March 2019
National Science Foundation program officers visiting campus
I hope that each one of you is having a great Spring Break this week and a productive semester. Although many of you are away from campus for a few days, I'd still like to give you a brief update from the Office of Research and Economic Development.
David Shaw is vice president for research and economic development at Mississippi State University.
Are you part of The Conversation?
Last summer, Mississippi State joined The Conversation -- a terrific online platform where the nation's leading universities and scholars can share their research success stories and showcase faculty expertise on important issues of the day. Since July, we've had 18 articles published on The Conversation's website, and they've generated 1,040,544 reads and counting. Additionally, a number of the articles have been picked up by media outlets here in the state and around the country too, including PBS, CNBC, Newsweek, Marketwatch, Business Insider, Houston Chronicle, Science Alert, The Sun Herald, among others. If you haven't seen them, they're online at https://theconversation.com/institutions/mississippi-state-university and if you're interested in writing for The Conversation, I'd encourage you to contact Allison Matthews at amatthews@opa.msstate.edu or Harriet Laird at hlaird@opa.msstate.edu in the Office of Public Affairs for details.
Federal program officers visiting campus
As the research funding environment becomes more competitive, relationships with federal agency program officers are essential. Faculty, as well as graduates students and post-docs, will have the opportunity to hear from two National Science Foundation program officers next week. Cesar Nufio, the program director for the Division of Environmental Biology in the Directorate for Biological Sciences, and Dena Smith, the program director for the Division of Earth Sciences in the Directorate of Geosciences, will provide an overview of funding opportunities on March 21 at 11 a.m. in Colvard Student Union's Fowlkes Auditorium. During their visit to campus, they also will be available for one-on-one sessions for faculty to pitch a proposal idea and receive immediate feedback. Please contact Lynn Taylor at ltaylor@research.msstate.edu or 662-325-3168 to schedule an appointment. They will also have a presentation for graduate students and post-docs at 2 p.m. in Room 329 in the Union. I invite you to learn more about the two seminars at https://www.research.msstate.edu/seminars.
Parisi taking leave of absence to lend expertise to Italian government
Congratulations to Mimmo Parisi, who is taking a year-long, unpaid leave of absence from the university to serve as director of an Italian government agency charged with improving unemployment in that country. Dr. Parisi and the NSPARC team have had great success developing the Mississippi Works app that connects people to available jobs in our state, and I'm sure his expertise will be a great asset to the Italian government. I'm also confident that NSPARC will continue its outstanding work under the leadership of Associate Vice President Allen Parrish during this interim period. Please feel free to reach out to Dr. Parrish at allen.parrish@msstate.edu or 662-325-3570. Read more at https://www.research.msstate.edu/rresources/news.php?id=6173.
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 Matthew Brown, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, whose research developed using an $832,000 NSF grant is gaining international attention in Current Biology, a leading scientific journal. Dr. Brown and his team focused on linking ancient fossils to modern living organisms using a new method, advanced in his lab, which bypasses genome sequencing. Read more at http://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=4985.
* Congratulations to Laura Allen, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and director of the Language of Learning Lab, who has been honored by the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences with an early career impact award. The award recognizes her research on cognitive processes that drive multiple text comprehension. Read more at http://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=4967.
Final words
Thank you for taking the time to read this month's letter. Please feel free to contact me at dshaw@research.msstate.edu if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns about any of our research and economic development activities or visit https://www.research.msstate.edu.