Science Alliance Annual Report
2008–2009
Other Ventures
Proposal Development and Grant Writing Support
In FY08 the Science Alliance began to focus on providing institutional funding and support for ever larger multi-institutional and interdisciplinary-team research projects. In 2009, that strategic shift proved timely and the center made especially impressive strides in response to the calls for funding made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Altogether, Science Alliance proposal development and grant writing teams provided support for grant applications valued at nearly $130 million. The adjacent chart details a number of these.
Proposal development funded by the Science Alliance was accomplished with the assistance of Carmen Trammell, Charles Senn, Theresa Pepin, Darlene Casey, Lisa Carroll, Dorsey Bottoms, and Laura Buenning.
Particularly noteworthy was the Science Alliance’s leadership role in Tennessee’s Recovery Act Management Team (TRAM) in connection with the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). As a representative of UT, Tennessee’s land grant university, the Science Alliance worked with ORNL, multiple state agencies, and private-public partnerships for six months to prepare a package of proposals for extending affordable broadband to the large rural areas of the state. If funded, the $85 million federal investment in the tightly-coupled package of proposed state projects will give many more citizens in every distant corner of Tennessee access to: university training and content; governmental services; e-commerce; and telehealth; not to mention the skills and connections to learn and compete in every arena worldwide.
Given that broadband infrastructure is such a critical foundation for research and dissemination of information, it can be argued that the ARRA BTOP proposals make possible a far greater return on investment for all other research funded by the economic stimulus in the state. As of August 2009, UT applications for ARRA research funding amounted to over $546 million, including the following broad categories: approximately $145 million for health care; $75 million for basic and applied science with an additional $210 million for energy and climate change; and $49 million for STEM education and research. Clearly, UT researchers are rising to the challenge of these extraordinary times and opportunities.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Office of Research provides proposal support for faculty. Access to this service can be found on their website, http://research.utk.edu/pd/. The Science Alliance works closely with the Research Office to provide additional support.
From the most basic research on alternative energy resources to health care alternatives; from preparing children to succeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to using supercomputers to understand genetic diseases, UT education and research can improve the lives and make the most of the talents of all Tennesseans—but only if their schools, libraries, hospitals, and homes have access to the information. A notable case in point is the preproposal survey of central Appalachia for the recently completed, $10.6-million, NSF-funded ACCLAIM project (Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics) that turned up more than 100 rural mathematics teachers looking for, but lacking access to, the means to pursue advanced degrees. Results such as this compel us to think beyond initial funding ideas to those who should ultimately benefit from the research. Broadband reaching into the most remote areas of the state will help bridge the gap between distressed rural areas and UT’s educational resources.