External Awards Received
The Office of Research is pleased to announce and would like to congratulate our Dearborn faculty members on receipt of the following external funding:
U-M Principal Investigator: Khouloud Gaaloul
Project Title: CRII:CPS: FAICYS: Model-Based Verification for AI-Enabled Cyber-Physical Systems Through Guided Falsification of Temporal Logic Properties
Direct Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $175,000
Anomalous behaviors are a significant safety risk in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Discovery of hidden system anomalies can be carried out by various verification methods. This project extends previous research, revealing a notable discrepancy in the effectiveness of existing verification methods —specifically, temporal property falsification—when applied to AI-enabled CPS systems (AI-CPS) as opposed to traditional CPS systems. This project aims to bridge the gap in current verification practices, offering a targeted solution for ensuring the safety and reliability of AI-CPS. The project focuses on the identification of high-quality verification practices for AI-CPS and plans to design a falsification approach tailored to AI-CPS that combines both deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and stochastic optimization (SO), aiming to enhance the robustness and effectiveness of anomaly detection in AI-CPS environments. To support this development, the project will leverage a characterization library of existing CPS models.
U-M Principal Investigator: Junaid Farooq
Project Title: Systemic Cyber Risk Management for Complex Automotive Supply Chains
Direct Sponsor: Wayne State University
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $99,960
The automotive sector heavily relies on a massive number of third-party hardware and software components not only for the vehicles, but also in their manufacturing processes. These components may create opportunities for cyber attackers to compromise the safety and security of vehicles, steal intellectual property, or disrupt the manufacturing process resulting in huge financial losses. This project aims to develop software tools that can help automakers monitor the cyber risk to their systems and expose any lack of compliance to cybersecurity best practices and standards.
U-M Principal Investigator: Youngki Kim
Project Title: Development of a Reinforcement Learning-based Braking Algorithm for One Pedal Driving in Electric Vehicles
Direct Sponsor: Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc.
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $150,000
This project will enable Dr. Kim to work on development of a reinforcement learning-based algorithm for automated braking that will maximize both driver comfort and energy savings for electric vehicles.
U-M Principal Investigator: Yunus Zeytuncu
Project Title: REU Site: Mathematical Analysis and Applications 2024
Direct Sponsor: Department of Defense, National Security Agency
Total Sponsor Authorized Amount: $59,920
Research Experience for Undergraduates in Mathematical Analysis and Applications is an eight-week program that will host eight undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds. The main objective of the program is to contribute to the mathematical infrastructure by recruiting and training younger generations of researchers. The goal of this summer program is to provide students with a rich intellectual environment to practice employing mathematical ideas to solve real-life problems. The critical need for awareness of mathematics is growing, and deep understanding of mathematics is getting quite scarce. The proposed program will educate and train a diverse group of students to become contributing members and ambassadors of the mathematics community. Students will work in groups on projects that contain all the phases of a scientific discovery.
Announcements
The Office of Research is pleased to welcome our newest staff member: Veronica Selke!
Veronica joined our team on Monday, May 6, as the first research development specialist on campus. In this role, Veronica will support all Research Development efforts and associated strategic, proactive, catalytic, and capacity-building activities designed to facilitate individual faculty members, teams of researchers, and central research administrations in attracting extramural research funding, creating relationships, and developing and implementing strategies that increase institutional competitiveness.
Veronica comes to us from Lawrence Technological University, where she served as the Disability Services Advisor and, in addition to other responsibilities, managed the budget for funds for the King Chavez Parks Initiative (KCP), prepared reports for grant renewal, and collected and prepared grant data for internal and external use. Previously, Veronica also worked as a writing consultant at Oakland University where she held over 300 writing sessions with fellow students and faculty. She also worked as a medical writing and editing intern at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. Veronica has a bachelor's degree from Oakland University in English with a minor in psychology.
Please join us in welcoming Veronica to the UM-Dearborn community!
New NSF Guidelines effective May 20 with Changes to the Biosketch
The new NSF PAPPG will be in effect for all proposals submitted on or after May 20, and includes a significant change to the biographical sketch required for all senior personnel. Effective May 20, the biosketch will no longer include the section for “synergistic activities” and instead this will become a separate required document.
The biosketch must still be created using SciENcv, but the tool now includes an option to create a biosketch for proposals after May 17, 2024. It will also allow you to migrate your data from the old form to the new form. In addition, the three-page limitation of the biographical sketch has been removed–there is no longer any page limitation for this section of the proposal.
Instructions for the new Synergistic Activities document are available in our shared folder of Standard NSF Proposal guides & templates resource for faculty.
Collaborative Research in Detroit Planning Grants due May 20, 2024
The Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center (Detroit URC) program fosters the establishment of new community-academic research partnerships and new collaborative research efforts in Detroit. Grants of $5,000 will help support community-based participatory research for up to one year. Applications are due May 20.
OVPR Anti-Racism Grants Due June 3, 2024
Applications are open for OVPR's Anti-Racism Grant program, which launched in 2021 to advance knowledge around complex societal racial inequalities that can inform actions toward equity and justice. Grants will be awarded up to $100,000. Read the OVPR Anti-Racism Grant Guidelines. Applications are due by June 3.
PACE Dissemination Grant Funding Applications Due June 7, 2024
Academic researchers who have recently completed a study in collaboration with a community partner are invited to apply for a Promoting Academics and Community Engagement (PACE) dissemination grant. PACE grants support community-academic partnerships that are ready to share the results of community engaged research. Application proposals for projects located in areas outside southeast Michigan are strongly encouraged. Applicants may request up to $5,000 for a six-month period (with projects ending no later than Dec. 31). Applications are due June 7. Additional information is available on the MICHR PACE Grant website.
OVPR led ARPA-H Workshop
U-M Faculty interested in ARPA-H funding will have an opportunity to learn more about the proposal format and the tools, templates and services OVPR provides. The workshop gives faculty tools to develop research ideas in the framework of the ARPA-(H)eilmeir Questions and takes a deeper dive into the targeted areas of interest for the ISOs for the Mission Office (which replaced the Open BAA). Monday, May 20, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Ruthven Building.
Research Development Summer Conference Registration Open
The annual U-M Research Development Conference will be held Wednesday, June 5, 12:30-5 p.m. in the Palmer Commons Great Lakes Rooms (100 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109).
The 2024 RD Conference: OnwaRD, sponsored by the OVPR Office of Research Development, Bold Challenges, and the RD Community of Practice, will feature multiple informational and interactive sessions to help the U-M research community navigate resources and funding opportunities, develop strong teams, and learn about new tools for enhancing proposals and advancing impact. This half-day conference is free to attend and open to faculty, staff, postdocs and anyone who wants to learn more about RD strategies and best practices.
Keynote speaker Elyse Aurbach, Director of Public Engagement & Research Impacts in OVPR, will present on fundamentals of science communication. Register for the 2024 RD Conference.
NSF Grants Conference: Spring 2024
Registration is now open for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Spring 2024 NSF Grants Conference, June 3-5, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This conference is hybrid and designed to give new faculty, researchers, and administrators key insights into a wide range of current issues at NSF. NSF program officers representing each NSF directorate will be on hand to provide up-to-date information about specific funding opportunities and to answer attendee questions. Learn more and register.
Mardigian Library Support for Data Management Plans
Data management plan support available from the UM-Dearborn Mardigian Library. Data management planning is often required by funders in the form of a document called a Data Management Plan (DMP) that will describe the handling (collection, storage and archiving) of data collected during your project. A DMP may also need to include plans for the dissemination of your data, (sometimes referred to separately as a Data Sharing Plan). To help faculty navigate data management planning, the UM-Dearborn Mardigian Library offers both a subject guide on Research Data Management as well as a DMP review service.
The UM-Dearborn Mardigian Library’s Research Data Management subject guide covers definitions, online tools for creating a DMP, guidance from ICPSR, example plans and more. Read the Research Data Management subject guide to learn more about DMPs.
UM-Dearborn librarians are also available to help answer questions and offer support to faculty improving their DMPs as a part of their DMP review service. To contact a librarian for a DMP review, fill in their DMP review request form.
Reminder: Resources for Using SciENcv
Effective Oct. 23, 2023, NSF requires all biosketch and current & pending support documents for senior personnel to be prepared using SciENcv. The fillable pdf forms are no longer accepted. We recommend that you take the time to register with ScieENcv and begin to create your documents in that system if you expect to be involved in a proposal to NSF in the near future.
U-M Library Services has put together this guidance page to help you get started. You can also request a one-on-one Zoom session with Dearborn Office of Research staff to walk you through this process. Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is a researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive or are associated with research investments from federal agencies. SciENcv allows researchers to document their education, employment, research activities, publications, honors, research grants, & other professional contributions to create multiple SciENcv profiles in official biographical sketch formats funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In addition, the SciENcv application can be used to create the official NSF Current and Pending Support document.
Any researcher can register for SciENcv and create multiple biosketches, for different research projects or different funding agencies. You can find much more information about how to use SciENcv on their FAQs page. The central Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and U-M Library have resources and previous workshops available on how to create a biosketch in SciENcv specifically focused on NSF and NIH. These resources are available linked below:
- U-M Library SciENcv Guide (including step-by-steps for creating NSF and NIH biosketches)
- NSF Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (July 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NSF Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- How to Create Your NSF Biosketch in SciENcv Step-by-step (MLibrary Handout)
- NIH Biosketch and SciENcv Webinar (May 2020)
- Slide Deck (MLibrary Presentation)
- NIH Biosketch Webinar Transcript
- Biosketch and SciENcv Step-by-Step (MLibrary Handout)
If you have questions about SciENcv, need additional support, or would like to schedule one-on-one assistance with setting up your SciENcv profile and documents, please email our office at [email protected].
Research Events in May
- IRB-HSBS, “IRB On-the-Road Drop-In Session” - Wednesday, May 15, 2-3:30 p.m., virtual
- Hanover Research Webinar, “Engaging Collaborators to Enhance Your Proposal” - Thursday, May 23, 12 p.m., virtual
- OVRP Workshop, “Preparing Proposals for Instrumentation Grants Information Session” - Friday, May 24, 12-1 p.m., virtual
The Office of Research website is also updated regularly with research-related events and announcements, so we would encourage you to bookmark our landing page and subscribe to our Research News email list.
Research Resource Highlight: Springer Nature Research Masterclasses
Every month, the Office of Research features a resource and/or tool that is available for researchers. This month we are featuring Springer Nature Research Masterclasses, available to the U-M community for a three-year pilot program.
Nature Masterclasses provide professional development training for researchers of all experience levels by drawing on the expertise of Nature Portfolio journal editors and experts. These masterclasses are now available to faculty, staff and students for no cost on all three U-M campuses thanks to the sponsorship of the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, the Medical School Office of Faculty Development and OVPR.
U-M faculty, staff, and students can access a variety of topics including research design, experiments and analysis, writing and publishing, sharing and disseminating, and career development. Learn more and access the courses on the U-M Library Database for Nature Masterclasses.
Upcoming Funding Opportunities
The Office of Research publishes a list of selected funding opportunities, organized by college, every month on our website under Announcements. In addition, yearly grant calendars organized by subject area provided by Hanover Research are available there as well.
Use the updated U-M Research Commons to look up internal (to U-M) funding opportunities and Limited Submission opportunities open to Dearborn researchers.
Contact the UM-Dearborn Office of Research if you would like more information about submitting a proposal to any of the programs.
