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University Research Explained

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University Research Explained

Election to Electron: How Election Time Inflames the Fight for Federal Funding

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There is a sport where two individuals clash in front of thousands of screaming fans. A heated bout where both participants throw jabs at each other and launch haymakers hoping to land a knockout blow; and it’s all for money. A bloody display of barbarism and competition not unlike the violent exhibitions of Roman gladiators. That sport … is called politics. Unlike boxing, … [Read more...] about Election to Electron: How Election Time Inflames the Fight for Federal Funding

From Concept to Commercialization: The Importance of Supporting IP in our Universities

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The road to the next life-altering discovery, invention or device often begins with university-imagined Intellectual Property (IP) and ends when an outside company makes the investment to productize the discovery. Is there enough emphasis placed on this pipeline nationwide? The more one looks at this complicated question, we see there are numerous problems; in a rush to publish … [Read more...] about From Concept to Commercialization: The Importance of Supporting IP in our Universities

Getting (Un)Involved: Climate Change Researchers and The Paris Agreement

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We’re not spending money on that anymore. We consider that to be a waste of your money. These words regarding climate change were spoken by Mick Mulvaney, director of the Trump Administration’s Office of Management and Budget. The government has rolled back policies that aimed to slow down climate change and reduce environmental pollution. It has also limited federal funding … [Read more...] about Getting (Un)Involved: Climate Change Researchers and The Paris Agreement

Internal Awards for COVID and Racial Justice Research

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These months have been difficult. Every person has tired of the quarantine. Tired of the anxiety, the endless memes on social media, the debates. At the same time, we're facing issues of race relations. These issues are taxing. But higher education is strong. Universities are using its font of resources to understand these important issues better. Internal awards Many … [Read more...] about Internal Awards for COVID and Racial Justice Research

Opening Moves: Expanding Research in Machine Learning

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One might not expect the game of checkers to have anything to do with Artificial Intelligence, but the game really marked the beginning of machine learning in 1959. Pioneered by an MIT professor named Arthur Lee Samuel, it was discovered that teaching a simple strategy game to a computer is not so simple when every move needs to be anticipated. Smart machines Additionally, … [Read more...] about Opening Moves: Expanding Research in Machine Learning

RAPID-ly Slowing the Spread of COVID-19

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Ask any researcher – proposals are a lot of work and they take a long time to get approved. At least, that’s how it usually goes. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a natural uptick in the amount of funded Rapid Response Research (RAPID) grants from the NSF. With an abbreviated timeline, these grants go to the researchers on the frontlines who are doing all types of … [Read more...] about RAPID-ly Slowing the Spread of COVID-19

Staying Sane: Mental Health Research in the Time of COVID-19

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Researchers across every discipline are redirecting their work in order to study COVID-19. The well-being of our global community depends on it. While some are exploring vaccines for the respiratory illness (according to the Guardian, 78 strains of the vaccine are currently in the works), others are saying that researching mental health issues around the pandemic is an equally … [Read more...] about Staying Sane: Mental Health Research in the Time of COVID-19

Are You “Essential Research Personnel”?

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Many researchers have begun to work from home due to the novel COVID-19 pandemic, and only essential personnel are allowed to work on university campuses. For a researcher, what is considered “essential personnel”? Isn’t all research essential to the workings of a public research university? In a word, no. As much as one would like to believe their respective job is of the … [Read more...] about Are You “Essential Research Personnel”?

Securing the Internet of Things

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The Internet of Things (IoT) “There are a number of problems with ushering in the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), which all center on the security capabilities of the connected system,” writes Nick Ismail of Information Age magazine. The Big Hitter Aron Laszka, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science in the College of Natural Sciences … [Read more...] about Securing the Internet of Things

Reproducibility, Rigor and Rigmarole

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Imagine a hypothetical “Dear Abby” letter to the science community: “I am the principal investigator and corresponding author on a paper detailing research findings in our lab. A leading investigator at another university contacted me and states that she cannot duplicate our results.  I re-ran the samples analyzed by my post-doc and I couldn’t either. What do I do? … [Read more...] about Reproducibility, Rigor and Rigmarole

Down to Earth: Has America Returned from its Giant Leap?

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Kardashians over the cosmos, sports over science, memes over medical breakthroughs, dragons over discoveries; the American public is the neglectful parent that can’t take their eye off the big game while their bespectacled, bright-eyed daughter is trying to show them the A+ she got on her science project. In a world where most Americans don’t consume science news, NASA … [Read more...] about Down to Earth: Has America Returned from its Giant Leap?

Keeping the Lights On: The Cost of Research

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Congratulations, your proposal has been funded! These are words that every principal investigator (PI) wants to hear. But much like the lottery, the amount that glitters on signage near freeways is not the amount the investigator will receive. When the money is set up in the PI’s project cost center, a portion of the awarded amount, which is based on the university … [Read more...] about Keeping the Lights On: The Cost of Research

How Should Universities View China?

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By Claudia Neuhauser, Ph.D. and Brian Herman, Ph.D. Free exchange of ideas created a global community of scholars We have enjoyed and benefited from decades of relative tranquility in academia where the focus on fundamental science created a global community of scholars that came with a free and unrestrained exchange of ideas. Research thrived in this community without … [Read more...] about How Should Universities View China?

Finding Success in Running a Research Center

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Running a Research Center It takes bravery, creativity and a plan. Long days and constant pressure. It takes a lot to launch a successful business. The same is true for starting and managing an effective research center. A research center may not be about the bottom line, but it still has to stand out from its competitors. It still has to collaborate with colleagues in … [Read more...] about Finding Success in Running a Research Center

Word Choice Helps With Communicating Science

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Communicating science So you’re a researcher. Communicating science to a non-scientific audience scares the chemistry out of you. You’ve spent your entire career studying fungiform papillae density. The mere thought of fungiform papillae density gives you a rush that even love cannot provide. You know everything about fungiform papillae density. One day you have an … [Read more...] about Word Choice Helps With Communicating Science

3 Ways to Prevent University Research Misconduct

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There are so many instances of university research misconduct that the spotlight is shining brighter on institutions now than ever. Not the good kind of spotlight, either. Findings involving university research can be either good or bad. We celebrate, publish and acknowledge scientific contributions at universities. After all, research is part of our mission. Conversely, there … [Read more...] about 3 Ways to Prevent University Research Misconduct

In Fraud We Trust: Top 5 Cases of Misconduct in University Research

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There’s a thin line between madness and immorality. This idea of the “mad scientist” has taken on a charming, even glorified perception in popular culture. From the campy portrayal of Nikola Tesla in the first issue of Superman, to Dr. Frankenstein, to Dr. Emmet Brown of Back to the Future, there’s no question Hollywood has softened the idea of the mad scientist. So, I will not … [Read more...] about In Fraud We Trust: Top 5 Cases of Misconduct in University Research

Top Research Leaders Share Their Secrets to Success

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Managing a large research enterprise comes with its fair share of pressure. Successful leaders make a conscious effort to maintain their well-being, relying on support networks both on and off campus.   We asked research and innovation leaders from Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, the University of Pittsburgh and our own fearless leader, Amr Elnashai, to reveal how … [Read more...] about Top Research Leaders Share Their Secrets to Success

Research Interrupted: Effect of Government Shutdown on University Research

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As the partial government shutdown loomed, academic institutions explored ways this might affect their research operations. Although we expect delays in processing proposals and award payouts, the impact on the institution may have been much less than expected. Consequently, most of the impact occurred at the individual PI level. That is where research that required federal … [Read more...] about Research Interrupted: Effect of Government Shutdown on University Research

Industry Funding: Closing the Gap for Women Researchers

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The researchers had a hypothesis. Women faculty, they predicted, would be more successful than their male counterparts at earning private funding – from industry, from nonprofit groups, from charitable endowments. That was about relationships, after all, an area where the popular literaturesuggests women excel. The numbers told a different story. A review of faculty research … [Read more...] about Industry Funding: Closing the Gap for Women Researchers