In this issue

Research highlights  |  Leadership news  |  Innovation spotlight
New awards  |  Unsung heroes  |   Faculty kudos
Recognition roundup  |  Research development  |  Events

Every day, KU researchers, scholars and creators expand knowledge, build healthy, vibrant communities, and make connections and discoveries that benefit our state, nation and world.

On April 11, I invite you to join me at the annual University Research Awards ceremony to celebrate this great work and to recognize a handful of our colleagues who have been singled out this year for outstanding achievements and contributions to their fields. Honorees will include the most recent recipients of the following awards:

All members of the KU community are invited to attend the event, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Jayhawk Welcome Center. Preview the honorees and RSVP on the event page to help us plan for food and beverages.
 
I look forward to seeing you April 11!

Belinda Sturm
Interim Vice Chancellor for Research

Promoting health equity through a racially inclusive perinatal eating disorder screening tool, deracializing notions of settlement related to houseless encampment, launching a sustainable community archive commemorating a local labor movement, and celebrating the roles of women+ of color as artists and change-makers are among the goals of four projects selected for the 2023 KU Racial Equity Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity Awards.

Four faculty members at two Kansas universities were named recipients of the Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards, the state higher education system’s most prestigious recognition for scholarly excellence. 

A new book by Yong Zhao, Foundation Distinguished Professor of Education, explores how educators can guide schools to success without getting weighed down by things they can’t control. 

Kristin Bowman-James received the Joseph G. Danek Award for her long-term commitment to enhancing the research infrastructure in Kansas by forging collaborations across institutions and disciplines.

Ayesha Hardison, associate professor of English and director of the History of Black Writing, studies novels and related archival materials to explore and expand appreciation of African American literature and culture.

KU researchers are working with the Kansas Water Office and Viaanix, an Internet of Things company, to create a dashboard for real-time reporting on water quality, quantity and equity.

Anatol has led the center in an interim capacity since former director Richard Godbeer retired in fall 2022. Her permanent appointment begins March 3.

“I am thrilled to have been selected for this leadership role at the university. During my time as interim director, I sought to promote the Hall Center as a flourishing, welcoming and inclusive space for the celebration and advancement of humanistic research and productivity,” said Anatol, professor of English. “I very much look forward to continuing this work in collaboration with the many students, faculty, staff and community members who are invested in all that the humanities have to offer.” 

Each Feb. 11, the United States recognizes National Inventors' Day to acknowledge the innovative spirit embodied by America’s past and present inventors. First signed into law in 1983, this date was chosen by the Reagan administration because it was Thomas Edison’s birthday. Edison is considered one of our greatest inventors, holding more than 1,000 patents throughout his lifetime. 

KU and its medical center are filled with great innovators striving to find creative solutions for the problems facing our world. Today, the KU Center for Technology Commercialization wants to thank all members of KU's research community for their creativity and ingenuity. We also wish to show specific appreciation to the faculty below, who disclosed new inventions to the university in 2023. We celebrate the efforts of these and all KU inventors for the tremendous value they bring to our institution — and encourage you to do so as well!

2023 KU inventors

KU researchers are executing a Kansas addiction needs assessment, examining technologies to support aging among people with disabilities, developing perinatal eating disorder screening tools for Black patients, and more — all with the aid of internal and external funding awarded in January.    

ResFS Upgrade Team | IT, Research Computing + Office of Research

What does a film about secret agents working skillfully behind the scenes to defend Earth from alien invaders have to do with a project to upgrade Research File Storage (ResFS) at the University of Kansas? Kathleen Lynne Lane sees a parallel.

“This has been a huge success, reminding me of the movie ‘Men In Black.’ Most people at KU will not be aware of the efforts behind this successful migration, but the entire campus has benefited and people’s research will continue to make the world a better place,” said Lane, associate vice chancellor for research and Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of special education.

More than 20 employees from IT, the Center for Research Computing and the Office of Research were involved in planning, communicating and executing the ResFS migration. The project was identified as part of the 2021 Research Technology Working Group and was completed last December.

Not only did the team take special care to ensure a seamless user experience with no alterations to file names or paths, but the new platform also performs significantly faster than its predecessor — welcome news for the more than 1,250 KU researchers who depend on ResFS to securely store, share or read critical files.

Some of the many people involved in the upgrade include John Clune, Jake Coffman, Chris Gibson, Chris Jeter, Suzie Johannes, Tom Johnson, Jake Noyd, Seth Pelzer, Jim Rupprecht, and Tyler Steiner from KU Information Technology. The update took place under the tenure of KU Chief Information Officer Mary Walsh, who retired in August, and interim CIO Ed Hudson. Riley Epperson, Bradley Fleming and Hoang Tran from the Center for Research Computing also worked on the project, alongside Lane, Simon Atkinson, Gina Cregg, Mindie Paget, Julie Popiel, Erik Lundquist, Belinda Sturm and others in the Office of Research.

“I’ve had the honor of being part of this planning team for the last several years, and I’m deeply appreciative of the time, expertise, kindness and excellent communication from our partners in IT and the Center for Research Computing. They are approachable, knowledgeable and focused on providing concierge-level service,” Lane said. “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this multi-year project in supporting and enhancing the research enterprise at KU. I appreciate the efforts of Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWitt and other KU leaders for making this important achievement possible.”

Following the upgrade, the Office of Research announced a new rate structure. Eligible researchers can now obtain 1TB of storage free of charge. Additional storage (up to 15TB) may be requested at no additional charge if more storage is required for a research project.

INTERNAL FUNDING

The New Faculty Research Development Awards are designed to help new faculty accelerate their scholarship and start building a sustainable research program soon after their arrival on campus. 

Amount: Up to $8K / Up to $20K | Next deadline: March 1

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Office of Research is hosting a discussion about achieving watersecurity in Kansas. This meeting is in response to Gov. Laura Kelly’s directive to develop a multi-decade strategic plan for the state’s waterresources centered on the five guiding principles of the Kansas Water Plan. We invite KU faculty with expertise in water resources across disciplines to come together and discuss how our individual and collective knowledge can contribute to strategically planning the future of water in Kansas.

KU Water Scholars Exchange
Thursday, March 7 | 9 – 11 a.m.
KU Innovation Park, Phase III Auditorium
2033 Becker Drive, Lawrence, KS
Coffee, tea + pastries provided

Please contact Gabriel Nehrbass if you missed the Feb. 27 RSVP deadline and are still interested in attending.

The Office of Research Development is offering workshops this spring focused on crafting compelling, competitive proposals for NSF CAREER awards and NIH funding opportunities.

Learn more + register for open seminars

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

KU Office of Research
2385 Irving Hill Road
Lawrence, KS 66045
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