Browsing the topic Federal Government
The funding includes:
- $603,633 in National Science Foundation grants for Mohammad Younis, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Younis works to understand the vibrations and mechanics of miniscule electro-mechanical systems. Applications for research include protecting the hard disk of a laptop computer to deploying a side-impact air bag.
- $550,584 in National Science Foundation grants for Eriks Rozners, associate professor of chemistry. Rozners studies ribonucleic acids, or RNA, and seeks a way to chemically modify RNA. The research could lead to new therapeutic measures such as antibiotics or anticancer drugs.
- $360,120 in National Institute of General Medical Sciences grants for Koji Lum, associate professor of anthropology and biological sciences. Lum studies how the malaria parasite evolved resistance to the once-effective medication chloroquine.
- $191,250 in National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grants for Michael Nizhnikov, a postdoctoral associate in the psychology department. He studies why infants exposed to alcohol have a higher incidence of alcohol abuse later in life.
- $126,226 in National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke grants for Lisa Savage, professor of psychology. Savage is studying the brain’s cortex, including how it adapts to damage to other regions of the brain. Research could help with treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
- $156,922 in National Science Foundation grants for Adrian Vasiu, associate professor of mathematics. Vasiu is a numbers theorist who studies Shimura varieties, and will write several papers and two books to be used by graduate students.
- $233,427 in National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders grants for Patricia Di Lorenzo, professor of psychology. She studies how neurons communicate with each other in the brain. Her research could help with treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and could also help in the development of brain-machine interfaces like artificial limbs.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan (ARRP), commonly known as the federal stimulus package, is making it’s way to the states.
So what?
That is the big question.
Governor Paterson’s office has put together a useful website illustrating the various parts of New York’s share ($24.6 billion) of the stimulus package. While the web site appears organized, media accounts paint a different picture.
What any of this means for your library is still unclear. Paterson administration officials inform me that most of the stimulus money will go towards restoring cuts proposed in the executive budget and otherwise closing portions of the budget deficit. This could result in the restoration of Coordinated Collection Development Aid (CCDA), currently slated for a 10.86 percent cut. $2.5 billion is slated to restore education cuts, so restoration of the $250,000 that was to be cut specifically from CCDA seems probable.
For ARIA the results are more opaque. Administration officials have indicated that ARIA funding for academic and research libraries is on the list of suitable projects for ARRP funding. Potential funding lines under ARRP would be “enhanced education technology,” “science facilities, research, instrumentation,” or other pots of discretionary spending.
NYSHEI will continue to work with the Paterson administration to restore funding for proposed cuts (CCDA) and establish a line of ARIA funding through FY2010-11.
You can help – and many already have. Last week, a number of you send emails urging state leaders to fund ARIA. There is still time to tell the Governor that the job and research supporting information infrastructure we call ARIA deserves funding.
NYSHEI Opposes the “Fair Copyright in Research Works” Act
By Jason | Filed under Federal Government
The Governing Board of NYSHEI has joined the chorus of opposition to H.R. 801, the “Fair Copyright in Research Works” act introduced in the House of Representatives by John Conyers (D-MI).
Joining groups like the Alliance for Taxpayer Access, Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and the Association of Research Libraries, NYSHEI unequivocally opposes this legislation that would prohibit American taxpayers from accessing the results of the crucial biomedical research funded by their taxpayer dollars, and stifle critical advancements in life-saving research and scientific discovery.
“This is a very bad bill,” said NYSHEI Executive Director Jason Kramer. “Knowledge and information should be widely available to the public – particularly when the public paid for it.”
“As exemplified by ARIA (Academic Research Information Access), NYSHEI strives to broaden access to all manner of information. We therefore must strongly object to Mr. Conyers proposal,” said Kramer.
NYSHEI is asking the entire New York Congressional delegation to oppose this legislation and asks all NYSHEI member librarians to similarly voice their opposition.
More information about HR801 is available.