" with R. Mahalingam, Oklahoma State University - Award Amount:  $4,980
  • Guitri Obame-Ndong, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, will study "Enhancing Biomass Yield and Processing Efficiency in Alfalfa" with Maria Monteros, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation - Award Amount:  $4,992
  • Ethan Purkins, Oklahoma State University, will study "Phenotypic Measurement and FIeld Management for Mapping Switchgrass Genome" with Yanqi Wu, Oklahoma State University - Award Amount:  $4,500
  • Josh Garner, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, will study "SSR Marker Screening for Mapping Switchgrass Genome" with Yanqi Wu, Oklahoma State University - Award Amount:  $5,000
  • Meagan Anderson, Oklahoma City Community College, will study "Subcellular Localization of Proteins Involved in Rice Cell Wall Cross-linking for Improved Biomass Quality" with Laura Bartley, University of Oklahoma - Award Amount:  $5,000
  • Ankita Thapa, East Central University, will study "Characterizing Dinoflagellate and Cryptomonoad Products for Biofuels" with Stephen Fields, East Central University -
    Award Amount:  $5,000
  • Shana Lancaster, Oklahoma State University, will study "Low Input Bioenergy Feedstock Production:  Assessing Fertilizer and Drought Interactions on Soil Microbial Communities, Soil Carbon Sequestration and Switchgrass Production" with Gail Wilson, Oklahoma State University - Award Amount:  $5,000

EPSCoR

EPSCoR SUMMER 2012 ROA RECIPIENTS
 
  • Ratnakar Deole, Northeastern State University, will study "The Genome Sequence of Oscillatoria limnetica:  Clues to Diverse Third Generation Bioenergy Production" with Wouter Hoff, Oklahoma State University. Award Amount: $10,000
  • James Hicks, Northeastern Oklahoma State University, will study "Spectroscopic Analysis of Liquid Mixtures for Biofuels Applications" with Friederike Jentoft, University of Oklahoma. Award Amount: $10,000
  • Dane Scott, East Central University, will study "Catalysts for Biofuel Production from Cellulosic Materials" with Nicholas Materer, Oklahoma State University. Award Amount: $10,000
NWOSU Grant 
Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Juanita Noble, Director of the Upward Bound Program, received $1.25 million over 5 years from the US Department of Education for the Upward Bound Program. Upward Bound will help provide high school students better opportunities for attending college.

 

You can subscribe to the regular weekly list of grant opportunities by sending your email address and request to [email protected]. The user-friendly categories will help you find the grant you are seeking! Also available for you are professional development workshops and grant writing resources located at http://www.okhighered.org/grant-opps under Training Opportunities and Grant Writing Resources. You can learn more about how to obtain that grant!
  
Sincerely,

 

Linda Mason

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

 
June 29th   9:00-3:30
 
 
Beginning Grant Writing: The Process is a workshop for those who have not written a grant proposal. This is a hands-on workshop where attendees will learn about grant writing and then actually participate in writing a portion of a proposal. Register by emailing [email protected]. There is no fee., but you must register. 
Come and join your peers in writing proposals for funding great research and programs! 
Location: Oklahoma College Assistance Program (OCAP), Colcord Building, 421 NW 13th St, Oklahoma City