Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2021-43

NAI-NJIT Chapter Workshop and President’s Forum

Sustainable Societies: Global Environment and Climate Change

Innovations to Global Solutions

In Conjunction with

NJIT 2021 Faculty Research Showcase

Sponsored by:

National Academy of Inventors

NJIT Office of Research

CarbonGroup Global

NJ Commission of Science, Innovation and Technology

November 15, 2021; Ballroom, Campus Center, NJIT

NAI-NJIT Chapter Workshop: 10.00 AM – 12.30 PM

Lunch and Networking: 12.30 PM – 1.00 PM

NJIT Faculty Research Showcase: 1.00 PM – 3.00 PM

YouTube Live Streaming at https://youtu.be/6glZj1hhWkw

Event Website: https://research.njit.edu/nai/events

Climate change is no longer a distant apocalypse, but an emerging reality experienced on the ground by regions around the globe. The recent spate of natural disasters – from forest fires, to searing temperatures, to drought, to hurricanes – injects urgency into the search for sophisticated data, near-term technological solutions and strategies for coping in an altered world. Indeed, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted, “Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes already set in motion—such as continued sea level rise—are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years.”

Sustained reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases are a top strategic priority that will require the involvement of communities around the globe and the participation of problem-focused partnerships among academia, industry, government and private and non-profit policy advocates. Societal gaps in knowledge about the severity and implications of climate change within individual countries and the political will to undertake coordinated global policies present real challenges. This workshop is designed to bring together key stakeholders with an eye toward developing an integrated approach toward the problem that focuses on education, research, innovation and technology translation. 

_______________________________________

This event is a part of the NAI-NJIT Chapter Workshop Series on “Innovations to Global Solutions” and the President’s Forum is a featured event in the Albert Dorman Honors College Colloquium Series and is made possible in part by the generous support of the DeCaprio Family.

_______________________________________

Program:

10.00 AM – 10.05 AM:   Welcome Remarks:

                                         Joel Bloom, President, NJIT

                                         Commissioner Upendra Chivukula, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

                                         Fadi Deek, Provost and Senior Executive Vice President, NJIT

                                         Atam Dhawan, Senior Vice Provost for Research, NJIT

10.05 AM – 10.35 AM:  Keynote Presentation:

                                         Distinguished Speaker: Karen Reif, Vice President – Renewables & Energy Solutions, PSE&G

10.35 AM – 11.25 AM:   Distinguished Panel Discussion I: Sustainable Environment and Climate Change         

                       Moderator:

                       Govi, Rao, CEO Phase Change Solutions & Co-founder, Carbon Group Global

                       Panelists:

                       Robin Leichenko, Co-Director, Rutgers Climate Institute, Professor, Department of Geography, Rutgers University

                      Elie Bou-Zeid, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Director, the Metropolis Project, Princeton University

                      D. Scott Mackay, Professor & Chair, Department of Geography, Professor, Department of Environment and Sustainability, University of Buffalo

                      Judith Sheft, Executive Director, New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology

11.25 AM – 12.15 PM:   Distinguished Panel Discussion II: Sustainable Environment and Climate Change

                      Moderator:

                     Atam Dhawan, Senior Vice Provost for Research, NJIT

                     Panelists:

                     Pallavi Madakasira, Director, Clean Energy, New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)

                     Michel Boufadel, Distinguished Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director, Center for Natural Resources

                     Xiaonan (Shannon) Tai, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

                     Omowunmi “Wunmi” Sadik, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Chemistry and Environmental Science

12.15 PM – 12.30 PM:    Concluding Remarks:

                                       Distinguished Speaker: Mihri Ozkan, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Climate Champion Faculty, University of California-Riverside; Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (NAI)

12.30 PM – 1.00 PM:      Lunch and Networking Session

1.00 PM – 3.00 PM:        Faculty Research Showcase

                                        FY22 New Faculty Presentations

                                        FY22 Faculty Seed Grants Presentations

_______________________________________

Event: NJIT NSF CAREER Award Panel Discussion

When:  November 4, 2021; 2.00 PM to 4.00 PM

Where: Ballroom B, Student Campus Center

Brief Description: All faculty interested in NSF CAREER award submission are invited to 2021 NJIT NSF CAREER Award Panel Discussion event. The event will highlight the requirements for NSF CAREER award. NJIT faculty who have recently received the prestigious NSF CAREER award will share their experience and discuss the best practices on successful proposal preparation. 

NSF: Science and Technology Centers: Integrative Partnerships (STC); Navigating the New Arctic (NNA); Internet Measurement Research: Methodologies, Tools, and Infrastructure (IMR); Computer and Information Science and Engineering Minority-Serving Institutions Research Expansion Program (CISE-MSI Program): Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC); Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (OPP-PRF); Tectonics; Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC): Expanding Understanding and Improving Predictions of Life on a Warming Planet; Designing Accountable Software Systems (DASS); Computer and Network Systems (CNS): Core Programs, LargeNSF; CISE Community Research Infrastructure (CCRI); Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (BoCP); Principles and Practice of Scalable Systems (PPoSS); Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates in Biological Sciences (RaMP); Human Networks and Data Science (HNDS); NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program: (MRI)

NIH: Neuromodulation/Neurostimulation Device Development for Mental Health Applications (R21); Virtual Consortium for Translational/Transdisciplinary Environmental Research (ViCTER) (R01): Research on Biopsychosocial Factors of Social Connectedness and Isolation on Health, Wellbeing, Illness, and Recovery (R01); SPARC Human Open Research Neural Engineering Technologies (HORNET) Initiative (U41)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: Information Innovation Office (I2O) Office-Wide; Integrated Microgrids; National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) 2022 Broad Agency Announcement; Environmental Literacy Program: Increasing community resilience to extreme weather & climate change; Long Range Broad Agency Announcement for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology; MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS (MCS) BAA; Defense Sciences Office Office-wide; Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Department of Transportation: DDETFP Transportation Fellowship Program;

Department of Agriculture: Solid Waste Management Grant Program; Centers of Excellence at 1890 Institutions

Department of Labor: Workforce System Technical Assistance Collaborative

Department of Commerce/EDA:  Competition for a Cooperative Institute to Support Water Resources; Environmental Literacy Program; FY2021 to FY2023 NOAA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

EPA: National Priorities: Innovative Sampling Designs for Public Health Surveillance of Coronaviruses and Other Pathogens in Wastewater; Development of Innovative Approaches to Assess the Toxicity of Chemical Mixtures; FY22 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD ASSESSMENT GRANTS; FY22 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD CLEANUP

Department of Energy: Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement: “Scale-Up of Integrated Biorefineries.”; Direct Air Capture Combined With Dedicated Long-Term Carbon Storage, Coupled to Existing Low-Carbon Energy; RFI: Technology Advancements for Subsurface Exploration for Renewable Energy Resources or Carbon Storage; Environmental System Science (ESS); Atmospheric System Research (ASR); UNIVERSITY-BASED CYBERSECURITY CENTERS

NASA: Strategic Astrophysics Technology; ROSES 2021: Terrestrial Ecology; Heliophysics Living with a Star Infrastructure; ROSES 2021

National Endowment of Humanities: Digital Humanities Advancement Grants

Private Foundations: New Jersey Health Foundation: Innovation Grants

National Health Care Database to Address Mission-Critical Health Data Gaps: While many valuable healthcare data sets live in public and private sectors, the data landscape is extremely fragmented. The inability to share information in real time across those sectors for population health or monitoring major chronic diseases is nonexistent. The devastating effects of COVID-19 uncovered significant gaps in public health data across federal, state and local agencies interfering with the ability to conduct surveillance, outbreak modeling and research. This lack of connectivity would have benefitted from a central repository of U.S. population health data. Instead, there were devastating effects on the health of millions of people due to the inability to pinpoint outbreaks quickly.

Government health care organizations deliver tremendous benefits in support of the American people. However, after many pandemic-related missteps, U.S. public health leaders can improve the exchange of health care-related information (i.e., clinical, public health and research data). This requires new standards, organization and streamlining to offer a complete, centralized data repository to inform public health responses. It’s time to consider a cloud-based national health care database to make better public health decisions and prepare for any future health crises. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

Senate Unanimously Passes Secure Equipment Act: The Senate moved quickly Oct. 28 to pass by unanimous consent H.R. 3919, the Secure Equipment Act of 2021, just eight days after the House of Representatives passed it 420-4. The legislation now moves to President Joe Biden’s desk for him to sign into law. The act prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from reviewing or issuing equipment licenses to companies on the agency’s “Covered Equipment or Services List.” Companies are placed on that list over national security concerns. The five firms currently listed—Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua—all are Chinese. “This legislation adds an extra layer of security that slams the door on entities that pose a national security risk from having a presence in the U.S. telecommunications network,” House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who cosponsored the bill with Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif., said in a statement. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

GSA Seeks Federal Employees Ideas on Equity and Climate Change: The General Services Administration unveiled new investment priorities for 10x, an initiative that develops ideas from federal employees on how to modernize government operations through technology.  The program’s updated priorities reflect the Biden-Harris administration’s policies, with emphasis on technology to mitigate climate change and promote equity in public service.  “With 10x, we are harnessing the creativity of the federal workforce in order to address the big challenges in our country — because oftentimes the best ideas come from those who work most closely to the problem,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan in a statement. Some of the specific priorities the GSA is looking to fund include the optimization of infrastructure relating to how the government engages with the public, mainly expediting the public inquiry process. 10x is also looking to jumpstart employee-driven projects related to preparing for challenges emerging from climate change, including improving disaster preparedness and climate-resilience in communities and their infrastructure. The deadline for federal employees to submit ideas to the GSA is Nov. 16, with initial project selection and funding expected to begin in Jan. 2022. Decisions on funding are made through a phased approach examining each proposal and its anticipated impact.

Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Senate Agencies Appropriations:

National Science Foundation (NSF)

• Topline: $9.49 billion, an increase of $1 billion above the FY21 enacted level, and $682.5 million below the President’s budget.

• Research and Related Activities: $7.7 billion, an increase of $757.3 million above the FY21 level, and $472 million below the President’s budget.

• To ensure collaboration with industry, build on existing programs across the government, and get these important research investments to market, the Committee supports NSF’s proposal to create a new Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships funded by up to $864.9 million within the Research and Related Activities account.

• Climate Science and Sustainability Research: The Committee supports the administration’s requests for the U.S. Global Change Research Program and Clean Energy Technology.
• Artificial Intelligence (Al): Up to $734.4 million, equal to the President’s budget, to support AI-related grants and interdisciplinary research initiatives. The Committee encourages NSF to continue its efforts in workforce development for AI and other emerging technologies, including education programs for non-computer science students, with focused outreach to community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions. In addition, the Committee encourages NSF to increase the pipeline of students graduating with AI and data literacy through partnerships, cooperative agreements, and other pilot mechanisms. The Committee continues to urge NSF to invest in the ethical and safe development of AI.
• Quantum Information Science and Technology: The Committee provides up to the budget request level of funding, with $210 million dedicated toward activities as authorized under Section 301 of the National Quantum Initiative and $50 million toward the National Quantum Information Science Research Centers as authorized under section 302 of the National Quantum Initiative Act.
• Innovation Corps: The Committee provides an increase of $5,000,000 above the FY22 request level for the Innovation Corps (I–Corps) program to build on the successes of its innovative public-private partnership model.
• Education and Human Resources: $1.1 billion, an increase of $132 million above the FY21 enacted level, and $187.2 million below the President’s budget.
• Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction: $249 million, $8 million above FY21 and equal to the budget request.
• Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure: $76.3 million

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• Topline: $24.84 billion, $1.56 billion above the FY21 enacted level and $25.8 million above the President’s budget.
• Science Program: $7.9 billion, an increase of $600.4 million above FY21 to continue efforts to explore the solar system, other planets, and other solar systems, including through space telescopes and planetary satellites and rovers, as well as efforts to gain scientific knowledge about the Earth’s changing climate.
• Earth Science: $2.23 billion, $230 million above FY21
• Planetary Science: $3.2 billion
• Astrophysics: $1.4 billion,
• Heliophysics: $825.7 million
• Biological and Physical Science: $109.1 million
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement: $147 million, an increase of $20 million above FY21 and equal to the President’s budget, to inspire young people to pursue future careers in science and engineering.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

• Topline: $117.6 billion in base discretionary funding for HHS, an increase of $20.9 billion over the FY21 level and $1.8 billion less than the budget request.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): $47.9 billion, an increase of $5 billion above the FY21 level and $3.8 billion less than the President’s budget. This increased funding results in a 12% increase across every Institute and Center to advance science and speed the development of new therapies, diagnostics and preventive measures.
• Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H): $2.4 billion, $4.1 billion less than the President’s request of $6.5 billion. As ARPA–H remains unauthorized and there are differing views on where the new entity should be placed within the Department, the Committee’s recommendation should not be viewed as favoring its placement within NIH. The Committee remains open to making it a free-standing component within NIH or, alternatively, as a separate new agency.

Question:  I need to change my budget - Do I need to change it in Streamlyne?

Answer:  You can change your budget at any point before submitting the proposal into workflow approval. For more information, please contact your college ambassador, or see New User Manual posted on the Research website http://www.njit.edu/research/sites/research/files/StreamlyneNewUserManualCommonElements.pdf ).

More FAQs on Streamlyne: Please visit http://www.njit.edu/research/streamlyne/