Research

The College of Arts and Sciences perennially leads Western Michigan University's external research funding efforts. Over the past four fiscal years, annual College external funding has increased from $9.79 million to $14.37 million, representing an average 15.6% increase each year. Institutionally, WMU attracted $31.66 million in "traditional grants" to the campus during FY 2004-2005 - the College of Arts and Sciences contributed 45.4% to this total.

Of the $31.66 million awarded to WMU in FY 2004-2005, approximately 63% was from Federal sources and 29% came from industrial interests. Nearly 60% of the awards in FY 2004-2005 were less than $50K and only 17% of the awards exceeded $500K.

Funding data derived form WMU-OVPR year-to-date awards for FY 2001/2002, FY 2002/2003, FY 2003/2004 and FY 2004/2005 published on the WMU Grants & Contracts website at http://www.obf.wmich.edu/grants-contract/documents.html

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Research News Magazine

The following are excerpts from the Research News Magazine published by the Office of the Vice President for Research. The PDF file has been edited to include primarily those articles about A&S faculty and students.

Spring/Summer 2007

WMU mathematician helps crack E8 puzzle

A Western Michigan University mathematician is part of an international team of researchers that recently solved one of the toughest problems in mathematics and received international media attention for its work.

After four years of intensive collaboration, WMU's Dr. Annegret Paul, associate professor of mathematics, and 17 other mathematicians and computer scientists successfully mapped a 120-year-old puzzle. The team, with creative minds hailing from the United States and Europe, was convened by the American Institute of Mathematics in Palo Alto, Calif., to map a theoretical object known as "Lie group E8." The Atlas of Lie Groups Project is funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Three lauded as "Emerging Scholars"

Three young faculty members at Western Michigan University are the first to earn Emerging Faculty Scholar Awards in a new program to honor academia's rising stars.

Dr. Mitch Kachun, associate professor of history; Dr. Carla M. Koretsky, associate professor of geosicences and environmental studies; and Dr. Kirk T. Korista, associate professor of physics; will receive the award during WMU's Academic Convocation ceremonies at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

The new program was launched this year to acknowledge the accomplishments of WMU faculty members who are among the rising stars in U.S. higher education. It is designed to celebrate the contributions of faculty who are in the first decade of their careers at WMU and who, by virtue of their contributions to scholarship or creative activity, have achieved national recognition and demonstrated outstanding promise to achieve renown in their continuing work.

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WMU research improves quality of life in Ecuador

Dr. Ann Miles, professor of anthropology at Western Michigan University, has been awarded a four-month Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct research on the social and cultural dimensions of experiencing a debilitating illness.

Miles recently returned from her first in a pair of two-month trips to Cuenca, Ecuador, where she is studying how chronic illnesses like lupus are affecting the lives of people in the region. By examining how individuals in different social and economic situations understand, manage and cope with prolonged disease and disability, she hopes to help physicians improve in their understanding and treatment of patients living with sickness.

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Bronco Biodiesel will fuel Kalamazoo buses

Kalamazoo citizens could breath cleaner air, ride more efficient public transit and see their tax dollars stretched further, as city buses begin using a Western Michigan University fuel product generated from one of the least-used sources of biodiesel--waste grease from restaurants.

The City of Kalamazoo announced Oct. 13 it will begin piloting Bronco Biodieesl in Metro Transit buses. Bronco Biodiesel is the brainchild of a group of WMU faculty members, who secured development funds earlier this year through the President's Innovation Fund. They will produce as much as 100,000 gallons of the product by recycling restaurant trap grease through a facility at the Kalamazoo Wastewater Reclamation Plant. Bronco Biodiesel is expected to be in full production in the spring.

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Grant Seeking Information

The College of Arts & Sciences has established a number of support programs for faculty or graduate students seeking external funding.

Sign Off Procedure

The sign off procedure has been streamlined and currently takes about one day. Additional time is required if a cost share is needed from the Dean's office or from the Vice President for Research. The following steps should be taken to assure a grant is quickly signed off. 1. Provide a Project Approval Form attach a copy of your grant. The budget needs to be in the final form, the text of the grant does not. 2. Make sure the form is printed on one page so that the signatures and cost share/agency information are on the same piece of paper 3. Place the information about cost share, if any, on the form making sure that the sources of cost share have been identified. See the Associate Deans or Budget Officers for help. 4. Get the signed forms to Sue in our office for review and signature. 5. The associate deans will sign off, and if the total cost share is less than $25,000 the grant can be taken directly to OVPR for final signature and mailing.

Associate Deans

Two associate deans in the College have responsibilities for supporting and encouraging the funding efforts. Each is knowledgeable in research areas within the College and each has extensive experience in grant preparation and grant writing. The associate deans can provide support in developing budgets, seeking funding sources and in finding collaborators for interdisciplinary research projects. They can also assist faculty in getting university cost share for projects. After obtaining the grant, the associate deans are available to help in getting the project started on time and provide advice on hiring and other areas needed to service the grant.

The Deans take periodic trips with faculty to Washington to visit granting agencies.

College Budget Officers

The College Budget staff is available to help design budgets for grants and to check budgets before signoff. They also review the Proposal Approval Form prior to signing by deans. The budget officers have information about current and projected salaries, fringe rates and equipment matches. They can also help with hiring on grants once the grant has been awarded.