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.]
UT ALUMNA WINS STUDENT ACADEMY AWARD FOR MASTER’S THESIS FILM
Radio-TV-Film alumna Ruth Fertig (Master of Fine Arts ’09) has won a student Academy Award for her documentary film “Yizkor.”
“Yizkor,” which means “remembrance” in Hebrew, is the story of a woman’s struggle to keep herself and her children alive in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. The story, based on Fertig’s grandmother’s experience during the Holocaust, was her master’s thesis film at The University of Texas at Austin.
News and Information
POSTDOCS, LISTEN UP TO GRANTS PODCAST
Listen to the latest installment of the National Institutes of Health All About Grants podcast series “Postdocs Thinking About Independence,” and hear Dr. Milton Hernandez describe funding options for junior and senior postdocs, talk about the importance of having mentors and more.
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.]
New York Times
June 14, 2010
HEADLINE: In Case of Storm, Spill Containment And Relief Drilling Could Be Suspended
”The concern is the recovery ships would have to move off the wellhead, and that means the leak is then going to totally discharge into the gulf,” said Greg McCormack, director of the petroleum extension service at the University of Texas. Current estimates are that the well is leaking at a rate of 25,000 to 30,000 barrels a day.
Research Opportunities
Important university research deadlines:
Awards and Grants
Limited Submissions
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
The University of Texas at Austin Stimulus Package Web page is online.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
NASA
Astrobiology: Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology
Deadlines: Notice of Intent, July 23, 2010; Proposals, Sept. 24, 2010
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies, Obesogenic Behaviors and Weight Outcomes
Deadline: Oct. 16, 2010
High-Throughput-Enabled Structural Biology Research
Deadlines: Letter of Intent, Sept. 5, 2010; Application, Oct. 5, 2010
HIV Incidence Assays with Improved Specificity
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#AIDS
Deadline: Sept. 7, 2010
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Research Experiences for Undergraduates
Deadlines: Aug. 25, 2010
Materials Research Centers and Teams
Deadlines: Preliminary proposals, Sept. 1, 2010, Centers, and Sept. 3, 2010, Teams;
Full proposals, Jan. 11, 2011, Centers, and Jan. 13, 2011, teams
Computer and Network Systems (CNS): Core Programs
Deadlines: Submission windows: Sept. 1, 201015, 2010, medium projects; Nov. 1, 2010Nov. 28, 2010, large projects; and Dec. 1-17, 2010, small projects.
Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF): Core Programs
Deadlines: Submission windows: Sept. 1, 201015, 2010, medium projects; Nov. 1, 2010Nov. 28, 2010, large projects; and Dec. 1-17, 2010, small projects.
Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS): Core Programs
Deadlines: Submission windows: Sept. 1, 201015, 2010, medium projects; Nov. 1, 2010Nov. 28, 2010, large projects; and Dec. 1-17, 2010, small projects.
Elementary Particle Physics
Deadline: Sept. 29, 2010
OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
NineSigma
Request for Proposal: Removal of Trace Contaminants from Water (Opens pdf)
Deadline: July 9, 2010
Research Project
[Let the Research Alert know about your research projects.]
RAPID – Collaborative Research: Impact of the New Horizon Oil Spill on Ecosystem Metabolism and Gas Exchange in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Region
RESEARCHER: Zhanfei Liu, associate professor, Marine Science Institute, principal investigator
AGENCY: National Science Foundation
AMOUNT: $44,612
While the environmental effects of oil spills are many, less well known is the potential for oil spills to enhance the development of hypoxia in regions prone to this condition. A long term understanding of hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico and other regions affected by oil spills will enhance society’s ability to predict the ecological consequences of this and similar disasters.
The layer of oil across the sea surface is expected to reduce penetration of light for photosynthesis thereby reducing rates of primary production. Respiration is likely to be enhanced by the increased availability of the oil; particularly as the microbial community metabolizes this carbon source. Rates of gas exchange between the ocean surface and atmosphere are very sensitive to the presence of surface organic films. The team will approach this hypothesis by determining depth profiles of the triple isotopic composition of dissolved O2 and ratios of N2:Ar and O2:Ar that collectively yield rates of primary production, respiration and gas exchange. They will further determine the abundance, composition and origin of the surface organic layer as a control on the rate of gas exchange.
