August 2018
Productive summer leading to start of new academic year
Once again, it's hard to believe we're at the start of a new academic year at Mississippi State. We've had a very productive summer in the Office of Research and Economic Development, and I hope you have too.
Before your calendar fills with appointments and events, I'd like to invite you to join me for a Research Resource Fair on Sept. 17 from 1-3 p.m. This come-and-go event in Colvard Student Union's Foster Ballroom, Section S, will give faculty, research staff, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students ample opportunities to discover the many resources available to them, network with colleagues, and visit with me about their research. Our center and institute directors will also be on hand, along with representatives from all of ORED's supporting units. I look forward to seeing many of you there. Additional information is available at https://www.research.msstate.edu/seminars.
Please let me take a moment of your time to share a few other items of interest.
David Shaw is vice president for research and economic development at Mississippi State University.
New class graduates from Departmental Administrator Working Group
Congratulations to this year's Departmental Administrator Working Group graduates: Latara Arterberry, T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability; Natalie Carpenter, Bagley College of Engineering; Michelle Martin, Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems; Valisa McNeil, Delta Research and Extension Center; Lester Mitchell, Coastal Research and Extension Center; Lori Staggs, College of Education; Laikyn Starkey, Poultry Science; Kelsey Stewart, Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology; Yolanda Tate, Montgomery Center for America's Veterans; Kristen Thompson; Delta Research and Extension Center; and Stephen Williamson, Student Leadership and Community Engagement. And a special thanks to the Office of Sponsored Projects for leading this program every year.
ITAR, export control briefing set for September
The Office of Research Security will host an ITAR and export control briefing open to all faculty and staff on Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. in Conference Room 20 at the High Performance Computing Collaboratory. Jonathan Barnes, a special agent with the Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Export Enforcement, will lead the one-hour session, and you can learn more about this very important presentation at https://www.research.msstate.edu/rresources/news.php?id=5924.
Enhancing the IRB review and approval process
You may have noticed that recruitment materials and consent documents for some human research studies no longer have the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research approval stamp. To streamline the review process, about a year ago, the IRB removed the requirement to stamp documents for "Exempt" studies. If you're asked to display recruitment materials or participate in a study and have a question about whether a study has received proper review by the IRB, please feel free to contact the Human Research Protection Program office at irb@research.msstate.edu or at 662-325-5220.
September deadline for travel grants and undergrad research grants
The application deadline for fall semester travel grants and for undergraduate research grants is coming up Sept. 7. Complete details about these programs, including all requirements, are available online at https://www.research.msstate.edu/funds and you may direct any questions about them to Devon Brenner at facultysupport@research.msstate.edu or 662-325-3570.
Kudos and congratulations
Every month, I look forward to sharing faculty and staff success stories with you, and here are a few that have crossed my desk recently:
* Kudos to all who contributed to Mississippi State's successful application to shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter -- an effort led by Professor Robert West in the Department of English since 2007. What a remarkable achievement! Read more at https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2018/08/mississippi-state-shelter-chapter-phi-beta-kappa-nation-s-most-prestigious.
* Congratulations to Reuben Burch, Harish Chander, Hilary DeShong, Thu Dinh, Hyungsuk Lim, Mohammad Marufuzzaman, Saeed Rokooei, Colleen Scott, Andrea Strzelec and Gregg Twietmeyer. They are recipients of 2018-19 SEC Visiting Faculty Travel Grants. Read more at http://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=4711.
* Kudos to Yang Zhao, an assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering in the Bagley College of Engineering, who has been awarded a grant from the Egg Industry Center to study the use of robots in the collection of floor eggs and to determine the effect of the robot's presence on the behavior of the birds. Read more at http://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=4710.
* Congratulations to Alexandra Hui, an associate professor in the Department of History, who has been elected to the American Historical Association Council. Additionally, Dr. Hui and Matthew Lavine, also an associate professor of history, have been named co-editors of the History of Science Society's publications, Isis, a quarterly journal, and Osiris, an annual publication. Read more at https://www.history.msstate.edu/news.
* Kudos to Bailey Anderson, a senior accountant in the Office of Research and Economic Development, who recently completed the university's 2018 Leadership Excellence for Accomplished Professionals program. Read more at http://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=4747.
Final words
My office works closely with the MSU Foundation on a range of projects, and I was pleased to see last month that the university had another outstanding year of fundraising -- $102.5 million in FY2018. It marked five years running in which institutional fundraising surpassed $100 million. Read more at https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2018/07/msu-fundraising-tops-100m-fifth-straight-year.
In fact, I had an opportunity to meet with the Foundation's Board of Directors in July, and we had a very good discussion about the university's updated research priorities. The slides from my presentation -- Research for the 21st Century and Beyond -- are posted at https://www.research.msstate.edu/rresources if you'd like to review them. You can find the research focus areas at https://www.research.msstate.edu/rresources/ResearchFocusAreas.pdf.
Thanks for reading this month's update from ORED. I welcome your suggestions, questions, or concerns about any of our research and economic development activities at dshaw@research.msstate.edu.