Faculty Recognition & Funding Opportunities – December 1, 2017

posted December 1, 2017

RECOGNITION

Michael Mc Carthy, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Chair, Associated Emeritae/i of Vassar College, is author of Toward a catholic Christianity: A Study in Critical Belonging, a new book forthcoming from Rowman & Littlefield (December 2017). “I believe the major contribution of the book is Mc Carthy’s insightful reflections where he draws on extensive and impressive sources, raises critical questions, and reveals an impressive scholarship,” writes Christine Jamieson of Concordia University in a review. “In a civilization that Julia Kristeva describes as having ‘abandoned the meaning of the Absolute of Meaning,’ Mc Carthy presents another possibility, a possibility of hope, not naïve but critically reflective, in an enduring Meaning.” In this way, Mc Carthy seeks to preserve the enduring insights of Athens and Jerusalem in our post-modern secular age. Toward a catholic Christianity is the sixth book Mc Carthy has published, and his third since retiring from teaching in Vassar’s Department of Philosophy a decade ago.

John McCleary, Professor and Chair of Mathematics and Statistics, is author of Exercises in (Mathematical) Style, newly published by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). A pastiche of Raymond Queneau’s 1947 “Exercices de Style”, McCleary’s book explores the topic of binomial coefficients in differing styles including viewpoint, method of proof, and form of discourse. By examining and extending binomial coefficients in multiple ways, the author presents many important mathematical ideas, some lesser-known, and some unexpected connections, for example, wormhole points, Eulerian numbers, cellular automata and Euler’s beautiful formula. The text is accessible to anyone with a calculus background. “The book is a rollercoaster ride through a mathematical fun house,” wrote professor James Johnson of Western Washington University in a review. “McCleary’s effort is exceptional, as it reaches into the realm of élan, clearly demonstrating the energy and enthusiasm that can pervade mathematical writing and mathematics itself.”

SOME UPCOMING DEADLINES FOR EXTRAMURAL FUNDING

ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

DECEMBER 15 The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation Venetian Research Program is accepting applications for travel grants of up to $20,000 over an academic year in support of historical research on Venice and the former Venetian empire, and for the study of contemporary Venetian society and culture. Disciplines of the humanities and social sciences are eligible areas of study, including but not limited to archaeology, architecture, art, bibliography, economics, history, history of science, law, literature, music, political science, religion, and theater. Funds may be used for travel to and residence in Venice and the and the former Venetian empire, transportation within the Veneto, and specific research expenses. See the Delmas Foundation website for complete program guidelines and application instructions: http://delmas.org/grants/venetian-program-grants/research-in-venice-application-instructions/

JANUARY 15, 2018 The Samuel H. Kress Foundation Art Conservation Grants Program provides support for the professional practice of art conservation, including conservation research, scholarly publications, and international conferences and symposia. The program supports the professional practice of art conservation, especially as it relates to European art of the pre-modern era. Grants are awarded to projects that create and disseminate specialized knowledge, including archival projects, the development and dissemination of scholarly databases, documentation projects, exhibitions and publications focused on art conservation, scholarly publications, and technical and scientific studies. Grants are also awarded for activities that permit conservators and conservation scientists to share their expertise with both professional colleagues and a broad audience through international exchanges, professional meetings, conferences, symposia, consultations, the presentation of research, exhibitions that include a prominent focus on materials and techniques, and other professional events. See the Kress Foundation website for complete program guidelines, information about previous grant recipients, and application guidelines: http://www.kressfoundation.org/grants/conservation/

JANUARY 16 The Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, an independent research library in Philadelphia, is inviting applications for short-term fellowships in the history of science, technology, medicine, and industry. The research collections at CHF range chronologically from the fifteenth century to the present and include six thousand rare books, significant archival holdings, thousands of images, and a large artifact and fine arts collection supported by more than a hundred thousand reference volumes and journals. Within the collections are many areas of strength, including alchemy, mining & metallurgy, dyeing and bleaching, balneology, gunpowder and pyrotechnics, gas-lighting, books of secrets, inorganic and organic chemistry, biochemistry, food chemistry, and pharmaceuticals. The center supports roughly twenty fellows a year, creating a vibrant community of scholars whose work is in some way tied to the history of materials and materiality, chemistry, and all related sciences. Applications come from people in a wide range of disciplines across the humanities and social sciences. Short-Term Fellowships include stipends of $3,000 per month in for residence programs of one to four months and are open to all scholars and researchers. Short-term fellowships are specifically designed around access to the center's research collections, while long-term fellows' work must help support the mission of the institution and fit with the collections more generally.For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the CHF website: https://www.chemheritage.org/fellowships

JANUARY 24 The New York Foundation for the Arts awards Artists' Fellowships to artists living in New York State and/or Indian Nations located in New York State. In 2017, NYFA awarded ninety-two grants to ninety-five awardees and three collaborations totaling $640,000. The unrestricted $7,000 fellowships are intended to fund an artist's vision or voice, regardless of the level of his or her artistic development. NYFA is committed to supporting artists from diverse cultural backgrounds at all stages of their professional career. In 2018, grants will be awarded in the categories of fiction, folk traditional arts, interdisciplinary work, painting, and video/film. Applicants must be at least 25 years old at the time of the application deadline (January 24, 2018) and must also be a resident of New York State and/or one of the Indian Nations located in New York State for at least two years prior to that date. Applications will not be considered from graduate or undergraduate students enrolled in any degree program at the time of the application deadline. Recipients of an NYFA Fellowship award in the past five years are not eligible to re-apply. For complete program guidelines, an FAQ, the online application, and an informational video for applicants, see the NYFA website.

JANUARY 31 The Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood supports creative, innovative projects and programs designed to significantly enhance the development, health, safety, education, and/or quality of life for children from infancy through five years of age. The foundation provides funding in the areas of early childhood welfare, early childhood education and play, and parenting education:

1) Early Childhood Welfare: Children can only reach their full potential when all aspects of their development, including intellectual, emotional and physical, are optimally supported. Providing a safe and nurturing environment for infants and preschoolers is essential, as is imparting to them the skills of social living in a culturally diverse world. To that end, the foundation supports programs that research best child-rearing practices and identify models that provide creative, caring environments to ensure all children thrive.

2) Early Childhood Education and Play: Research shows that children need to be stimulated as well as nurtured early in life if they are to succeed in school, work, and life. That preparation relates to every aspect of a child’s development, from birth to age five, and everywhere a child learns — at home, in childcare settings, and in preschool. To that end, the foundation seeks to improve the quality of early childhood teaching and learning through the development of innovative curricula and research based pedagogical standards, as well as the design of imaginative play materials and learning environments.

3) Parenting Education: To help parents create nurturing environments for their children, the foundation supports programs that teach parents about developmental psychology, cultural child-rearing differences, pedagogy, issues of health, and prenatal care and diet, as well programs that provide both cognitive and emotional support to parents.

Letters of Intent must be received no later than January 31, 2018. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application. See the Caplan Foundation website for complete program guidelines and application procedures: http://earlychildhoodfoundation.org/

FEBRUARY 1 The Spencer Foundation Small Research Grants Program is accepting research proposals for education research projects. In keeping with the foundation's mission, the program aims to fund academic work that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived. Examples of previously funded projects include an experimental study of how college students use visual representations in solving math problems; a study exploring the process of racial and rural identity formation among African-American high-school students who attend de facto segregated schools in the rural South; and a mixed-methods study focused on the different types of knowledge novice and experienced teachers draw on in teaching reading comprehension. The program awards grants of up to $50,000. See the Spencer Foundation website for complete program guidelines, an FAQ, and application instructions: https://www.spencer.org/small-research-grants

SOME UPCOMING DEADLINES FOR EXTRAMURAL FUNDING

NATURAL SCIENCES, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING & MATHEMATICS

Rolling The Simons Foundation’s Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) division invites applications for its new Targeted Grants in MPS Program, intended to support high-risk theoretical mathematics, physics and computer science projects of exceptional promise and scientific importance on a case-by-case basis. Applicants may submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) through proposalCENTRAL (https://proposalcentral.altum.com/default.asp). The deadline is rolling and an applicant can submit at any time. For projects with Principal Investigator (PIs) at different institutions, the LOI should be signed and submitted by the PI designated as the main PI with the involvement of his/her institution. LOI Requirements include Research plan (two-page limit, plus up to one page for references and figures), signed by the main PI on letterhead, which includes a brief summary of the support requested, including the names of the other PI(s) involved, if applicable, the scientific goals, background relevant to the application, and a brief budget justification. A tentative yearly budget (two-page limit) indicating total amount and major expense categories with proposed start and end dates. Visit the Simons Foundation online for additional information: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/targeted-grants-in-mps/

JANUARY 10, 2018 The National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) serves to increase access to shared scientific and engineering instruments for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of higher education, not-for-profit museums, science centers and scientific/engineering research organizations. The program provides organizations with opportunities to acquire major instrumentation that supports the research and research training goals of the organization and that may be used by other researchers regionally or nationally. Each MRI proposal may request support for the acquisition (Track 1) or development (Track 2) of a single research instrument for shared inter- and/or intra-organizational use. Development efforts that leverage the strengths of private sector partners to build instrument development capacity at MRI submission-eligible organizations are encouraged. The MRI program assists with the acquisition or development of a shared research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. The instrument acquired or developed is expected to be operational for regular research use by the end of the award period. For the purposes of the MRI program, a proposal must be for either acquisition (Track 1) or development (Track 2) of a single, well-integrated instrument. Instrument acquisition or development proposals that request funds from NSF in the range $100,000-$4 million may be accepted from any MRI-eligible organization. For more details, visit NSF online.

Multiple NSF funding opportunities are now open! See the deadlines and funding announcements online here.

JANUARY 12 The American Gastroenterological Association is accepting applications for its AGA-Elsevier Gut Microbiome Pilot Research Award. The objectives of the program are to help early-career investigators establish their research careers and support research projects that represent new directions for established investigators. Projects must focus on the relationship of gut microbiota to digestive health and disease. To that end, a single grant of $25,000 will be awarded to a researcher at any career stage in support of research on the relationship of gut microbiota to digestive health and disease. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the AGA website.

JANUARY 15 (letters of intent) The Whitehall Foundation assists scholarly research in the life sciences through its research grants and grants-in-aid programs. It is the foundation's policy to support those dynamic areas of basic biological research that are not heavily supported by federal agencies or other foundations with a specialized mission. The foundation emphasizes the support of young scientists at the beginning of their careers and productive senior scientists who wish to move into new fields of interest. 1) Research: Research grants of up to $225,000 over three years will be awarded to established scientists of all ages working at an accredited institution in the United States. Grants will not be awarded to investigators who have already received, or expect to receive, substantial support from other sources, even if it is for an unrelated purpose. 2) Grants-in-Aid: One-year grants of up to $30,000 will be awarded to researchers at the assistant professor level who experience difficulty in competing for research funds because they have not yet become firmly established. Grants-in-Aid can also be made to senior scientists. Letters of Intent must be received no later than January 15, 2018. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit to a full application by June 1, 2018. For complete program guidelines, information about previous grant recipients, and application procedures, see the Whitehall Foundation website.

JANUARY 15 The American Chemical Society (ACS) is seeking applications to its Local Section Innovative Projects Grants program. The biannual program encourages local ACS sections to conceive of and implement innovative projects designed to strengthen the functioning of the local section. Projects must be new to the applying local section, stimulate local section member involvement, and pilot a continuing section activity or take advantage of a unique upcoming opportunity for the section. Projects that support interaction with other ACS local sections, ACS divisions, ACS committees, other professional associations or community groups are especially encouraged, as are programs that foster inclusiveness and participation of diverse section membership or segments of the general public. Awards will be up to $3,500 per project. See the ACS website for complete program guidelines and application instructions: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/funding-and-awards/grants/acscommunity/lsinnovativegrant.html

FEBRUARY 15 AMBRF/Foundation for Alcohol Research invites applications from research projects focused on the effects of alcohol consumption on human health and behavior. The Foundation encourages basic and clinical research, including epidemiology. Examples of valid topics include factors influencing underage drinking, the mechanisms of alcohol-related organ injury, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and the effects of alcohol on general health. Areas of particular interest include studies on how particular patterns of consumption (quantity of alcohol consumed, types of alcoholic beverages consumed, frequency of consumption, and context) are related to health and behavioral outcomes; and interdisciplinary, bioinformatics, and other approaches to genetic and environmental factors that influence the patterns of consumption of alcoholic beverages and related consequences. Priority is given to projects led by young investigators. Grants of up to $75,000 a year will be awarded for either one or two years. See the AMBRF/Foundation for Alcohol Research website for complete program guidelines and application instructions: http://www.abmrf.org/appyling_grant

FEBRUARY 16 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Research Grant Program supports small research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources. This program supports different types of projects including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology. Visit NIH online for more: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/r03.htm

FEBRUARY 25 NIH Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) stimulate research in educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees in sciences but that have not been major recipients of NIH support. AREA grants create opportunities for scientists and institutions otherwise unlikely to participate extensively in NIH research programs to contribute to the Nation's biomedical and behavioral research effort. AREA grants are intended to support small-scale research projects proposed by faculty members of eligible, domestic institutions, to expose undergraduate and/or graduate students to meritorious research projects, and to strengthen the research environment of the applicant’s home institution. Visit NIH online for details: https://area.nih.gov/

Are you a human subjects researcher? NIH has produced a video overview as policies regarding human subjects in NIH-funded research has changed.

New to NIH’s grantmaking? Read all about it here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/about_grants.htm

Questions about funding for research and scholarship? Contact us:

Judith Dollenmayer (5376, judollenmayer), Associate Director, Corporate, Foundation & Government Relations

Katherine Hite (7661, kahite), Professor and Chair of Political Science & Faculty Director of Research Development

Gary Hohenberger (7092, gahohenberger), Associate Vice President for Corporate, Foundation & Government Relations

Lori Buckey (5490, lbuckey), Grants Office Specialist

Patricia Pritchard (5893, papritchard), Director, Grants Accounting

Amanda Thornton (5309, amthornton), Director, Grants Administration

Posted on Friday, December 1, 2017