research project 489

On theory development in design science research: anatomy of a research project

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• Published: 18 November 2008
• Volume 17 , pages 489–504, ( 2008 )

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• Vijay Vaishnavi 2  

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The common understanding of design science research in information systems (DSRIS) continues to evolve. Only in the broadest terms has there been consensus: that DSRIS involves, in some way, learning through the act of building . However, what is to be built – the definition of the DSRIS artifact – and how it is to be built – the methodology of DSRIS – has drawn increasing discussion in recent years. The relationship of DSRIS to theory continues to make up a significant part of the discussion: how theory should inform DSRIS and whether or not DSRIS can or should be instrumental in developing and refining theory. In this paper, we present the exegesis of a DSRIS research project in which creating a (prescriptive) design theory through the process of developing and testing an information systems artifact is inextricably bound to the testing and refinement of its kernel theory.

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Acknowledgements

We are greatly indebted to the anonymous reviewers whose suggestions have greatly strengthened the paper. We especially appreciate the suggestion that what we originally referred to as refinement of kernel theories might in fact be the development of mid-range theory. A paper by the reviewer on this topic may well precede this paper to publication.

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A process change scenario illustrating ‘soft context information’ (a true story)

Note that this scenario describes the revision of a significant organizational process that involves both information technology and nonautomated process actions. The overall process is sometimes referred to as a ‘composite system’ ( Fickas & Helm, 1992 ). The mission-critical ‘soft context’ information for this particular process revision is shown in italics in the scenario description below.

A medium sized U.S. university made an administrative decision to transition from paper-based student course evaluations to a web-based system. One of the university IT department's senior analysts gathered requirements for the system and was placed in charge of the project. The analyst was told the primary driver for the new system was the high cost of processing the paper forms. The analyst was also cautioned during interviews with several administrators that the system needed to generate very near the number of evaluations per course that the current system produced or the results would not be accepted. Not uncommonly this soft context information was never translated into a composite system requirement. A web-based system was developed that, when used, generated exactly the information required by the faculty and administration at a fraction of the cost per response. Unfortunately, the students saw no reason to take on the additional work of entering information into the system at a very busy time in the semester, and the system did not generate enough results to be usable. Several ‘obvious’ paths to greater use, such as requiring the students to enter evaluation information before grades would be issued for them, are politically unpalatable at the university. After several semesters of unsuccessful attempts to exhort students to greater system use, the university is on the verge of abandoning the system.

See Figures B1 , B2 and B3 .

AND/OR graphs used to represent system quality (taken from Cysneiros et al., 2001 ) http://www.palgrave-journals.com .

i * graphs used to represent system context for an air traffic control system (a very small portion of the total graph, taken from Maiden et al., 2005 ) http://www.palgrave-journals.com .

Connectivity structures (taken from Gotel & Finkelstein, 1995 ) http://www.palgrave-journals.com .

Sample process graph ‘slices’ and associated text description and micro-rationale as used in our evaluation prototype

http://www.palgrave-journals.com

With reference to the diagram above, the prototype works as follows for the treatment session:

In the actual prototype, the screen is wide enough to display a 50 character wide text section on the left of the screen and the full diagram on the right of the screen. Initially, instructions are displayed on the left and only slice 0 – the swim lane names and the graphic heading – is visible. The subject must click on the text to view the next information segment. Information segments alternate between narrative – descriptive text and micro-rationales – and the next sequential graphic slice. Text segments are displayed in sequential positions down the text display portion of the screen. Each piece of information, whether text or graphic, fades from view in 9 s. The subject must click on the information to make it reappear for 9 s. The only exception to this is the initial display of the graphic associated with a given text segment. That is, on clicking a text segment, the associated graphic is displayed and both are visible. However, after clicking on the associated graphic slice, both the graphic and its associated text disappear, and the next text segment appears. The prototype records the time and object for every mouse click. During final data analysis the click traces will augment coded transcriptions of the concurrent verbal protocols that were recorded as the subjects proceeded through the process display.

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Kuechler, B., Vaishnavi, V. On theory development in design science research: anatomy of a research project. Eur J Inf Syst 17 , 489–504 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2008.40

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Received : 29 April 2008

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Published : 18 November 2008

Issue Date : 01 October 2008

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2008.40

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This syllabus is a guideline for the course and not a contract. As such, its terms may be altered when doing so is, in the opinion of the instructor(s), in the best interests of the class.

This course provides an introduction to security issues in modern software, operating systems, and other computing platforms (e.g., mobile and cloud environments). It examines causes of security breaches and gives methods to help detect, isolate, and prevent them.

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Module - introduction to software and system security, module - program security (attacks), module - program security (defenses), module - operating system security, module - mobile security, module - hardware security, module - non-techincal aspects in security, module - cloud security, grading policies, score composition.

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Course assignments: The three assignments contain both written and programming exercises and cover the new material in the course since the previous assignment.

Please start working on the assignments in advance of the deadlines. To motivate you to do so, we may require you to submit milestones for some or all of them.

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Assignments 1 - 4 are due by the end of day (i.e., 11:59pm) on their respective due dates. These assignments are to be submitted electronically with the submit command. Assignments submitted by other means will not be accepted.

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Students who are auditing this course are encouraged to complete all assignments similar to grade-seeking students. To pass this course in auditing, the minimal requirement is scoring at least 25% in the overall course grade .

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The textbooks for this course include:

Computer Security and the Internet: Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin (2nd Edition) by Paul C. van Oorschot . Springer, 2021. ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook). This text book is freely available for download from the author’s web page .

Security in Computing (5th Edition) by Charles P. Pfleeger, Shari Lawrence Pfleeger, and Jonathan Margulies . Prentice-Hall, 2015. ISBN: 0-13-408504-3. Link to book information .

Additional readings will be assigned, and will appear on the course website; readings marked as mandatory contain required material for the course. You must read these mandatory readings; those marked before class must be read before the date of the corresponding lecture.

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It is your responsibility to keep up with all course-related information posted to Piazza and the course website.

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As the university resumes in-person teaching practices, we will follow university policies and recommendations for an on-campus teaching experience for course delivery.

Lectures will still be recorded and can be made available individually upon request with valid reasons accompanied with VIF forms . Therefore, there is no need to come to class if you are feeling unwell.

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Security information.

In this course, you will be exposed to information about security problems and vulnerabilities with computing systems and networks. To be clear, you are not to use this or any other similar information to test the security of, break into, compromise, or otherwise attack, any system or network without the express consent of the owner. In particular, you will comply with all applicable laws and UW policies, including, but not limited to, the following:

Violations will be treated severely, and with zero tolerance.

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Students are encouraged to talk to one another, to the TAs, to the instructor(s), or to anyone else about any of the assignments. Any assistance, though, must be limited to discussion of the problem and sketching general approaches to a solution. Each student must write his or her own solutions, including code and documentation if appropriate, for the assignments. Consulting another student’s solution is prohibited, and submitted solutions may not be copied from any source. In particular, submitting assignments copied in whole or in part from assignment submissions to a previous offering of this course, or from any offering of any other course, is forbidden, even if a student is resubmitting his or her own work . These and any other forms of collaboration on assignments constitute cheating. If you have any questions about whether some activity constitutes cheating, please ask the instructor(s).

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It is our intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, and that students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class. We recognize the immense value of the diversity in identities, perspectives, and contributions that students bring, and the benefit it has on our educational environment. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Please let us know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups. In particular:

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Subject: Bioch Micro Immuno Sciences Credit units: 6 Offered: Term 1 and 2 Weekly hours: 8 Practicum/Lab hours College: Medicine Department: Bioch Micro Immuno

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In this course, students have an exciting opportunity to carry out their own research project under the supervision of a faculty member and to further develop critical thinking skills. Students will learn how to review the scientific literature relevant to a specific research problem; how to develop a hypothesis and set specific objectives; and how to design and execute experiments. Students will also gain experience in analyzing and interpreting experimental data and learn how to write a scientific report. Students will also have an opportunity to present their project and findings to the department through an oral presentation.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Honours program in Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology. Note: Permission of the department is required. Students with credit for BIOC 489.6 or MCIM 491.6 may not take this course for credit.

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The ENCODE Project Consortium Nature 489 , 57–74 (2012).

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CH489 COURSE DETAILS

Ch489 (version: 2023 1) course details, ch489 course requisites, ch489 (version 2023-1) course offerings, ch489 (version: 2019 2) course details (archived), ch489 (version: 2013 1) course details (archived), ch489 (version: 2012 1) course details (archived), ch489 (version: 2009 1) course details (archived), ch489 (version: 2005 1) course details (archived), ch489 (version: 1991 1) course details (archived).

Summary of Awards to Date

Development of an infrared-functionalized microbalance sensor for cyclospora cayetanensis detection and differentiation.

Jan. 1, 2023 - Dec. 31, 2023

$100,756.00

Jenny Maloney, Ph.D. USDA - ARS

Monica Santin, Ph.D., Laurene Tetard, Ph.D.

Cyclospora cayetanensis (Cc) is a parasite which causes diarrheal illness in humans worldwide and is spread through contaminated food and water. Current procedures for Cc detection are expensive and time consuming. A detection system for Cc which is simple, fast, low-cost, and can be used in the field is needed. This proposal will test and develop a novel detection system for Cc by pairing infrared microscopy with cantilever-based microsensor technology. The sensing system will initially be developed using commercially available parasites and final testing stages will use oocysts of Cc. To determine if the sensing system has the sensitivity needed for testing produce and water samples, it will be compared to methods currently used for Cc detection. This project represents the first step toward producing a new tool which can be used by growers, processors, researchers, and testing laboratories to detect and quantify Cc quickly and cost-effectively. Such a tool could significantly improve our understanding of Cc risk and risk factor contributors and be used by growers, producers, and regulators to improve the safety of the fresh produce available to consumers.

Technical Abstract

Cyclospora cayetanensis (Cc) is a prevalent worldwide intestinal protozoan parasite of humans which is spread through contaminated food and water. Testing of food and water samples to understand the risk factors for Cc contamination is needed to limit transmission, develop control strategies, and improve food safety. Currently, microscopy and molecular techniques are used to detect Cc but are time intensive and require extensive sample preparation and personnel expertise. A method for Cc detection which is simple, fast, and low-cost with the potential for scalable implementation in the field would greatly enhance food safety. To build toward this goal, we will test and develop a sensing system which pairs infrared microscopy with cantilever-based microsensor technology to detect Cc. The initial design phase will employ commercially available protozoan parasites before testing the system on Cc oocysts from human samples. Comparisons between the sensitivity and specificity of the sensing system, microscopy, and PCR will be made to provide quantifiable measures of success of the platform. This project will provide the foundational data needed to further develop the sensing platform into a tool which can be used by growers, processors, Cc researchers, and testing laboratories to detect and quantify Cc quickly and cost-effectively. Such a tool could lead to significant improvements in understanding Cc risk and risk factor contributors, which can be used by growers, producers, and regulators to mitigate transmission risk and improve the safety of the fresh produce available to consumers.

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R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant

Reissue of PA-16-161 for due dates on or after January 25, 2018

• March 5, 2020 - Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Harnessing computational tools for sophisticated analyses of Substance Use Disorder-related behaviors. See Notice NOT-DA-20-017 .
• November 26, 2018 - NIH & AHRQ Announce Upcoming Updates to Application Instructions and Review Criteria for Research Grant Applications. See Notice NOT-OD-18-228 .
• November 5, 2018 - This PA has been reissued as PA-19-053 .
• May 18, 2018 - Notice of Information: NIMH Council Workgroup on Genomics' Recommendations for Basic and Clinical Research. See Notice NOT-MH-18-035 .

PA-18-344 - Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required Check Components of Participating Organizations and Related Notices for restrictions.

See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility .

93.273, 93.866, 93.855, 93.846, 93.213, 93.279, 93.173, 93.121, 93.113, 93.867, 93.172, 93.879, 93.307, 93.361

The NIH Exploratory/Developmental Grant supports exploratory and developmental research projects by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of these projects. These studies may involve considerable risk but may lead to a breakthrough in a particular area, or to the development of novel techniques, agents, methodologies, models, or applications that could have a major impact on a field of biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research.

December 6, 2017

January 16, 2018

Not Applicable

Standard dates apply by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on these dates.

The first standard application due date for this FOA is February 16, 2018.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

Standard AIDS dates apply by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of AIDS and AIDS-related applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on these dates.

The first AIDS application due date for this FOA is May 7, 2018. Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

Standard dates apply

Standard dates apply or Month(s) Year(s)

New Date January 8, 2019 per issuance of PA-19-053 . (Original Expiration Date: January 8, 2021)

It is critical that applicants follow the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide , except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts ). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV . When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Part 1. Overview Information Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Section III. Eligibility Information Section IV. Application and Submission Information Section V. Application Review Information Section VI. Award Administration Information Section VII. Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information

The evolution and vitality of the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical sciences require a constant infusion of new ideas, techniques, and points of view. These may differ substantially from current thinking or practice and may not yet be supported by substantial preliminary data. Through the NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program, the NIH seeks to foster the introduction of novel scientific ideas, model systems, tools, agents, targets, and technologies that have the potential to substantially advance biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research.

This program is intended to encourage new exploratory and developmental research projects. For example, such projects could assess the feasibility of a novel area of investigation or a new experimental system that has the potential to enhance health-related research. Another example could include the unique and innovative use of an existing methodology to explore a new scientific area. These studies may involve considerable risk but may lead to a breakthrough in a particular area, or to the development of novel techniques, agents, methodologies, models, or applications that could have a major impact on a field of biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research.

Applications for Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant awards should include projects distinct from those supported through the traditional R01 activity code. For example, long-term projects, or projects designed to increase knowledge in a well-established area, are not appropriate for this FOA. Applications submitted to this FOA should be exploratory and novel. These studies should break new ground or extend previous discoveries toward new directions or applications. Projects of limited cost or scope that use widely accepted approaches and methods within well-established fields are better suited for the NIH Small Research Grant Program .

This Funding Opportunity Announcement does not accept applications proposing clinical trial(s)

Applications are assigned to participating Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on receipt and referral guidelines and many applications are assigned to multiple participating ICs with related research interests. Applicants are encouraged to identify a participating IC that supports their area of research via the R21 IC-Specific Scientific Interests and Contact website and contact Scientific/Research staff from relevant ICs to inquire about their interest in supporting the proposed research project.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

New Resubmission Revision

The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.

Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials

Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?

The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

The combined budget for direct costs for the two-year project period may not exceed $275,000. No more than $200,000 may be requested in any single year.

The total project period may not exceed 2 years.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this FOA.

Higher Education Institutions

• Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
• Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

• Hispanic-serving Institutions
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
• Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
• Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
• Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations

• Small Businesses
• For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Governments

• State Governments
• County Governments
• City or Township Governments
• Special District Governments
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)
• Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
• U.S. Territory or Possession
• Independent School Districts
• Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
• Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
• Regional Organizations
• Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions)

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement , are allowed.

Applicant Organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.

• Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) - All registrations require that applicants be issued a DUNS number. After obtaining a DUNS number, applicants can begin both SAM and eRA Commons registrations. The same DUNS number must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
• System for Award Management (SAM) (formerly CCR) Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually . The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.
• NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM.
• eRA Commons - Applicants must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the eRA Commons registration. Organizations can register with the eRA Commons as they are working through their SAM or Grants.gov registration. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
• Grants.gov Applicants must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account. PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time. This means that the NIH will not accept:

• A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.
• A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application.
• An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NOT-OD-11-101 ).

Buttons to access the online ASSIST system or to download application forms are available in Part 1 of this FOA. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

It is critical that applicants follow the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide , except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

For information on Application Submission and Receipt, visit Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications .

All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy: Since the goal of this program is to support exploratory and developmental research projects, extensive background material and preliminary data are not required. Appropriate justification for the proposed work can be provided through literature citations, data from other sources, or, when available, from investigator-generated data.

Resource Sharing Plan : Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

When involving NIH-defined human subjects research, clinical research, and/or clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:

If you answered Yes to the question Are Human Subjects Involved? on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

Delayed Onset Study

Foreign (non-U.S.) institutions must follow policies described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement , and procedures for foreign institutions.

See Part 1. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday , the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons , NIH’s electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Policy on Late Application Submission.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit Applying Electronically . If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Guidelines for Applicants Experiencing System Issues . For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII .

Important reminders:

All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF424(R&R) Application Package . Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this FOA for information on registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review, NIH. Applications that are incomplete or non-compliant will not be reviewed.

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy . Any instructions provided here are in addition to the instructions in the policy.

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. As part of the NIH mission , all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

For this particular announcement, note the following:

The R21 exploratory/developmental grant supports investigation of novel scientific ideas or new model systems, tools, or technologies that have the potential for significant impact on biomedical or biobehavioral research. An R21 grant application need not have extensive background material or preliminary information. Accordingly, reviewers will emphasize the conceptual framework, the level of innovation, and the potential to significantly advance our knowledge or understanding. Appropriate justification for the proposed work can be provided through literature citations, data from other sources, or, when available, from investigator-generated data. Preliminary data are not required for R21 applications; however, they may be included if available.

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? Is there a strong scientific premise for the project? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or those in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project?

Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Have the investigators presented strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed? Have the investigators presented adequate plans to address relevant biological variables, such as sex, for studies in vertebrate animals or human subjects?

If the project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, are the plans to address 1) the protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion or exclusion of children, justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed?

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Human Subjects .

When the proposed project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion (or exclusion) of children to determine if it is justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research .

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following criteria: (1) description of proposed procedures involving animals, including species, strains, ages, sex, and total number to be used; (2) justifications for the use of animals versus alternative models and for the appropriateness of the species proposed; (3) interventions to minimize discomfort, distress, pain and injury; and (4) justification for euthanasia method if NOT consistent with the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. Reviewers will assess the use of chimpanzees as they would any other application proposing the use of vertebrate animals. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section .

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

For Resubmissions, the committee will evaluate the application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the project.

For Revisions, the committee will consider the appropriateness of the proposed expansion of the scope of the project. If the Revision application relates to a specific line of investigation presented in the original application that was not recommended for approval by the committee, then the committee will consider whether the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group are adequate and whether substantial changes are clearly evident.

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

Reviewers will assess whether the project presents special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions that exist in other countries and either are not readily available in the United States or augment existing U.S. resources.

Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: (1) Data Sharing Plan ; (2) Sharing Model Organisms ; and (3) Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS) .

For projects involving key biological and/or chemical resources, reviewers will comment on the brief plans proposed for identifying and ensuring the validity of those resources.

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures , using the stated review criteria . Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

• May undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact score.
• Will receive a written critique.

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the appropriate national Advisory Council or Board. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

• Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
• Availability of funds.
• Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons . Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council review, and earliest start date.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the grantee’s business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions . Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to terms and conditions found on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website. This includes any recent legislation and policy applicable to awards that is highlighted on this website.

All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities . More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants .

Recipients of federal financial assistance (FFA) from HHS must administer their programs in compliance with federal civil rights law. This means that recipients of HHS funds must ensure equal access to their programs without regard to a person’s race, color, national origin, disability, age and, in some circumstances, sex and religion. This includes ensuring your programs are accessible to persons with limited English proficiency. HHS recognizes that research projects are often limited in scope for many reasons that are nondiscriminatory, such as the principal investigator’s scientific interest, funding limitations, recruitment requirements, and other considerations. Thus, criteria in research protocols that target or exclude certain populations are warranted where nondiscriminatory justifications establish that such criteria are appropriate with respect to the health or safety of the subjects, the scientific study design, or the purpose of the research.

For additional guidance regarding how the provisions apply to NIH grant programs, please contact the Scientific/Research Contact that is identified in Section VII under Agency Contacts of this FOA. HHS provides general guidance to recipients of FFA on meeting their legal obligation to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to their programs by persons with limited English proficiency. Please see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/special-topics/limited-english-proficiency/index.html. The HHS Office for Civil Rights also provides guidance on complying with civil rights laws enforced by HHS. Please see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/section1557/index.html ; and https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/laws-regulations-guidance/index.html . Recipients of FFA also have specific legal obligations for serving qualified individuals with disabilities. Please see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/disability/index.html . Please contact the HHS Office for Civil Rights for more information about obligations and prohibitions under federal civil rights laws at https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/about-us/contact-us/index.html or call 1-800-368-1019 or TDD 1-800-537-7697. Also note it is an HHS Departmental goal to ensure access to quality, culturally competent care, including long-term services and supports, for vulnerable populations. For further guidance on providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services, recipients should review the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care at http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlid=53 .

In accordance with the statutory provisions contained in Section 872 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110-417), NIH awards will be subject to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) requirements. FAPIIS requires Federal award making officials to review and consider information about an applicant in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS) prior to making an award. An applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through FAPIIS and comment on any information about itself that a Federal agency previously entered and is currently in FAPIIS. The Federal awarding agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to other information in FAPIIS, in making a judgement about the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 45 CFR Part 75.205 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants. This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.

Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A final RPPR, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

In accordance with the regulatory requirements provided at 45 CFR 75.113 and Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 75, recipients that have currently active Federal grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal awarding agencies with a cumulative total value greater than $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of a Federal award, must report and maintain the currency of information reported in the System for Award Management (SAM) about civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings in connection with the award or performance of a Federal award that reached final disposition within the most recent five-year period. The recipient must also make semiannual disclosures regarding such proceedings. Proceedings information will be made publicly available in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS). This is a statutory requirement under section 872 of Public Law 110-417, as amended (41 U.S.C. 2313). As required by section 3010 of Public Law 111-212, all information posted in the designated integrity and performance system on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews required for Federal procurement contracts, will be publicly available. Full reporting requirements and procedures are found in Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 75 Award Term and Conditions for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters.

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons registration, submitting and tracking an application, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, post submission issues) Finding Help Online: http://grants.nih.gov/support/ (preferred method of contact) Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and submission, downloading forms and application packages) Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726 Email: [email protected]

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources) Email: [email protected] (preferred method of contact) Telephone: 301-945-7573

Participating NIH Institutes and Centers are listed in Components of Participating Organizations in Part 1. Overview . Scientific/Research Contact information is listed on the R21 IC-Specific Scientific Interests and Contact website.

Examine your eRA Commons account for review assignment and contact information (information appears two weeks after the submission due date).

Participating NIH Institutes and Centers are listed in Components of Participating Organizations in Part 1. Overview . Financial/Grants Management Contact information is listed on the R21 IC-Specific Scientific Interests and Contact website.

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts . All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 75.

Note: For help accessing PDF, RTF, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Audio or Video files, see Help Downloading Files .

Life Science Research Professional 1

🔍 stanford, california, united states.

The Kumar Lab, within the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, is seeking a Life Science Research Professional to assist on a project studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control the development, maintenance, and repair of the pulmonary blood vessels of the mouse, with the long-term goal of understanding and treating pulmonary vascular disease. The Kumar laboratory’s long-term goals are to identify the cells, cell behaviors, and interactions that give rise to pulmonary vascular disease, delineate the molecular pathways that control them, and determine how they can be manipulated to prevent or reverse disease. 

The selected candidate will employ cutting-edge genetic and single-cell approaches, including single-cell RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics in mouse and human patient tissues, high-resolution deep imaging, in vivo lineage tracing, and pharmacologic manipulation in mice to discover how cell patterns, behaviors, interactions, and functions are altered in pulmonary disease.  

  The LSRP will perform experiments under the supervision of the PI. S/he may be expected to troubleshoot existing protocols and develop novel protocols and procedures. The LRSA will be responsible for managing the lab’s mouse colony. The position will also entail some lab support tasks such as ordering and maintaining lab supplies and equipment, maintaining lab records, and adhering to safety regulations.   The candidate will be mentored by faculty and will be encouraged to contribute to publications, present work at meetings, participate in weekly lab meetings; and motivated candidates will have the opportunity to lead projects. 

Duties include: 

·          Plan approach to experiments in support of research projects in lab and/or field based on knowledge of scientific theory.

·          Independently conduct experiments; maintain detailed records of experiments and outcomes.

·          Apply the theories and methods of a life science discipline to interpret and perform analyses of experiment results; offer suggestions regarding modifications to procedures and protocols in collaboration with senior researcher.

·          Review literature on an ongoing basis to remain current with new procedures and apply learnings to related research.

·          Contribute to publication of findings as needed. Participate in the preparation of written documents, including procedures, presentations, and proposals.

·          Help with general lab maintenance as needed; maintain lab stock, manage chemical inventory and safety records, and provide general lab support as needed.

·          Assist with orientation and training of new staff or students on lab procedures or techniques.

*- Other duties may also be assigned

~ All members of the Department of Pediatrics are engaged in continuous learning and improvement to foster a culture where diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are central to all aspects of our work. The Department collectively and publicly commits to continuously promoting anti-racism and equity through its policies, programs, and practices at all levels. ~

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED)

Bachelor's degree in related scientific field.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (REQUIRED):

·          General understanding of scientific principles. Demonstrated performance to use knowledge and skills when needed.

·          Demonstrated ability to apply theoretical knowledge of science principals to problem solve work.

·          Ability to maintain detailed records of experiments and outcomes.

·          General computer skills and ability to quickly learn and master computer programs, databases, and scientific applications.

·          Ability to work under deadlines with general guidance.

·          Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to accurately complete detailed work.

CERTIFICATIONS & LICENSES:

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS*:

·          Frequently stand, walk, twist, bend, stoop, squat, grasp lightly, use fine manipulation, grasp forcefully, perform desk-based computer tasks, use telephone, write by hand, lift, carry, push and pull objects weighing over 40 pounds.

·          Occasionally sit, kneel, crawl, reach and work above shoulders, sort and file paperwork or parts.

·          Rarely climb, scrub, sweep, mop, chop and mix or operate hand and foot controls.

·          Must have correctible vision to perform duties of the job.

·          Ability to bend, squat, kneel, stand, reach above shoulder level, and move on hard surfaces for up to eight hours.

·          Ability to lift heavy objects weighing up to 50 pounds.

·          Ability to work in a dusty, dirty, and odorous environment.

·          Position may require repetitive motion.

*- Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of his or her job.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

·          May require working in close proximity to blood borne pathogens.

·          May require work in an environment where animals are used for teaching and research.

·          Position may at times require the employee to work with or be in areas where hazardous materials and/or infectious diseases are present.

·          Employee must perform tasks that require the use of personal protective equipment, such as safety glasses and shoes, protective clothing and gloves, and possibly a respirator.

·          May require extended or unusual work hours based on research requirements and business needs.

Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the University reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location, and external market pay for comparable jobs. The pay range for this position working in the California Bay area is $26.44 to $36.54

• Schedule: Full-time
• Job Code: 4943
• Employee Status: Regular
• Department URL: http://pediatrics.stanford.edu/
• Requisition ID: 103280
• Work Arrangement : Hybrid Eligible

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Engineering capstone project yields useful tool.

May 17, 2024

A piece of research equipment made by students will be used in the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering.

What started as a capstone project handed to a group of students in Texas Tech University 's Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering has yielded a useful tool for future research. 

Given the opportunity to select a project, the undergraduate students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering leaned into helping current and future graduate students by creating a tool that could be used in rocket research.  

The equipment built by the students is called a thrust stand, and if you're not exactly sure what that is, you're not alone. 

“Basically, a thrust stand is a mounted rocket motor,” explained Joseph Pantoya, one of the mechanical engineering students involved in the project. “It collects thrust and pressure data for a given rocket fuel. 

“What we can do is get fuels that the combustion lab makes, put them in our rocket motor and test them out in a controlled environment.”

The capstone course brought together a team of six students from diverse backgrounds to complete the final steps in their mechanical engineering degrees with their project supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

Grants from sources like DOE and DOD give professors the resources needed to supply students with a hands-on learning experience while also creating something of value for the wider world. 

In this case, the thrust stand will be used by both graduate and undergraduate students in the Combustion Lab , where testing of accelerants used in various types of rockets takes place daily. The capstone project will help researchers test solid fuel combustion and better understand how those fuels can be designed to advance hypersonic combustion for propulsion applications. 

“Being able to help students in the lab publish research papers one day with something we designed is really cool,” said Juan Aguirre, another of the students involved with the thrust stand project. 

The project required working with graduate students in the lab to understand and address their needs in the design phase. Meeting the needs of those students was a critical piece of the puzzle, but it wasn't the only piece. 

Moving from the theoretical aspects of design into the actual production phase, managing a budget and producing a useful final product were all hurdles the thrust stand team had to conquer.

“We had a lot of challenges,” team member Ajibek Karatalov said. “Most of the challenges were logistical. For example, one of the main parts was shipped from Japan, and it never made it. I don't know why. So, these kinds of challenges were sort of boundaries, but I'm glad that we overcame them as a team.”

Luckily for the students, there are plenty of resources and mentors to lean on. Mechanical engineering's machine shop, for instance, provided the expertise the students needed to work through many of the technical issues along with the sage advice that comes from working with professionals. 

“I think having the shop instructors, Roy Mullins and David Meyers , they kind of gave us a new perspective on the issues we were facing,” said Jeffery (Mitch) McHugh, another team member. “They had more of a rounded perspective because they've worked in the field. That really helped us and gave us a perspective of what people that we may be working with in the future will have to say.”

The team's design was on display at the Mechanical Engineering Expo, an event held on Texas Tech's campus where, along with other teams from the department, the work of the last year is shown off to the campus community.

Mullins and the staff at the machine shop work with a wide range of students daily, helping with things like welding and machining parts that wouldn't normally be done by engineers in the field, and he was impressed with the thrust stand team's competency. 

“They've been a pretty self-sufficient group, actually,” Mullins said. “We've had to answer the usual technical questions and assist them in some machining, but for the most part, with the end design they've done really well on their own.

“It was a very specific subject. It was a research project tied to research we do in the department, so that was kind of unique in and of itself. But what really struck us about this project was it was for a research project that ties immediately to a critical problem.”

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Stanford AI Projects Greenlighted in National AI Research Resource Pilot

Robotics and hospital computer vision projects receive NSF grants as part of an innovative pilot program to democratize AI research.

On May 6, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy awarded grants to 35 research teams for access to advanced computing resources through the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot. This initial wave of  awarded projects includes scholars from across the U.S. who are working in clinical medicine, agriculture, biochemistry, computer science, informatics, and other interdisciplinary fields. Two Stanford AI projects — from the School of Engineering and School of Medicine — were selected to participate in the pilot.

Part of the 2023  Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of AI, the NAIRR pilot launched in January 2024 with four stated goals: spur innovation, increase diversity of talent, improve capacity, and advance trustworthy AI. Stakeholders in academia, industry, and government see this program as a critical step toward strengthening U.S. leadership in AI and democratizing AI resources for public sector innovation.

“The NAIRR pilot is a landmark initiative that supports applied AI research and will benefit the entire nation,” said Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI Deputy Director Russell Wald . “No AI scholar should be constrained by the high cost of compute resources and access to data to train their models.”

Most of the awarded projects are given computational time on NSF-funded supercomputer systems at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Texas at Austin, and Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center; additionally, the DOE will allocate resources at its Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and AI Testbed at Argonne National Laboratory to a few of the research teams.

Taking Reinforcement Learning into Visual Environments

A team from the Stanford Intelligent and Interactive Autonomous Systems Group ( ILIAD ), led by HAI Faculty Affiliate  Dorsa Sadigh , an assistant professor of computer science and of electrical engineering, submitted a proposal to continue groundbreaking work in the domain of human-robot and human-AI interactions. The project will focus on learning effective reward functions for robotics using large datasets and human feedback.

Reward functions are key to a machine learning technique called reinforcement learning, which works by training a large language model to maximize rewards. When humans provide feedback as part of the training process, the model learns how to make decisions that are aligned with human priorities. Stanford computer science PhD student Joey Hejna says that applying this technique to real-world robotics presents new challenges because it requires understanding the visual world, which is captured by modern visual-language models. Another challenge is that it’s not enough for the model to get the right result; how it arrives at that answer also matters. Researchers will want to make sure the robot operates safely and reliably around people, and they may need to personalize how certain robots interact with humans – in a home-care setting, for example. 

“Training robot models that can work in the real world will require a massive amount of compute power," Hejna explains. “High-performing VLMs usually have at least 7 billion parameters. This project would not be possible without access to the GPU hours from the National Science Foundation.”

Autonomous Patient Monitoring in the ICU

The second Stanford project to receive NSF support comes out of the School of Medicine’s  Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC), dedicated to reducing the cost of patient care. Part of a multiyear initiative to enhance healthcare environments by integrating smart sensors and AI algorithms, the awarded project seeks to develop computer vision models that can collect and analyze comprehensive video data from ICU patient rooms to help doctors and nurses better track patients’ health.

A key aspect of the research is to address potential biases in the AI models used for predicting patient status and monitoring clinical activities. By analyzing demographic data from electronic health records, the team aims to identify and correct algorithmic biases that might affect predictions across different ethnicities and sexes. “The ultimate goal is to develop bias-free algorithms and propose interventions to ensure fair and accurate patient monitoring and care in ICUs,” said the team’s lead scholar,  Dr. Kevin Schulman .

Leadership from Stanford HAI

HAI’s leadership team has been a driving force behind the creation of a National AI Research Resource since the founding of the institute in 2019. Co-Directors Fei-Fei Li and John Etchemendy started to organize universities and tech companies in 2020, and they initiated the call for a government-led task force to establish the program.

“From our earliest conversations with universities, industry executives, and policymakers, we felt that American innovation was at stake,” said Li. “We knew that support from Congress and the president could have a meaningful impact on the future of AI technology.”

According to Etchemendy, “The start of this pilot program marks a historic moment for U.S. researchers and educators. It will rebalance the AI ecosystem by supporting mission-driven researchers who want AI to serve the public good.”

Reflecting on the years of strategic planning and dedication that have led to this milestone, Wald added, “John and Fei-Fei’s vision, combined with the extraordinary support of the Stanford community and our country’s policymakers, is leading to greater access to AI research not just at Stanford but at all of America’s universities.”

Immediately following the May 6 announcement of initial awards, the NAIRR pilot opened the application window for a second wave of projects. With contributions from industry partners, a wider range of technical resources are going to be available for applicants this round, including access to advanced computing systems, cloud computing platforms, foundation models, software and privacy-enhancing tools, collaborations to train models, and education platforms. 

Researchers and educators can apply for access to these resources and view descriptions of the first cohort projects on  the NAIRR pilot website .

Stanford HAI’s mission is to advance AI research, education, policy and practice to improve the human condition.  Learn more . 

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BTPI will research relationship between Bitcoin and financial freedom

By giles morris cornell jeb e. brooks school of public policy.

The Brooks School Tech Policy Institute (BTPI) has announced a $1M project to study financial freedom in countries with authoritarian governments. Led by BTPI Director Sarah Kreps , John L. Wetherill Professor in the Department of Government in the College of Arts & Sciences and the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, the research will employ quantitative and qualitative approaches to understanding the use of Bitcoin and stablecoins by individuals around the world.  

“If you live in a place where the government silences its critics by threatening their assets or where you cannot trust the local banking system, you understand the importance of financial freedom to democracy,” said Kreps. “We want to study how people in these countries are using Bitcoin and stablecoins in the pursuit of their financial security.”

BTPI Director Dr. Sarah Kreps

The innovative approach to purpose-driven research is designed to build a framework for the creation of a Bitcoin and stablecoins adoption index that would map and analyze uptake globally. Supported by funding from Human Rights Foundation– a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies– and the Reynolds Foundation– a family foundation dedicated to supporting medical and spinal cord research and treatment, education, and democracy and freedom– the project is scheduled to kick off in July 2024 and conclude in 2026. 

Reynolds Foundation president and CEO Dr. Álvaro Salas Castro MPA '14 explained the multimodal and collaborative nature of the inquiry would lead to wider access to knowledge at a critical moment in global policy.

"The Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University's Brooks School of Public Policy stands as a crucial center for investigating the intricate relationship between emerging technology and global politics. Through a dedicated focus on critical issues such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital privacy regulations, the Institute's interdisciplinary research aims to shed light on the complexities of our rapidly evolving technological landscape," said Dr. Salas Castro. "As Bitcoin adoption continues to exert influence over the global economic system, the Institute's steadfast commitment to fostering collaboration among scholars, policymakers, and industry leaders aligns seamlessly with the Reynolds Foundation's vision to support a network of knowledge-sharing that harnesses this technology for societal benefit."

According to Professor Kreps, the project will focus on about 12 countries, including India, Nigeria, El Salvador, Indonesia, and Turkey, and investigate Bitcoin and stablecoin uptake.  Kreps and her research team will partner with a major global research firm to develop and deliver surveys to 1,000 participants in each country that query not just adoption behaviors on the basis of demographic within each country but also perceptions and attitudes toward these digital currencies. A research team that includes undergraduate students will then conduct interviews to dig deeper into the basis for use.

According to HRF chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein, the combination of survey data and qualitative research in countries where relatively little is known about the use of Bitcoin and stablecoins represents a new approach to creating a baseline of understanding about their potential to enhance financial freedom around the world. 

"Bitcoin continues to grow into a bigger part of the global economic system. Today we have nation-state adoption, widespread mining operations on all continents, spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) trading in the United States, and recent all-time-highs in price. The Human Rights Foundation has also observed that human rights groups and nonprofits are adopting Bitcoin in order to challenge financial repression from authoritarian regimes," said Gladstein. "This research under Professor Kreps will illuminate exactly who out there in the world is using Bitcoin and dollar-substitute stable coins, and why."

The goals of the financial freedom research project include:

• Increasing shared understanding of the factors driving cryptocurrency adoption, usage patterns, and the broader implications for financial inclusion and technological innovation.
• Assessing the ability of policymakers, industry stakeholders, and community organizations to make informed decisions regarding regulatory frameworks, product development, and educational initiatives related to cryptocurrencies.
• Expanding access to financial services and economic opportunities for individuals who are underserved or excluded by traditional banking systems.
• Raising public awareness and understanding of cryptocurrency technology, its potential benefits, risks, and implications for individuals and society.

“Researchers have posited a number of different reasons why citizens in these countries might use crypto and our research will probe these mechanisms of uptake to understand motivations and goals and whether these vary depending on region or type of government,” said Kreps. 

Giles Morris is assistant dean for communications in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy.

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Simplified Review Framework for Research Project Grants (RPGs) Webinar Resources Available 

Did you miss the webinar on the implementation of the simplified review framework for RPGs? Not to worry, the presentation resources are now available! Reference the slides and transcript , or dive right in to the video , which includes sections on:  

• Background   
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For more resources, see the event page and the Simplifying Review of Research Project Grant Applications page .  

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ACS Project SEED Program – Bringing Research and High School Students Together

This summer, 17 high school students in the American Chemical Society Snake River Section will have the opportunity to conduct research through the ACS Project SEED program.

Project SEED, originally “Summer Experiences for the Economically Disadvantaged,” was born in 1968. Now 56 years old, the program has provided hands-on summer research experiences and webinars to over 13,000 students across the U.S. and its territories. The Project SEED Mission is “to provide sustained STEM research, learning, and growth opportunities for high school students with diverse identities and socioeconomic backgrounds so they can be empowered to advance and enrich the chemical science enterprise.”

Each year, high school students spend 10 weeks in an industry lab or at host institutions like Boise State University working alongside PIs and qualified mentors on cutting-edge research projects. In addition to the technical skills learned in the lab, students will participate in professional development activities to enhance skills in time management, teamwork, and research presentation. The Project SEED webinars cover topics such as personal and chemical safety, career exploration, college readiness, resume building, and mental health and wellness. The summer experience is culminated in a poster presentation where the student present their research, with this year’s presentations being held at the Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research.

The ACS Snake River Section Project SEED coordinator is Boise State’s Dr. Don Warner, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. This year he placed 17 students, 8 of whom are returning participants. He received 70 applications and conducted 24 initial interviews to fill the 9 open spots. Two students are going to Northwest Nazarene University to work with Jerry Harris on synthesizing and characterizing zinc oxide nanoparticles with enhanced antimicrobial properties. Two more will go to Danny Xu’s lab at Idaho State University – Meridian to research the effects of Lunar and Martian regolith on zebrafish.

The remaining 13 students will be working in several laboratories across campus at Boise State University this summer. The PIs hosting students, and their projects, are:

• Oliviero Andreussi: Computational Study of Materials for Electro-Catalysis
• Leonora Bittleston: 4: Exploring the effects of leaf chemistry on microbial colonization
• Eric Brown: Development of molecules that inhibit a bacteria’s ability to cause disease
• Ken Cornell: Analysis of Antimicrobial Activity of Nanoparticles and Organometallic Complexes
• Jenée Cyran & Brian McClain: Developing innovative Physical Chemistry Lab Modules
• Owen McDougal: Chemistry of Food Systems
• Konrad Meister: Cool Molecules: Understanding the Mode of Action of Ice-Binding Macromolecules
• Don Warner: Synthesis of small molecules for inhibition of tumor metastasis
• Claire Xiong: Sodium Ion Batteries

Participants in the Project SEED program are awarded a stipend for their efforts, providing low-income students the opportunity to participate while earning money to help support their families. This crucial funding in 2024 is largely from the American Chemical Society, but also contributed to by Northwest Nazarene University, the ACS Snake River Local Section, and from Boise State University’s College of Arts & Sciences, Research and Economic Development, Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry & Biochemistry, several individual PIs, and the university itself. Some of the program’s graduates will also receive scholarships from Project SEED to help fund their undergraduate education.

For more information on this amazing program, visit ACS News to read Project SEED’s Impact Continues to Grow .

Interested in getting involved? Visit Project SEED on the American Chemical Society’s webpage.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Billionaire Frank McCourt's Project Liberty forms consortium to bid for TikTok

Entrepreneur and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said on Wednesday his organization, Project Liberty, is forming a consortium to buy social media platform TikTok in the United States.

A law signed by President Joe Biden on April 24 gives the social media platform’s owner, ByteDance, until Jan. 19 next year to sell TikTok or face a ban.

The  bill  was passed by U.S. lawmakers on account of worries that China could access Americans’ data or surveil them through the app.

The White House had said it wants to see Chinese-based ownership ended on national security grounds but not a ban on TikTok.

Project Liberty, working with Guggenheim Securities, law firm Kirkland & Ellis, technologies, academics and others, proposed to migrate the platform to a digital open-source protocol.

The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and David Clark, a senior research scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, are among the supporters of the bid, the organization said.

Project Liberty had launched the open-source Decentralized Social Networking Protocol in 2021, establishing a shared social graph that is not dependent on a specific application or a centralized platform.

The organization encompasses work of the Project Liberty Institute, with an international partner network that includes academic institutions and a for-profit arm that includes a technology team developing digital infrastructure.