Welcome to Reach
Thanks for checking in to read this, the first, newsletter from the Office of Research. In it, we celebrate the research, creative and scholarly contributions - yes, research, creative and scholarly contributions - of our faculty and students, describe interesting funding opportunities, and share with you some of the many activities underway within the university to strengthen and enrich our knowledge enterprise.
We've so many things going on just now...I thought I'd take this opportunity to review just a few with you...
- on research infrastructure - several groups have been formed to define our research infrastructure needs and priorities - both experimental and computational. If you haven't been invited to participate in a group, don't worry - you'll get a chance to refine the groups' recommendations when they are posted for general comment. The Senate Committee on Research and Scholarly Activities is also forming a subcommittee focused on facilities and infrastructure to help with this - contact Cameron Abrams if you'd like to be considered for participation in that group.
- on policies that define the values we hold dear in our research, creative and scholarly activities - we have working drafts of ten or so of our policies that have been shared for your comment. The Associate Deans for Research have drafts for you to review, and the Senate Committee on Research and Scholarly Activities has created a subcommittee to review them. Please contact Karen Moxon if you'd like to learn more about this subcommittee.
- on our Humans in Research Protection Program (HRPP), which is being revamped to improve the quality and efficiency of IRB outcomes and to better prepare us for AAHRPP accreditation. Many, many thanks to all our colleagues who work tirelessly on our IRBs, and who are participating in some of the new training programs developed to strengthen our HRPP.
- on lab safety, we have charged a new group to work with the Department of Environmental Health and Safety to help us improve our lab safety policies, procedures and practices, including improving the usability of our lab safety audit system. We are indebted to these colleagues for there is no more important issue than seeking to assure the safety of faculty, staff and students in our labs.
- on defining an inspiring research agenda in urban sustainability, Trish Gallagher and many of her colleagues from the Drexel community and elsewhere are developing white papers that explore urban sustainability research challenges and solutions at the nexus of food, water and energy. Contact Trish or click here for more information.
- on exploring interest in research in applied chronobiology and sleep, Don McEachron is seeking colleagues similarly interested in this multidisciplinary area. Contact Don directly or click here for more information.
These activities provide you some inkling of the activities underway in which you might engage, and they are illustrative of our commitment to shared governance and stewardship in our research, creative and scholarly activities enterprise. If none of these activities have peaked your interest and even if some did, please don't hesitate to share with me your ideas on topics you'd like to see covered in future newsletters...
Til next time,
Deborah Crawford, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Research
