March 2025

In this issue

Research highlights  |  Innovation spotlight  |  New awards  
Unsung heroes  |  Faculty kudos  |  Research development  |  Nuts & bolts

“These four researchers have demonstrated excellence in their fields and have done so in a way that reflects well on our entire university," said Chancellor Douglas Girod. "As one of the nation’s leading research institutions, KU strives to make discoveries that change the world — and these four scholars are helping us fulfill that mission every day.”  

At the Kansas Geological Survey, a hazard detection program begun nearly 40 years ago to detect abandoned coal mines in southeast Kansas will enter a new era of identifying underground threats that could endanger public safety, supported in part by a $15 million grant from the U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center.

The annual awards recognize outstanding unclassified academic staff, unclassified professional staff and postdoctoral fellows whose research has significantly influenced their fields and expanded intellectual or societal insights. 

"Bold Women,” an exhibition of more than 75 works on view through July 6 at KU’s Spencer Museum of Art, explores how women have pushed the boundaries of art and spurred social and cultural change across generations and geographies.

Farmers, who are on the front lines of climate change, avoid talking about it with their neighbors, community members, elected officials and even their own families because of potential conflict and harm to their livelihood, new KU research has found.

For the second year, a group of University of Kansas faculty touted for their excellence in research, scholarship and creative activity were honored at KU Athletics events. Each enjoyed a VIP experience at a KU volleyball, football or basketball game, where they were introduced on the court or field during a timeout.  

At the KU Center for Technology Commercialization, we take pride in recognizing KU inventors whose groundbreaking technologies make a global impact, strengthen communities and improve lives.

Recently, with the support of the National Academy of Inventors, we had the opportunity to spotlight two distinguished KU researchers: Ron Barrett-Gonzalez and Stefan Bossmann. 

KU researchers are assessing forever chemicals in Kansas reservoirs; enhancing workforce development in the state; surveying Kansas vegetation; developing phonetic training for second-language learning, and more — all with the aid of external funding awarded in February.

Behind every successful award are teams of KU research support staff who help investigators identify opportunities, prepare and submit complicated proposals under strict deadlines, help manage finances and compliance for funded projects, and more. They are the unsung heroes of KU research, greasing the wheels of innovation and discovery.

In each issue of KU Discoveries, we shine a spotlight on a research support staff member deemed particularly outstanding by colleagues. Click the button below this month's story to nominate a deserving candidate from any unit on campus.

Kim Wittman | Grant Officer | Office of Research

Before faculty and staff can begin their research, they often need to find funding sources to purchase supplies, pay personnel and maintain equipment. Grant officers like Kim Wittman in Pre-Award Services help these investigators earn the funds they need to do their work.

Wittman began her time at the KU Office of Research in May 2012 as a grant specialist. She was promoted to grant coordinator and later to grant officer. In this role, she helps faculty and research staff apply for grants offered by federal agencies.

“Kim is a team player. She is always willing to assist when she can and goes the extra mile,” said Fawn Weber, grant manager in the Office of Research. “She is a great communicator and always knows when to ask the questions that are needed and important.”

One of the most complex awards Wittman helped earn was a $26 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a new Gen-4 Engineering Research Center called the Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub, or EARTH. The award was announced in August 2024, and the research center it funds will develop technologies to create a sustainable and circular refrigerant economy.

“The full proposal was 1,000 pages, and Kim did an incredible job managing all of the documents required by NSF,” said Mark Shiflett, Foundation Distinguished Professor of chemical & petroleum engineering and director of the EARTH center. “Kim is extremely detail-oriented and energetic, which helped the ERC team complete the proposals ahead of schedule so that sufficient time was available for carefully reviewing the proposals to produce the best outcome.”

In addition to supporting work essential to protecting the environment, this grant will create Kansas jobs and provide KU students with the opportunity to learn from and connect with experts in their fields. These grants would not come to KU without the hard work of pre-award staff like Wittman.

“Kim has a lot of experience with proposal preparation,” Shiflett said. “This is very helpful because she knows the right people to work with for acquiring information or approvals needed so that the proposal submission remains on schedule.”

EXTERNAL FUNDING

The Faculty Guide to National Defense Research Opportunities is a step-by-step guide to assist researchers from all disciplines in pursuing research funding from the national defense community, particularly the Department of Defense.

The guide includes insights on:

The guide was developed by KU’s Office of National Defense Initiatives in collaboration with the KU Office of Research.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Attend a virtual panel of past KU recipients of the NSF CAREER award. Panelists will describe the process and tips that helped them successfully pursue the award.

Previous CAREER Winners Panel
Friday, March 28 | 12 p.m.
Register on Zoom

The NSF CAREER program typically expects to fund 450 proposals from approximately 3,000 applicants. To succeed, proposals must rank in the top 10 to 15 percent.

Want to increase your chances of success? Participate in KU’s 2025 CAREER Writing Workshop. Brought to you by the KU Office of Research and the Bremner Editing Center in the KU School of Journalism, the program will provide strategies and tips for writing competitive CAREER proposals from CAREER Award winners and former NSF program officers, highlight potential educational-plan partners at KU, and explore the use of advanced writing techniques and partner review for enhancing proposal clarity and persuasiveness.

GENERAL

The Federal Research Updates webpage contains information and guidance for the KU Lawrence/Edwards research community about potential impacts of recent federal actions. Find an archive of KU messages and town hall recordings, evolving guidance for investigators, resources to increase understanding and advocacy for indirect costs, and more.

RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION

The National Institutes of Health has postponed its adoption of the common forms for biographical sketches and current & pending (other) support originally scheduled for May 25, 2025. NIH will issue future notices outlining the new effective date and additional implementation details as they are finalized.

Until further notice, NIH applicants and recipients must continue to use the current NIH biosketch and other support format pages for applications, just-in-time (JIT) and research performance progress reports (RPPR). 

In the interim, it is recommended that individuals who are currently serving as PI, co-PI or key personnel on active NIH awards or on pending or planned proposals take the following steps to prepare for implementation of the common forms:

Pre-Award staff are already familiar with the use of SciENcv to complete the NSF common forms, so they can assist with questions about that system as they arise. We expect that NIH will be providing additional resources as they are developed; we will share these with the KU research community when they become available.

RESEARCH INTEGRITY

Researchers whose current human subjects research projects must be paused due to a stop-work order will be asked by KU’s Human Research Protection Program to consider the risks to participants of halting an intervention and propose a plan to mitigate consequences of the pause (e.g., notifying participants; providing local/web resources; planning for partial compensation, if applicable). 

If you receive a stop-work order that involves research with human subjects, please forward the notice to Alicia Reed (amreed@ku.edu) and the HRPP (irb@ku.edu).

The March Final Friday Ethics will continue the Back to Basics series and focus on the principle of respect for persons. The session will review additional ethical considerations for individuals who may be vulnerable to being coerced into participation, including individuals with diminished capacity for consent, children, prisoners and others.

IRB Back to Basics
Respect for Persons: Vulnerable Populations 
Friday, March 28 | 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 
Register on Zoom

The Belmont Report, which is a set of ethical principles for research involving human subjects — Respect for Persons, Beneficence, Justice — is the foundation of the regulations designed to protect human subjects. This series will consider each principle, reviewing the regulations and requirements in place to ensure the principle is followed.

Researchers who are new to human subjects research would benefit from this in-depth review of human subjects protections. This series could also benefit seasoned researchers due to continuing changes and updates to federal and institutional requirements. The monthly series will run through May; anyone who attends all 5 sessions will receive a completion certificate.

Questions? Comments? Content suggestions?
Mindie Paget  |  Office of Research  |  mpaget@ku.edu

KU Office of Research
Strong Hall | 1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university’s programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and procedures and is the Title IX Coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY. Reports can be submitted to the Title IX Coordinator by visiting civilrights.ku.edu/how-report.