Welcome back, faculty!
We hope you’re all having a great start to the new year. Please see the list of announcements, funding opportunities, and resources below.
Announcements
- ORSP will be closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, January 15. We look forward to reconnecting with you when we return on Tuesday, January 16.
- Effective January 25, 2024, all senior/key personnel listed on an NIH proposal must have an eRA Commons ID. If you plan to submit or participate on an NIH proposal but do not have an eRA Commons ID (or are unsure if you have one), please contact ORSP as soon as possible.
- The Gary W. Rollins College of Business and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research has launched the Harris Chair Innovation Mini-Grant Program, a new opportunity for all faculty and staff at UTC to support innovative ideas and solutions. Applicants must have the intention to pursue commercialization of their work through licensing or entrepreneurship. Proposals for funding up to $5,000 will be considered. Click here to learn more and apply. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2024. Please contact Thomas-Lyons@utc.edu or Jennifer-Skjellum@utc.edu with questions.
- The UTC Research Institute has announced the FY24-25 PACCT program awardees. The intent of this CEACSE program is to foster interdisciplinary teams to advance research development, community outreach, and capacity building activities within the UTC Research Institute’s two focus areas: Transportation & Mobility and Quantum Technologies. Please join us in congratulating the following faculty teams on their award. Information on the FY25 CEACSE competition will be announced at a later date. For more information on PACCT or CEACSE, please contact Hannah Archer at hannah-archer@utc.edu.
- Dr. Mengjun Xie (Computer Science and Engineering) and Dr. Tian Li (Chemistry and Physics) – “Enhancing the Capacity of Quantum Key Distribution Research and Education through an Integrated Approach”
- Dr. Dalei Wu (Computer Science and Engineering), Dr. Keenan Dungey (Chemistry and Physics), Dr. Yu Liang and Dr. Yukun Yuan (Computer Science and Engineering) – “Intelligent Reconfigurable Battery System for Enhanced and Robust Electric Mobility”
- Dr. Yukun Yuan (Computer Science and Engineering), Dr. Feng Guo (Psychology), Dr. Yu Liang and Dr. Dalei Wu (Computer Science and Engineering) – “Power and Transportation System Co-optimization with Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles via Dynamic Pricing and Charging Rate Control”
- Dr. Gokhan Erdemir (Engineering Management and Technology), Navid Aghakhani (Management), Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu (Engineering Management and Technology) – “Development of Blockchain-based Secure Data-Sharing Framework for Automated Guided Vehicles and Collaborative Robots”
Funding Opportunities
If you are interested in applying to any of the opportunities below, please notify ORSP at least 4-6 weeks in advance of the deadline. Proposals with fewer than 5 business days notice may face barriers to submission. More information about ORSP’s proposal development timeline and services is available here.
| Sponsor/Program | Deadline | Limitations or Special Considerations |
| DOE Early Career Research Program | Pre-Application:January 30, 2024 | A 3-page pre-application is required. PIs must be an untenured Assistant Professor and have received their PhD within the last 12 years (on or after January 1, 2011). PIs who have received early career awards from other agencies are eligible, but the proposed research must have a different scope from the funded project. No Co-PIs are permitted. Full applications will be by invitation only and due April 25, 2024. A PI may not participate in more than three SC Early Career Research Program competitions. |
| UT Alliance of Women Philanthropists Circle of Giving Grants Program | February 19, 2024 | Open to faculty, staff, and students. Proposals must be submitted for routing in Cayuse SP by February 19. ORSP will submit the proposals to AWP after review and approval. If you are interested in applying, please contact Lindsey-Nabors@utc.edu for next steps. |
| EPA Annual P3 Competition | February 21, 2024 | The project team must include a faculty mentor and undergraduate and/or graduate students. Specific research areas of interest are defined in the RFP. Register here for an informational webinar on January 22, 2024. |
| NSF DCL: Planning Grants to Broaden Participation in the Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Program | February 23, 2024 | This Dear Colleague Letter solicits proposals to Track 1 of the Broadening Participation in Engineering program to prepare teams to compete in the FY25 round of the EFRI program on the following topic: EnGINeering Organoid Intelligence (BEGIN OI), as defined here. Prospective PIs must contact the PO for guidance/approval prior to submission. |
| NSF Expanding TRIPODS through Partnerships (XTRIPODS) | March 1, 2024 | All senior personnel, including PIs/Co-PIs, must hold a tenured or tenure-track position OR a primary, full-time, paid appointment in a research or teaching position. An individual may participate on only one proposal per competition, regardless of role. PIs must partner with a TRIPODS Phase II Institute: Foundations of Data Science Institute (FODSI), Institute for Data, Econometrics, Algorithms, and Learning (IDEAL), Institute for Emerging CORE Methods in Data Science (EnCORE), or Institute for Foundations of Data Science (IFDS). |
| NSF Strengthening American Infrastructure (SAI) | March 12, 2024 | An individual may participate on only one proposal, regardless of role. The PI or Co-PI must have leadership expertise in an SBE disciplinary program area. |
| NSF Future of Semiconductors (FuSe2) | March 14, 2024 | Each FuSe2 project requires a minimum of one PI and one co-PI. An individual may participate in only 1 proposal per competition. All senior personnel must be tenured, tenure-track, or have a primary, full-time appointment in a research or teaching position. |
| NEA Research Grants in the Arts | March 25, 2024 | A program for arts-related research. Proposals must align with at least one of the priority topics identified in the program description. A 1:1 cost share is required. |
| NSF ExpandQISE | April 1, 2024 | An individual may participate as PI or Co-PI on only one proposal, regardless of Track. An external Co-PI with QISE expertise is required. UTC can submit an unlimited number of Track 1 (single PI proposals). Track 2 (team proposals) is a limited submission opportunity and must have institutional support. If you are interested in participating in a Track 2 proposal, please contact Vice Chancellor Mann at Reinhold-Mann@utc.edu. |
| NSF DCLs: Funding Opportunities for Engineering Research in the following topic areas:Emerging Areas of Advanced ManufacturingArtificial IntelligenceQuantum Information Science and EngineeringMicroelectronics and SemiconductorsAdvanced WirelessBiotechnology | April 30, 2024 | These Dear Colleague Letters solicit proposals on these topics to specific ENG programs. Proposals must be submitted by April 30, 2024 for FY2024 consideration. Proposals submitted after this date will be considered for FY2025 funding. Restrictions and guidance vary by program; see each DCL for more information. |
Sponsored Projects Policy Spotlight: Unpaid Student Workers
UTC students benefit from our campus’ robust research ecosystem through both sponsored (funded by a grant or contract) and non-sponsored research activities. In contrast to student participants/beneficiaries, an “unpaid student worker” is a student that serves in an unpaid capacity in a role that, if included in the budget, would be considered a “personnel” role. This distinction applies regardless of whether the student is enrolled in or recruited from a specific course/capstone project.
ORSP encourages faculty to budget for all planned student workers as paid employees,either at an hourly rate or via a Graduate Assistantship including both the tuition remission and stipend. Doing so not only avoids issues of unfairness and inequitable access, but it also avoids the potential compliance and policy complications outlined here.
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator/Project Director to determine the relative risks and benefits of including unpaid workers on sponsored projects, but you don’t have to make that decision in a bubble. If you are planning a research project and are thinking about including unpaid students (from a course or as general volunteers), please reach out to ORSP’s pre-award team to discuss your options. We’re here to help!
Best,
Ashley Ledford,
Director of Pre-Award Services
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Book a meeting with me!