January 28, 2026

The KAWSE office’s ADVANCE Distinguished Lecture Series Award awards up to $1200 to tenure-earning faculty from different departments of six partner STEM colleges to invite and bring seminar speakers to campus. The purpose of this series is to encourage tenure-track faculty members (i.e., assistant professors) to make new professional connections. These colleagues may become valuable mentors or research collaborators who can provide advice on manuscripts and grant proposals and may serve as outside references for tenure applications.

Faculty members should send a proposal (no more than 3 pages in length) using the application form by email to KAWSE at kawse@ksu.edu with the subject line “KAWSE ADLS Application.” Proposals will be reviewed by a screening committee. Please find the application form, a sample application, tips for hosting a speaker, and the rubric used by the screening committee on our website. 

The deadline for submissions is 5:00 pm on Friday, February 13, 2026.

For more information, contact the KAWSE office at kawse@ksu.edu or 785-532-6088.

The University Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Student in Research has been established to recognize outstanding individual contributions in research for the purpose of the discovery and creation of new knowledge at K-State. The award is for an undergraduate student who has demonstrated excellence in research in any field of study.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2026 Distinguished Undergraduate Student in Research Award.

The Distinguished Undergraduate Student in Research Award recipient will receive an engraved plaque and prize of $1,000.00. This award will be presented at the Spring Campus-Wide Undergraduate Research Symposium, held on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

Students who are eligible for this award may be nominated by KSU faculty, students, staff, or administrators. Any questions can be directed to the Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research team at SDUR@k-state.edu.

More information and the link to nominate can be found here.

Finalists for this award will be invited for an interview. The deadline for nominations is February 15, 2026.

The University Distinguished Faculty Award for Mentoring of Undergraduate Students in Research has been established to recognize outstanding individual contributions to the development of undergraduates in research projects at Kansas State University. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2026 University Distinguished Faculty Award for Mentoring of Undergraduate Students in Research.

The University Distinguished Faculty Award for Mentoring of Undergraduate Students in Research recipient will be awarded a plaque and prize of $4,000.00. This award will be presented at the Spring Campus-Wide Undergraduate Research Symposium, held on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

Faculty who are eligible for this award may be nominated by K-State faculty, students, staff or administrators. Any questions can be directed to the Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research team at SDUR@k-state.edu.

More details about the awards and the nomination form are available here.

The deadline for nominations is February 15, 2026.

The Kansas State University, Office of Research Development’s Faculty Development Award (FDA) and University Small Grant (USRG) programs provide international meeting travel support and seed grant funding to K-State faculty.  The FDA award can also be used to meet with program officers from potential external funders.  Awards for the FDA program typically range from $1,000 to $3,500.  For USRG awards, the range is $2,000 to $5,000. The proposals for both programs are due by 5 pm on March 1, 2026, and should be submitted via ord@ksu.edu. 

The Kansas State University, Office of Research Development announces the opening of its funding opportunity for faculty researchers working in the fields of design, arts, social sciences, and humanities. The Design, Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (DASH) award is an annual opportunity for one-time, one-year $10,000 awards to support research, scholarly work, or creative activities.

Applications follow the same eligibility guidelines and must include all items requested in the call for University Small Research Grants, but unlike that lower-funded internal program, your DASH budget can include up to one summer month of faculty salary. DASH proposals are due by 5 p.m. on March 1, 2026. Proposals must be submitted as a single PDF file to ord@ksu.edu.

Proposals will be peer-reviewed and awardees notified by early May. Award periods will begin on July 1, 2026.

Kansas State University is pleased to announce the opening of three Request for Proposals (RFPs) through the One K-State Fund, with submissions due March 1, 2026.

The funding opportunities include: 
- University Outstanding Scholars Awards 
- Design, Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities 
- Sustainability Opportunity Agenda 

Read the full announcement for more information.

Registration for the Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium is now open! The Symposium offers undergraduate students a valuable opportunity to showcase their research and to practice communicating their findings to a broad audience.  This year the symposium will be part of One K-State Research Week (April 17-24).

This year’s Symposium will be held on Thursday, April 23rd, 2026 with registration open from now until March 27, 2026.

Registration can be found here. 

NSF webinars & office hours:

NSF is now operating under a continuing resolution that runs until January 30, 2026.

They are prioritizing the most pressing issues, including restoring the capacity to make awards and ensuring continued management and oversight of existing awards. 

Please visit the recently updated Resumption of Operations at NSF page on NSF.gov for information and answers to frequently asked questions.

February 5, 2026

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will hold a virtual, open, public listening session to collect stakeholder input on the implementation of the FY 2026 Research Facilities Act Program (RFAP) competitive grant opportunity. 

RFAP’s purpose is to assist eligible institutions with the construction, modification, acquisition, modernization, refurbishment, or remodeling of their agricultural research facility to conduct research in the food and agricultural sciences. NIFA is particularly interested in achieving the most impact and identifying suggested priorities in the program. 

Registration can be found here.

Be among the first to see what’s ahead for PCORI in 2026 and beyond! Join PCORI leadership and members of the healthcare community Thursday, February 5 for the annual PCORI 2026 & Beyond webinar. 

During this fast-paced, 30-minute virtual event, you’ll: 
- Take a first glance at upcoming funding opportunities for patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research and related projects.
- Discover practical ways to actively engage with PCORI and help shape future research. 
- Hear directly from PCORI leaders, with answers to questions submitted by participants. 

Submit your questions during registration to help guide the discussion and to make the most of your virtual experience. 

Register here.

The NSF I-Corps program is designed for research teams who want to explore the real-world impact of their innovations. By participating in I-Corps, your team will learn how to use the scientific method to validate the translational potential of your technology. This is about equipping your team with tools to translate research into solutions that matter.

Regional I-Corps offers a unique opportunity to begin assessing the value proposition of your technology by helping researchers explore how their technology can create real-world impact and think beyond the lab.

Teams should include an Entrepreneurial Lead, Technical Lead, and Industry Mentor (preferred). Industry mentors are strongly encouraged and can be provided upon request. The Technical Lead is typically a faculty researcher/innovator while the Entrepreneurial Lead is often a graduate student on their research team. Post doctoral fellows may serve as either the Technical or Entrepreneurial Lead. Industry Mentors are not necessarily sector specific.

5-week virtual program requirements
      - 8-10 hours/week (includes 2 hours class time + 30-minute coaching       meeting)
      - Attend and actively engage in all cohort meetings
      - Complete weekly homework
      - Participate in weekly 30-minute coaching meetings with your       instructor
      - Complete 20+ customer discovery interviews

Participant support of $2k to the Entrepreneurial Lead is based on successful cohort participation. The maximum number of teams allowed is 10.

University of Kansas application deadline: February 9, 2026.

Virtual Cohort Sessions: February 23, March 2, March 9, March 23, and March 30.

Apply here.

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation is hosting an informational webinar discussing the 2027 Beckman Scholars Program (BSP) application on Tuesday, February 10.

Foundation staff will present a general overview of the 2027 BSP Application. Post-webinar there will be opportunities to sign up for Office Hours sessions to ask institution specific questions. Office hours will take place February 19, February 25, March 5 and March 9.

Learn more about program eligibility on the Beckman Foundation website. 

Registration can be found here.

Please note that this opportunity is a limited submission opportunity.  If you are interested in submitting to this program, you must submit a notification (working title, team list, and a short synopsis of what you will be proposing) to the Office of Research Development by 5 pm on March 17, 2026 via ordlimitedsubs@ksu.edu.

The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) and Directorate for STEM Education (NSF EDU) announced a bold new initiative to renew American manufacturing, revitalize America's energy dominance and address the shortage of a trade and skilled workforce.

To help shape this initiative, NSF is inviting input from the broader community — including from academia, policymakers, nonprofits, philanthropy, state and local government, venture capital, the private sector and other interested parties — through an RFI. Responses to the RFI are due by Friday, February 13, 2026.

Read the full announcement and RFI here.

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

The Fulbright Scholar Program's 2027-2028 competition launches in February! We have 385+ awards for U.S. citizens to support teaching, research, and professional projects. In this webinar, we will highlight new and priority awards in all regions and answer your questions. We will also discuss our full slate of programming so you can join us for webinars and office hours throughout the competition.