Society of Sigma Xi Luncheon
Indiana Memorial Union
October 6, 2008
As all of you know, Sigma Xi was founded in large part to encourage companionship, collegiality, and cooperation among researchers in all fields of science. This interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary emphasis is also at the heart of how I and many others envision science research at IU. That is not to say that individual efforts are not valued - they are. It is still important for a young scientist to establish her or his independent research program before he or she ventures into multidisciplinary research unless the discipline is enlightened.
However, collaboration is becoming increasingly important to scientific research in the 21st century, at our campus and around the world as we all see the cost of scientific research grow. A decade ago, faculty largely worked throughout their careers within a single specialty or discipline as they pursued their research goals and external funding.
Today, funding agencies are focused on investigators who establish multidisciplinary teams to address complex research questions. Contemporary researchers are compelled to break out of their specialized areas to consider questions that can only be addressed by teams of faculty working together. Disciplinary boundaries are becoming fluid - major research investigations of the 21st century depend on diverse perspectives, skills, and solutions.
The primary mission of the Office of the Vice Provost for Research is to provide as much support as possible to Indiana University faculty as they build wide-ranging research projects and teams -- on campus, between IU campuses, and with other research institutions.
Indiana University Bloomington is home to a wealth of expertise distributed across the sciences, from anthropology and astronomy to speech and hearing sciences and vision science. Tapping into this capacity depends on forging new productive partnerships. My office exists to connect people, resources, expertise, facilities, and more in ways that jump-start your research ideas and agendas. We want the ideas to come from you but once in a while, when we are aware of the direction that agencies are moving in, we will bring teams of faculty together to see if IU can forward a collaborative proposal.
OVPR is perfectly positioned to help faculty explore new ideas and partnerships. Our approach to generating research is exemplified in new infrastructure centers that OVPR has recently created to stimulate large-scale multi- and interdisciplinary projects.
The new Bureau for Social Science Research, for example, was established to provide infrastructure support for social scientists across all schools and departments at IU Bloomington. The BSSR's main goal is to maximize the potential of social scientists to attract external funding, especially for multidisciplinary research, by helping to develop networks of collaboration and support. We are aware, that the social scientist may not have the infra-structure support that well established physical or natural scientist may have, hence the creation of BSSR. The idea of BSSR came from the faculty, not from the administration. Twenty or so senior social scientists approached Michael McRobbie (while he was Interim Provost) and I with a plan to develop BSSR. I invited Scott Long to help develop BSSR. He has done a tremendous job in bringing together faculty from various disciplines and helped them prepare a number of successful proposals. We have a long way to go because, I believe this is one of the prime areas of growth at IU.
The Center for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CRES, is bringing together researchers from a full spectrum of scientific disciplines including anthropology, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, physics, informatics, and public and environmental affairs to address key questions and develop proposals. CRES will provide a supportive environment in which collaborators can analyze pressing questions in environmental sciences such as climate change, renewable energy resources, adequate water supply, ecosystem dynamics, and the prediction or mitigation of natural disasters. This too came from the faculty and was approved this past spring. We are currently in the process of bringing together IUPUI and IUB strengths in ES and policy to encourage greater collaboration in ER.
The new IU Light Microscopy Imaging Center, based in Myers Hall, houses a variety of microscopes equipped with digital cameras for viewing and imaging. These digital tools enhance data acquisition and analysis, enabling scientists to acquire higher quality data more efficiently. The center is also a teaching laboratory where students, post-docs, and faculty members can learn about developments in light microscopy. The LMIC is a prime example of collaboration among campus units in the sciences and information technology. This collaboration between the College, Optometry and Medical Sciences will be a great recruitment and retention tool as well as provide new tools for faculty to explore new areas of research or expand their current focus.
Finally, although it is not new to this campus, the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility continues to house significant multidisciplinary research and development in accelerator physics, nuclear physics, materials science, and the medical applications of accelerators. Its services and programs are truly collaborative -- research experiences at the IUCF are available to individuals ranging from high school students through post-doctoral students to scientists from around the world. We have some very interesting developments taking place at IUCF that involve IUCF, MPRI, Physics, Medical Sciences, Optometry, School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame and Purdue University. IUCF as usual will be leading the charge for collaborative research in sciences. This time not only at IU but state-wide.
These are just a few examples -- OVPR has a team of Associate Vice Provosts working closely with faculty to create these kinds of new partnerships both at IUB and at IUPUI. The associate vice provosts in OVPR are Geoff Conrad, Scott Long, Chris Peebles, Ruth Stone, and Jeff White.
The benefits of multidisciplinary centers of collaboration include significant economies of scale in securing and maintaining state-of-the-art technology and personnel. Realizing these kinds of efficiencies is especially critical in our current research-funding climate.
As a scientist myself, I know well how costly the conduct of scientific research can be. Static or declining federal research funding from large agencies such as NIH and NSF makes the future uncertain for many of you, especially those who work in basic research areas. As we plan for the future, OVPR's ultimate objective is to enhance the competitive position of our faculty to receive greater external funding from federal, state, and private sources so that you may continue to do your best work here at IU.
To realize this objective, we provide resources and services on campus, and we offer seed-funding through various internal grants programs, including the Faculty Research Support Program; Research Leave Supplements; Summer Faculty Fellowships; and Faculty Grant-in-aid for Research. In response to declining federal funding, we created a new program last year called Bridge Funding which may be utilized between grant award cycles. We even offer you the opportunity to find expert student assistance through the Jesse H. and Beulah Chanley Cox Research Scholars Program -- which my office administers. This scholarship program pairs faculty mentors with top students from Indiana high schools, and in just three years, it has already resulted in work co- authored by Cox scholarship students and their faculty mentors.
Science faculty at IUB are in a position to collaborate at many different levels including our participation in the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year grant of $25 million to the IU School of Medicine to fund Indiana CTSI activities at Indiana and Purdue universities. The NIH created the clinical and translational awards program as a high priority effort to improve the process by which the laboratory discoveries of basic science are transformed into new medical treatments and products -- a process called translational research.
The main goal of the I-CTSI is to use project development teams, composed of researchers with a broad range of relevant backgrounds to move discoveries through the additional research and testing steps to produce new medicines and treatment practices. In addition, these teams will focus on ways to help practicing physicians implement research findings in their work.
Another major goal of Indiana CTSI's mission is to train a new generation of researchers that are well versed in new technologies such as molecular medicine, community-based clinical trials, implementation studies of effective treatments, and economics of health practices
I have passed out an announcement that went to department chairs and associate deans for research last week. As for training the next generation, I-CTSI has already funded two pre-doctoral trainees and one post-doctoral trainee at IUB.
My team in OVPR stands ready to support your research by creating environments that promote excellence and providing resources that enable you to pursue promising new programs and funding initiatives from private and federal sponsors.
Thank you.
