April 1, 2026

K-State faculty, postdocs, graduate students and staff engaged in research, scholarly, and creative activity and discovery are invited to attend and exhibit at this year's Research Connections event as a part of One K-State Research Week. This event will take place Monday, April 20, 2026, from 3-5 p.m. in the K-State Alumni Center Banquet Room.

Research Connections offers K-State researchers a chance to learn what their colleagues are doing, promote their work and explore possible collaborations. Exhibitors can reserve a table where they can display posters, banners, signs, and handouts. Registration and additional information can be found on the K-State Research website. The deadline to register as an exhibitor is April 6.

This warning email from Dr. Faupel-Badger for the INBRE program will likely be true for all NIH funded research as well as for all Federal funders.

Dear INBRE PIs:

With many of you submitting RPPRs soon, I am reaching out about publications co-authored with individual(s) from foreign institutions. 

Since 2003, NIH awards with publications coauthored with investigators from foreign institutions have required prior approval. Until now the prior approval guidance has not been fully enforced. As a reminder, the INBRE NOFOs specifically state that, “Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed”.

The GPS defines foreign components as:

The performance of any significant scientific element or segment of a project outside of the United States, either by the recipient or by a researcher employed by a foreign organization, whether or not grant funds are expended. Activities that would meet this definition include, but are not limited to, (1) the involvement of human subjects or animals, (2) extensive foreign travel by recipient project staff for the purpose of data collection, surveying, sampling, and similar activities, or (3) any activity of the recipient that may have an impact on U.S. foreign policy through involvement in the affairs or environment of a foreign country. Examples of other grant-related activities that may be significant are:

- collaborations with investigators at a foreign site anticipated to result in   co-authorship;
- use of facilities or instrumentation at a foreign site; or
- receipt of financial support or resources from a foreign entity.

Foreign travel for consultation is not considered a foreign component. (See Grants to Foreign Organizations, International Organizations, and Domestic Grants with Foreign Comp… chapter in IIB).

Since no prior approval requests were submitted for publications with foreign co-authors for this reporting period, these publications should not be attributed to the INBRE award and, therefore, should not be included in the RPPRs.  Please take this into account when preparing your RPPRs.

Moving forward, PIs are required to submit prior approval requests for any publication co-authored with individual(s) affiliated with a foreign institution(s). Per NOT-OD-26-026, prior approval requests must be initiated and submitted by a Signing Official (SO) for the recipient organization. In addition to noting the foreign site and the name of the foreign investigator, the prior approval request should provide information about the nature of the research being conducted; why the involvement of the foreign site is necessary; and whether any data will be transferred.

Best regards,

Jessica M. Faupel-Badger, PhD, MPH
Chief, Networks and Development Programs Branch
badgerje@mail.nih.gov

There likely will be many funding opportunities coming out in the next few months.  Federal agencies that support extramural research did not receive the large funding cuts they anticipated.   The problem is that they found out when the fiscal year was already half over, but they still must obligate these funds by the end of the federal fiscal year.   This is very good news, but these opportunities will likely come out with very short submission timelines of four to six weeks or less.

To be ready, you should:

For further information on funding opportunities, limited submissions, teaming, and submission and writing strategies, contact the Office of Research Development team via ord@ksu.edu.

The Office of Research Development (ORD) is now hosting in-person office hours to assist and connect with K-State researchers. 

During ORD office hours, researchers can meet with members of the ORD team to discover funding opportunities, discuss specific funders and programs, review white papers or engage in casual conversation about research activity. 

The next session will take place April 8 from 2-4 p.m. at the Cornerstone Café inside Hale Library.

If you are interested in discussing your white paper, please send a copy of the paper to ord@ksu.edu at least three days in advance.

Additional office hours will be hosted at the Cornerstone Cafe from 2-4 p.m. on April 23 and May 7.

Please contact ord@ksu.edu with any questions.

On April 9, 2026, the Office of International Programs, the Office of Research Development, and the Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research will host an event to celebrate the Fulbright Program’s 80th anniversary as well as to honor the birthday of Senator William Fulbright who started this program in 1946.

The event will start with a short tabling session at 2 p.m. that will allow attendees to pick up printed information on the different Fulbright programs as well as branded promotional materials. At 2:15 p.m., Julie Taylor, the Director of Academic Relations at IIE (the Fulbright Program’s Administrator), will give an overview of Fulbright and introduce the K-state individuals who are responsible for providing assistance for the many different Fulbright programs (e.g., student, US Scholar, Visiting Scholar, Specialist). At 2:45 p.m., Dr. John Kirkegaard, Fulbright Australia Distinguished Chair at K-State, will present “Cultivating Connections to Secure Global Wheat Production” as part of the Vernon Larson Lecture Series.  Following this lecture at 3:45 pm, there will be a panel discussion by alums of the student, US Scholar and Visit Scholar Fulbright programs addressing their experiences.

The celebration will conclude around 4:30 p.m. with a reception to honor K-state’s Fulbright alums as well as to allow individuals interested in Fulbright to network with our alums and representatives from the different Fulbright programs.  The event will take place in the Library’s Hemisphere Room. This event is open to all students, faculty, and staff interested in Fulbright and in educational and cultural exchange.

More information can be found here

The Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research (SDUR) coordinates professional development workshops, community building, and research presentations for undergraduate researchers on campus each summer. Do you have a summer REU or other summer undergraduate research program? Please reach out to Susan Rensing (rensing@ksu.edu) to be included in SDUR's summer programming.

NSF webinars & office hours:

USDA has fully implemented the use of SciENcv for preparing the USDA Biographical Sketch and USDA Current and Pending (Other) Support common forms, in alignment with the new U.S. Department of Agriculture General Terms and Conditions for Federal Awards and the government‑wide research security efforts under NSPM‑33. Applicants should now prepare these documents using SciENcv.

For proposals currently in development, applicants may submit the biographical sketch and current and pending support documents they have already collected. However, if selected for funding, all senior personnel are required to provide SciENcv-certified versions of both forms prior to award issuance.

NIFA encourages applicants and collaborators to begin using SciENcv as early as possible. The system is rapidly becoming the federal standard, and early adoption will streamline future submissions and reduce administrative burden.

For more information and detailed instructions, please refer to the NIFA Application Guide or email policyguide@usda.gov.

NIFA will host a webinar on Wednesday, April 15 at 1p.m. to introduce the newly established USDA General Terms and Conditions and discuss updates to NIFA’s agency‑specific Terms and Conditions. The session will also provide guidance on using SciENcv and is designed to help applicants, awardees and research administrators prepare for these changes.

Register here: USDA’s New General Terms and Conditions and NIFA’s Updated Requirements: A Comprehensive Overview.

Learn more about the FY 2026 Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI funding opportunity through topical webinars. DOE is inviting interdisciplinary teams to submit applications addressing the Genesis Mission National Science and Technology Challenges to accelerate scientific discovery and research and development (R&D) workflows using novel artificial intelligence (AI) models and frameworks.

Webinars:
April 2, 2026 - Advanced Scientific Computing Research 
April 7, 2026 - Biological and Environmental Research
April 8, 2026 - Basic Energy Sciences

More information about the programs and webinars can be found here.

Scholars are being asked for their views on excellence in interdisciplinary research to help fuel the third edition of Times Higher Education’s Interdisciplinary Science Rankings.

The Interdisciplinary Science Research Survey targets experienced, published academics across the world and asks for their views about their own research and their institutions’ interdisciplinary research in science, or science and social science subjects. It also asks them to name up to five institutions that they believe are best at supporting interdisciplinary research between science, or science and social science, subjects.

The survey is available in 12 languages and typically takes up to five minutes to complete.

The U.S. National Science Foundation Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate (NSF CISE) invites the research community to participate in the NSF CISE Faculty Early Career Development (NSF CAREER) Program Workshop 2026, designed to support early-career faculty members preparing proposals for NSF CAREER.

This full-day workshop will provide guidance on developing strong and competitive CAREER proposals, with a particular focus on crafting compelling integrated research and education plans. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the CAREER program and hear advice from NSF program directors.

The workshop will be held May 11, 2026, as a hybrid event, allowing participants to attend either in person or virtually.

Registration deadline:
- May 8, 2026 – Virtual attendance

For additional information and registration details, please visit the NSF CISE CAREER Workshop 2026 website.

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture and The Good Food Institute invite qualified experts to serve as peer reviewers for proposals submitted to the Enhancing the Flavor of Plant-based & Fermentation-derived Protein Request for Applications. Reviewers will review up to five proposals between April and June 2026.

To be considered, please complete the Call for Reviewers Interest Form by April 6, 2026.