Jessika Rojas' work in radiation processing, nanotechnology and nuclear materials lights the way for a healthier, safer future,

Anyone at K-State can nominate a current faculty member for a Roots of Research award by completing the Qualtrics form.

Awardees will be honored at a spring semester ceremony, receive a plaque and have a tree planted on the Manhattan campus in their name. The names of selected faculty members will be announced in December, and trees will be planted during One K-State Research Week, April 26-30, 2027.

Nominations are due Nov. 1, 2026, by 11:59 p.m.

The University of Kansas Office of Research seeks nominations for the Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards. Late Distinguished Professor Takeru Higuchi and his wife, Aya, partnered with KU Endowment to create four awards that recognize individuals for their accomplishments in research, scholarship and creative activity.

Faculty from any Kansas Regents institution are eligible, and your assistance in identifying outstanding candidates is critical. Winners receive $10,000 in support of research activities.

Awards include:

The deadline to nominate a colleague is December 15.

Young Faculty Award
The Department of Defense, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award (YFA) program aims to identify and engage rising stars in junior research positions in academia and equivalent positions at non-profit research institutions, particularly those without prior DARPA funding, to expose them to Department of War (DoW) needs and DARPA’s mission to create and prevent technological surprise for national security. The YFA program provides high-impact funding to researchers early in their careers to develop innovative new research that enables transformative DoW capabilities.

Targeted Grants to Math+AI Institutes
The Simons Foundation’s Targeted Grants to Math+AI Institutes is a one-time call to support established institutes or centers to specifically address AI challenges. This program will provide funding for the general area of Math+AI, to support workshops and initiatives that help researchers evaluate recent AI-assisted results applying the standards used by the math community, learn and use new tools, share perspectives and shape collective standards for AI use.

National Swine Health Strategy
National Pork Board completed an industry-wide survey and convened an advisory group of producer leaders to identify swine health goals and priorities for the National Swine Health Strategy, a producer-led initiative to improve the health of the U.S. Swine herd. The goals and priorities are reducing the impact of domestic diseases (PRRSV elimination, PEDV elimination, reduce the spread of pathogens in the U.S. Pork industry) and keeping foreign and emerging diseases out (foreign animal disease prevention & preparedness, monitoring & early detection of emerging diseases).

3:30-4:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 5
Ice Conference Room, 1139 Engineering Hall

Join Mollie Robbins-Wint, Melanie Derby and Paul Lowe to learn about the AI Stewardship Committee's work, the process for submitting AI tools for approval, and current AI-related initiatives. 

This session will also serve as a faculty listening session, providing researchers an opportunity to share their AI-related needs, opportunities, challenges and concerns. Feedback gathered will be brought back to the AI Stewardship Committee to help inform future discussions, priorities and decision-making.

2-4 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 29
Cornerstone Cafe, Hale Library

The Office of Research Development is 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. If you are interested in discussing your white paper, please send a copy of the paper to ord@k-state.edu at least three days in advance.

Additional office hours will be hosted at the Cornerstone Cafe from 2-4 p.m. on November 19 and December 3 and 17.

NSF webinars & office hours:

Join us on Thursday, October 29 for our next EPSCoR Live! The U.S. National Science Foundation invests in research, education, and innovation to advance scientific discovery, strengthen national prosperity and security, and improve quality of life. This EPSCoR Live! will cover NSF's mission, evolving priorities, and funding opportunities, plus the federal science policy shaping them and recent changes across NSF programs and policies. Attendance is highly encouraged for faculty, researchers, and other stakeholders interested in learning about recent changes and new funding opportunities at NSF.

Register to attend.

The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships invites input through its Request for Information (RFI): Identifying the Next Generation of NSF X-Labs Topics, to help inform future topics for the NSF X-Labs initiative.

NSF is seeking perspectives on technology opportunities, technical challenges, enabling infrastructure, and partnerships that could accelerate scientific and technological breakthroughs.

This RFI is for planning and information-gathering purposes only and is not a solicitation or funding opportunity.

Responses are due Oct. 30. Click the link to submit your response.

To learn more about the initial RFI, you can view recordings of an informational webinar and Q&A session on the NSF X-Labs webpage.