December 6, 2022 Newsletter

December 6, 2022

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Dear Colleagues,

I’m writing this several days after our first-ever in-person Research & Innovation Roundtable. That experience has made me more energized and enthusiastic than ever about the creativity and collaborative spirit of our Iowa State research community.

Faculty and staff from all four corners of campus, and a diverse array of disciplines invested four hours of their time brainstorming big ideas around a wide range of Climate Smart issues. The program was a fulfilling conclusion to a tremendous 2022, and an exciting springboard into 2023.

I was privileged to witness all our university’s strategic statements of aspiration on display as our faculty shared their areas of expertise and interests, and then passionately but respectfully surfaced and discussed ideas in smaller breakout groups. I have no doubt that as the calendar turns to a new year, we will continue to be the university that creates opportunities and forges new frontiers.  We are also a community of scholars who are measured beyond simple metrics – innovation is hard to measure.

As 2022 comes to a close, I hope you’ll take a moment to appreciate all you’ve accomplished individually as well as with your teams, and that you’ll enter 2023 renewed and reenergized. The Bard once wrote, “All things are ready, if our mind be so.” I believe Iowa State University research is ready to reach new heights in 2023, fueled by the collective will and mindset of everyone involved in this vital enterprise.

The OVPR team and I wish you and your families all the best this holiday season.

Dr. Peter K. Dorhout
Vice President for Research

Research News

McGill Appointed Assistant Dean of Research and Graduate Studies for College of Veterinary Medicine

Jodi McGill, associate professor of veterinary microbiology and preventive medicine, has been appointed the Assistant Dean of Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Veterinary Medicine. McGill has been a faculty member in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine since 2018 and is a member of the American Association of Immunologists. Read more…

Newly Published Iowa State Study Suggests Targeting Serial Returners to Stem a Growing Problem for Retailers

This holiday season is expected to set another record for online sales. But if consumer habits mirror previous years, 20% to 30% of the merchandise will be returned. Assistant professor of supply chain management Robert Overstreet and his co-authors say in a newly published study that consumers are more likely to shop elsewhere if they view a return policy change as unfair or breaking a promise. Read more…

Iowa State Study Finds Adding a ‘Decoy Option’ May Give Extra Boost to Crowdfunding

Findings from a new, in-depth Iowa State study bolster the argument that decoy options can shift consumer preferences. Associate professor of information systems and business analytics Abhay Mishra and his co-authors explain in their paper that reward-based crowdfunding is emerging as a significant source of alternative funding for entrepreneurs, pointing to Kickstarter as one of the biggest examples. Read more…

Announcements

New Proposal Development and Routing System on the Way

The Iowa State Research Enterprise will discontinue use of the GoldSheet and Cardinal Sheet in June 2023 after more than 20 years of service. These internal routing forms and related systems will be replaced with Streamlyne, an enhanced “one-stop shop” proposal development and routing system that will offer campus faculty and administrators an abundance of new features and functionalities. Streamlyne proposal development dashboards will deliver increased visibility and transparency of process and content at all stages. Budget development will be included and Streamlyne has a system-to-system (S2S) portal for Grants.gov submissions that eliminates the duplicate entries required by use of Cayuse. User training will begin in Spring 2023. Additional information about the new system is available here.

Biotechnology Outreach Education Center Undergoes Audiovisual Update

The Iowa State Biotechnology Outreach Education Center (BOEC) recently underwent an audiovisual update, replacing outdated presentation and education equipment with state-of-the-art technology, including brand new monitors and mounted cameras for distance learning and recording.The BOEC is located in the Molecular Biology Building and consists of two adjacent state-of-the-art laboratories with 40 lab stations and a preparation room. The center is fully stocked with the laboratory supplies needed for a number of biotechnology experiments. Equipment in the center supports procedures as simple as extracting DNA from bananas or as complex as polymerase chain reactions. This space is available to Iowa State researchers when developing their broader impacts for federally funded grants. Please contact Eric Hall (ethall@iastate.edu) for more information.

Internal Funding Opportunities

Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Initiative (PIRI)

Proposals are now being accepted for the Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Initiative (PIRI), designed to proactively invest in initiatives that promote a culture of interdisciplinary research, help to secure new large-scale research grants and contracts, and build the university’s reputation for innovation. PIRI projects are expected to lead directly to the advancement of significant interdisciplinary research strengths that generate a transformational impact at the university, across sectors, and throughout the state and nation. Teams of researchers will be supported to prepare and submit proposals, compete successfully for significant external funding, and bring to campus multiple large-scale flagship research programs in strategic areas of scholarship and expertise. White papers are due January 13, 2023, followed by an invitation for full proposals on February 1, 2023.

Brown Graduate Fellowship Program

Applications are being accepted for the Brown Graduate Fellowship Program, used to strategically advance Iowa State research in the areas of study that are governed by the Valentine Hammes Family and Leopold Hammes Brown Family Trust. The areas of study include science, agriculture, and space science. Fellowship funds may be used as partial funding for a fellowship or used to enhance an existing fellowship. Funds can be used to assist current graduate students or by graduate programs in the recruitment of new graduate students. The preference is to fund Ph.D. students, although exceptional M.S. students will be considered. There is a limit of one application per graduate program. Applications are due January 15, 2023.

Training & Development

OVPR PIRI Lunch & Learn
December 8 — 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Researchers interested in learning more or considering submitting proposals to the Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Initiative (PIRI) are encouraged to attend this session, hosted by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Associate vice presidents for research Jim Reecy and Surya Mallapragada will be available to share their perspectives and answer questions. Register here.

Voices in Research

“Policymakers have a very broad scope of what they are making decisions about, and have to be representing a broad set of constituents. If they are interested in how we keep yields high while minimizing environmental output and supporting the ethanol industry, they need models that cover a lot of interrelationships and generate a lot of combination frameworks.”

Amy Kaleita, professor, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

“Our primary message from the research findings is that the policy-developed timelines we’re using to measure these trends do not align well with our ability to reliably track meaningful water quality changes. This is due primarily to the impact of weather. Moreover, if rainfall patterns are becoming more variable, the timeline to measure water quality changes is only going to get longer.”

Michael Castellano, professor, Agronomy

“As a theorist working in all things nanoparticle, I have always been interested in how to assemble nanoparticle arrangements that are chiral. Despite some successes, theory is somehow lagging behind. This very open structure with chiral optical response was very important. People have been trying to do this for a long time. But the structure has always been unstable or not realizable. This is the first example of this having been achieved.”

Alex Travesset, professor, Physics and Astronomy