Recent speeches by Dr. Soni
Furthering Energy-Related Research
Indiana Consortium for Research in Energy Systems and Policy —
Inaugural Workshop
October 31, 2008
A New Era for Environmental Sciences
Groundbreaking Ceremony for IU Research and Teaching Preserve Field Laboratory
October 20, 2008
The Past, Present, and Future of Optometry at Indiana University
Atwater Eye Care Center Dedication Ceremony
October 8, 2008
IU's India Studies Program
Indian Foreign Policy Conference
October 6, 2008
Science Research at Indiana University
Society of Sigma Xi Luncheon
October 6, 2008
Cox Research Scholars Program Welcome Reception
September 5, 2008
Cognitive, Behavioral, and Economic Approaches to Childhood and Adolescent Obesity Conference
September 5, 2008
Welcome to the Web site of the Indiana University Office for the Vice Provost for Research.
As one of the largest and most diverse public research institutions in the United States, Indiana University's research enterprise generates unquestionable tangible and practical benefits. Composers, musicians, performers, writers, painters, poets, and other artists make major contributions to the overall cultural life of the state and beyond. Inventions and start-up companies created by IU faculty generate higher-paying jobs and provide improved drugs, therapies, and medical products. IU's many outstanding professional schools—from business and education to law and optometry—greatly expand the university's research accomplishments. By any measure, IU research and creative activity contribute deeply to the intellectual, cultural, social, and economic quality of life in the state, the nation, and the world.
Sarita Soni
Vice Provost for Research
For more on Professor Soni, see
www.opt.indiana.edu/people/faculty/soni.htm
But the meanings and value of research reach beyond the tangible, practical, and applied. From the laboratory to the library stacks, from art history to astronomy, research is fundamentally about the persistent human inclination to ask questions. Whether searching for a shipwreck, writing a novel, composing an opera, or solving an equation, artists, scholars, and researchers are engaged in the basic quest to explore. Of course, university faculty members collaborate and share their findings, and in so doing, make many valuable advances. But the act of intellectual and artistic creation is as much about the process as it is the results. Researchers who "love the questions," in the words of poet Ranier Marie Rilke, bring a sense of passion to their work that opens up the world to us all. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research is honored to support such scientists, scholars, writers, and artists in their work.
Our mission in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research is to serve the faculty at Indiana University by facilitating ongoing research and creative activity, incubating new initiatives, and maximizing the possibilities and potential for pathbreaking work. We work with faculty to develop individual and collaborative research programs--on individual campuses, between IU campuses, and with other research institutions. We also provide funds and infrastructure to enhance opportunities to garner federal, state, and private support. It is our goal to foster a supportive climate that enables faculty to engage in new activities and projects.
The Office of the Vice Provost for Research has more than 30 multidisciplinary centers and institutes under its direction, including four interdisciplinary centers providing infrastructure resources for collaborative research: the Bureau for Social Sciences Research, the Center for Research in Environmental Sciences, the Institute for Digital Arts and Humanities, and the Light Microscopy Imaging Center. You may see a full list of our OVPR centers here.
Through our internal funding programs, OVPR also encourages research and creative activity developed by individuals or teams from varied disciplines. OVPR internal funding programs include New Frontiers in Arts & Humanities, the Faculty Research Support Program, the Institute for Digital Arts and Humanities Fellowships, Summer Faculty Fellowships, the Grant-in-Aid program, and the Bridge Funding program. You may find out more about each of these programs as you explore this site.
As the first decade of the 21st century nears its end, the landscape of university research development is clearly undergoing significant change. Indiana University's Office of the Vice Provost for Research is continuously assessing its efforts to provide faculty with the most effective tools for success in this changing and competitive environment. OVPR is committed to serving and responding to the changing needs of university-based research as we pursue our goal of promoting disciplinary and interdisciplinary work across the IU system.
Research and creative activities at Indiana University generate a better life for us all. We invite you to learn more about our exciting research landscape by browsing the pages of this Web site.
