|
 About 200 people attended two events held on Thursday, April 11 and Friday, April 12.
On Thursday, April 11, the MADE in SC External Advisory Review Board (EARB) met in Greenville with the Project’s leadership and several faculty. The meeting included 16 oral presentations by faculty showcasing the progress in the different components including research in the four focus areas, workforce development, diversity, sustainability, etc. In addition, 10 posters were presented to highlight research contributions by a sampling of team members from various SC colleges and universities. We thank the EARB members for their input and support of the project. The meeting was attended by the NSF EPSCoR Program Director, Dr. Uma Venkatesawaran.
On Friday, April 12, the SC EPSCoR State Conference opened to a standing room only crowd at the Greenville Marriott Hotel. The Conference consisted two sessions on MADE in SC research, four sessions from the SC EPSCoR Stimulus Research Program research projects, and a session on Big Data Analytics. The sessions were well-attended, and the presentations generated discussions of ideas and collaborations. Each session was composed of four presentations. The Conference also had two poster sessions with over 60 posters presented by undergrad and grad students from research staff and faculty from throughout South Carolina. The topics of the poster sessions were mostly MADE in SC research, but also included research in other STEM areas.
The Conference included a networking luncheon speaker, Susie Shannon, President and CEO of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, and a program to recognize the service of Dr. Mark Sothmann, SC EPSCoR State Committee Chair and Dr. Prakash Nagarkatti, the SC EPSCoR State Director (see next article for more details). The day ended with a session on funding opportunities available from the NSF, the new DoD EPSCoR Program and the SC EPSCoR Program.
Conference Program and Abstracts | Photo Albums: State Conference and EARB Meeting
|
|
The South Carolina EPSCoR State Committee brings together leaders of the South Carolina academic institutions, organizations and government agencies, to carry out EPSCoR objectives, and to oversee the coordination of initiatives across EPSCoR-funded programs in the State.
At their December 20, 2018 meeting, the State Committee approved bylaws changes that will take effect July 1, 2019. These changes include the consolidation of two elected officers (the Committee Chair and the EPSCoR State Director) into the Chair’s position. The changes also include making the chairmanship of the committee rotational among the state’s three Comprehensive Research Universities in the following order: UofSC, Clemson, then MUSC. The two offices are currently occupied by Drs. Mark Sothman and Prakash Nagarkatti:
 Dr. Mark Sothmann, MUSC Provost Emeritus, has served as Chair of the SC EPSCoR State Committee since 2010. In this role, he directed the affairs of the State Committee and the Program, built coalitions and ensured broader participation in EPSCoR programs by the state’s academic institutions. Although Sothmann officially retired from MUSC a couple of years ago, he was willing to continue to serve as the State Committee Chair to ensure proper and timely transition to a new chair. He also oversaw the re-organization of the State Office and the revision and restatement of the State Committee bylaws to better represent the interests of the SC EPSCoR Program and the State of South Carolina. Dr. Sothmann’s term as Chair ends June 30, 2019.
 Dr. Prakash Nagarkatti, Vice President for Research at the University of South Carolina, has served as the SC EPSCoR State Director since 2011. His induction into EPSCoR was to assume leadership of the previous Track-1 project from his predecessor and see it to a successful completion. In 2012, he led the development of the State’s Science and Technology Plan (Vision 2025). As the SC EPSCoR State Director, he represented the State on the National EPSCoR Coalition Board to advocate for EPSCoR programs within the federal agencies. Although Dr. Nagarkatti’s term as State Director ends on June 30, 2019, he will continue to serve on the State Committee by virtue of his role as VPR at UofSC and MADE in SC Principal Investigator.
Sothmann and Nagarkatti were recognized at the Conference for their leadership and dedicated service to increase South Carolina’s research capabilities and research competitiveness.
 We welcome the incoming Chair of the SC EPSCoR State Committee, Dr. Michael Matthews, Vice Dean and Senior Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Programs, UofSC College of Engineering and Computing. Dr. Matthews will assume his role as the next SC EPSCoR State Committee Chair on July 1, 2019.
|
|
 The next opportunity to hear from a MADE in SC Speaker will be this Tuesday, April 30 at Science on Tap-Greenville.
Dr. Marek Urban
Thrust 2 (Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Materials) co-leader
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson
Self-Healing Materials: Explore how to design
materials that can recover from injuries in real time
Coffee Underground in Greenville, 6:30 to 7:45 pm (but come early to get a seat and beverage/snacks)
Science on Tap is a forum where people come to learn about and discuss recent discoveries in science and technology while having fun! An expert will give an informal talk for 20-25 minutes, followed by Q&A and discussion. Science on Tap is FREE and open to all ages.
|
|
|
|
|
|
NSF Funding Opportunities
|
|
 At the State Conference, Dr. Uma Venkateswaran, NSF Program Director, gave a presentation on several different funding opportunities available for undergraduate students through seasoned faculty. Below is a listing of those opportunities:
• Funding Searchable Database
• Opportunities to explore with
ENG/Industrial Innovation & Partnerships (IIP)
• EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement
(RII): Track-1 | Track-2 | Track-4
Opportunities to work at NSF
|
|
|
|
For Undergraduate Students
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please share with SC high school science teachers: Winthrop Materials Science Workshop for High School Science Teachers, June 17-21 and June 24-28. This two-week summer workshop will cover selected topics from the physics and chemistry content areas of the SC academic standards in high school science. For those who live more than 60 miles from Winthrop, room and board accommodations will be provided free of charge. 
National Center for Genome Resources and New Mexico INBRE present 
New Federal funding opp: 
