R&dc Newsletter (aug 08)

Volume 2, Issue 1 August-September 2008

Office of the Director Moves

The Research and Development (R&D) Center and the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Agricultural Sciences and Engineering of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) announce the continuation of its Bio Science and Engineering Initiative (BioSEI) aimed to develop a coherent and interdisciplinary research program in Bio Science and Engineering at UPRM.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER

University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez PO Box 9001 Mayagüez, PR 00681-9001 Phone: 787-831-2065 Fax: 787-831-2060 E-mail: [email protected]

Meet Our Researchers: Catherine Mazak (English) Graduated from: Michigan State University Started Working for UPRM: August 2005 Recent Project: Advancing English Language Learning for Food and Agricultural Science Majors, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Hispanic Serving Institutions Education Grant Program ($240,000) Research Interests: “I study English as a second language (ESL) learning, especially literacy development (reading and writing). I approach my research from a socio-cultural perspective, which means that I’m interested in how language learning is situated in a particular social, economic, historical, and political context. To me, Puerto Rico is one of the most interesting and exciting places to study English language learning because of the long po-

litical history of English in Puerto Rico. I hope my research helps create better English teachers, materials, and educational policies here.” Current Project: “My current project is funded by the USDA. What does English have to do with agriculture? Well, people learn language better if the language they are learning is about something they already know a lot about. So this project uses agricultural themes and materials to teach English to agriculture students. In June we ran an intensive English program from 30 incoming freshman who had placed into the pre-basic English level. By the end of the 3 weeks, students were delivering presentations in English and writing in English on their own blogs. Those same 30 students will continue together through Basic I and II (31013102). It was a beautiful thing to see how the students in the summer insti-

tute grew to be friends as they shared their first experience together at Colegio. The level of confidence and trust that they have in each other should help them feel comfortable taking the risks necessary to speak English.” What do you like most about UPRM? “The students!”

Mío CID / My R&D

Following a similar and recent move by our Office of External Resources (ORE, for its Spanish acronym), the R&D Center Director’s Office has moved to its new home, Room JD-2 of the Administration Building, where until two years ago the Conference Room was located.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Contact: Yuri Rojas— Director [email protected]

http://cid.uprm.edu http://blogs.uprm.edu/cid

BioSEI 2009-2010: RFP Now Open

This program will provide the funding and academic means to prepare our faculty, researchers and students for the development of highly competitive research projects in the field of Bio Science and Engineering at UPRM. The program is requesting innovative and interdisciplinary

research proposals to start projects in this exciting field. We expect to fund three to five research projects of up to $90,000 each during the 18-month period starting January 1, 2009 and ending June 30, 2010. They must be interdisciplinary in nature, incorporate undergraduate and graduate students, and promote collaborations with the private sector, among other requirements. The three thematic areas are: Biotechnology (including Agricultural), Information Technology related to Life Sciences, and Bioengineering. The timeline is as follows:

The new Bio Processes Pilot Plant, could be a collaboration

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Letter of Intent due: September 19, 2008

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Final proposals due: October 23, 2008

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Expected announcement of awards: December 2008

For further information, please contact the R&D Center (Attn. Dr. Marisol Vera, X-5250; email: [email protected]) or visit its webpage: http:// cid.uprm.edu/.

R&DC Statement of Values Last May 15, 2008 the Research &Development Center Board of Directors gave its final approval to the following Statement of Values for the way its personnel conducts business:

VALUES Integrity Responsibility

To conduct our work with integrity, responsibility and sense of urgency, and with a strong commitment to the institution, the community and the environment.

Commitment

Inside this issue:

NEW INDIRECT COST RATE !!!

Carvajal Funds “Democratization” Project

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Research Administration Academy: Fall 2008

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Quick Quiz

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$5M for Nanotech Center

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The Perfect (MRI) Score

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Meet Our Personnel: Human Resources

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Meet Our Researchers: Catherine Mazak

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The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the UPR reached an agreement on the new Facilities and Administration (indirect cost) rates for UPRM, in effect immediately:

On-Campus: 50.0% Off-Campus: 26.0%

NSF Grants UPRM $5 Million for Nanotechnology Center

Carvajal Foundation Funds “Knowledge Democratization” Project The Carvajal Foundation, named in honor of philanthropist Francisco Carvajal, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Puerto Rico to fund a five-year project at UPRM to study and deal with the connections between social inequality and access to university education. The project’s aim is to generate a serious research on this very fundamental topic, but also to make an impact on the lives of students coming from marginalized communities in Puerto Rico, including residential projects (residenciales públicos). During its first year, the project in-

aguez projects who are in Junior High School, and some High school students.

R&DC Board members at the November 2nd, 2007 meeting.

cludes research activities, as well as dissemination, and the development of a first “research and policy paper”. There will also be activities geared towards some sixty children from May-

Dr. Rima Brusi, from the Department of Social Sciences, is the Principal Investigator. The Co-PIs are Dr. David González, (Industrial Engineering), and Dr. Sandra Dika (Office of Institutional Research and Planning). The total amount of funds granted by Carvajal Foundation to UPRM is $449,150. The three PIs are shown on the back row of the photo. On the front row are Francisco Carvajal, two members of his family and UPR President Antonio García-Padilla, Esq.

Pre-Award Sequence CID 101: Proposal Preparation at UPRM August 14, 2008 CID 102: Budget Preparation September 11, 2008 CID 103: Successful Proposals Panel October 9, 2008

Post-Award Sequence CID 201: I got funded...now what?: Budget Issues August 28, 2008 CID 202: Purchasing & Receiving Issues

September 18, 2008 CID 203: AmEx Corporate Card Aug 21, Oct 23 & Dec 4, 2008 CID 204: Human Resources Issues October 30, 2008 CID 205: Accounting Issues November 20, 2008

2.

What are the functions of the IRB?

ANSWERS 1.

IRB stands for “Institutional Review Board”. The Spanish version

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To achieve this goal, the NCBEDSA was structured in four interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs) and an interdisciplinary education group (IEG).

IRG1: Multifunctional nanoparticles for magnetically actuated siRNA delivery (Carlos Rinaldi, Madeline Torres, Eduardo Juan) IRG2: Quantum dot systems for cancer therapy (Oscar Perales, Luis Rivera, Maharaj Tomar, Surinder Singh) IRG3: Nanoporous materials for separations and catalysis (Arturo

Hernández, Nelson Cardona, Raphael Raptis) IRG4: Nanoengineered composite materials for energy efficient devices and applications (O. Marcelo Suárez, Nelson Sepúlveda, Agnes Padovani, Guillermo Serrano, David Suleiman) IEG: Jeanette Santos, Sandra Dika and Jacquelina Álvarez

The IEG’s activities will not only impact society segments (encompassing middle and high schools as well as teachers and public school counselors) but also the whole scholar echelon from undergraduates and graduate students to participating faculty.

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Acquisition of NIR Chemical Imaging Spectrometer to Study Novel Organic Composites (Rodolfo Romanach— Chemistry) Acquisition of a Cryogen-Free Physical Property Measurement System for

Research and Education at UPRM (Yang Li—Eng Sci & Materials)

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Development of a Meteorological Radar Network for Puerto Rico's West Coast (José Colom—Elec&Comp Eng)

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Acquisition of Processing and Testing Equipment for the Integration of Materials Science and Engineering Research at the UPRM (Nelson Sepúlveda—Elec & Comp Eng)

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Acquisition of 15 High-rate GPS Units for Developing a Broadband Earthquake Observation System in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Guoquan Wang—Geology)

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Development of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for Benthic Research and Training (Roy Armstrong—Marine Sciences)

Meet Our Personnel: Human Resources Office is Comité para la Protección de Seres Humanos en la Investigación (CPSHI).

QUESTIONS What does IRB stand for? What is its name in Spanish?

For the second straight year, NSF has approved all three UPRM proposals submitted to the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program. The six awardees are:

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Quick R&DC Quiz 1.

This Nanotechnology Center for Biomedical and Energy-Driven Systems and Applications (NCBEDSA) seeks to

secure national competitiveness of our institution in the area of materials engineering research and nanotechnology.

UPRM goes three for three for the second time in NSF-MRI proposals approved

Research Administration Academy: Fall 2008 Calendar CID 104: Electronic Submission of Proposals November 6, 2008

The National Science Foundation has recently awarded $5 million to our institution for the establishment of a nanotechnology center focused on research and education of biomedical and energy-driven systems and applications. This five-year project, set to start on September 1st, is led by doctors Carlos Rinaldi, Arturo Hernández, Oscar Perales, Jeannette Santos and O. Marcelo Suárez, who is the Principal Investigator, and receives funds from the CREST (Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology) program administered by NSF Directorate for Education and Human Resources.

2.

In accordance with the Letter of Assurance that UPRM issued regarding the use of human subjects in research activities, an

IRB has been established. It is the entity responsible for the approval of revision protocols. It can also request that changes be made in the protocol, or it can deny its approval.

The Human Resources Office has four employees. Shown in the picture are, in the front row, from left to right: Leticia ‘Letty’ Gallardo (HR Analyst III), Nérida ‘Nery’ Montalvo (Administrative Secretary III) and Ileana Latorre (Administrative Assistant II); Jay Jaxon (Supervisor) appears in the back. The duties of this office include

M Í O C I D / MY R & D

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1

identifying and helping in hiring staff for research projects, acting as liaison between researchers and administrative offices regarding additional compensations, and helping in all matters related with health plan, attendance records, licenses and retirement issues. All special appointments and additional compensations from R&DC external sources are handled through this office. Page 3