Awards by Sponsor:
April 1, 2017, through April 30, 2017

SPONSOR	NO. OF AWARDS	AWARD AMOUNT
National Institutes of Health	70	$17,526,795
National Science Foundation	16	$2,537,807
Department of Education	1	$18,579
Department of Defense	20	$1,596,643
Department of Energy	11	$2,619,766
Department of Agriculture	11	$2,430,733
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	7	$738,358
Other Federal	21	$1,561,067
Total Federal	157	$29,029,748
Industry	274	$6,865,196
State of Ohio	11	$3,866,575
Private Agencies	54	$1,762,387
Colleges and Universities	9	$244,627
Other Non-Federal	2	$311,992
Total Non-Federal	350	$13,050,777
TOTAL	507	$42,080,525

EcoCAR 3 team brings home first place victory

Ohio State's EcoCAR 3 team won its third consecutive EcoCAR 3 Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition. EcoCAR 3 is a four-year collegiate automotive engineering competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors, that challenges 16 universities across North America to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, improving its efficiency and emissions while retaining the iconic Camaro performance value. The team won an impressive 15 awards overall. Shawn Midlam-Mohler, associate professor of practice in mechanical and aerospace engineering, is the team's faculty advisor. 

Lu receives $477,000 NSF CAREER award

Yuan-Ming Lu, assistant professor of physics, received a $477,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award to support his research on developing new ways to detect and design topological orders. Lu studies properties of solid-state materials using quantum mechanics and statistical physics to better understand how electrons organize themselves in complicated materials. The CAREER award is NSF's most prestigious award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of both.

Ohio State sophomore named 2017 Udall Scholar

Tal Shutkin, an honors sophomore majoring in environmental policy and decision making, was one of 50 college sophomores and juniors from 42 universities named a 2017 Udall Scholar. Shutkin's research focuses on the evaluation of indigenous natural resource reserves as a conservation strategy in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. He plans to pursue a PhD in political ecology and work as a policy specialist focusing on individualized, research-based approaches to conservation governance. The scholarships were created in honor of the late Congressman Morris K. Udall and his brother Stewart Udall, also a congressman and former secretary of the interior. Shutkin is Ohio State’s 12th Udall Scholar.

Larsen and Weinberg named Distinguished University Professors

Clark Spencer Larsen, distinguished professor of social and behavioral sciences and chair of anthropology; and David Weinberg, the Henry L. Cox Professor of Astronomy and chair of astronomy; have been named Distinguished University Professors. The Office of Academic Affairs awards the permanent, honorific title on a competitive basis to full professors who have exceptional records in teaching, research, scholarly or creative work and service. Larsen is an internationally-known authority on bioarchaeology, with a research focus on the history of the human condition, viewed from the perspective of health, quality of life, adaptation and lifestyle during the last 10,000 years of human evolution. Weinberg, an observationally-oriented theoretical astrophysicist, studies the formation of galaxies and large-scale structure and observational probes of the matter and energy content of the universe.  

Six students awarded Boren Scholarships 

Six Ohio State undergraduate students have been awarded 2017-2018 Boren Scholarships to study critical languages overseas. The scholarships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide up to $20,000 for the study of less commonly taught languages in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Middle East). Christian Gray, political science and French, will study Mandarin at National Taiwan University. Caroline Carroll, international studies and Japanese, will study Japanese at Hokkaido University. Clayton Sharb, political science, will study Arabic at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Courtney Johnson, communication and history of art, will study Hindi as part of the South Asian Language Flagship Initiative at the American Institute of Indian Studies. Turner Adornetto, electrical and computer engineering, will study Swahili in Tanzania as part of the African Flagship Languages Initiative. Natalie Hettle, Arabic and international studies, will study Arabic at the Center for International Learning in Oman.

Mion to be inducted into international Hall of Fame

Lorraine Mion, research professor and interim director of the Center of Excellence in Critical and Complex Care in the College of Nursing, was one of 23 international nurse researchers selected by Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), the Honor Society for Nursing, for induction into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes nurse researchers who have achieved significant and sustained national or international recognition and whose research has improved the profession and the people it serves. Mion’s research focuses on acute care geriatrics (physical restraints, delirium, falls) and implementation science. 

Ohio State to lead study on children's emotional skills

The Center for Human Resource Research (CHRR) has been selected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to help lead a multinational study on social and emotional skills in children. The CHRR-designed study will survey 3,000 10-year-old and 3,000 15-year-old children from 10-12 cities around the world to identify the conditions and practices that foster or hinder the development of those critical skills. The children’s parents and teachers will also be interviewed. Elizabeth Cooksey, professor of sociology, and Randall Olsen, professor emeritus of economics and former CHRR director, will lead the study.

Translational Data Analytics Institute established

Ohio State's newly created Translational Data Analytics Institute (TDAI) will help Ohio State become a global hub for the development, application and study of translational data analytics solutions. TDAI will support faculty research, education and industry and community partnerships in the field of data science and analytics. The translational data analytics program will remain a foundational component of the Discovery Themes initiative. Raghu Machiraju, professor of computer science and engineering, is the interim faculty director. David Mongeau is the program director.

Inaugural Excellence in Safety winners announced

The University Laboratory Safety Committee has announced the winners of the 2017 Excellence in Safety Awards. The awards recognize a university faculty or staff member (Individual Award) and a laboratory research group (Group Award) who have made considerable contributions to improving laboratory safety on the Ohio State campus. Susan Welch, senior research associate in the School of Earth Sciences, received the individual award. She provides safety and compliance oversight for five laboratories and trains the students who work in those laboratories. Umit Ozkan's research laboratory received the group award. Ozkan, Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has led the effort to create a culture of safety, both within her laboratory and her department. 

SRE assists Ohio EPA with online waste marketplace

The Sustainable and Resilient Economy (SRE) program is collaborating with the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Ohio EPA on a new online marketplace designed to facilitate cross-industry materials reuse among Ohio companies and organizations. Ohio businesses, not-for-profits and government organizations can advertise and acquire potentially useful products and materials that might otherwise be destined for disposal in landfills. With the creation of the Ohio Materials Marketplace, Ohio is the first state to adopt a circular economy program of this scope and scale. 

2017 NIH salary cap increase

The NIH salary cap for grants, cooperative agreements and contract awards remains tied to the Federal Executive Level II (per NIH notice NOT-OD-17-049). On January 8, 2017, Executive Level II increased to $187,000, up from $185,100. In keeping with past practices, Ohio State will begin using the new salary cap limit on eligible projects July 1, 2017. The reason for this practice is to help mitigate the impact on current awards where funds will need to be re-budgeted to cover increased salary costs. Contact your sponsored program officer for additional information. 

Provost's Discovery Themes Lecturer Program call for nominations

The Provost’s Discovery Themes Lecturer Program is seeking nominations for lecturers for the 2017-18 academic year. The program engages students, faculty, staff and members of the community in thoughtful examination of major issues of public concern related to the Discovery Themes–Health and Wellness, Energy and Environment, Food Production and Security and Humanities and the Arts. Past lecturers have been eminent authorities from across the public and private sector. Submit nominations by June 4, 2017.