Vice President's Message
Election to the National Academy
We must all share the elation of Doug Futuyma's election to the National Academy. His important, creative and dedicated career efforts well deserve this singular recognition. I cannot believe that any of us -- whatever our discipline -- could have predicted that we would witness the concept of evolution under more serious attack than at any time since the era of the Scopes trial. This attack must come from forces that are truly ignorant of the prospective damage they represent to our national capacity for intellectual inquiry, our national competitiveness and our national interest. In this environment, it is especially pleasing to contemplate the contributions Prof. Futuyma and our institution have made to this vital study and the well deserved honor they have earned. Bravo!
Monday Memo Redesign
This issue of Monday Memo introduces a new look designed for simplicity and enhanced overall readability. We hope that the changes to the newsletter will not only bring us out of the '90's and into the 21st Century in terms of design but will make it easier to navigate, easier to find what you need and what interests you, and more inviting to peruse. In addition to the visual improvements we are going to start paring content, reducing what have often, in the past, been quite long notices down to brief summaries containing more abundant links to the complete announcements and their originating sponsors or organizations. The redesign is still in the 'beta' phase and we would greatly appreciate your comments, suggestions and feedback to help us finish it. Please direct any feedback about the redesign to Adnan Rangwala [marc.dempsey@stonybrook.edu] our editor of on-line content.
{Top}
Good News and Coming Events
News
Election to the National Academy of Sciences
Professor Douglas J. Futuyma, Ecology and Evolution, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, becoming the 13th Stony Brook faculty member to earn this singular distinction. Members of the Academy are chosen for their "distinguished and continuing achievements in original research." Professor Futuyma's research focuses on speciation and the evolution of ecological interactions among species, in particular the population biology of herbivorous insects and the evolution of their affiliation with host plants. He has previously received Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships, and is the author of the widely used text book Evolutionary Biology.
Stony Brook alum Charles Langmuir, who received his Ph.D. in Geochemistry from Stony Brook in 1980, was also elected to the National Academy. He is now a Professor of Geochemistry in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard.
Marine Sciences Research Center (MSRC)
Marvin Geller, a professor in the Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres (ITPA) of the (MSRC), was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal this month in Washington, DC. This medal is the highest honor NASA awards to nongovernment employees who display distinguished service, ability, or courage, and have personally made a contribution representing substantial progress to the NASA mission. Prof. Geller contributed substantially to the design and implementation of several NASA satellite science research programs, including the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Prior to his joining the faculty at the Stony Brook University, he was Chief of the Laboratory of Atmospheres at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for several years.
Physics and Astronomy
Results from gold on gold ion collisions at Brookhaven National Lab's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have puzzled scientists and produced an unexpected liquid-like formation of strongly-interacting quarks—but not necessarily the quark-gluon plasma that had been predicted. Professor Barbara Jacak, a member of the PHENIX collaboration at RHIC, has presented evidence at last week's meeting of the American Physical Society from experimental data that suggest—because of distinctly different behavior of the quarks--that this liquid is indeed the quark-gluon plasma that physicists had predicted.
Professor Deane Peterson and colleagues published an article in the April 13 issue of Nature concluding that Vega, the second brightest star in the northern sky, has a different elemental composition and age than previously thought. The impact of this discovery will be great because Vega has long been used as a 'standard' to calibrate astronomical observations from the ultraviolet to the infrared. Peterson et al. found that Vega is rotating so fast that if sped up by just ten percent it would spin to pieces. The rotation produced significant flattening at the poles of the star.
Brookhaven National Lab
Samuel Aronson, a physicist, has been named Interim Laboratory Director by the Board of Directors of Brookhaven Science Associates which manages BNL. Aronson, who was the Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) for High Energy and Nuclear Physics, will become Interim Director when Praveen Chaudhari steps down at the end of April. "I am very pleased that Sam Aronson has agreed to undertake the responsibility of guiding BNL through this interim period," said Shirley Strum Kenny, Chair of the BSA Board. "He is an outstanding scientist who is widely praised for his leadership on some of the Laboratory's most important high energy and nuclear physics projects, for his chairmanship of the Physics department, and most recently as ALD for shaping the scientific direction of the key High Energy and Nuclear Physics sector of the Laboratory.
{Top}
Events
May 2: "Long Island Software Awards (LISA) 10th Anniversary Celebration"
The LISA awards showcase the strength and diversity of Long Island's software industry. By recognizing excellence in a wide range of software the awards highlight the depth and breadth of the Long Island software developers community. This year Stony Brook President Shirley Strum-Kenny will be honored. 6pm, Garden City Hotel. For more information please visit the LISTnet site at http://www.listnet.org
May 3-6: "Chamber Music Festival With the Emerson String Quartet"
All events are free and located in the Staller Recital Hall unless
indicated otherwise on the festival schedule. To view
the schedule and a listing of the musical events throughout the festival
please visit its website at:
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/music.nsf/pages/piano
May 4-7: "Science and Engineering at Henderson DUSEL Capstone Workshop"
The purpose of this workshop is to provide an opportunity to the DUSEL
community to contribute to the conceptual design of a Deep Underground
Science and Engineering Laboratory at the Henderson Mine in Colorado. The
workshop will be held on campus with all scientific sessions held in the
Student Activities Center auditorium and meeting rooms. For more info and
to register visit the workshop website at:
http://ale.physics.sunysb.edu/husep/Henderson_DUSEL_Capstone/
Provost's Lecture Series
May 1: "The Thought of the Thought of the Thought: Epistemological Interactions"
Dov Samet is the Louise Lea Flack Professor of interactive decision making and game theory at Tel Aviv University. He is the author of dozens of articles on cooperative and non-cooperative game theory and interactive epistemology. He served as the editor in chief of the International Journal of Game Theory and as a vice president of the Society of Game Theory. 4:00 p.m. Wang Center, Lecture Hall 2.
Wine Center
May 4: "The Fundamentals of Wine Styles and Food Pairing"
Come learn the essential information to identify and select appropriate wine styles and their perfect food pairings. Taste and understand the difference between a barrel-fermented chardonnay and one reared in stainless steel. Learn the capacities of differing wine styles to compliment and contrast with various foods. James Christopher Tracy, the winemaker at Channing Daughters Winery will guide you through this dynamic and delicious tasting experience. 6:30–8:00 p.m., $55
To Register: Call Ginny Clancy at (631) 632-9404. Note: You must be 21 or over to participate in winetasting events. Reservations are required for all sessions.
{Top}
Opportunities and Sponsor Information
Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Dissertation Fellowships
With support from Lumina Foundation for Education, ASHE has awarded
26 dissertation fellowships since 2003. This year,
eight to ten dissertation fellowships in the amount
of $14,000 each will be awarded for dissertations focusing on student
access and success in education beyond high school. The Fellowship program
also includes an array of activities designed to promote professional
and academic development of Fellows through an intergenerational community
of scholars. Applications
must be postmarked by May 10, 2006. For more information and
an application please visit:
http://www.ashe.ws/fellowship/aboutfellowship.htm
-Contributed by Peter Baigent, Vice President for Student Affairs and Associate Provost for Enrollment and Retention Management
Extension of the Expiration Date of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grant Funding Opportunity Announcement
The NIH Office of Extramural Research gives notice of the extension of the expiration date for PA-02-109 NIH NRSA Institutional Research Training Grant (T32) which was published May 16, 2002. (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-02-109.html) This announcement will remain active through the May 10, 2006 submission date, after which an updated funding opportunity announcement will be issued. Applicants should use the current PHS 398 application forms and instructions, which are available at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. Please note that Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Stipend and Other Budgetary Levels effective for Fiscal Year 2006 were issued January 9, 2006 as NIH Notice Number: NOT-OD-06-026. Additional information is available at: http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm. Each NIH Institute and Center (IC) has a unique scientific purview and different program goals and initiatives that evolve over time. Prior to preparing an application, it is critical that all applicants consult with appropriate NIH program staff listed in the announcement to obtain current information about IC specific program priorities and policies. An updated list of NIH training contacts is available at: http://grants.nih.gov/training/tac_training_contacts.doc
Upcoming Funding Opportunities
For a complete list of upcoming deadlines, please go to -
http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/fndopp/deadlcal.html
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. 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.
Change in NIH PI Signature Policy
Effective May 10, 2006, NIH is implementing a change regarding the signature of the Principal Investigator (PI) as a part of applications, post-submission information, progress reports, and post-award prior approval requests and the corresponding implementation of a new Institutional compliance requirement to secure and retain the PI signature as part of the institutional review/approval process. The signature of the Principal Investigator will no longer be required as a part of a submitted application. Instead, a new compliance requirement is now implemented whereby the applicant organization agrees to secure and retain at the organization a written assurance from the Principal Investigator (PI) prior to submitting an application to the PHS. While this assurance is no longer required as part of the submitted application, it remains a compliance requirement. Therefore, organizations must retain a unique signature and date for each submitted application. This assurance must be available to the sponsoring agency or other authorized HHS or Federal officials upon request. Such an assurance must include at least the following certifications: (1) that the information submitted within the application is true, complete and accurate to the best of the PI's knowledge; (2) that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may subject the PI to criminal, civil, or administrative penalties; and (3) that the PI agrees to accept responsibility for the scientific conduct of the project and to provide the required progress reports if a grant is awarded as a result of the application. When multiple PIs are proposed in an application, this assurance must be retained for all named PIs.
The Office of Sponsored Programs will be ensuring that NIH proposals
are compliant with this requirement by modifying the certification
section (page 4) on the SB299 (aka "4 page form") for all
proposals. Effective immediately, please utilize the
updated version of the SB299, which can be accessed at the below link.
If you have already obtained signatures on the old version of the
SB299, OSP will honor that form prior to 5/10/06. Should you have
any questions please contact Ivar Strand, Assistant Vice-President,
Office of Sponsored Programs at 2-4402, and via e-mail at IStrand@notes.cc.sunysb.edu.
http://www.stonybrook.edu/research/forms/ors/susb299.html
eRA Commons Support via the Web
We encourage you to take advantage of NIH's new web support at http://ithelpdesk.nih.gov/eRA/.
When requesting support please provide your eRA Commons username and contact
information, Grants.gov tracking number and your specific questions.
Recent NIH Guide notices related to e-Submission
• **IMPORTANT** Change in Business Process Concerning
eRA Commons Verification of Electronically Submitted Applications - Effective
for applications submitted for May 10, 2006 and beyond, NIH will no longer require
the verification of the grant application by the AOR/SO and PD/PI. The verification
step will be replaced with a two business day period for checking the assembled
application in eRA Commons, after which the submission process will be complete
and the application will automatically move forward to the Division of Receipt
and Referral, Center for Scientific Review. Within the two day period, the AOR/SO
will have the ability to “Reject” the application and stop further processing.
Additional details can be found in the April
7, 2006, NOT-OD-06-055 Guide notice.
• Interim Changes to the SF424 (R&R) Instructions - Includes latest policy
changes and clarifications, including change in verification requirement, publications
as appendix material, implementing multi-PI, how to include select agents information,
change in submission deadline, and more. See April
7, 2006, NOT-OD-06-057 Guide notice.
• New Electronic Application Deadline-Life in the electronic lane just got a
little easier. Now your deadline for submitting your application to Grants.gov is
5:00 p.m. your local time, NOT 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. See the March
16, 2006, Guide notice.
• How to send electronic appendices- Rules for appendices have changed starting
with the May 10, 2006, submission date. Here are the key points:
- Publications in press. Do not include entire articles. Make a list and link
to the online journal articles or NIH
PubMed Central identification numbers.
- Manuscripts accepted for publication but not yet published. You may submit
entire articles as a PDF attachment.
- Published manuscripts without an online journal link. Same as above -- attach
a PDF.
{Top}
Essential Policies, Procedures and Resources
Rules and Regulation for RF Summer Employment Positions
Vital Research Foundation rules and regulations regarding the temporary summer employment of RF faculty and project aids in any capacity may be viewed online at the HR Website at:
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Admin/HRS.nsf/pages/HRS_Focus_SummerEmployment
Summer salary info for 9 month faculty is included in a link here.
The official begin date for summer employment Is May 22. These regulations may directly affect your ability to hire and retain RF Faculty, Project Aides, undergrads and graduate students over the summer semester. Please check through all of the appropriate rules and regulations concerning this.
-Contributed by Rick Sadetsky (richard.sadetsky@stonybrook.edu), Human Resource Services
Microsoft Word and Anonymous Peer Review
The Chronicle of Higher Education pointed out in the April 7 issue that Microsoft Word can compromise the process of reviewing publications anonymously. Word keeps track of who authored a document and who has edited it by extracting information from users' computers. The author tag may be seen by pulling down the "File" menu, clicking on "Properties," and selecting the "Summary" tab. The info can be removed manually in the summary tab or by setting the security options (in Tools>Options>Security in Windows and Word>Preferences>Security on the Mac) to "Remove personal Information.”
{Top}
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/index2.html.
{Top}