Office of Research Newsletters

March 15, 2022

News from the Office of Research

Campus energy is up as the students return in force. The Office of Research is meeting this energy with various events and workshops — from the SJSU Student RSCA Competition, to the Celebration of Research, to the Kentucky Interactive Mentoring to Enhance Research Skills (iMERS) workshops on getting National Institutes of Health funding, and much more. I encourage you to look at our offerings and attend those that celebrate SJSU, your students, and help further your own RSCA trajectory. If there are opportunities for support and engagement not represented in our current programming, please reach out to me as I would love to discuss new possibilities.

I would also like to highlight the important note about new federal regulations in civility in research settings in the Research Compliance section of this communication. The regulations only impact a small portion of RSCA at SJSU, however I believe it is imperative that all RSCA at SJSU follow these guidelines. The RSCA enterprise must be an inclusive and supportive space
for all, as this allows us to fulfill the obligation we have to being an ethical institution and to support the ethos of SJSU. As such, civility and inclusiveness in RSCA are paramount to our continued growth in RSCA and impact on society through RSCA.

Richard Mocarski
Associate Vice President for Research

News from Research Development

Brainstorming for Future Funding — This Week!
California SB 170/155 Collaborative Listening Session

Tomorrow, Wednesday March 16, at 2:30 p.m., the Office of Research will be hosting a collaborative listening session and discussion for any SJSU faculty working in the climate, oceans, fire, and ecosystem monitoring space in preparation for the California State Funding Initiatives on Climate Change. If you are working in one of these areas, or would simply like to hear more, please join us. The Zoom link will be sent to those who RSVP.

RSVP for this Session

Agricultural Research Listening Session

The Office of Research will be hosting a one-hour collaborative listening session and discussion with Dr. David Still, Director of the CSU Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) Affinity Group, Wednesday, March 30, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ARI recently had $50M dollars dedicated for its research agenda, and is interested in faculty collaborations across the system - inclusive of aquaculture as a type of farming. Contact Julia Gaudinski if you would like to join this listening session to learn more about the ARI areas of interest and priorities, and to discuss your relevant work in the hopes of future funding collaborations.

Strategic Grants Highlights for the Month

View All Strategic Grants

SJSU Student RSCA Competition is this Thursday!

The SJSU Student RSCA Competition takes place this Thursday, March 17, at 1:00 p.m. If you are interested in hearing more about the fantastic research that SJSU undergraduates, graduates, and recent alumni are engaged in, please drop in. Students will be presenting their original RSCA and competing for the chance to participate in SJSU’s annual Celebration of
Research. Finalists will represent the SJSU at the 36th Annual California State University Student Research Competition at San Francisco State University April 29-30, 2022.

RSVP

Annual Celebration of Research - Mark Your Calendars!

The much anticipated Annual Celebration of Research will be held in person this year, and will take place on Thursday, April 14, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., in the Diaz Compean Student Union Ballroom! The program will honor the SJSU Research Foundation Early Career Investigator Award (ECIA) winners and the SJSU Grad Slam student winners. Additionally, there
will be a poster session featuring the RSCA work of the SJSU Student RSCA Competition finalists, participants in the Research and Innovation Student RSCA Fellowship (formerly the Student RSCA Grant Initiative), and the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP).

Register for the Event

Newly Released Limited Submissions & Upcoming Deadlines

View All SJSU Limited Submissions

RSCA in Five: Faculty Short Talks

Ethnic Studies Education: New Educational Models for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

RSCA in Five logoPresenter slots are filling up fast for the final RSCA in Five event for Spring 2022. This virtual event will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Friday, May 6, 2022, and will explore ways to create equitable, inclusive, and culturally-resonant  educational practices, which enable students to draw upon both their community and academic identities. Please sign up to present or attend.

RSVP for Event

Summer 2022 University Grants Academy (UGA)

The 2022 Summer University Grants Academy is currently accepting applications. This program supports SJSU tenured and tenure-track faculty from across all disciplines through the process of writing an external grant proposal to fund their RSCA. The Summer program will run from June 6 to August 12. Successful applicants will receive a $4,000 summer fellowship and $500 in Professional Development funds. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m., April 4, 2022.

Apply Now

RD Grant Getting Workshops

If you are looking to enhance your RSCA with extramural funding, then consider attending our RD Grant Getting Workshops — all virtual through Spring 2022.

  • How and Why to Apply for the University Grants Academy – March 21, 2022 at 10:45 a.m.
  • NSF CAREER Resubmissions – April 14, 2022 at 10:45 a.m.
  • Managing Online Scholarly Identity and Using Pivot – April 25, 2022 at 10:45 a.m.
  • Equipment Grants – May 13, 2022 at 10:45 a.m.
  • MSI/HSI Programmatic Grants – May 25, 2022 at 10:45 a.m.

View RD Workshops and RSVP

NIH iMERS Workshop May 17-18, 2022 — Save the Date

Considering applying to National Institutes of Health (NIH), and want to learn more? SJSU will be hosting a two-day workshop for faculty interested in pursuing NIH funding for their RSCA. The University of Kentucky Interactive Mentoring to Enhance Research Skills (iMERS) workshop is particularly geared to faculty conducting RSCA at minority serving institutions and primarily undergraduate institutions. Watch for more details about this in next month’s newsletter, and be sure to mark your calendars!

Find Out More About iMERS

Faculty Q&A Sessions on Start-up Professional Development and RSCA Fund Uses

To better support your research and professional development efforts, the Office of Research has partnered with Academic Business and Strategic Operations to host the following two Spring 2022 Faculty Q&A Sessions:

  • Wednesday, March 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
  • Wednesday, April 13 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

These sessions will provide you with a quick overview of the different funding types that are available, as well as an opportunity to ask any questions relating to your start-up, professional development, and RSCA funds. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP. The Zoom link will be sent to those who register.

Session Registration

Pressing Problems & Emerging Solutions in Aging Research

Symposium | Friday, April 15, 12:30–2:00 p.m.

This collaborative symposium with scholars from the SJSU Center for Healthy Aging in Multicultural Populations (CHAMP) and Stanford Aging and Ethnogeriatrics (SAGE) Research Center will highlight current research and practice concerns in the field of aging. The symposium will include brief highlights from the field followed by brief presentations from seven scholars.
There will be time for questions and discussion.

For additional details about the event and to register, please follow the link below. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. If you have questions, feel free to contact Associate Dean for Research and Faculty,College of Health and Human Sciences, Laurie Drabble.

Event Registration

RSCA Tip of the Month — Explore SJSU'S Main Funding Search Tool

Pivot is now SJSU’s main tool to find RSCA funding and get automated funding alerts tailored to your RSCA needs. Pivot, is a comprehensive funding opportunities database that features customized funding searches, funding opportunity tracking, deadline alerts, and more. The tool is  available to faculty, staff, and students. To explore Pivot, you will need to create a new account using your SJSU login information. Do not sign in using the “Institution’s Credentials” option.

Pivot logoPivot workshops are provided twice a semester. The next workshop — Managing Online Scholarly Identity and Using Pivot — will be held Monday, April 25, 2022, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. For additional assistance, request 1-1 Pivot training by emailing funding-information@sjsu.edu.

Research Compliance News

Civility in the Research Environment

The recent resignation of Eric Lander, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, due to allegations that he had "bullied and demeaned his subordinates” has brought the issue of bullying and harassment in research settings into stark relief.

In 2019, as part of a broader program of anti-harassment resources, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) administered a Workplace Climate and Harassment Survey to NIH employees, contractors, fellows, and trainees. The results of this survey, available on the NIH website, identified a number of alarming patterns about the research environment, including the fact that 1 in 5 respondents had experienced sexual harassment, 10% had experienced bullying, and 50% had experienced incivility.

U.S. universities are clearly still grappling with the pervasiveness and severity of these issues, as well as possible underlying environmental factors. As SJSU builds the RSCA enterprise, it is imperative that we create a safe environment for our most important assets — our people. To that end, there are several resources available if you experience or witness harassment, discrimination, or bullying, whether or not you want to make a formal allegation. It is also important to know that retaliation of any kind is prohibited under federal and state law, as well as by CSU Policy.

For issues related to research misconduct, which can include creating an environment that directly or indirectly encourages data fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism, you can contact the Research Compliance Unit.

To discuss discrimination or harassment based on (but not limited to) age, ancestry, color, creed, disability, marital status, medical condition, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation, you can contact the Office for Equal Opportunity at (408) 924-2459.

Finally, the SJSU Title IX and Gender Equity Office is committed to protecting all people regardless of their gender or gender identity from sex discrimination, which includes sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, dating/domestic violence, stalking, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions.

All SJSU employees, with limited exceptions, are required to report. If you or someone you know has experienced sex discrimination or sexual misconduct, please file an online report, or contact the Title IX Office at 669-877-0620 for resources and assistance.

Other resources: 

Research Foundation Updates

SJSU Research Foundation Office of Sponsored Programs Welcomes New Human Resources Manager

The San José State University Research Foundation is pleased to welcome new Human Resources Manager, Vicky Farias. Her first day at the Research Foundation was February 21. In addition to assisting with day to day HR operations, Vicky will oversee payroll, recruitment, and HR compliance functions. Prior to joining the SJSU Research Foundation team, she was the
assistant director of HR at Kidango Inc. Please free to connect directly with Ms. Farias via email: vicky.farias@sjsui.edu.

New Research Awards

Business

Karen E. Philbrick – Business, Dean's Office, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC): MTC Leadership Academy Training

Engineering

Gautam Kumar – Biomedical,Chemical and Material Engineering, Emory University: CONTROL-CORE: A Modular Simulation Environment for Design and Prototyping of Closed-loop Peripheral Neuromodulation Control Systems using the O2S2PARC Platform

Liat Rosenfeld – Biomedical, Chemical and Material Engineering, Calif State University, Fresno: XR-FLC Faculty Participants

Health and Human Sciences

Areum Jensen – Kinesiology, National Institutes of Health: The Role of Sympathetic Nervous System Activity on Blood Pressure Regulation in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Humanities & The Arts

James Coleman – English & Comparative Literature, Regents of The University of California: San Jose Area Writing Project 2021-2022 - CSMP ESSER

Science

Adam Kochanski – Meteorology & Climate Science, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories: Datasets of Weather and Wildfire Fuel for California

Adam Kochanski – Meteorology & Climate Science, U.S. Forest Service: Measuring and Modeling Smoke Plumes and Emissions based on Aggregated, Object-based Fuel Structures

Dustin Carroll – Moss Landing Marine Lab, Brown University: Analysis of the Role of Diel Vertical Migrators in the Marine Biological Pump

Luke Gardner – Moss Landing Marine Lab, Elkhorn Slough Foundation: Elkhorn Slough Tidal Marsh Restoration: Phase III

Alejandro L. Garcia – Physics & Astronomy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories: Stochastic and Hybrid Models and Algorithms for Fluids

Ehsan Khatami – Physics & Astronomy, University of Tennessee: AI and Data Science Enabled Predictive Modeling of Collective Phenomena in Strongly Correlated Quantum Materials

Social Sciences

Margaret Stevenson – Justice Studies, Santa Clara County: San José State University Research Foundation (SJSURF) Service Navigation 2021–2022

Sean P. Laraway – Psychology, SkyTran, Inc.: Vertical Motion Simulator Research Assistance

Office of Research

Michael Muthig – Office of Research, Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation: The Spartan SBDC

University Library

Kathryn Blackmer Reyes – University Library, American Library Association: Restoring the AAACNA Studies Center Humanities Programming