Workshops and Training

2021-2022 Fall Schedule


September 2021: Searching for Funding Opportunities: GrantForward
October 2021: How to Sell your Research Program to Different Sponsors
November 2021: Introduction to URECA and MT-IGO
Spring Schedule: Coming Soon

ORSP also offers sessions on topics such as an introduction to extramural funding, budget development, and collaborative projects.  By request, we can also develop sessions tailored for individual departments or colleges.  Please contact us if you would like to schedule a training opportunity (research@mtsu.edu; 615-494-7669).

ORSP Workshops & Upcoming Events

Spring offerings to be announced soon.

Previous Workshops & Trainings with Materials

2021-2022

Introduction to URECA and MT-IGO*
Tuesday, November 16, 1:00-2:00 pm
Zoom

Presented by: Dr. Jamie Burriss, Program Manager, ORSP and Dr. Gregory Rushton, co-Director, ORSP

This workshop will provide an overview of the URECA and MT-IGO* programs, offer guidance regarding the proposal development and application process, and highlight program expectations. 

Undergraduate Research Experience and Creative Activity (URECA) Grants

One of the key characteristics of excellence in undergraduate research is faculty commitment. The success of the URECA grant program is dependent upon our faculty mentors who are highly committed to providing students with a hands-on research experience that includes instruction, guidance and direct modeling. They support student learning in a manner that allows students to develop greater responsibility for his or her own work, develop and demonstrate valuable teamwork skills, and gain experience in critical inquiry.  Faculty are eligible to receive stipends for the Gold and Platinum level mentorship.

MT Internal Grant Opportunities (MT-IGO*)

*Formerly known as FRCAC
MT-IGO grants are intended to provide up to $10,000 in seed funding for tenured and tenure-track faculty focused on the preliminary stages of a larger research or creative activity project or program, and preferably in preparation to compete for successive external funding to support the continuation and amplification of their scholarship. Applications are reviewed by a committee of distinguished faculty who award university funding based upon selected proposals.  

Materials

How to Sell your Research Program to Different Sponsors   
Tuesday, October 19th, 1:00-2:00 pm
Zoom

Presented by: Dr. Gregory Rushton, co-Director for the ORSP, Cynthia Chafin, Associate Director for Community Programs and MTSU Center for Health and Human Services Sleep Research Consortium, Director of Research, Projects, and Programs, and Dr. Frank Bailey, Professor and Director, Forensic Science Program.

Consider the ways your research can align to priorities from different funding agencies/sponsors for maximizing your opportunities for external support of your interests.

Materials
Expert Panel

Ms. Cynthia Chafin

Ms. Chafin has served as Associate Director for Community Programs since May 2018 and previously served as interim director of the center from October 2015 - April 2018.  She has been with the center as a project director since 2002.  Ms. Chafin is curently a doctoral student in the MTSU Department of Health and Human Performance and anticipates completing the Ph.D. in Human Performance program in 2022 with a specialization in health .  She has a Master of Education in health promotion and education from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University.  She was part of the first national cohort to receive advanced-level certification as a master certified health educator from the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). 

Dr. Frank Bailey

After receiving his PhD in Environmental Toxicology from Clemson University in 1994, Dr. Bailey joined the Biology Department at MTSU and has remained here since.  Most of the research in Dr. Bailey's laboratory is related to the fate and effects of chemicals in the environment or to determination of the sources of fecal bacteria in aquatic systems.  Since becoming the Director of the MTSU Forensic Science Program in 2015, his laboratory has also begun collaborations on some forensic toxicology research.  Dr. Bailey is the author or co-author of numerous papers and he and his students have made presentations at numerous national and international meetings

 

Searching for Funding Opportunities: GrantForward
Tuesday, September 21st, 1:00-2:00 pm
Zoom


MTSU has an institutional subscription to GrantForward, a search engine for funding opportunities.  Anyone with an MTSU email address can create an account.  The system allows individuals to use automation (by uploading CVs or online publication lists) to create researcher profiles.  Users can also manually add additional interests to their profile.  By creating a saved search, users can automatically receive emails notifications of funding opportunities on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.  GrantForward will provide a guided tutorial of the site and take questions from participants.

Materials

 

Introduction to the Grant Writing Enhancement Program (GEP)
Tuesday, September 7th, 1:00-2:00 pm
Zoom 


Dr. David Butler, Vice Provost for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies, and Gregory Rushton, co-Director for the ORSP, present an overview of the program, review the curriculum and expectations, and outline next steps for those who wish to join the program.

To learn more about the program visit https://mtsu.edu/research/gep.php. 

2020-2021

Patents, Licensing, and Commercialization Basics
Friday, April 9, 2:00-3:00 pm
Zoom

Presented via Zoom by: Laura Arneson, Patent Attorney, Mueting Raasch Group

Commercialization of the outcomes from research and other scholarship is an important part of the university creative enterprise.  Understanding the processes and options involved in intellectual property development, protection and commercialization strengthen scholars’ ability to being to fruition their contributions to their field and society.  The presenters will discuss the basics of protecting and commercializing intellectual property.

Materials

Proposal Odds and Ends: NSF, NIH, and USDA proposal document requirements: biosketch, conflict of interest, and current & pending
Tuesday, March 23, 12:00-1:00 pm
Zoom

Presented by: Dr. Ginger Rowell, Dr. Greg Rushton, and Dr. Samantha Cantrell
 Several of MTSU’s more frequent federal sponsors have recently adopted new format and content requirements for supporting documents in your grant proposals. The presenters will review current requirements for NSF, NIH, and USDA.

Materials
Expert Panel

Dr. Ginger Rowell, Mathematics

Dr. Ginger Holmes Rowell earned her PhD in mathematics from the University of Alabama, Huntsville.  She is a Professor of Mathematics at Middle Tennessee State University, where she enjoys teaching statistics at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  She was a visiting scientist at the National Science Foundation for 20 months (2008 – 2009) in the role of Program Director in the Division of Undergraduate Education.  She continues to review for various DUE programs as her schedule permits.  Dr. Rowell believes in the important of STEM education and has focused her work in two main areas since joining MTSU in 2000:  statistics education and improving STEM majors’ success.  Her innovative work in and commitment to elementary statistics earned her the American Statistical Association 2004 Waller Statistics Young Educator Award, and her emphasis in this area has continued with various grant support over the years.  She has served the areas of STEM education at MTSU as Interim Director of MTSU’s Math and Science Education PhD program, Interim Director of the Tennessee STEM Education Center at MTSU, and Interim Director of the Middle Tennessee STEM Education Innovation Hub.  She is also committed to improving graduate and retention of STEM majors and has worked for nearly a decade on using, among other things, undergraduate research and intrusive advising primary interventions for successful STEM retention of underprepared MTSU students.  Currently, she is also an external evaluator for several NSF STEM education grant projects.

Dr. Greg Rushton, Director, Tennessee STEM Education Center 

Dr. Greg Rushton, Director, Tennessee STEM Education Center - Greg Rushton is Director of the TN STEM Education Center (TSEC) and Professor of Chemistry at MTSU.  He has held faculty appointments previously at SUNY-Stony Brook on Long Island and Kennesaw State University, just north of Atlanta. He earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Southern California, and graduate degrees in science education and physical organic chemistry at the ‘other’ USC in South Carolina.  His group has current projects in both K-12 STEM education and in higher education, which are funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Writing Winning Proposals to NSF – Writing for the reviewers!
Tuesday, February 9th, 12:00-1:00 pm
Zoom

Presented by: Dr. Hanna Terletska and Dr. Gregory Rushton

Understanding what peer reviewers look for and need to know when evaluating your grant proposal is a fundamental element of grantmanship.  In this workshop, two of MTSU’s consistently successful grant writers will share lessons learned from their experiences as proposers and as reviewers with the National Science Foundation.  Dr. Hanna Terletska, Assistant Professor in Physics and current NSF CAREER Award recipient, and Dr. Greg Rushton, Director, TN STEM Education Center will present key points and take questions in-person and via the web in this one-hour workshop.

Materials
Expert Panel

Dr. Hanna Terletska, Physics and Astronomy

 Dr. Hanna Terletska is an Assistant Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at Middle Tennessee State University. She received her Ph.D. in Physics from the Florida State University (2011), and her B. Sc. from Ivan Franko Drohobych State University in Ukraine. Before joining MTSU in Fall 2017, she had several postdoctoral trainings: at the University of Michigan (with the Simons Foundation collaboration postdoc fellowship), Brookhaven National Lab, and Louisiana State University. Dr. Terletska’s research is on computational studies and modeling of novel quantum materials. She is currently the PI on two NSF grants, including the NSF CAREER grant and the NSF OAC grant. Since her arrival to MTSU, she has been a reviewer for the NSF, DOE, NSF XSEDE, and ORNL CNMS programs.

Dr. Greg Rushton, Director, Tennessee STEM Education Center 

Dr. Greg Rushton, Director, Tennessee STEM Education Center - Greg Rushton is Director of the TN STEM Education Center (TSEC) and Professor of Chemistry at MTSU.  He has held faculty appointments previously at SUNY-Stony Brook on Long Island and Kennesaw State University, just north of Atlanta. He earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Southern California, and graduate degrees in science education and physical organic chemistry at the ‘other’ USC in South Carolina.  His group has current projects in both K-12 STEM education and in higher education, which are funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 

 

Searching for Funding Opportunities: Grant Forward
Friday, January 22nd, 2:00-3:00 pm

Presented via Zoom by:  Casey Penston, ORSP Program Assistant

MTSU has an institutional subscription to GrantForward, a search engine for funding opportunities.  Anyone with an MTSU email address can create an account.  The system allows individuals to use automation (by uploading CVs or online publication lists) to create researcher profiles.  Users can also manually add additional interests to their profile.  By creating a saved search, users can automatically receive emails notifications of funding opportunities on a daily or weekly basis.  Casey Penston, Program Assistant to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will provide a guided tutorial of the GrantFoward site via Zoom and take questions from participants.

Materials

 

 

2019-2020

Support Your Students with SAGE Research Methods

Tuesday, June 9, 10:00-11:00 am and Thursday, June 11, 2:00-3:00 pm


Presented via Zoom by: Patrick Cox, Field Editor at SAGE Publishing

Are you on the lookout for new digital content to help students better understand how to design a research project or use various research methods? Would you like new digital books, videos, and tools to develop research methods courses? Are you conducting research for publication? If so, SAGE Research Methods (SRM) is the essential tool for you and your students! With SRM, faculty can quickly get SAGE books, journal articles, video, datasets, and more into students hands no matter where they are. 

SAGE Research Methods provides an online collection of videos, books, cases, practice datasets, and research tools that supports researchers at all levels across the social sciences and STEM disciplines. It enhances student success in learning research methods, aids researchers in the application of research methods, and supports faculty in teaching research methods. In this session SAGE Field Editor Patrick Cox will pride in-depth instruction on the SRM platform and demonstrate how this resource can support faculty and students through every step of the research process.     

Expert Panel

Patrick Cox, SAGE Field Editor

Patrick Cox is former faculty member and occasional online instructor who now spends his days at SAGE working with faculty on connecting the right resources with the instructors and students who need them, always mindful of pedagogy, meeting students’ needs, and faculty members’ busy schedules.  

Writing Grant Proposals and PRF Funding Opportunities for PUIs Webinar

Tuesday, April 28, 1:00-2:00 pm

Nancy Jensen, the Leader of the Office of Research Grants at ACS and program officer for the Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) grant program, focused on the proposal writing and evaluation process and highlights funding opportunities specifically for PUI investigators in the PRF grant program. In this free, interactive broadcast, the participant discovered proposal writing tips, what proposal reviewers desire to know about your project as well as behind the scenes knowledge of the reviewer evaluation process and specifics about the PRF grant programs for PUIs. 
Topics:

  • Basic tips for preparing a competitive research proposal
  • What is involved in the proposal evaluation process
  • Details regarding PRF's Undergraduate Research (UR) and Undergraduate New Investigator (UNI) Grant Programs for undergraduate institution

Getting the Most from ACS Publications: A discussion on how to get published, gain exposure, and enhance science learning at MTSU

Friday, April 17, 1:50-2:45 pm


Presented via Zoom by: Tammy Hanna, Ph.D., Director, Professional Development & Education, American Chemical Society (ACS)

Expert Panel

Tammy Hanna, Ph.D.

Tammy completed a B.S. in Chemistry at Harvey Mudd College, a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at Cornell University with Paul Chirik, and a post-doctoral appointment at UC Berkeley with Chris Chang. After a 3.5-year appointment as a Chemistry Instructor and Director of the Welch Summer Scholar Program at Texas Tech University, Tammy joined ACS Publications, where she is currently Director of New Product Innovation.ne Corps. 

LaunchTN Virtual Workshop: SBIR/STTR Federal Research Grants - A Deep Dive

Friday, April 3, 12:00-3:00 pm

Get in-depth exposure to federal grant funding opportunities and learn of resources specifically available to Tennesseans. More details here.

Author Workshop: How to Write a Great Research Paper, Use and Share Your Data Responsibly, and Get Published

Wednesday, March 4, 12:00-1:00pm

James E. Walker Library, Room 348

In this workshop David will discuss identifying the right journal, navigating data repositories, structuring your article, data reuse and publication, understanding the peer review process, open access publishing, publishing ethics, how to get your research noticed, and responsible sharing. 

Expert Panel

David Parsons, Former Publisher

David Parsons from Elsevier is the former publisher of Data in Brief, an interdisciplinary Elsevier journal that enables researchers to share and find research data sets.  David has more than twelve years of experience in editorial and marketing roles in academic publishing, and also recently received his MS in Data Science from Syracuse University.

US Fulbright Scholar Program with Kim Williams

Friday, February 21, 2020

Student Session: 1:00-2:00pm | Faculty Session: 2:00-3:30pm
Honors 106

On Friday, February 21, ORSP and the Honors College will host Kim Williams with the US Fulbright Scholar program.  Ms. Williams will visit MTSU to present two informational sessions – one specifically for students, and one for faculty interested in the Fulbright program.  Both sessions will take place in Honors 106.

Working with Federal Sponsors - NSF, DOE, and USDA

Friday, January 24, 1:30-2:30pm

Expert Panel

Dr. Song Cui, Agriculture

Dr. Song Cui, Agriculture - Dr. Song Cui is an Associate Professor in the School of Agriculture at Middle Tennessee State University. He received his B.S. in Agricultural Science from Lanzhou University (China) in 2006, and his Ph.D. in Crop Science from Texas Tech University in 2011.  He is a broadly trained agronomist with expertise in big data algorithms, crop physiology, forage production, simulation modeling, soil and boundary layer flux (CO2, water vapor, and greenhouse gases) measurements, and large-scale agroecosystem studies addressing issues such as water sustainability and climate change.  Particularly, Dr. Cui is interested in integrating machine learning techniques into advanced agronomic research domains, including remote sensing, bioinformatics, meta-analysis, and plant growth/ecological modeling. Furthermore, as a field agronomist by training, Dr. Cui enjoys conducting variety trials and cropping system research on various row, forage, and specialty crops in different agroecosystems.

Dr. Cui has authored and co-authored more than 25 high-impact journal articles since 2013. He has served as reviewers for more than ten peer-reviewed journals and had reviewed more than 20 journal articles in the past five years. Furthermore, Dr. Cui has served as the Principal Investigator for more than $1.9M externally funded research projects (mainly from USDA-NIFA) since 2013. Collectively, He has involved in more than $7M collaborative projects nationwide. Dr. Cui is currently serving as the Chair of the Airborne and Satellite Remote Sensing Community of the American Society of Agronomy. Meanwhile, he is also serving as the Elected Secretary of Southern Branch of the American Society of Agronomy, will move on to serve as the Vice President in 2021 and President in 2022. Dr. Cui has served as an external grant reviewer panelist on six external funding programs since 2013, including four USDA-NIFA sponsored competitive funding programs. Dr. Cui frequently mentors undergraduate and graduate student research projects and teaches courses including Forage Crop Production, Field Crop Production, Crop Ecophysiology, and Agricultural Statistics and Data Analysis.​

Dr. Greg Rushton, Director, Tennessee STEM Education Center 

Dr. Greg Rushton, Director, Tennessee STEM Education Center - Greg Rushton is Director of the TN STEM Education Center (TSEC) and Professor of Chemistry at MTSU.  He has held faculty appointments previously at SUNY-Stony Brook on Long Island and Kennesaw State University, just north of Atlanta. He earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Southern California, and graduate degrees in science education and physical organic chemistry at the ‘other’ USC in South Carolina.  His group has current projects in both K-12 STEM education and in higher education, which are funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

Friday, November 22, 2019

Presented by Healther Dray, MLIS, Associate Director, Library Relations & Faculty Outreach, SAGE Publishing

Whether overseeing a student research project, thesis, or dissertation; or preparing your own work for publication or dissemination, SAGE Research Methods (SRM) can help with every step of the research process. Join us for a custom training session to learn more about this online collection of resources designed to support beginning and advanced researchers looking for the best methods to use in their research. In this session, you will learn more about SRM and its content – including dictionary and encyclopedia entries, book chapters, full books, journal articles, and the complete Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences (Little Green Books) and Qualitative Research Methods series (Little Blue Books) – and how these resources can help you in your teaching and with your research. 

Building Collaborations

Friday, October 18, 2019

Expert Panel
  • Dr. Rick Moffett, Psychology
  • Dr. DeAnne Priddis, Communication Studies
  • Dr. Chandra Story, Health and Human Performance

PowerPoint Presentation

Grant Writing Basics

Friday, September 20, 2019

Expert Panel
  • Dr. Kristine McCusker, History
  • Dr. Don Morgan, Health and Human Performance
  • Dr. Rick Vanosdall, Educational Leadership  

PowerPoint Presentation

 

 

 

MT-IGO