Research Revealed: BU Research a $395M boost to US business
July 2019 | Information & Support for the BU Research Community
Insider Insights
- Boston University research projects provided an economic boost to 696 US counties between fiscal years 2015 and 2018—generating $395 million in new business nationally and employing 5,700 people per year. Read more
- Your soup-to-nuts guide to writing an op-ed (BU Public Relations)
- Management tips for new principal investigators (Science)
- Ideas for juggling fieldwork with kids (Nature)
Find Funding
- COS Pivot is an extensive funding database free to BU faculty and staff. Updated daily, the database offers opportunities across disciplines. Creating an account allows you to save search criteria and receive weekly updates on new funding opportunities.
- The American Association for the Advancement of Science is accepting applications for its Science & Technology Policy Fellowship through November 1.
- NASA has launched a new website with resources for scientists and engineers who plan to apply for NASA research opportunities.
- NIH and NSF proposals frequently require descriptions of programs or mentoring practices that support postdocs. Professional Development & Postdoctoral Affairs now offers support through individual consultations, reviewing proposal drafts, or writing letters of support. Learn more or email Sarah Hokanson to request assistance.
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Manage an Award
- Foreign influence in academic research continues to receive increased attention. Take a moment to review current agency regulations including, importantly, how to disclose foreign affiliations in financial support, expenditures, activities, and personnel.
- Department administrators, the popular two-day Foundational Training Workshop on the grant project lifecycle (September 17-18) is now fully booked. If you didn’t register in time you can still email Jen Rogers to put your name on the waitlist and to receive an early-bird notification for our next training in the spring.
- Financial administrators are encouraged to sign up for After-the-Fact Review Training, September 25, which covers how to review posted transactions, plus other tips on grant and gift fund centers.
- Personnel activity reports (PARs) will be distributed for all BU employees paid from sponsored research funds between January and June 2019 on Monday, August 5. Only salary adjustments approved by Post Award Financial Operations (PAFO) by July 29 will be included in the PAR; after July 29, PAFO will not be able to approve an adjustment until the certified PAR is attached to the entry in SAP. The August email will include all your departmental PARs and corresponding control logs. Please certify your PARs using these instructions and return to effort@bu.edu by October 4, 2019.
- Effective July 1, 2019, the Boston University minimum salary and stipend for postdocs increased to $50,004. This minimum applies to all postdocs appointed across both campuses and in all disciplines.
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Conduct Research
- Lab safety coordinators and PIs, brush up on lab safety with new FAQs from Environmental Health & Safety (EHS). In the past two years, EHS has rolled out the BioRAFT system to allow researchers to manage lab space and members, equipment, facility inspections, safety training, chemical inventory (via ChemTracker), radioisotope permitting, and hazardous waste removal. Lab safety coordinators and PIs can log in to BioRAFT to make changes to their profile, including updating lab contacts. Reach out to your EHS Safety Specialist or Technology Program Manager Sony Heir with questions.
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Bring to Market
- Did you know that prior to 1980, researchers with federal funding were required to assign their intellectual property to the government? With the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act in that year, universities were able to pursue ownership of inventions, providing their researchers with new protections, opportunities, and financial incentives to innovate for the first time. The legislation led to the development of technology transfer offices and intellectual property policies at universities—and a tremendous wealth of new inventions, technologies, FDA-approved vaccines and drugs, and trillions of research-related dollars pumped into the US economy.
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Notes & News
- Dean Kenneth Lutchen and Professor John White, Biomedical Engineering (ENG), were elected to the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering.
- Associate Professor Cara Stepp, Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences (SAR) and Assistant Professor Steve Ramirez, Psychological & Brain Sciences (CAS) received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
- Associate Professor Michael Gevelber, Mechanical Engineering (ENG) and affiliated faculty at the Institute for Sustainable Energy, secured a $900K research grant from the Department of Energy to focus on the development of measurement and modeling standards for zonal infiltration and compartmentalization in multifamily buildings.
- BU received an NIH T32 award to launch the Biotechnology Predoctoral Training Program in Synthetic Biology at Boston University, housed at the Biological Design Center. The program is the first in the nation to prepare students for the fast-growing field of synthetic biology. Funding will support three predoctoral trainees per year for their second and third years of residence.
- Construction on the new Center for Computing & Data Sciences at 665 Commonwealth Avenue has been approved by the city of Boston. The building is slated for completion in 2022.
Useful Links
- Introducing: The Brink – A redesigned and renamed news source for BU research and breakthroughs (formerly Research).
- BU Office of Research Events – Upcoming workshops and opportunities to collaborate with BU faculty and experts across disciplines.
- Past Event Resources – Session slides, video recordings, and other materials for every stage of the research project lifecycle.
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