Global Food Systems Initiative Insights
Over the last few years, K-State’s Global Food Systems Initiative has been busy developing information to share with faculty, students, industry, colleagues and anyone who is interested in learning more about research here at K-State. Our goal is to promote an understanding of research carried out in and between various colleges and departments and to inform researchers how they can collaborate to tackle major challenges in the sustainable production and distribution of food needed to supply food locally, regionally and nationally.
Some of you may be familiar with the GFS Seed Grant Program, which encourages research that is interdisciplinary and industry supported. You can find presentations on these research projects on the GFS website to share with students, faculty, industry and others.
As part of the Seed Grant Program, we publish feature stories about K-State graduate students to highlight them personally and their work on seed grant projects. Read about these students and their research.
We also host our own podcast, “Something to Chew On,” featuring a wide variety of K-State researchers, with the goal of helping you learn more about your colleagues personally and the research they are doing that impacts the food system. Listen to the podcast today and learn more about what is happening around you and where collaboration could develop.
— Maureen Olewnik
Global Food Systems research coordinator
molewnik@k-state.edu
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K-State events and announcements | |
Thursdays@3 Lab Tours — College of Engineering Advanced Wastewater Treatment and Resource Recovery Research Lab | |
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3 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 10
2154 Fiedler Hall
The college of engineering invites the research community to attend hour-long come-and-go laboratory tours to exhibit the capabilities of college facilities as well as foster collaboration within the Kansas State University research community.
Prathap Parameswaran, associate professor of civil engineering, will open his advanced wastewater treatment and resource recovery research laboratory for a tour at 3 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 10 in 2154 Fiedler Hall.
Parameswaran’s research interests pertain to all aspects of biological wastewater treatment and sustainable resource recovery from wastes using novel environmental biotechnology platforms. Parameswaran’s laboratory is equipped to perform experiments for fundamental and applied studies on several anaerobic biotechnologies, including anaerobic digestion, Nutrient and Resource recovery, indirect and direct potable water reuse technologies, targeted fermentations, and conventional and microbial electrochemical technologies for value added product synthesis and sensor applications in agricultural and contaminated soils and waters. The laboratory also has equipment to operate long term anaerobic reactors and the analytical diagnostic instruments such as: gas chromatograph equipped with a thermal conductivity detector (Shimadzu GC-2010), high pressure liquid chromatography (Shimadzu SPD 20A) with Photo Diode Array and Refractive Index Detector, liquid TOC and DOC analyzer (TOC-L ONM-L, Shimadzu), HORIBA Aqualog fluorometer with EEMS Parafac analysis capability, Ion Chromatograph with both simultaneous cation and anion analysis for each sample (ICS-5000; Thermo Fisher Scientific), and UV-Vis spectrophotometer, HACH DR-3900 Spectrophotometer.
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DARPA Forward is taking national security innovation on the road.
From August to December 2022, six regional events held at leading research and development universities nationwide will connect Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency leaders with new communities of talent and partnerships. The ultimate goal: to energize regional and national innovation ecosystems, fuel breakthroughs in national security and help deliver the U.S. technological advantage.
Virtual events will be hosted by the Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab. Upcoming events will be held:
- November 15-16.
- December 13-14.
For more information or directions, please contact Jeffrey Sheldon jsheldon@k-state.edu.
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CNAP COBRE Center soliciting proposals for pilot grant programs | |
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The CNAP COBRE center at Kansas State University is soliciting applications for pilot grants that will begin on June 1, 2023. The grants are open to all faculty with appointments at higher education institutions within the state of Kansas, although early and mid-career faculty will be prioritized for funding.
Proposed pilot grants should seek to enhance neuroscience research in the state of Kansas and/or fit within CNAP’s theme of cognitive and neural plasticity. The center funds basic, translational and clinical research in humans and animals from a wide range of disciplines (e.g., animal behavior, biology, pharmacology, veterinary medicine, cognitive science, human factors, kinesiology, human nutrition, computer science and engineering).
Applicants are encouraged to submit a letter of intent by 5 p.m. CST on Wednesday, Feb.1, 2023. This is highly recommended to ensure that your grant can be reviewed in a timely manner. Applications should be submitted by the applicant’s research office and are due by 5 p.m. CST on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
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External events and announcements | |
Request for Applications
KL2 Mentored Career Development Award
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Key dates
Letters of Intent due: November 11, 2022
Full Applications due: January 30, 2023
Summer 2023 Appointment
Anticipated start date: July 1, 2023
Program summary
Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Kansas invites applicants from all Frontiers partner institutions to apply to the Frontiers Clinical and Translational Research KL2 Mentored Career Development Award. The KL2 award is specifically designed to foster the development of junior investigators interested in conducting groundbreaking clinical and translational research. Frontiers is wholly committed to attracting and welcoming diverse early-stage researchers to its institutions. Researchers from underrepresented communities in academia are strongly encouraged to apply.
Program benefits
- Salary support for up to 75% protected time dedicated to clinical and translational research.
- Two years of training in a collaborative, supportive environment Intensive mentored research experience.
- Formal training in clinical and translational research.
- About $20,000 per year in research funds.
- Assistance toward securing independent funding by the end of year 2.
Interested applicants should submit the following documents on the Frontiers website.
The committee will notify individuals by December 2, 2022, to submit full applications.
Questions regarding the application process can be sent to Tresza Hutcheson at thutcheson@kumc.edu.
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11 a.m.
Monday, November 14
Join this informational webinar to learn more about the NSF's Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers, or IUCRC, program. The IUCRC program catalyzes breakthrough pre-competitive research by enabling close and sustained engagement between industry innovators, world-class academic teams, and government agencies.
Register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Request reasonable accommodations by emailing rarequest@nsf.gov in advance.
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NSF-NSTC Workshop on Advanced Chip Engineering Design and Fabrication | |
NSF DBI Virtual Office Hours: Broadening Participation Programs | |
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2-3 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 15
Please join the Division of Biological Infrastructure for their monthly Virtual Office Hour. Program Officers will introduce programs focused on broadening participation, including Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates in Biological Sciences, or RaMP, Research Coordination Networks for Undergraduate Biology Education, or RCN-UBE, and Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology, or BRC-BIO, and discuss recent updates to the relevant solicitations. They will also provide tips on how to write great RaMP, RCN-UBE, and BRC-BIO proposals. It is an opportunity to raise questions and communicate directly with program officers in your field.
Please register in advance for the webinar.
There will be a 30-minute presentation, followed by an open Q&A session with Program Officers.
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NSF IIS Office Hours: Open Question and Answer; Ask Anything IIS-related | |
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Noon-1p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 17
During this office hour, the Division Director and Deputy Division Director will answer audience IIS-related questions. The IIS Office Hours are for researchers interested in learning about programs and policies in the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, or IIS, in the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate, or CISE, at NSF. Office Hours are designed to give current and potential investigators a window into IIS. Attendance at office hours is voluntary and designed to help investigators gain information that can help them strengthen their proposals. Short summaries will be posted after each session. Sessions will be closed-captioned.
Register in advance for this webinar.
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Frontiers Professional Development Opportunity | |
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Frontiers is currently looking for speakers for the next Frontiers Informatics Meetup and would be honored if you would like to sign up to give a presentation.
Contact dataconcierge@kumc.edu
or visit Frontiers Informatics SharePoint Site
The Frontiers Informatics Meetups are designed to engage researchers around the greater Kansas City area with a common interest in data-driven clinical informatics research.
"Frontiers: University of Kansas Clinical and Translational Science Institute (KU CTSI) informatics provides capabilities and expertise for clinical investigators/researchers and other health professionals in software engineering, data warehousing, integrating research and recruitment within Epic, data management and administration of clinical trial and electronic data capture systems. Frontiers works with internal and external partners for consultation, training and access to tools enabling research data collection.
The next meetup is 4-6 p.m. Dec. 15
Join by Zoom meeting
Learn more about Frontiers Informatics.
Please register to attend each Frontiers Informatics Meetup.
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21st Annual K-INBRE Symposium | |
K-State research in the news | |
Agency news and trending topics | |
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A team of University of Minnesota Twin Cities scientists and engineers has developed a first-of-its-kind, plant-inspired process that enables synthetic material growth. The new approach will allow researchers to build better soft robots that can navigate hard-to-reach places, complicated terrain and, potentially, areas within the human body. NSF
Performing open bypass surgery to restore circulation for people with a severe form of peripheral artery disease (PAD) – a condition that limits blood flow to the legs and feet – resulted in better outcomes for specific patients compared to a less-invasive procedure, a National Institutes of Health-supported clinical research trial has found. NIH
The Fibonacci Numbers Hiding in Strange Spaces
Fourteen years ago, the mathematicians Dusa McDuff and Felix Schlenk stumbled upon a hidden geometric garden that is only now beginning to flower. The pair were interested in a certain kind of oblong shape, one that could be squeezed and folded up in very particular ways and stuffed inside a ball. They wondered: For a certain shape, how big does the ball need to be? Wired
Pioneering urban ecology finds surprising biodiversity in Berlin’s green spaces
A modest cemetery in the heart of this 3.6-million-strong capital city is hardly a likely nature haven. Yet it was here in the Domfriedhof, in Berlin’s Mitte district, that Anita Grossmann, an ecologist at the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin), turned up 19 wild bee species in a single parched and untended patch of grasses and flowers on the graveyard’s edge. Science
US mid-term elections: 3 ways science is on the line
US voters head to the polls tomorrow to choose their representatives for Congress, and the results could have consequences for the science agenda laid out by President Joe Biden and his Democratic party. With recent polling favouring Republicans to take control of the House of Representatives and perhaps the Senate, researchers are anticipating reductions in science funding, a renewed focus on research security and heightened congressional scrutiny of science programmes being rolled out by the Biden administration. Nature
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The Communications and Marketing Specialist is primarily responsible for supporting the marketing and communications efforts of various K-State Innovation Partners initiatives including, but not limited to, the K-State Innovation Partners technology licensing, corporate engagement, entrepreneurship, economic development and Knowledge Based Economic Development partnership activities. The specialist works closely with the Chief Corporate Engagement and Economic Development Officer and Innovation Partners Leadership Team to design a wide range of media including flyers, brochures, posters, reports, presentations, videos, and designs for web-based publications. This position will also work closely with the Office of the Vice President for Research Director of Strategic Research Communications to ensure alignment with the OVPR communications strategies. The specialist will also lead Innovation Partners’ social media strategy and implementation, and draft press releases and other communications.
Learn more and apply.
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This position does typical hardware and software support and also oversees the cloud-based tools that are extensively used across the OVPR and University. It provides strategic value on business continuity by maintaining existing systems while identifying potential new software solutions. This position is instrumental in the development and implementation of new software and technology solutions to support university research demands. The position leads the technical requirements for several new Software As A Service, or SAAS, solutions and works closely with vendors, such as Microsoft. The position has responsibility for ensuring appropriate security standards for all systems within the central research enterprise and must work collaboratively across the university, particularly with central IT areas, and with external vendors to ensure critical controls are maintained while driving the project to successful completion.
Learn more and apply.
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k-state.edu/research
researchweekly@k-state.edu
785.532.5110
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