School of Engineering Education

ENE Memo: August 12, 2013

From the Head: 8/12

Daring Greatly

As we enter the tenth year of ENE, I encourage everyone to become more aware of the history and origins of our school and its progenitors, freshman engineering and the interdisciplinary engineering program. In our cumulative 60-year journey thus far, many individuals and groups have had not only to have vision and imagination but also to demonstrate considerable courage and tenacity in order to turn ideas into reality. This has been especially so over the past decade during the creation and formative development of ENE. 
 
In a speech on "Citizenship in the Republic" given at the Sorbonne in 1910, Teddy Roosevelt spoke of the courage needed to dare greatly. The following section of the speech is often referred to the "man the arena." I have updated the language to be gender-neutral.
 
"It is not the critic who counts; not the person who points out how the strong person stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if s/he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
 
While this will be a year of celebration marking the first decade of ENE and acknowledging the foundational heritage of our progenitors, it is also a time to reflect upon the courage and tenacity that will be needed to navigate our second decade. 
 
As an academic unit and a community of non-conventional thinking, we must continue to "dare greatly" if we are to realize the full potential of our founding idea. In coming weeks, months and years we will be challenged on many fronts. We will have to try new things. Individually and collectively we will occasionally make some missteps or even stumble. We will have our critics. We will also share great successes and transformative moments.
 
This week we welcome four new faculty and several new staffs member to ENE. We are entering the next, exciting phase of the history of our school. While Roosevelt's gladiatorial metaphor may not provide the most appropriate image, we are part of a very worthy cause that deserves our full commitment and deep engagement.
 
Looking forward to a very rewarding 2013-14.
 
David

Calendar: 8/12

Fall 2013

  • Aug 13: ENE Faculty Advance
  • Aug 14: BGR lunch
  • Aug 14-16: ENE PhD orientation
  • Aug 19: Classes Begin
  • Sept 28: Homecoming & Family Weekend Celebrating 60 Years of FYE at Purdue
  • Oct 20-22: ABET Site Visit
  • Oct 21-25: Green Week at Purdue (Think! No Impact)
  • Nov 8: Engineering Education Industrial Advisory Council (E2IAC) 
  • Nov 9: ENE Friends at the Football
  • Nov 14: Interdisciplinary Engineering Colloquium Celebrating 50 Years of Interdisciplinary Scholarship in Education Education at Purdue

Spring 2014

  • Feb 19: ENE Outstanding Alumni Awards Celebrating 45 Years of  Interdisciplinary Engineering Education
  • April 9: ENE Turns 10: Celebrating a Decade of ENE / Open House and Research Exhibition

Summer 2014

  • June 14: ENE Alums & Friends Reception, IndianapolisInterdisciplinary Engineering Education
  • June 15-18: ASEE Conference, Indianapolis Engineering Education Futures

Kudos: 8/12

...to Bill Oakes (PI), William Graziano (Co-PI), Brent Jesiek (Co-PI), and Carla Zoltowski (Co-PI) on receiving the NSF grant "From Dualism to 'Integration': Investigating Development of Engineering Students' Social and Technical Perceptions." (http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1329225&HistoricalAwards=false). Kudos also to ENE graduate student James Huff for his leading role in developing the grant, which will also in part fund his dissertation research.

Funding Opportunities: 8/12

Dr. Scholl Foundation

The Dr. Scholl Foundation will begin accepting grant applications on November 1, 2013. Dr. Scholl provides financial assistance for projects which help to “improve our world.”  Much of their funding is targeted to programs or innovations which will be made available to the general public, especially disabled or disadvantaged groups. Although not inclusive, the foundation is interested in topics in the following areas:

  • Education
  • Social Service
  • Healthcare
  • Civic and cultural
  • Environmental

Additional information about the Dr. Scholl Foundation can be found at http://www.drschollfoundation.com.

For this opportunity, Purdue may submit only one application system-wide. Therefore, all interested Purdue-affiliated individuals must participate in the internal competition prior to contact with the Dr. Scholl Foundation.

Internal deadlines for this limited submission competition are as follows:

  • Monday, August 26:  Letters of Intent due to the OVPR.
  • Monday, September 16:  Pre-proposals due to the OVPR.
  • Sponsor will accept applications between November 1, 2013 and March 1, 2014.

Please note:  Letters of intent and pre -proposals to the OVPR should be e-mailed to OVPRlimited@purdue.edu.  Purdue's limited submission policy and template for letters of intent may be found at http://www.purdue.edu/research/vpr/rschdev/lsid1.php.  For any case in which the number of internal letters of intent received is no more than the number of proposals allowed by the sponsor, the OVPR will notify the PI that an internal preproposal will be unnecessary.

Selected Funding Opportunities: 

NSF Chemical and Biological Separations (CBS)  The CBS program supports fundamental research on novel methods and materials for separation processes. Research topics of particular interest in CBS include fundamental molecular-level work on: Nanostructured materials for separations; Biorenewable resource separation processes; Purification of drinking water; Field (flow, magnetic, electrical) induced separations; and Separation of molecular constituents from blood.  Deadline: October 29

NIH Collaborative Interdisciplinary Team Science in NIDDK Research  The purpose of this FOA is to encourage applications that assemble an interdisciplinary, collaborative team of creative, independent, and funded investigators to address a complex and important problem relevant to the mission of NIDDK.  The team should be able to provide an integrative plan of working together to effectively address the complex challenge at hand.  The team science approach encouraged by this FOA could be used to generate a research resource, which may include discovery-based or hypothesis-generative approaches, to advance the relevant area of biomedical research.  Deadline: November 15

 

NCIIA Sustainable Vision Grants Competitive Sustainable Vision proposals: 1)create and improve new or existing university courses, certificate programs, minors, majors, and/or extracurricular programs with a focus on technology invention and innovation to address poverty alleviation and basic human needs; 2) result in the formation of multidisciplinary and entrepreneurial E-Teams; and 3) establish a network of faculty and students in the US and beyond who are working to solve large global problems with technology solutions and an entrepreneurial approach.  Deadline: November 8

Limited Submissions:

Letters of intent, preproposals, and rankings to the OVPR should be e-mailed to OVPRlimited@purdue.edu. Purdue's open limited submission competitions, limited submission policy, and template for letters of intent may be found at http://www.purdue.edu/research/vpr/rschdev/lsid1.php. For any case in which the number of internal letters of intent received is no more than the number of proposals allowed by the sponsor, the OVPR will notify the PI that an internal preproposal will be unnecessary.

Limited Submission: HHS-CDC Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers  This FOA will support a network of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers to conduct applied public health prevention research approaches for behavioral interventions, environmental, or systems-wide solutions and strategies that address major causes of disease and disability.  Research activities should focus on addressing underserved, minority, and other populations with diseases, health hazards, and risk factors which are most amenable for health promotion and disease prevention interventions.  For this opportunity, Purdue may submit only one application as either lead institution or as a partnering institution. 

  • Internal Deadline:   Contact OVPRlimited@purdue.edu by August 12
  • Sponsor Deadline: September 16

Funding Resources:

The OVPR website includes a link entitled Funding Resources. This link includes sections containing Internal and External Funding Resources.  Additionally, there is a link for Search Tools and Alerts.    Those who would like assistance in setting up their Pivot E-mail funding alerts may want to take advantage of our tutorial, which may be found on the Search Tools and Alerts link.

The newest issues of Research Development and Grantwriting News are available at: http://www.purdue.edu/research/vpr/rschdev/external.php.

Another resource for corporate and foundation funding opportunities is the University Development Office.  UDO lists funding opportunities here.

REMINDER: OVPR Workshop: Overview of Services of the OVPR and SPS  The Office of the Vice President for Research along with Sponsored Program Services will host a workshop on August 20th entitled “Overview of Services:  OVPR and SPS”.  The workshop will provide an excellent opportunity for new faculty to learn more about Purdue’s policies and processes related to the development, submission, and management of research proposals.  Topics to be covered include:  electronic submission and tracking systems, budget preparation and review, facilities and administration rate (F&A), industrial contracts, award management, project reporting, and research compliance, including human research subjects, animals, rDNA, financial conflicts of interest, export controls, and grant to protocol reviews.  The workshop will be held on August 20 from 11:30AM-1:30PM in Stewart Center, room 218AB. Lunch will be provided so registration is required by Friday, August 16.

OVPR Workshop: NIH Overview: Institute/Center Mission and Strategies  In this workshop focusing on funding strategies to and from the National Institutes of Health, the Office of the Vice President for Research will provide an overview and an update on the various institutes of the NIH.  Knowledge and familiarity with NIH institutes can be a tremendous advantage during the writing, submission and post-review phases of your submission.  We will address the individual missions and plans, as well as possible funding mechanisms and positioning yourself for a successful NIH-funding career.  The NIH Overview: Institute/Center Mission and Strategies workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, September 17th in Stewart Center, Room 310, from 11:30AM-1:00PM, with lunch provided.  The deadline for registration is Thursday, September 12. 

Using ASSIST to Prepare and Submit Multi-Project Applications to NIH: Webinar – August 13  NIH will require electronic submission for all P01, P20, P50 and U19 applications intended for due dates on or after September 25. NIH will hold a webinar to help potential applicants get acquainted with the new system on Tuesday, August 13, from 2:30-4:00 pm EST.  Register here.

As always, we appreciate your sharing this information with your faculty.  Please contact Sue Grimes (sgrimes@purdue.edu), Kristyn Jewell (kristynj@purdue.edu), or Perry Kirkham (pkirkham@purdue.edu)

To suggest content for future issues of ENE Memo, contact David Radcliffe or Lisa Tally by midday Friday for the following week's issue.