Read the research blog Further Findings.
Research Prizes and Honors
[Have you or a colleague won a research-related prize or honor? Let the Research Alert know.]
ENGINEERING PROFESSOR AWARDED STATEWIDE HONOR FOR YOUNG INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Brian Korgel, a chemical engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, has received the 2009 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST).
The award recognizes outstanding achievements by young investigators in medicine, engineering and science. Korgel, who joined the university in 1998, was one of three statewide honorees.
ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTING MACHINERY NAMES COMPUTER SCIENCES PROFESSOR AS FELLOW
Dr. Kathryn McKinley, computer sciences professor at The University of Texas at Austin, became an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellow with a citation for “contributions to compilers and memory management.”
ACM, the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, recognizes and honors the ACM Fellows for their achievements in computer science and information technology and for their significant contributions to the mission of the ACM.
News and Information
HAMILTON BOOK AWARDS DEADLINE IS FEB. 2
The Office of the Vice President for Research is accepting submissions for the Hamilton Book Author Awards, underwritten by The University Co-operative Society.
Please submit your nominations according to the guidelines stated on the Hamilton Book Awards Web site.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR SPRING 2009
The Office of the Vice President for Research is accepting applications for Spring 2009 Undergraduate Research Fellowships (URFs). The deadline is Feb. 9, 2009.
The program provides support for specific scholarly research projects conducted by full-time UT undergraduate students enrolled in any department.
More information is found under Fellowships on the Research Web site.
QuotedUT Researchers in the News
[A sampling of recent quotes by university faculty members and researchers. To be included in this section, let the Research Alert know when you or a colleague have been quoted.]
The New York Times
Jan. 27, 2009
HEADLINE: Texas Rebellion Gives a Centrist a Lift
[From an article about changes in the Texas House of Representatives.]
The rise of Mr. Straus, a fiscal conservative who has not toed the conservative line on issues like abortion and gay rights [who was elected to the speaker’s office], was widely seen as a defeat for the socially conservative wing of the party.
“The Republican Party is moving a little bit more toward the center,” said James Henson of the political science department at the University of Texas, Austin. ”I think what we have is a much more competitive state than it looks like on a statewide level.”
The New York Times
Jan. 20, 2009
HEADLINE: A New Look at the Multitalented Man Who Made Tropical Landscaping an Art
[From an article about Brazilian landscape architect Burle Marx.]
“The way he synthesized art and horticulture in three-dimensional design is really quite exceptional,” said Mirka Benes, a landscape historian who teaches at The University of Texas at Austin. ”He truly had a painter’s eye, which you could sense in his superb sense of color and form, and he had an understanding of the tenets of Modernism and Dada, having clearly known and studied the work of people like Hans Arp.”
Research Opportunities
Important university research deadlines:
Awards and Grants
Limited Submissions
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
FY09 Prostate Cancer Synergistic Idea Development Award
Deadlines: Pre-Application, March 3, 2009; Application, June 10, 2009
Breast Cancer Impact Award
Deadlines: Pre-Application, March 12, 2009; Invited Proposal, June 17, 2009
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Exploratory and/or Developmental Grant Program
Deadlines: Feb. 16, 2009; June 16, 2009
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Social Science Research on Wrongful Conviction
Deadline: Registration with Grants.gov required prior to Application deadline, March 16, 2009
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Novel Approaches to Improving Air Pollution Emissions Information
Deadline: April 21, 2009
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
Mechanism of Alcohol-Induced Organ Damage
Deadlines: Letter of Intent, March 2, 2009; Proposal, April 2, 2009
Expanding the Chemical Space for Carbohydrates
Deadline: March 19, 2009
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office-National Science Foundation Academic Research Initiative
Deadline: April 27, 2009
OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
American Psychological Association
Wayne F. Placek Grants
Deadline: March 2, 2009
Water Reuse Foundation
2009 Unsolicited Research Program – Request for Preproposals
Deadline: Pre-Proposal, March 3, 2009
Council on Library and Information Resources
A. R. Zipf Fellowship 2009 for Graduate Students
Deadline: April 6, 2009
Research Project
[Let the Research Alert know about your research projects.]
CHROMOSOME EVOLUTION: MODELS AND TESTS
RESEARCHER: Mark Kirkpatrick, professor in the Section of Integrative Biology, principal investigator
AGENCY: National Science Foundation
AMOUNT: $243,259 (continuing grant)
Genome research has recently revealed that chromosomes often evolve at astounding rates. The evolutionary forces responsible for these changes are very poorly understood. This research will study those forces using a combination of mathematical models and statistical analyses. There are three specific research themes: (1) models to explain rapid evolutionary changes in which a pair of chromosomes determines sex (seen for example in salmon and tilapia), (2) models to explain how chromosome number and gene arrangement change over evolutionary time, and (3) statistical analyses of data on a new gene arrangement in Drosophila that will test the models.
The project will have five kinds of impact beyond its contributions to basic science. First, it will illuminate history of the human genome, which has experienced substantial chromosomal evolution. Second, it will provide key insights regarding how disease vectors (notably the mosquitoes that transmit malaria) have adapted to humans and thus become more virulent. Third, the project will develop and distribute computer software useful for a wide range of genetic analyses. Fourth, the project will train young scientists at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels and will give them opportunities to work with collaborators abroad. Fifth, the research will develop international partnerships between laboratories in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland and France.
