| Sondra Miller Named 2012 Foundation Scholar | Strategy and Tactics of Proposal Writing | Retirement Reception for David Haws | Distinguished Professor Reception to Honor Peter Müllner | ERC Students Complete Fire Restoration |Senior Design Showcase | COEN Awards Ceremony|Annual Safety Inspection|LSAMP Summer Research| COEN Updates| Funding Opportunities
Miller, CE, Named 2012 Foundation Scholar at Boise State
Boise State University has named faculty members Sondra Miller, Heidi Reeder and Nancy Napier 2012 University Foundation Scholars.
The annual awards honor faculty members who have demonstrated ongoing commitment, expertise and accomplishment in teaching, research/creative activity, or professionally related service. Awards are presented by the Office of the Provost together with the University Foundation.
Sondra Miller, assistant professor of civil engineering, is the recipient of the Foundation Scholars Service Award that celebrates a faculty member who has made substantial professionally related service contributions. The selection committee members were especially impressed by her enthusiastic and selfless devotion to student service while also providing exemplary service to her department, college, university, profession and community. As the first Faculty-in-Residence for the Engineering Residential College, she established a tradition of excellence for the program that has greatly contributed to its ongoing success. As the lead faculty adviser, professor Miller helped the 2010-2011 NASA Microgravity University team successfully design experiments and instrumentation that evaluate the effects of a microgravity environment on bone loss. [continue reading...]
Short Course on Strategy and Tactics of Proposal Writing on May 1st
Dr. Eric Shulenberger has been invited to deliver a short interactive workshop on proposal writing that focuses on strategy and tactics rather than the standard “how to write a proposal” content. The presentation is titled: Deep Strategy and Tactics: Brilliance is not Enough.
Both new and experienced faculty members are encouraged to attend this workshop so we will be making this announcement through a variety of mechanisms; your assistance in circulating information about this opportunity is appreciated!
To register: http://ctl.boisestate.edu/events/workshops/details.asp?1336
Retirement Reception for David Haws on Wednesday, 4/25
There will be a retirement party for David Haws on
Wednesday April 25th
3:30-4:30
second floor Atrium.
Please stop by ENGR 301 when you have a moment to sign the card.
Distinguished Professor Reception to Honor Peter Müllner on May 1st
A reception will be held on Tuesday, May 1st to honor Boise State’s 2012 Distinguished Professors, Peter Müllner, MSE, and Marion Scheepers, Math, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the SUB Barnwell Room. A short program will begin at 5 p.m.
This title constitutes one of the highest honors that can be given to a faculty member at Boise State and is reserved for a small number who have made major contributions to their academic disciplines
Distinguished Professors are expected to make special contributions to the intellectual advancement of their home departments and colleges, as well as to Boise State as a whole. In addition to recognition, the Boise State University Distinguished Professorship includes a stipend to support scholarly activities.
Engineering Residential College Students Complete Fire Restoration Planting
On March 10, 2012, seventeen residents from Boise State University’s Engineering Residential College, a Living Learning Community, planted hundreds of sagebrush and bitterbrush seedlings in an area east of Boise, where a human-caused fire last summer burned critical winter range for big game. Civil engineering sophomore Jacob Norris organized and coordinated the volunteer activity through the Idaho Department of Fish & Game. The group received an award for their service to the community. The 2011-2012 Engineering Residential College includes sixteen freshmen, four sophomores, program assistant Jacob O’Brien and also faculty in residence professor Janet Callahan and teen in residence Ben (who also volunteered that day).
Other service activities that the 2011-2012 Engineering Residential College have enjoyed include a wide variety of hands-on activities, from outreach with hundreds of young people during Discover Engineering Day, to helping build for a day for Habitat for Humanity and readying the Bogus Basin Nordic trails lighting system for the season.
Senior Design Showcase & Industry Reception Will be Held on Thursday, April 26th
The annual Senior Design Showcase and Industry Reception will be held next Thursday, April 26th, from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Engineering Building 1st and 2nd floor atriums. Plan to tour and visit with students about their research projects that will be on display.
COEN Annual Awards Ceremony Will be Thursday, 5/3
Mark your Calendar for the COEN Annual Awards Ceremony: Thursday, May 3rd from 4:30-5:30 in the ENGR second Floor Atrium. Awards will be presented for the four College awards: Professor of the Year, Staff Award for Excellence, Undergraduate Student Award for Excellence and the Student Choice Award.
Annual Safety Inspection Will Be Wednesday, 4/25
The Idaho Division of Bldg Safety walk-through of the ENGR and CM buildings will be held next Wednesday, April 25th. Please make sure to check your offices for the attached infractions. If you need help correcting any problems, contact Paul Robertson proberts@boisestate.edu or Dick Sevier dicksevier@boisestate.edu
Download Powerpoint
Thanks for your help!
Funding Available for Faculty to Support LSAMP Students in Summer Research
The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) has funding for 10 underrepresented STEM students to perform research this summer with faculty mentors. Students will earn ($10.50/hr) for 20 hours a week of research.
Engaging students in opportunities to explore their field of interest outside the classroom setting is critical in supporting students’ success and degree completion. Part of this vital piece of engagement is building positive mentor-ship connections between the faculty and student.
If you have research opportunities in your lab this summer or would like to learn more, email Emily Flores, LSAMP Coordinator at emilyflores@boisestate.edu. Please include your area of research and how many students you would like to mentor.
LSAMP is a 5-year initiative funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)to increase the number of under-represented minority students completing baccalaureate degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Majors eligible for LSAMP are Biological Sciences, Information Technology, Information Science/Studies, Computer Science, Computer Systems Networking, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Chemistry, Geology, Geophysics, and Physics.
COEN Faculty Updates
Mark Rudin, vice president for research and economic development, and Amit Jain, associate professor of computer science, were quoted in an Idaho Business Review story on Boise State’s commitment to a larger computer science department. Demand in that area currently exceeds the number of graduates.
Mandar Khanal, P.E., an Associate Professor and the Associate Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering was a speaker at the 2nd Annual Intelligent Transport Systems India conference held in New Delhi recently. Dr. Khanal’s presentation was titled, “Showcasing the Development of an Intelligent Transportation Systems Toolkit for Traffic Management in India”. Dr. Khanal also served as a panelist in the panel discussion titled, “Highlighting Innovations and Achievements in the Latest Intelligent Transportation Systems Technologies”. The conference was officially endorsed by the Government of Delhi, India.
Janet Callahan, Susan Shadle and Doug Bullock presented ”Faculty Development for STEM Student Success: Generating a Campus Culture of Best Practice” at the March 2012 NSF STEP Grantees Meeting in Washington, D.C. The conference brought together faculty and administrators from across the country to discuss their efforts to recruit and retain STEM students.
A paper by Amy Moll, Materials Science, Louis Nadelson, College of Education, Anne Seifert, Idaho National Laboratory STEM coordinator, and Boise State graduate student Brad Coats was published in the Journal of STEM Education. Read a full version of “i-STEM Summer Institute: An Integrated Approach to Teacher Professional Development in STEM” here. Nadelson’s article titled “Student Attitudes Toward and Recall of Outside Day: An Environmental Science Field Trip,” co-authored with J. Richard Jordan, also was published in The Journal of Educational Research. Read the full article here.
Funding Opportunities
NSF: Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering (REESE)
The Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering (REESE) program seeks to advance research at the frontiers of STEM learning and education, and to provide the foundational knowledge necessary to improve STEM learning and education in current and emerging learning contexts, both formal and informal, from childhood through adulthood, for all groups, and from before school through to graduate school and beyond into the workforce. The goals of the REESE program are: (1) to catalyze discovery and innovation at the frontiers of STEM learning and education; (2) to stimulate the field to produce high quality and robust research results through the progress of theory, method, and human resources; and (3) to coordinate and transform advances in education and learning research. In coordination with the Research on Gender in Science and Engineering (GSE) and Research on Disabilities Education (RDE) programs, REESE supports research on broadening participation in STEM education. REESE pursues its mission by developing an interdisciplinary research portfolio focusing on core scientific questions about STEM learning; it welcomes Fostering Interdisciplinary Research on Education (FIRE) projects, previously called for in a separate solicitation. REESE places particular importance upon the involvement of young investigators in the projects, at doctoral, postdoctoral, and early career stages, as well as the involvement of STEM disciplinary experts. Research questions related to educational research methodology and measurement are also central to REESE activities.
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12552/nsf12552.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click
NSF: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES)
Research on the Science and Technology Enterprise: Statistics and Surveys 12-545
This is about using and improving research via large datasets the NSF provides to address U.S. science and technology arenas including research and development, U.S., competitiveness, STEM Education, and workforce
Due—Every 6 months. Annually from 2013. June 6, 2012, January 15, 2013; January 15 annually thereafter.
Awards and Budget—7–12 awards from total pool of $750K
The NSF NCSES (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics) welcomes efforts by the research community to use NCSES data for research on the science and technology enterprise, to develop improved survey methodologies for NCSES surveys, to create and improve indicators of S&T activities and resources, and strengthen methodologies to analyze and disseminate S&T statistical data. It invites proposals for individual or multi-investigator research projects, doctoral dissertation improvement awards, workshops, experimental research, survey research and data collection and dissemination projects under its program for Research on the Science and Technology Enterprise: Statistics and Surveys. See call for detailed areas of interest and for information on opportunities to license their research data for project use. Available data sets at graduates, business research and development, and public attitudes. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyoverview/overview.cfm
The NSF NCES is one of the thirteen principal federal statistical agencies within the United States. It is responsible for the collection, acquisition, analysis, reporting and dissemination of objective, statistical data related to the science and engineering enterprise in the United States and other nations that is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers and the public. NCSES uses this information to prepare a number of statistical data reports as well as analytical reports including the National Science Board’s biennial report, Science and Engineering (S&E) Indicators, and Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. Program sponsored by the Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences. Division: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
NSF: Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (CDS&E) in Engineering (CDS&E-ENG)
Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (CDS&E) is a NSF-wide cross-disciplinary activity that coordinates relevant disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs at the intersection of mathematics and statistics, computer and computational science, and the core science and engineering disciplines. It is dedicated to the development and use of advanced computational methods, information processing, data mining and analysis, and advanced cyberinfrastructure to enable and execute transformative scientific discovery and engineering innovation, and to the education of experts and non-experts in computation, including workforce development and training.
The CDS&E in engineering (CDS&E-ENG) program recognizes the importance of engineering in CDS&E and vice-versa. Many natural and built engineering processes, devices and/or systems require high fidelity simulations over disparate scales that can be interrogated, analysed, modeled, optimized or controlled, and even integrated with experiments or physical facilities. This program accepts proposals that confront and embrace the host of research challenges presented to the science and engineering communities by the ever-expanding role of computational modeling and simulation on the one hand, and experimental and/or observational data on the other. The goal of the program is to promote the creation, development, and utilization of the next generation of theories, algorithms, methods, tools, and cyberinfrastructure in science and engineering applications.
The CDS&E-ENG program will support fundamental research that will address the aforementioned computational and data-related challenges in science and engineering. Proposals are expected to be relevant to engineering and to have cross-cutting and integrative themes.
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12549/nsf12549.htm
NSF: Enhancing Access to the Radio Spectrum (EARS): Opportunities for interdisciplinary research that increases the efficiency with which radio spectrum is used or expands access to wireless-enabled services for all Americans.
The National Science Foundation’s Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Engineering (ENG), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) are coordinating efforts to identify bold new concepts with the potential to contribute to significant improvements in the efficiency of radio spectrum utilization, and in the ability for traditionally underserved Americans to benefit from current and future wireless-enabled goods and services. EARS seeks to fund innovative collaborative research that transcends the traditional boundaries of existing programs, such as research that spans disciplines covered by two or more of the participating NSF directorates
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12546/nsf12546.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click
Air Force Office of Scientific Research BAA: The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) manages the basic research investment for the U.S. Air Force (USAF). As a part of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), AFOSR’s technical experts foster and fund research within the Air Force Research Laboratory, universities, and industry laboratories to ensure the transition of research results to support USAF needs. Using a carefully balanced research portfolio, research managers seek to create revolutionary scientific breakthroughs, enabling the Air Force and U.S. industry to produce world-class, militarily significant, and commercially valuable products.
To accomplish this task, AFOSR solicits proposals for basic research through this general Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). This BAA outlines the Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program. AFOSR invites proposals for research in many broad areas. These areas are described in detail in Section I of the BAA, Funding Opportunity Description.
AFOSR plans, coordinates, and executes the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) basic research program in response to technical guidance from AFRL and requirements of the Air Force; fosters, supports, and conducts research within Air Force, university, and industry laboratories; and ensures transition of research results to support USAF needs.
The focus of AFOSR is on research areas that offer significant and comprehensive benefits to our national warfighting and peacekeeping capabilities. These areas are organized and managed in three scientific directorates: Aerospace, Chemical and Material Sciences (RSA), Physics and Electronics (RSE), and Mathematics, Information and Life Sciences (RSL). The research activities managed within each directorate are summarized in Section I of the BAA.
For more information: https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=4423fcfa3145408974968e1fe11a94aa&tab=core&_cview=0