The Microbial Innovations for Climate-Resilient Agriculture, or MICRA, an NSF funded Focused EPSCoR Collaboration project, is accepting now applications for its Career Seed Grant.



The grant provides funds to build and boost the research career of Kansas State University assistant professors in the area of climate resilient agriculture in the Central High Plains by providing up to $10,000 funds for research, professional development and/or professional travel. Awarded funds should be spent within 12 months.

Applicants must be a tenure-track assistant professor or a non-tenure track research assistant professor with a home department in the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, the College of Agriculture or the College of Arts and Sciences and have an official research appointment.

Please apply through the online link. 

Applications are due June 15. 

The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Summer Stipends program supports continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months. NEH funds may support recipients’ compensation, travel, and other costs related to the proposed scholarly research. This is a limited submission; thus, if you are interested in submitting to this program you must notify (working title and a short, two to three sentence synopsis of your project) the Office of Research Development by August 2, 2024 via ordlimitedsubs@ksu.edu. If two or more faculty members notify by this date, an internal competition will be held with preproposals due by August 16, 2024.

This program’s anticipated due date to NEH is September 18, 2024. The new 2024 application should be available on the NEH website by June 18. Typically, NEH hosts a webinar for this program in mid-August, but due to the changes NEH is making to this program the webinar will be May 15 at 1-2 p.m. CT. Again, remember that to apply to this program, you must first go through the internal process outlined above because K-State can only nominate one tenure-track/tenured faculty to apply to this program. However, non-tenure track faculty may apply without nomination and without going through this process, but the Office of Research Development (ord@ksu.edu) would like to know in this case if you will be submitting.

The Office of Research Development will again offer a month-long writing clinic that will use an iterative process to help interested faculty members develop and refine their submissions for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipends program. This clinic is based on the approach ORD has successfully offered for the National Science Foundation CAREER opportunity and has used for the last four years for the NEH Summer Stipends program.

The Writing Clinic steps will be as follows:

1. Prewriting Questions – submit by July 8; group meeting week of July 8.
2. Significance and contribution section as well as the Organization and methods section– based on answers to prewriting questions – submit by July 15; group meeting week of July 15
3. Competencies, skills and access; final product and dissemination sections as well as the work plan (1 page) and bibliography – submit by July 22; group meeting week of July 22
4. Full 3-page narrative section, 1 page work plan and resume – submit by July 29; group meeting week of July 29.

We will meet once a week via zoom to review and discuss the writing assignments. Participants agree to take part in all sessions and complete the assignments of the clinic.

If you are interested in participating in this Writing Clinic please send an email stating your interest to ord@ksu.edu by June 26. Please use “Summer Stipends” on the email subject line.

NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli praises the recent release of the United States Government Policy for Oversight of Dual Use Research of Concern and Pathogens with Enhanced Pandemic Potential and its role in bolstering research capabilities and collaborations.

Read the full statement here.

You’re invited to take part in a short survey to assist with NIFA’s Grants Modernization Initiative (GMI). Your participation in this survey is a crucial component in ensuring that our GMI is successful and that we can work to improve your experience over time. No matter where you fit into the NIFA grants management process, we want this to work for you!

This survey is designed to take less than 10 minutes to complete.

Take the survey.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science monthly virtual office hours are opportunities to share information and ask questions about our six research programs and two research and development and production offices. Researchers at all institutions are welcome to attend and learn more about our programs. Topics will vary each month.

Learn more about the programs, dates and times using the links provided below:

• Advanced Scientific Computing Research 
• Basic Energy Sciences 
• Biological and Environmental Research 
• Fusion Energy Sciences 
• High Energy Physics 
• Nuclear Physics 
• Accelerator R&D and Production 
• Isotope R&D and Production 

The office hour will be in the form of a zoom meeting, starting with a brief presentation on the monthly topic, followed by questions. 

Are you interested in serving as a reviewer for the Linguistics Program and/or the NSF Dynamic Language Infrastructure - NEH Documenting Endangered Languages Program?

We want to hear from you! Help us learn more about you and your area of expertise by taking a short survey.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking subject matter experts to serve as peer reviewers to evaluate grant applications for the Fiscal Year 2024 grant cycle. AMS grant peer reviews bring together diverse individuals who provide fair, expert, and unbiased evaluations of grant applications. Reviewing applications will take approximately 6 weeks and non-federal reviewers will be compensated for their reviews.  

Current Programs Seeking Peer Reviewers:

• Acer Access and Development Program (Acer)
• Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP)
• Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP)
• Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP)
• Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP)

Learn more here.

May 9, 2024, 1 – 2:30 p.m.

NSF program directors will provide information on the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program solicitation NSF 22-586. The NSF-wide CAREER program supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Register here.

May 9, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m.

May 20, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov

The AccelNet Program Team is hosting a series of virtual Office Hours aimed at giving potential PIs an opportunity to ask questions about the AccelNet 2024 solicitation.

We will be holding a series of sessions starting May 6, 2024 and ending on May 23, 2024, during which any questions about the Program can be asked and discussed. 

More information and Zoom links can be found here.

May 15, 2024, 1 – 2 p.m.

You are cordially invited to join a Virtual Office Hour with National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) Program Directors about the Dear Colleague Letter requesting information on future directions for developing the geoscience workforce, specifically updating the GEOPAths Program.

May 9, 2024, 1 - 2 p.m.

The Computing in Undergraduate Education program is providing information on the newly revised solicitation and connection with the recently published EducateAI Dear Colleague Letter.

Learn more and register here.

Call for Nominations for the 2025 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award

Dear Colleagues,



The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science invites nominations for the 2025 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, one of the longest running and most prestigious science and technology awards given by the U.S. government. The Lawrence Award is presented by the Secretary of Energy to honor mid-career U.S. scientists and engineers for exceptional technical contributions and achievements in research and development supporting DOE’s mission and its programs to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.

Awards will be considered in each of the following nine categories: Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Sciences; Biological and Environmental Sciences; Computer, Information, and Knowledge Sciences; Condensed Matter and Materials Sciences; Energy Science and Innovation; Fusion and Plasma Sciences; High Energy Physics; National Security and Nonproliferation; and Nuclear Physics.

The deadline to submit a nomination is Thursday, May 9, 2024, 4 p.m. Nominations must include statements summarizing the candidate’s achievements and connection to DOE support, three to six letters of support, a curriculum vitae, and a short bibliography. An independent panel of eminent experts will be convened by DOE to review nominations in each award category and inform award recommendation(s) submitted to the Secretary of Energy. Final award selections are made by the Secretary of Energy. Each Lawrence Award category award winner receives a citation signed by the Secretary, a gold-plated medal bearing the likeness of Ernest O. Lawrence, and a $20,000 honorarium. In the event the award is given to more than one individual within an award category, the recipients share the honorarium equally. To read nomination guidelines and submit a nomination visit Lawrence Award Nomination & Selection Guidelines.

The Lawrence Award was established in 1959 to honor the memory of the late E.O. Lawrence, who won the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the cyclotron (a particle accelerator) and after whom two DOE national laboratories, one in Berkeley and the other in Livermore, California, are named. Office of Science Administers the Lawrence Award on behalf of the Department of Energy. DOE encourages nominations of individuals from underrepresented groups and is committed to fostering safe, diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible work, research, and funding environments. Read the Office of Science’s Statement of Commitment for more information.

Please consider nominating a colleague and encouraging nominations by sharing this letter broadly with colleagues and professional networks. Thank you for your help with this important award program.

Questions may be addressed to Kaitlyn (Katie) Schroeder-Spain, Ph.D., Lawrence Award Program Manager, at SCLawrence.Award@science.doe.gov. 

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in association with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), launched a program in 2023 to provide training and resources for the Innovator to Entrepreneur Program (ITEP).

An ITEP informational webinar will be held on May 10, 2024, at 1 p.m.

Registration is now open.

ITEP will assist aspiring entrepreneurs by providing cohort-based comprehensive training that covers the key elements of company launch, business strategy development, intellectual property protection, market research and customer discovery, startup financing, and small business innovation research (SBIR)/small business technology transfer (STTR) grantsmanship.

This training will be provided at no cost to all program participants. To be eligible for the program, participants must meet the following criteria:

• Have little to no previous experience in entrepreneurship
• Have not previously received an NIH SBIR/STTR award
• Develop products that are within the scope of NIAID and NHLBI areas of interest

This program will begin accepting applications for the second cohort of ITEP participation in May 2024.

For questions regarding the NIAID-ITEP Program, please contact:

Mr. Reda El Alami, reda.elalami@ForesightST.com

May 13, 2024, 12 - 1 p.m.

Join us for DEB’s next Virtual Office Hour: CAREER Solicitation. DEB Program Officers will be discussing the CAREER Solicitation.

Register here.

May 14, 2024, 12. – 1 p.m.

June 11, 2024, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

July 9, 2024, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov

Please join this Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Q&A webinar to learn about the PFI program. During the webinar, you will have the opportunity to ask questions about the PFI program and what to expect for the submission deadline.

May 14, 2024, 1 - 2 p.m.

June 6, 2024, 1 - 2 p.m.

June 20, 2024, 1 - 2 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov

Join this open-ended session to ask questions about what’s needed when creating a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) proposal. A SBIR/STTR program director will answer questions and point you to resources.

Register here.

May 13, 2024, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m.

The Artificial Intelligence, Formal Methods, and Mathematical Reasoning (AIMing) program will hold an open virtual office hour to answer questions about the solicitation. This is intended to complement the previous informational AIMing webinar

Register here.

Decision, Risk and Management Sciences Office Hour

May 15, 2024, 1 – 2 p.m.

June 19, 2024, 1 – 2 p.m.



Please join the Decision Risk Management Sciences office hour to discuss questions about the program with the program directors. 



To join, use the Decision Risk Management Sciences office hour Zoom link

• All meetings during office hours are 1-on-1. Guests are seen in the order they join. You may have to wait if others join before you.
• If you need captions or other accommodations, please contact Claudia Gonzalez-Vallejo or Bob O'Connor in advance. 

For more information about the program, visit the Decision Risk Management Sciences program page.

May 15, 2024, 1 - 2 p.m.

Welcome to the Science of Science: Discovery, Communication, and Impact office hours. We understand that applying for an award can be a daunting process filled with questions and uncertainties. To assist you and provide insight into the program, we are hosting office hours. 

More information can be found here.

May 15, 2024, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.



The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

The workshop is intended to provide guidance and mentorship to prospective CAREER applicants to the NSF Directorate for STEM Education. It will serve as an opportunity for participants to gain a better understanding of the program, including eligibility requirements, the application process, and outcomes of past CAREER awardees, and for participants to interact with other applicants, former awardees, and NSF program officers.



Register here.

The National Endowment for the Humanities will hold a Summer Stipends webinar on Wednesday, May 15 at 1 - 2 p.m. CT. This webinar will be important to attend if you are interested in applying to this program because NEH has made several substantial changes to the program including to eligibility, increasing the stipends from $6,000 to $8,000 and reducing the number of nominations an institution can make from two to only one. If you are unable to attend this webinar, NEH typically includes a YouTube video of its annual webinar on its Summer Stipends website.

May 15, 2024, 1 – 2 p.m.

You are cordially invited to join a Virtual Office Hour with National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) Program Directors about the Dear Colleague Letter requesting information on future directions for developing the geoscience workforce, specifically updating the GEOPAths Program.

Join us Thursday, May 16, from 12 - 2 p.m. for K-INBRE's virtual Spring 2024 Grant Writing Webinar "Time to Get Funded: Crafting A Competitive NIH Grant Application". The webinar will feature K-INBRE Principal Investigator Professor in Anesthesiology, Pain, and Perioperative Medicine Doug Wright.

Please register to attend the event.

If you have any questions, please contact Heiata Chapman, hchapman@kumc.edu, or Clare Frantz, cfrantz2@kumc.edu.

May 17, 2024, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Join Germano Iannacchione, Director of NSF's Division of Materials Research, and DMR Program Directors for our monthly Zoom office hour and Q&A session. May's Open Hour will focus on the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) solicitation.

Register here.

May 20, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

June 17, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov



ExpandAI office hours are provided for your convenience. NSF Program Directors representing different categories of MSIs will be available on the days and times listed to answer your questions about the program.

More information and Zoom links can be found here.

May 21, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

June 18, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

July 16, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov.

Representatives from across the division will be available to discuss specific programs and funding opportunities. There will then be an open question and answer period – questions can be on any NSF or DBI topic. Join us remotely and bring your questions!

Register here.

May 21, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

June 18, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.



The NSF Engineering for Civil Infrastructure (ECI) program is hosting virtual office hours for early career faculty planning to submit proposals to the Faculty Early Career Development Program by the July 24, 2024, deadline. The ECI program is a core, unsolicited research program.

More information and a Zoom link can be found here.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is hosting a virtual grant writing webinar series: Debuting Your Research Career: How to Plan for and Write Your First (or Next) NIH Grant Application. This monthly webinar series is free and open to all to pre- and post-doctoral fellows, clinician-scientists, as well as early-stage and mid-career research investigators.

The series will provide information on the funding opportunities for early career researchers at NIAID, navigating the F, K, DP2 and R38/K38 awards, and understanding the peer review process.

Dates and Topics:

• May 23, 2024: Developing your candidate information section and research strategy for F and K awards
• June 20, 2024: Navigating NIH to prepare your grant application – DP2/R38/K38 awards
• July 18, 2024: Understanding the Peer Review process

Register here.

May 23, 2024, 6 – 7 p.m.

July 25, 2024, 6 – 7 p.m.

See additional dates and times on nsf.gov



Join this question-and-answer session to learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by the National Science Foundation. A Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer program director will answer questions about how to get started, the basics of eligibility and what they look for when they review project pitches.

Register here.

The Cybersecurity Workforce Data Initiative (CWDI), mandated by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and led by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), is assessing the feasibility of producing national estimates on the U.S. cybersecurity workforce. As part of this effort, CWDI is holding three virtual workshops in 2024. Through these workshops, the public has the opportunity to provide input that will shape a possible future federal data collection on the U.S. cybersecurity workforce. Taking place in May and June 2024, these workshops will address three broad themes:

• May 23, 2024, 12 - 2 p.m. - Understanding the Knowledge Gaps: What Do We Need to Learn about the Cybersecurity Workforce?
• June 11, 2024, 12 - 2 p.m. - Aligning the Supply and Demand of Cybersecurity Professionals

Registration is now open.

The Frontiers CTSA TL1 Postdoctoral Program is a prestigious training opportunity designed to cultivate a diverse and skilled cadre of postdoctoral translational researchers. Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), the TL1 Program provides trainees with the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to drive innovative and impactful clinical and translational research. Through a combination of mentorship, education, and hands-on research experience, the program aims to foster a culture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation among its trainees, ultimately leading to improvements in health outcomes for individuals and communities.

Important Dates:

Applications Due: May 29, 2024, at 5 p.m.

Applicant Notification: June 17, 2024

Start Date: July 1, 2024

Program Benefits:

• Up to 2 Years of Training and Support

• Competitive Stipend and Research Project Expenses

• Childcare support

• Intensive Mentored Research Experience

• Formal Training in Clinical and Translational Research

• Tuition Remission for MS-Clinical Research Coursework.

• Additional Travel Support

Learn more and apply here.

May 30, 2024, 12 - 1 p.m.

The grant writing process can be daunting for early career scientists. In this webinar, we will have experts share their insights and experience on structuring the grant, the writing process, and building a compelling narrative. Questions from the audience as well as prepared questions will be addressed by the speakers. This zoom webinar is free and open to the public.

Register now!

For more information and to learn about future events, please visit the BES ECN events page.

The U.S. National Science Foundation will host the Spring 2024 NSF Grants Conference from June 3 – 5, 2024 in Philadelphia, PA. The conference is making an eagerly anticipated transition to a hybrid event.

Registration will open on Wednesday, March 6, at 11 a.m. for in-person and virtual participation. We anticipate in-person registration will sell out quickly, so be prepared to register as soon as possible.

More information can be found here.

June 6, 2024, 3 - 4 p.m.



Join NSF program directors from the Division of Research, Innovation, Synergies and Education in the Directorate for Geosciences regarding the new Focus on Recruiting Emerging Climate and Adaptation Scientists and Transformers (FORECAST) program in a virtual webinar to learn more about this new opportunity.

The FORECAST program seeks to facilitate transitions from status-quo graduate career preparation to student-centered models with an emphasis on building entrepreneurial and innovation capacity through intentional professional development activities. Focused on developing cohorts of innovative scholars from emerging research institutions and groups historically excluded in STEM, FORECAST should help develop STEM talent adept in community resilience and the translation of research outcomes for societal benefits.

Register here.

June 7, 2024, 1 - 2 p.m.

Representatives from NSF's Division of Enterprise Services will hold a technical webinar on system-related information to assist with CAREER proposal submission. This webinar will include a review of the system-related requirements in the CAREER proposal submission timeline guidance.

We invite you to submit your scientific images to be displayed in a professional art exhibition and then auctioned to support STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) programs in our region.

Your submission will ignite curiosity, inspire creativity, and support educational initiatives that empower future generations in STEAM fields.

How the program works:

1. Submit high-resolution artwork by Friday, June 7.

2. Artwork is selected by professional curators

3. Selected applicants will be notified in early July.

4. Chosen artwork will be:

• Professionally printed and framed
• Featured online and in the 2024 Science2Art video
• Featured in Science2Art exhibit at Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, MO

5. Auctioned online at BioNexusKC.org and at Annual Event in Fall 2024.

For more information or to submit artwork, visit the BioNexus KC website.

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the U.S. National Science Foundation has issued a Request for Information on Use Cases to Inform a Future National Secure Data Service (NSDS) via its America's DataHub Consortium (ADC). This RFI encourages response from a broad and diverse group of communities, including but not limited to individuals and organizations that conduct work in research, policy, program, and education. The goal is to gather current and anticipated research, policy, program, and education use cases for a National Secure Data Service, and to also identify current and anticipated challenges and barriers that could be addressed through the use of an NSDS.

Responses are due by June 14, 2024.

NASA invites applications for the 5th annual course of the Spaceflight Technology, Applications, and Research (STAR) virtual training focused on the science and technology behind biological experiments in space. STAR is designed to encourage networking and collaborations in spaceflight technologies, applications, and research across all areas interested in space and biological sciences.

This course aims to facilitate the entry of researchers into space biology and preparation for spaceflight experiments using NASA and commercial platforms. The STAR course will cover both fundamental and applied aspects of the field of space biology, as well as practical aspects of preparing for, conducting, and analyzing the results of spaceflight experiments. See the STAR Program website for more information.

Responses must be submitted electronically using the NSPIRES web site before June 28, 2024. STAR-5 is open to all eligible individuals based on eligibility as outlined in Section III in the RFI.

Submitting a STAR application does not guarantee course acceptance. The course will take place virtually from September 2024 – February 2025 with sessions held weekly for two hours each.

STAR-5 questions will be accepted by email only and must be addressed to the STAR Management Team (Egle Cekanaviciute at NASA Ames and Ursula Koniges at NASA Headquarters) HQ-STAR-Management@mail.nasa.gov using a subject line that states “STAR-5 Application”.

Machine Learning Study Offers Clues to Why Some People Have Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain Without Inflammation

The findings suggest that in some people with RA, the joint lining may direct the growth of pain-sensing neurons to cause pain in the absence of inflammation. This discovery, made possible with the help of machine learning, suggests potential new ways to treat this painful disease. NIH Director's Blog

5 ways to make citizen science a year-round passion

Less than a decade ago, SciStarter launched Citizen Science Day, which is dedicated to increasing awareness of citizen science and connecting volunteers to scientific projects in which they can participate. Citizen science is open to all individuals who want to contribute to and accelerate scientific research and discoveries. Public engagement in science opens new research avenues, brings diverse perspectives and skill sets to research, and allows everyone to deepen their understanding and appreciation for science. NSF

Endurance exercise affects all tissues of the body, even those not normally associated with movement

A large research project in young adult rats has found that that all bodily tissues tested respond to exercise training, amounting to over 35,000 biological molecules that respond and adapt to endurance exercise over time, including tissues from organs not usually associated with exercise. NIH

NIH-funded clinical trial links frequent anger to increased risk of heart disease

Recurring feelings of anger may increase a person’s risk of developing heart disease by limiting the blood vessels’ ability to open, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, shows for the first time that anger is linked to this vascular impairment — a precursor to the kind of long-term damage that can lead to heart attack and stroke. NIH

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