Weekly Newsletter

December 8, 2020

Dear colleagues-

Thanks for stopping by…

Campus and the Center are both pretty quiet this week, but I know this is deceptive, as the extreme hustle is out there on zoom meetings, at dining room tables, in AGU meetings and, for many faculty and students in ABE, on carts packing and moving labs and offices into their new building!

Also, I’d like to encourage you to take a minute to review your directory entry for the Center, and, if it is not up to date, consider submitting your info via our easy questionnaire!

Please read on for a few important announcements and funding opportunities and stay safe out there…

Mentoring Opportunity for Social Science Faculty

Purdue University’s Center for the Environment, in collaboration with the New Carbon Economy Consortium (NCEC) is requesting applications for postdoctoral fellows in the social sciences to work with Consortium institutions on topics related to the transition to a low carbon economy. The Consortium is building a knowledge enterprise that includes the science and engineering needed to understand and facilitate the development of technologies that remove, store and use atmospheric carbon and explore the critical intersection between such technological advancements and the social sciences, including, for example, economics, political science, sociology, human geography, and science, technology and society. We are urgently looking for Purdue social science faculty in this research area to affiliate with the fellowship and offer to serve as mentors. For more information, visit the announcement page on our website.

We are planning a callout meeting on Thursday, 12/17, between 10 am – noon based on the availability of those interested. If interested, please email Robby with your availability at: rteas@purdue.edu

Other News

SURF student and Warsinger Lab alum turned entrepreneur seeks high impact with HVAC disinfection tool for COVID-19
Purdue Engineering | November 2020

Purdue alumnus Xavier Morgan company, Promethium Ltd, was named a Lee School Prize finalist in October for the development of groundbreaking photocatalytic air purification technology. Morgan was part of the Purdue Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program, working with Center affiliate David Warsinger. He is giving some of the prize money to the Purdue team, which includes Warsinger and fellow C4E affiliates Chip Blatchley and W. Travis Horton. Read more.

Arequipa Nexus Institute Presenting at AGU

The Arequipa Nexus Institute is being heavily represented at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2020 Fall Meeting this week and next. If you are already registered for the Conference and are interested in virtually attending the Nexus presentations, please see our website for a listing of every Nexus presentation taking place at the AGU Fall Meeting this year.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship seeking faculty project proposals

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program is accepting faculty project proposals for the 2021 summer program.

The SURF program provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to gain research experience under the guidance of a Purdue professor. Purdue faculty may post a research project online through Dec. 15 and select student applicants to work on the project after Feb. 15.

The program is open to students enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program at an institution within the United States. The SURF application portal will be open for students starting Dec. 15 and close on Feb. 15. Students from schools other than Purdue will engage in remote research. Depending on the type of research and the lab capacity, Purdue students may engage in on-campus research activities under the imposed COVID-19 guidelines.

More information is available online.

Funding Opportunities

COVID-19 Funding Opportunities – This list is updated frequently.

NSF Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC)
The goal of the S&CC program solicitation is to accelerate the creation of the scientific and engineering foundations that will enable smart and connected communities to bring about new levels of economic opportunity and growth, safety and security, health and wellness, accessibility and inclusivity, and overall quality of life. The program is interested in projects that consider the sustainability of the research outcomes beyond the life of the project, including the scalability and transferability of the proposed solutions. Research projects are solicited in the following categories: S&CC Integrative Research Grants – Tracks 1 and 2; S&CC Planning Grants; and S&CC Virtual Organization. Deadline: February 24

**Interested in this call? We are working with BSC to connect faculty who may be interested and will provide some insight from Leigh Raymond on the program. Next Wednesday, 12/16 at 1 pm. Email rteas@purdue.edu to RSVP and get the meeting link.

Limited Submission: NSF Research Traineeship Program (NRT)
The NRT program seeks proposals that explore ways for graduate students in research-based master’s and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. NRT especially welcomes proposals that include partnership with INCLUDES and leverage INCLUDES project efforts to develop STEM talent from all sectors and groups in our society. For 2021, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) have been added to the national priority areas in which NRT encourages proposals. Proposals are welcome on any interdisciplinary research theme of national priority, with special emphasis on AI and QISE and the six research areas within NSF’s 10 Big Ideas. An eligible organization may participate in only two proposals per NRT competition as either lead or collaborative non-lead.

Internal deadline: Preproposals due in InfoReady by December 14 (template)

Sponsor deadlines: February 25

NSF Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams (ASCENT) Program Solicitation (NSF 21-521) - FY 2021

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