DRDA’s on-line research information server (RIS), available to campus computer users through GopherBlue, displays research funding opportunities, application deadlines, U-M policies concerning sponsored research, campus research resources and more. At the “which host?” prompt, enter “UM-GopherBlue:” then open “U of Michigan and Ann Arbor,” then open “DRDA.”
DRDA (The Division of Research Development and Administration) is located in Wolverine Tower, 3003 S. State Street, Ann Arbor 48109-1274.
DRDA holiday closing
DRDA will close for the holidays at 5 p.m. Dec. 23 and will reopen at 8 a.m. Jan. 3. Faculty, research staff and others who plan to process materials through DRDA on Dec. 23 are reminded that only limited staff may be available and that arrangements should be made with the appropriate project representative well in advance to ensure sufficient time for handling deadline materials.
Biological studies in space
NASA’s Life and Biomedical Sciences and Applications Division solicits proposals for fundamental biological research in the European Space Agency’s Biorack, to be flown on a shuttle mission sometime in 1996 or 1997. Primary focus: cell biology in the areas of plant, radiation and developmental biology (NRA-OLMSA-94-03). Deadline: Jan. 16. Additional information: Neil Gerl, 763-6438.
Tropical research fellowship
The Smithsonian Institution’s Tropical Research Institute in Panama invites applications for the annual three-year Earl S. Tupper Tropical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. Disciplines may include ecology, anthropology, paleontology, evolution, systematics, behavior, and physiology of tropical plants or animals. Annual stipend: $28,000, plus travel and research allowances. Deadline: Jan. 6. Further details: Robert Beattie, 936-1283.
Opportunities for teachers in the humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Division of Education has issued a new set of guidelines offering several innovative opportunities for teachers in the humanities. Humanities Focus Grants, for example, require a simplified application and speedy review process and enable groups of humanities teachers at any level to seek support to develop their understanding of an important issue or topic in the humanities and, if they choose, to translate such understanding into a plan of action for their school or college curriculum. The new guidelines encourage applications related to “A National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity,” as well as comparative and collaborative approaches to other topics; e.g. foreign language education, undergraduate science and humanities education, how recent advances in the study of cognition affect how humanities teachers think about their work, and several other topics. Additional information concerning expanded opportunities at NEH is available from Adeline M. Ryznar, 936-1354. For a copy of the new guidelines for NEH’s Division of Education Programs, call (202) 606-8400.
