New DOE EPSCoR Funding Opportunity for Kansas

The Department of Energy Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DOE EPSCoR) has issued a funding opportunity announcement for Implementation Grants for energy-related research.  The State of Kansas has the opportunity to submit one proposal to this program. Please see the solicitation below for details on how to submit.

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Colleagues:

The State of Kansas has an opportunity to submit a single proposal to the Department of Energy EPSCoR program.

The Department of Energy has just announced a new Implementation Grant opportunity under the DoE EPSCoR program. The State of Kansas has the opportunity to submit one [1] proposal to this program for energy-related research. Please see the program announcement: http://science.energy.gov/~/media/grants/pdf/foas/2014/SC_FOA_0001087.pdf

Please see the following deadlines:

1. Letters of intent to be the Kansas submission due to the interim DoE EPSCoR Director by March 10, 2014. The LOI must address all aspects necessary for the LOI requested by the Department of Energy, and should be sent to: Guikema@ksu.edu 

2. The EPSCoR review team will evaluate the LOIs and select the proposal to go forward. The PIs will be notified as soon as possible following submission.

3. A letter of intent is due from the successful PI to DoE by March 22, 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.

4. A full proposal is due in Washington, with institutional commitments and signatures, at 11:59 a.m. Eastern time on April 15, 2014.

5. A successful submission MUST specify both the application to the Kansas Strategic Technology Plan [KANSAS B.E.S.T. for Innovation -- http://www.nsfepscor.ku.edu/pdf/KansasBEST_DesignDraft_10-28-12_HR.pdf] and the DoE strategic priorities [see the web sites referenced in the RFP].

6. Institutional registrations on Grants.gov and SAMS are REQUIRED, and these take about 45 days to accomplish. Work with your sponsored research office.

Best wishes –

James A. Guikema, Ph.D.
Interim Director, Kansas Department of Energy EPSCoR Program
Associate Vice President
Kansas State University

102 Fairchild Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506

785 – 532 - 6195

KNE First Awardee Finds Success

Kansas NSF EPSCoR First Awardee, Wai-Lun Chan, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at The University of Kansas, scored big with his work in renewable energy research. Chan was granted a First Award for his project Coherent Transport and Localization Dynamics of Excitons in Molecular Aggregates in 2013. In less than one year he has received NSF's prestigious CAREER award for this work in improving the efficiency of next-generation solar cells.

For more information on Chan's award please visit http://news.ku.edu/renewable-energy-research-education-project-receives-nsf-grant.

To learn more about KNE's First Award Program and other recipients, please visit http://www.nsfepscor.ku.edu/first-awards-yr4.html.

Funding Opportunity for 2014 First Awards Announced

Kansas NSF EPSCoR has released a request for proposals (RFP) for 2014 First Awards.  This opportunity is for early-career faculty in the areas of climate or energy research at the Regents universities in the state.


Download the RFP to see the full eligibility requirements and details for submission at http://www.nsfepscor.ku.edu/funding.html.

CCM Faculty Present Seminars in Vietnam

by Steve Watson

Vara Prasad, professor of agronomy, and Chuck Rice, university distinguished professor of agronomy, recently spent 10 days in Vietnam as part of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases to Combat Climate Change Borlaug Fellowship Program. This program is under the auspices of the Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

Their trip to Vietnam was to collaborate with university faculty and local producers on climate change and agricultural issues. Earlier this year, Loan Thanh Le, graduate student, from the University of Agriculture and Forestry in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, came to K-State's department of agronomy for three months to study with Prasad and Rice as part of this program.

Research into greenhouse gas emissions from the production of rice and biofuel feedstocks has become important to many countries around the world, including Vietnam. Many young faculty members in Vietnam are eager for collaborations such as this with faculty from the U.S., Prasad said.

While in Vietnam, Prasad and Rice presented two seminars at the university in Ho Chi Minh City, and visited producers in areas both north and south of the city. Agricultural producers in Vietnam are faced with problems of intense storms and flooding. Also, the intense rice farming of the region uses an enormous amount of nitrogen fertilizer, leading to potential greenhouse gas emissions from nitrous oxide. These emissions concerns are becoming very important in Vietnam, according to Le.

The fellowships are funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

GLOBAL RESEARCH ALLIANCE

The Global Research Alliance engages developing countries in research to more clearly understand and mitigate the impacts of agriculture on climate change. Eligible countries are Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines and Vietnam.

Climate Change Discussed at Community Events

Kansas NSF EPSCoR is playing an important role in determining how Kansas farmers and policy makers can mitigate the effects of climate change.  Part of the process is interacting with the public to discuss the relevance of their work.  Several recent community events featured the expertise of KNE researchers on the topic.

Chasing Ice

Two CCM team members were included in a panel discussion on climate change sponsored by Kansas Climate Action, working with Sierra Club Southwind Group at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, KS.

The discussion featured three perspectives:

• THE POLITICAL: Kansas Representative Dennis Hedke, Geophysicist with Hedke-Saenger Geoscience, Ltd. and author of The Audacity of Freedom
• THE FARMER: Donn Teske, Executive Director of the Kansas Farmers Union
• THE SCIENCE BASED: Charles W. Rice, University distinguished professor, Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University and Johannes J. Feddema, Department of Geography, University of Kansas, both KNE lead researchers

The July 13 panel discussion was moderated by Carol Barta, Librarian with the North Central Kansas Libraries System and followed a screening of the documentary film Chasing Ice.

2013 Summer High Plains Drought Outlook and Assessment Forum

Dr Charles Rice, also CCM Project Director, moderated a panel session on crop and soil management for water at the 2013 Summer High Plains Drought Outlook and Assessment Forum. His presentation included conservation practices to mitigate and adapt to drought conditions. The Forum was presented by the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), Kansas Water Office, NOAA Regional Climate Services and National Drought Mitigation Center on July 24th in Colby, Kansas. Eighty-nine participants including researchers, managers, extension, and producers from Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska came together to discuss the evolution and outlook of the drought, issues of concern, and management practices relative to the multi-state region.

Photo by Larry Schwarm. Used by permission.

The Forum was part of a series of events and informational webinars held since the beginning of the current drought. The morning session focused on the evolution and outlook of the drought, including presentations from those involved in monitoring, assessing and predicting our climate. The afternoon session featured panel discussions on issues of concern and management practices relative to the multi-state region.

Another Drought Forum is planned for January 9-10, 2014 to be held in Garden City, KS.  For more information contact Bethany Perry at Bethany.perry@noaa.gov or 816-268-3133.

Climate Change and Its Local, Regional and International Implications

Dr. Johannes Feddema was also one of several panelist at an event addressing questions of “What are the facts?” about climate change, “What can we do about it?” and “Where do we go from here?”

Photo by Larry Schwarm. Used by permission.

At once one of the most talked-about, yet misunderstood, issues in American life, climate change is already having some significant impacts—here in Kansas, regionally, and around the world. The panel discussion was held to bring good, fact-based information about how the issue is affecting us now, and how it will continue to affect our lives and our society in the future.  Feddema elaborated on the science of climate change while others covered its effect on national security, Kansas agriculture and rural life, and faith and moral issues.

College Hill United Methodist Church in Wichita hosted the event on October 13.  It was sponsored by Southwind Group of Kansas Sierra Club and Kansas Interfaith Power & Light.

Students Represent Kansas EPSCoR at National Conference

Nashville, Tennessee played host to the 23rd National NSF EPSCoR Conference the first week of November.  Representatives from all 31 EPSCoR jurisdictions were present to learn and discuss the strengths and opportunities they have developed in science, technology, education, commercialization and economic growth.

One of the exciting tracks at the meeting highlighted student participants from the different states.  Kansas NSF EPSCoR (KNE) was fortunate to have four excellent students attend the meeting and participate in the student activities.

Students from across the country participated in a session called Scientist Idol where they learned how to effectively develop and communicate a targeted message of how EPSCoR is essential for strengthening their state's economy.  The four Kansas students collaborated on the message and developed a three-minute presentation complete with slides. Their message focused on how KNE attracts and develops a strong statewide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) workforce.

In addition to Scientist Idol the students also participated in a poster session, highlighting their research as part of the KNE major initiative Climate Change and Energy: Basic Science, Impacts, and Mitigation.  The students and their poster titles were:

• Eugene Cody, Haskell Indian Nations University undergraduate student, An Examination of Burning Coal in Hopi Homes
• Lindsey Witthaus, University of Kansas graduate student, Exploring Climate Change in Kansas Watersheds through Hydrologic Modeling and Social Surveys
• Maria Boyd, Haskell Indian Nations University undergraduate student, Growin' on the Wild Side: Climate Change & the Future of the Omaehnomenawuk "Wild Rice People"
• Vahid Rahmani, Kansas State University graduate student, Impacts of Rainfall Distribution and Antecedent Moisture Condition on Runoff

During the poster session the students were able to use their newly-acquired communication skills to further hone their research messages and discuss them with other participants at the meeting. Interacting with the other student participants at the meeting and learning some of the excitement Nashville, The Music City, had to offer proved to be an excellent experience for everyone.

Kansas NSF EPSCoR Annual Meeting a Success

Despite the government shutdown keeping several federal representatives from attending, the Kansas NSF EPSCoR 2013 Annual Meeting was a big success.  Over 140 participants attended the two-day event titled Climate Change and Energy: Basic Science, Impacts, and Mitigation.

The focus of the meeting was to feature the accomplishments of the NSF-funded project of the same name.  As the project enters the fifth and final year, the emphasis of discussion was placed on its evolution over time, including research, collaboration, outreach, and sustainability for the future. 

Dr. Steven Warren, Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies at The University of Kansas opened the meeting praising the program, led by Dr. Kristin Bowman-James (Project Director and University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at KU), as a model of how multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional projects should be run.

The keynote address was delivered by noted materials scientist, Dr. Susan Sinnott, Director of Cyberinfrastructure for Atomistic Simulation CAMS) and Alumni Professor of Materials Science at the University of Florida.  She discussed the evolution of some common modeling methods and their integration with cutting-edge experimental methods. New methods aid in the discovery and design of new materials to improve existing technologies or enable new applications. Such applications are in the context of nanomaterials and materials used for energy applications, including electronic devices, energy storage, and nuclear fuels.


The keynote topic set the tone for day where the research leaders for the Climate and Energy initiative followed with overview perspectives of their research accomplishments.  The presentations demonstrated capacity-building, meeting research milestones, and creative methods for communicating the science by reaching out to community populations.

Dr. Debra Rolison, a physical chemist at the Naval Research Laboratory was the featured lunchtime speaker. She discussed the pervasiveness of gender inequality within the science and technology research community and the need to challenge the status quo with reasoned and bold arguments for change.

Sessions after lunch and the following morning included individual scientific presentations by the Climate and Energy faculty and student researchers.  Subjects ranged from the development of solar electric and ultrathin film photovoltaic devices (solar cells) to using climate and water data for farmer decision making and land and crop management in Kansas.

The technical presentations of the day gave way to a casual reception and poster session where a wider range of students and faculty had a chance to display and discuss their research in an informal setting.  The session featured almost 50 posters from scientists at Wichita State University, Kansas State University, University of Kansas, Haskell Indian Nations University, Emporia State University and Pittsburg State University.  These posters demonstrated the breadth of Kansas NSF EPSCoR including more than just the climate and energy initiative but also education and diversity efforts and First Awards that kick-start the research programs for new faculty members in Kansas.

Participants at the evening's dinner banquet were treated to a unique design exhibit that grew from activities in the Biofuels and Climate Change: Farmers' Land Use Decisions (BACC:FLUD for short) project.  Kate Meyer, Assistant Curator of Works on Paper at The University of Kansas Spencer Museum of Art, talked about the relationship between science and art and how it can be powerfully depicted through visual design.  Meyer enlisted the help of Dr. Patrick Dooley, professor of design at KU, and his students to create a series of posters that utilize graphic design principles to illuminate, translate, and communicate aspects of BACC:FLUD research and its relevance to Kansans.

The overall success of the meeting punctuates the excitement of such a large and carefully planned project that includes over 80 researchers and 150 students from across the state.  Combined, the efforts of the project position Kansas to be able to provide sustainable solutions to global challenges.

Participants attending the Nanotechnology for Renewable Energy research symposium session.

Participants attending the Biofuels and Climate Change Mitigation research symposium session.

For more information about Kansas NSF EPSCoR and the Climate and Energy initiative, please visit http://www.nsfepscor.ku.edu/ph6.html.