The National Science Foundation’s prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Program – or CAREER program – represents NSF’s most important award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.

NSF will bring a one-day CAREER workshop to WVU’s Erickson Alumni Center on Thursday, Feb. 23 that will offer WVU faculty an opportunity to learn more about how to pursue an NSF CAREER designation. The workshop will run from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

All directorates at NSF support CAREER. Earning a CAREER award is considered a very prestigious step for faculty members. They are given for five years rather than the usual NSF three-years. CAREER applicants compete only against other junior faculty members – not against more senior and experienced researchers.

The CAREER Award Proposal Workshop will be conducted by Sonia Esparanca, and her colleagues from NSF and will be comprised of three sessions:

Session One: Overview of the NSF CAREER award
Session Two: Insights into grant-writing
Session Three: Policy overview related to NSF proposal submission; requirements for mentoring plans, data management, bio-sketches, and current/pending support forms; and pitfalls to avoid.

All topics are seen as extremely useful information for junior faculty.

Lunch and break refreshments will be provided courtesy of the WVU Research Office.

CAREER is available to all WVU faculty who hold a doctoral degree; are untenured; have never received a previous CAREER or NSF Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers; and are employed in a tenure-track position as an assistant professor.

REGISTER BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW:
https://www.wvhepc.org/survey/TakeSurvey.asp?SurveyID=40I7p5MKm6721
Also, please inform your chairperson and dean after you have registered

It’s not too late to participate in the Take Charge of Your Health Program, offered to all WVU employees by the WVU Division of Human Resources’ Employee Wellness Program.

Take Charge of Your Health is an 8-week, self-paced program designed to assist you in collecting and organizing your personal health information. At the conclusion of this program, your Take Charge Manual will contain vital personal health information that can help you and your health care provider better manage your health care.

The information in your Take Charge Manual is yours alone — you are not required to submit the manual — you simply verify completion at the end of the program by submitting the Take Charge Checklist.

Program participation includes four easy steps:
(1) Complete the online registration survey (http://simpleforms.scripts.wvu.edu/sf/TakeChargeOfYourHealth/) no later than Jan 31.
(2) Complete the Take Charge Manual at your own pace.
(3) Submit the Take Charge Checklist by March 31.
(4) Complete the online post survey by March 31.

For complete details and to register, visit WVU Employee Wellness at Take Charge of Your Health (http://employeewellness.wvu.edu/keeping_you_posted/take-charge-of-your-health).

WVU Employees who register for Take Charge of Your health -AND- register (http://simpleforms.scripts.wvu.edu/sf/EmployeeFestRSVP2012/) for the 2012 EmployeeFest: Benefits & Wellness Expo (http://employeefest.wvu.edu/) will be entered into a random prize drawing for a WVU camp chair.

Dr. Fred King, Ph.D., a 20-plus year faculty member, researcher and administrator at WVU, has been named the University’s interim vice president for research, President Jim Clements announced Thursday (Jan. 26). The appointment is effective Feb. 1 and is to last a full year.

King currently serves as associate dean for research and graduate education in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, where he also holds the rank of professor of chemistry. He will continue his role as principal research officer in the Eberly College along with his new responsibilities.

“Fred King is a long-time, highly-valued member of our faculty, and has great perspective on the kind of support our faculty, staff and students need for research, scholarship and creative work,” Clements said. “He has the full authority over the coming year to ensure that best practices and an efficient, effective infrastructure are in place to provide that support to our researchers.”

More online: http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2012/01/26/long-time-wvu-researcher-administrator-named-wvu-interim-vice-president-for-research

A team of students from WVU has been selected to participate in the 2013 Solar Decathlon, hosted by the United States Department of Energy, one of only 20 teams selected for the worldwide competition of college and university students challenged to design, build and operate the most affordable, attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house they can. Each team selected to participate in the competition receives a $100,000 grant from the department. The competition has previously taken place on the National Mall of Washington, D.C., where the finished homes are built and displayed for judging.

The interdisciplinary team was led by a group of students from the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. Students from the College of Creative Arts; the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design; and the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism came on board since the project started in 2009 and will be integral to making their efforts a success in the competition. Additional assistance was received from faculty and offices across the University.

“I am very proud of the work of our undergraduate engineering students for the leadership they showed to make this happen,” said Warren Myers, associate dean for Academic Affairs in the Statler College. “This was a student-driven activity; it was their vision.”

More online: http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2012/01/26/they-re-in-wvu-students-selected-to-participate-in-department-of-energy-s-solar-decathlon

Managing people, priorities, and tasks is the most rewarding and challenging role a supervisor can fill. Stay up-to-date on the critical skills and essential knowledge you need in order to excel in your work. The Division of Human Resources, Training and Development, is offering a series of workshops to supervisors that will help to ensure that you are up to date in the critical “need-to-know” areas of supervision. Visit our catalog at www.tnd.hr.wvu.edu/supervisor-training in order to enroll in these short, yet extremely informative workshops.

The second workshop in the Department of Mathematic’s Saturday Series in Mathematics will be held this Saturday, Jan. 28, from 12:30-3 p.m. in 206 Armstrong Hall. Dr. Michael Mays will be giving a hands-on session on material about mean values. Participants will use applets, graphing utilities, and spreadsheets to explore:

• inequalities involving mean values

• geometric and algebraic constructions for mean values

• monotonicity of means depending on parameters

• compounded mean values

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

The Office of Research and Graduate Education announces the availability of funds to support RFDGs for projects up to one year in duration, which are directed by faculty at the rank of Instructor or above, in the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Nursing.

Please visit the internal funding webpage for more information at: http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/ResOff/Internal-funding-sources/research-funding-development-grants.aspx

Save the date: The 2012 Annual E.J. Van Liere Memorial Convocation and HSC Research Day will be held Friday, March 9. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the yearly event.

Deadline for submission is Feb. 13.

The Van Liere Memorial Convocation events include a selected number of graduate and professional students within the Health Sciences degree programs, as well as others in training programs, selected to give talks on their research. This event is competitive, and winners are awarded monetary prizes.

The HSC Research Day rounds out the events with the Health Science Center’s largest, comprehensive poster session that provides faculty, residents, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, graduate students, and professional program students the opportunity to share their research at the poster session and engage in scientific discussion. This event is open to the Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and the recently launched School of Public Health.

The guest speaker this year will be Dr. Howard Hu from University of Michigan School of Public Health. He is a Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, and Internal Medicine.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/ResOff/vlrd/Default.aspx

Extended Learning is offering a 6-week, non-credit class for those who would like to learn Chinese Mandarin. This class will be offered Mondays, beginning Feb. 6, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Allen Hall, room 3510. The cost is $99. For details, visit http://online.wvu.edu/continuing/viewcourse.php?cid=182

The President’s Office for Social Justice in conjunction with the Social Justice Council at WVU seeks nominations for the annual Neil S. Bucklew Award. Faculty, staff, and administrators who have been or are currently involved in the promotion of social justice are eligible for this prestigious award.

The $2,500 award may be used for professional development or may be gifted by WVU to one of several worthy WVU Foundation Accounts on behalf of WVU in the recipient’s name.

This recognition will be awarded to the recipient who has best demonstrated outstanding leadership, courage, and support on a continuous basis in the area of social justice at West Virginia University or one of its regional campuses including the Charleston Division of Health Sciences.

Nominations/applications should include a cover sheet with the name, title, addresses of the nominee and person nominating the individual, and a statement not to exceed 250 words summarizing why the award should be given to the nominated individual. This may be accompanied with up to five one-page letters of recommendation. Applications exceeding these limits will not be considered. The information included should relate to the nominee’s leadership in social justice, courage he or she may have demonstrated in activities and endeavors, and support what he/she has provided to others related to social justice. Nominations are due January 31, 2012 and should be sent to the President’s Office for Social Justice, West Virginia University, PO Box 6202, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6202.