Winter 1999 Vol 30 No 2

201J University Hall Telephone 775-2425

Research Incentive Program
Deadline Approaching

In This Issue

A proposal to fund something we take for granted was rejected three times!
See Notes From the Director

RSP's range of services may surprise you

Holy 60's! - NIH has gone MOD - ular!

Biomedical inventors have a friend in Cincinnati

RSP has a new home

Also...

The Research Council announces the Research Incentive Program competition for 1999. Approximately $75,000 is available for awards to eligible faculty in two programs (see box) of support for research and other scholarly activity.

Certain restrictions apply to faculty participation in the Research Incentive Program. Because of revisions in the School of Medicine's seed grant program, those faculty are no longer eligible to participate. However, faculty in matrix departments may apply if the work proposed is similar to the kinds of externally funded projects that would normally be processed through the College of Science and Mathematics. In addition, those who received Research Incentive or Professional Development grants in 1997-98 are not eligible to apply to the same program in this competition. Otherwise, faculty may submit one proposal to either program or different proposals to both programs.

Two copies of each proposal with all appropriate endorsements must be received in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (122 Allyn Hall) by 5 p.m., Friday, March 5. Awards will be announced by April 15, 1999. The guidelines and proposal cover sheets are available from your Dean's office or on the RSP homepage at http://www.wright.edu/rsp/.

Research Initiation
grants provide seed funds for new research efforts likely to attract external funding. Limited to $8,000, recently appointed faculty and those without significant external funding are given priority.

Professional Development
grants are intended for more general and diverse scholarly activities and professional renewal and are limited to $2,500.

I just finished reading a compilation of the letters of Wilbur and Orville Wright. They tell a fascinating story. Of particular interest to me was the letter the Wrights sent to the U.S. War Department from Dayton on October 9, 1905. By this date the Wright Brothers had flown hundreds of trips at Huffman prairie (the future site, of course, of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base). The longest of these flights was 24.5 miles lasting 38 minutes 3 seconds.

Here is the letter:

We are prepared to furnish a machine on contract, to be accepted only after trial trips in which the conditions of the contract have been fulfilled; the machine to carry an operator and supplies of fuel, etc., sufficient for a flight of one hundred miles; the price of the machine to be regulated according to a sliding scale based on the performance of the machine in the trial trips.

This is the response they received:

Washington, D.C., October 16, 1905
TO: Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright
FROM: Major General J.C. Bates, President,
Board of Ordnance and Fortification

I have the honor to inform you that, as many requests have been made for financial assistance in the development of designs for flying machines, the Board has found it necessary to decline to make allotments for the experimental development of devices for mechanical flight, and has determined that, before suggestions with that object in view will be considered, the device must have been brought to the stage of practical operation without expense to the United States.

This was actually the second rejection the Wrights received from the War Department and they were shortly to receive one more. Their fourth proposal, submitted over three years later and after many European countries had already placed orders for Wright flyers, was finally accepted.

The moral? Don't be discouraged if the sponsor does not fund your proposal on the first or second try!

Bill Sellers

Overview of the Office

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP) works with faculty and staff to increase externally funded research and other sponsored programs. RSP staff provides the following services:

Identification of External Sources of Funding
Dissemination of Funding Information
Liaison with Sponsors
Proposal Development and Preparation
Budget Preparation
Institutional Compliance
Institutional Authorization
Proposal Transmittal
Contract Negotiations
Post-Award Administration of Externally Funded Programs
Administration of Internally Funded Programs
Technology Transfer
Government Security

Research News is published periodically during the academic year, covers grant awards and related topics of interest. Descriptions and deadlines of upcoming programs are listed in RSP's electronic publication, Funding Update, available at http://www.wright.edu/rsp/.

If you would like to be placed on the mailing list or would like further information on funding opportunities, application procedures, or other services provided by the office, please contact us (ext. 2425, rsp@wright.edu) or visit the office in 201J University Hall.

RSP - Here to Serve

Research and Sponsored Programs partners with WSU faculty and staff in the common goal of increasing external funding support and administering funded projects in accordance with sponsor guidelines. RSP offers a wide range of services from the pre-award stage to close-out of sponsored projects accounts.

The following scenarios will illustrate the broad variety of assistance that RSP provides:

Challenge: Solution:	How do I find a sponsor whose research needs match my research interests? RSP offers three searchable electronic funding databases as links on the RSP home page at http://www.wright.edu/rsp/ Check out: Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN) Community of Science The Grant Advisor Plus
Challenge: Solution:	How do I maneuver through the electronic funding databases? Enroll in the hands-on workshop, "Searching the Web for Funding Opportunities," to be offered on *Friday, April 23, 12 noon to 1 p.m., Mac lab in 032 Library Annex* (Enrollment limited to 12 per session. Contact Ellen Reinsch Friese at ext. 2425 or ellen.friese@wright.edu for further information.)
Challenge: Solution:	Who do I call when I am ready to submit a grant application? Faculty new to WSU or the grantsmanship arena should contact RSP at ext. 2425 and ask for Dr. Eugene P. Hern for School of Medicine (including Matrix departments) Leon J. Testas for College of Education and Human Services, College of Engineering and Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts, College of Business and Administration, School of Professional Psychology, Lake Campus Ellen Reinsch Friese for College of Science and Mathematics (non-Matrix departments) and College of Nursing and Health
Challenge: Solution:	How far in advance should I contact RSP regarding a proposal submission? In order for RSP to best serve the needs of WSU grantseekers, pre-award staff (see matrix for appropriate contact person) should be contacted at the earliest possible time before proposal submission (two weeks before the deadline is not too soon)! When applications are received by RSP very close to the sponsor's deadline, there is insufficient time for a complete review of the budget and sponsor guidelines. Everyone benefits when proposals are received early!
Challenge: Solution:	How can I route a proposal early if I am still writing the narrative up to the deadline? At a minimum, a proposal can be routed with a finalized budget, budget narrative, and draft proposal or abstract.
Challenge: Solution:	My grant (or contract) has been funded. What assistance will RSP provide with meeting the sponsor's administrative and technical requirements? In the realm of "post-award" administration, RSP staff performs a variety of functions to assist the Principal Investigator in the orderly administration of the new account. In addition, the post-award specialists in RSP offer training workshops specifically geared to help faculty and staff manage expenditures on restricted accounts. The next Post-Award Training opportunity will be held Thursday, May 13, 2 to 4 p.m., room E154 Student Union (To register, call Diana Lewis in Human Resources at ext. 2373 or send e-mail to diana.lewis@wright.edu)

Feel free to contact RSP at any time with questions relating to research administration or visit our Web site:
http://www.wright.edu/rsp/ to access a wealth of resources.

For Your Information

Edison BioTechnology
Center Offers
Inventive Advice

The Edison BioTechnology Center (EBTC) in Cincinnati is available to WSU faculty to assist in an initial evaluation of the commercial potential of biomedical inventions. Meetings with EBTC staff can be arranged on a "pre-invention disclosure" basis, meaning that an initial evaluation of a new invention can be made without first submitting an invention disclosure. These meetings, designed to last 30 minutes or less, will illuminate what goes into a preliminary commercial evaluation. The commercial route may be an alternate means to disseminate research discoveries to the general public. If you wish to talk to an EBTC staff member about your ideas, please contact Bill Sellers in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at ext. 2425. For more information, visit the EBTC website at http://www.ebtc.org.

We Hear You!

At a recent post-award training workshop, several participants inquired as to how they could determine whether their contract or agreement were cost-reimbursement or fixed-price. Someone suggested that it would be convenient to have this information included on the project administrative summary. As of February 19, 1999, you will be able to find that information on the back of the project administrative summary in the "billing instructions" section.

Thanks for the excellent suggestion!

Sponsor Alerts

The National Institutes of Health Goes MODular

Streamlining, reinvention, electronic research administration -- all are terms that evoke futuristic connotations. In that vein, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is poised to embark upon the expanded use of its "Modular Grant Application and Award" initiative, as announced in the December 15, 1998 issue of the NIH "Guide." To read the entire release, see: http://www.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-178.html.

What impact does this announcement have on NIH investigators at WSU? Beginning with the June 1, 1999 receipt date, competing research project grants (R01), small grants (R03), and exploratory/developmental grants (R21), requesting less than $250,000 direct costs must follow the new modular grant format. The new format features:

direct costs to be requested in modules of $25,000
simplified application budgets
detailed categorical budget information will not be submitted with the application; budget form pages of the application kits will not be used. Only total direct costs requested for each year will be presented. Budget narrative will be provided only for Personnel and Consortium/Contractual Costs, when applicable
no routine escalation for future years

RSP's pre-award staff will submit NIH proposals in keeping with the specific modifications required by the sponsor. However, many faculty find the budget spreadsheets prepared by RSP to be beneficial tools in developing their proposals. In addition, the spreadsheets alert the principal investigators, chairs, and deans to the costs associated with research and the implications of cost-sharing, when applicable. Thus, RSP will continue to offer the budget spreadsheets as a service to faculty and for internal routing purposes.

Research Challenge Early Start/Augmentation Winners Announced

The Research Council is pleased to announce the Research Challenge/Early Start/Augmentation proposals that have been selected for funding. Of 31 applications submitted, 13 projects were funded for nearly $180,000. The primary objective of Research Challenge is to furnish seed funding to produce additional sponsored research. Congratulations to the winners from the October 1998 call for applications, who are listed as follows:

Principal Investigator	Department	Title	Amount
M.S. Amer	Mechanical and Materials Engineering	Damage Development in Flexible Matrix Composites	$4,635
M.A. Baumann	Medicine	AML Alpha Subunit Genes and Myeloid Differentiation	$10,125
H. Chien-In Chen	Electrical Engineering	Complexity Management and Test and Diagnosis for Future Integrated Circuit (IC) Design	$10,800
A.A. Goshtasby	Computer Science and Engineering	Development of a Digital Library of Skin Lesions	$10,500
S.S. Guo	Community Health	Relationships of Weight Gain and Dietary Intake During Pregnancy	$17,321
D.E. Krane	Biological Sciences	DNA Quantification Facility for Studying Factors that Alter Genetic Diversity	$18,000
M.W. Miller	Biological Sciences	Role of Nuclear and Cytosolic O-Glycosylation in Diabetes	$18,000
B.E. Milligan	English	Nineteenth-Century British Medicine and Culture	$8,025
S.M. Mukhopadhyay	Mechanical and Materials Engineering	Surface Phenomena in Pure and Doped Superconducting Oxides	$8,703
S. Narayanan	Biomedical and Human Factors Engineering	A Graphical Configuration Environment for Unmanned Vehicles	$8,538
J. Olson	Emergency Medicine	Neuronal Volume Regulation	$16,000
D.T. Organisciak	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	Retinal Dopamine and Melatonin Levels in Light Exposed Rat Retinas	$35,000
R.E. White	Physiology and Biophysics	The Molecular Basis of Estrogen Action on Human Coronary Artery	$13,750

Scholarly Writing Workshop Promotes Regular Writing

Take a random sample of faculty and ask for their greatest impediment to writing - invariably the most passionate response will be "not enough time!" To help the Wright State University community cope with the demands of career, writing, and the dilemma of "not enough time," the Research Council and Research and Sponsored Programs hosted the November "Scholarly Writing Workshop." Conducted by Dr. Robert Lucas of the California-based Institute for Scholarly Productivity, twenty participants were treated to a humorous half-day session which attempted to dispel the myths of writing and offer realistic solutions to make the process of writing "ordinary."

Referring to research focused on "professors as writers," Lucas shared with his audience the myths that writing must be perfect, done in a single draft, is spontaneous and inspired, proceeds quickly, and is inherently difficult. Instead, Lucas urged attendees to write regularly, four days per week for 25 to 30 minutes per session and recommended a pattern of writing that leaves 24 to 48 hours between sessions. What is so magical about this approach? Writing in 30 minute blocks is realistic; and as it becomes routine, it puts the writer in control of the project and not the project in control of the writer.

Anyone interested in obtaining a copy of the November "Scholarly Writing Workshop" notes should contact Ellen Reinsch Friese at RSP, ext. 2425 or by e-mail at ellen.friese@wright.edu

AWARDS

The grants and contracts on these pages were awarded from September 1998 thorugh December 1998.

College

PI Name

Co-PI Name

Project Title

Sponsor Name

$ Funded

College of Business and Administration

Scherer, Robert F.

Bodey, Michael W.

Small Business Development Center

Ohio Department of Development

$64,300

College of Education and Human Services

Bernhardt, Gregory R.

Finegan, Colleen A.

Helms, Ronald G.

Diversified Teaching Force

Ohio Department of Education

$50,000

College of Education and Human Services

Barnhart, Michael L.

Fiscal Agent Role for Entry Year and Teacher Residency Pilots

Ohio Department of Education

$225,000

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Weiss, Isaac

Amer, Maher S.

Analysis of Flow Behavior

TIMET

$19,900

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Grandhi, Ramana V.

Multidisciplinary Nonlinear Sensitivity Analysis

DoD, Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)

$51,813

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Garcia, Oscar N.

Berra, P. Bruce

Priorities in Graduate Education

Ohio Board of Regents

$125,000

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Garcia, Oscar N.

OBR Collaborative Research

Kent State University

$12,500

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Thomas, Scott Keith

Aircraft Mechanical/Thermal Technology Research

DoD, Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory

$50,000

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Weiss, Isaac

Compression Testing

TIMET

$14,200

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Weiss, Isaac

Materials Analysis

MetLab, Division Metallurgical Services, Inc.

$2,600

College of Liberal Arts

Dustin, Jack L.

Dayton Community Outreach Partnership Center

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

$399,963

College of Liberal Arts

Mazey, Mary Ellen

Strategic Plan Development

City of Springfield, Ohio

$2,647

College of Liberal Arts

Mazey, Mary Ellen

Strategic Plan Refinement

City of Springboro, Ohio

$1,441

College of Liberal Arts

Dockery, Jane L.

City of Dayton Survey

City of Dayton, Miscellaneous

$16,278

College of Liberal Arts

Lowery, Kenneth J.

Dockery, Jane L.

1998 Transportation and Distribution Industry Directory

Regional Office of Economic Development

$10,000

College of Liberal Arts

Dockery, Jane L.

High Technology Salary and Benefits/Information Technology Surveys

Regional Office of Economic Development

$2,324

College of Liberal Arts

Mazey, Mary Ellen

Criminal Justice Retreat

Clark County Board of Commissioners

$1,200

College of Liberal Arts

Dustin, Jack L.

Urban Projects - Urban Universities Linkage

Ohio Board of Regents

$60,456

College of Nursing and Health

Praeger, Susan G.

Health STARS: Health Strategies to Assure Regular Services

Ohio Department of Health

$7,500

College of Nursing and Health

Martin, Patricia A.

Miami Valley Hospital Operating Agreement

Miami Valley Hospital

$45,000