Monday, July 28, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
In praise of small grants
Yesterday I was informed that I was awarded a small grant. It's only $35k/yr. for two years. Still, that's enough to pay for a pair of hands in the lab for two years. It's enough to get a new project up and running, and to generate the preliminary data needed for a large grant application. And it's enough to keep my lab afloat should my NSF renewal (submitted last week) not be funded first time through.
Many department chairs (and deans) in colleges of medicine tend to think it's NIH R01's or nothing. Maybe an NSF grant, but clearly that's 2nd class money. Small grants such as those given out by many foundations? Complete waste of time. This is a very short-sighted view and, when NIH funding rates are low as is currently the case, can be damaging. Fortunately my chair doesn't think that way. And of course neither do I. In fact my chair, despite having 3 R01's, still applies for the occasional small grant. He uses them to try out new projects/ideas.
Don't get me wrong. One can't, and shouldn't attempt to, run a research program funded solely by small grants. And you cannot, and shouldn't, be awarded tenure if that's all the funding you have (at least not in a research intensive science department). And deans tend to dislike them because they either don't pay indirect costs or pay a small percentage.
[For my non-science readers, indirect costs are funds taken from a grant to pay for infrastructure (ie electricity, phone service, buildings, maintenance etc.). Dean's like this money - the more they have, the more power they have. Hence their dislike of grants that don't provide such funds.]
Still, small grants are wonderful things. As I noted above, they're good for starting new projects, paying for an extra warm body, and, if necessary, bridging lapses in more major funding.
Many department chairs (and deans) in colleges of medicine tend to think it's NIH R01's or nothing. Maybe an NSF grant, but clearly that's 2nd class money. Small grants such as those given out by many foundations? Complete waste of time. This is a very short-sighted view and, when NIH funding rates are low as is currently the case, can be damaging. Fortunately my chair doesn't think that way. And of course neither do I. In fact my chair, despite having 3 R01's, still applies for the occasional small grant. He uses them to try out new projects/ideas.
Don't get me wrong. One can't, and shouldn't attempt to, run a research program funded solely by small grants. And you cannot, and shouldn't, be awarded tenure if that's all the funding you have (at least not in a research intensive science department). And deans tend to dislike them because they either don't pay indirect costs or pay a small percentage.
[For my non-science readers, indirect costs are funds taken from a grant to pay for infrastructure (ie electricity, phone service, buildings, maintenance etc.). Dean's like this money - the more they have, the more power they have. Hence their dislike of grants that don't provide such funds.]
Still, small grants are wonderful things. As I noted above, they're good for starting new projects, paying for an extra warm body, and, if necessary, bridging lapses in more major funding.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Cover your butt syndrome
I have a grant from the National Science Foundation, a Federal agency, to run a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site. Basically this lets me bring eight undergraduate students into the Department to do research for ten weeks during the Summer. The grant pays them a stipend and covers the cost of staying in the dorms for ten weeks. On Friday afternoon I had an interesting phone call from the University accounting office:
After introductions and various pleasantries...
Accounting drone: "We have a bill from University housing that they want to charge to your NSF REU grant. We need you to send us a written justification for paying for dorm housing on a grant. And we need it in the next hour or so - this is the last day we can pay this off the last financial year of the grant."
Me: "There's a specific budget line item for covering these costs. We justified that when we applied for the money. And it's a requirement of the NSF that we provide dorm housing."
Accounting drone: "We still need a justification for why you're paying for dorm housing on a grant."
Me: "This is a grant for training undergraduate students and requires us to provide dorm housing. I don't understand why you need a justification when we already had to provide that when we applied for the grant."
Accounting drone: "It's in case we're audited."
Me: "Audited by whom?"
Accounting drone: "The Federal government."
Me: "Let me get this straight, you need me to justify spending Federal grant money on dorm housing mandated by the Federal agency that provided the grant in case the Federal government decides to audit us because the University is afraid that such a Federal audit might get it into trouble if we didn't justify spending Federal dollars on Federally-mandated dorm housing?"
Accounting drone: "Yes."
Me: "I see..."
To her credit, this was not accounting drone's fault, and she did send me a copy of someone else's justification to copy from (there's more than one REU site on campus). But still...
After introductions and various pleasantries...
Accounting drone: "We have a bill from University housing that they want to charge to your NSF REU grant. We need you to send us a written justification for paying for dorm housing on a grant. And we need it in the next hour or so - this is the last day we can pay this off the last financial year of the grant."
Me: "There's a specific budget line item for covering these costs. We justified that when we applied for the money. And it's a requirement of the NSF that we provide dorm housing."
Accounting drone: "We still need a justification for why you're paying for dorm housing on a grant."
Me: "This is a grant for training undergraduate students and requires us to provide dorm housing. I don't understand why you need a justification when we already had to provide that when we applied for the grant."
Accounting drone: "It's in case we're audited."
Me: "Audited by whom?"
Accounting drone: "The Federal government."
Me: "Let me get this straight, you need me to justify spending Federal grant money on dorm housing mandated by the Federal agency that provided the grant in case the Federal government decides to audit us because the University is afraid that such a Federal audit might get it into trouble if we didn't justify spending Federal dollars on Federally-mandated dorm housing?"
Accounting drone: "Yes."
Me: "I see..."
To her credit, this was not accounting drone's fault, and she did send me a copy of someone else's justification to copy from (there's more than one REU site on campus). But still...
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
I never win anything
I have a much less than stellar record when it comes to winning things. Contests, lotteries, gambling of various sorts. It's not clear to me whether fate is conspiring against me or I'm just a living demonstration of the odds against winning those sorts of things...
But things can change. I just won a blue one of these! The 8GB version. Just for filling out a survey for a foundation that supports research into a particular disease. Happy, happy, joy, joy!
But things can change. I just won a blue one of these! The 8GB version. Just for filling out a survey for a foundation that supports research into a particular disease. Happy, happy, joy, joy!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Book amusement
Here's some amusing tidbits regarding my book:
1) It's available on the publisher's web site for US$71.10. If you think that's expensive, check out Amazon.com. Amazon list it, but don't sell it. Instead they refer you to International Books who are selling it for US$183.93!!!!!!
2) On the Amazon page for my book it has the following section:
Suggested Tags from Similar Products
intelligent design (44)
delusional (27)
creationism (25)
apologetics (21)
evolution (19)
science (19)
religious fiction (15)
science fiction (10)
elitist (8)
unwise decision for cardiac health (1)
Okay, "delusional" and "science fiction" maybe I can deal with, but "intelligent design", "creationism", "religious fiction" and "unwise decision for cardiac health"?????
1) It's available on the publisher's web site for US$71.10. If you think that's expensive, check out Amazon.com. Amazon list it, but don't sell it. Instead they refer you to International Books who are selling it for US$183.93!!!!!!
2) On the Amazon page for my book it has the following section:
Suggested Tags from Similar Products
intelligent design (44)
delusional (27)
creationism (25)
apologetics (21)
evolution (19)
science (19)
religious fiction (15)
science fiction (10)
elitist (8)
unwise decision for cardiac health (1)
Okay, "delusional" and "science fiction" maybe I can deal with, but "intelligent design", "creationism", "religious fiction" and "unwise decision for cardiac health"?????
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Home alone
Tomorrow morning the lovely L leaves for a four day visit to New Orleans with a girlfriend. I'm staying here with the kids.
It will be alright.
Really.
Honest.
Help?
It will be alright.
Really.
Honest.
Help?
Thursday, May 08, 2008
An unfortunate headline?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7390109.stm
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Word of the day
stu·pid (stōō'pĭd, styōō'-)
adj. stu·pid·er, stu·pid·est
1. Slow to learn or understand; obtuse.
2. Tending to make poor decisions or careless mistakes.
3. Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless: a stupid mistake.
4. Dazed, stunned, or stupefied.
5. Pointless; worthless: a stupid job.
Example: This country wants to turn millions of tons of corn into greenhouse gas-creating fuel for cars while a large fraction of the world's population is starving.
adj. stu·pid·er, stu·pid·est
1. Slow to learn or understand; obtuse.
2. Tending to make poor decisions or careless mistakes.
3. Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless: a stupid mistake.
4. Dazed, stunned, or stupefied.
5. Pointless; worthless: a stupid job.
Example: This country wants to turn millions of tons of corn into greenhouse gas-creating fuel for cars while a large fraction of the world's population is starving.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
My thought for today
Ignorance leads only to pain and suffering.
True happiness comes only through knowledge and awareness.
Monday, March 17, 2008
So apt...
One of the most frightening things in the Western world, and in this country in particular, is the number of people who believe in things that are scientifically false. If someone tells me that the earth is less than 10,000 years old, in my opinion he should see a psychiatrist.
- Francis Crick.
- Francis Crick.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Some blather to ponder
- Here's an interesting dichotomy:
I keep my work computer well organized. Everything is filed in appropriate folders, subfolders, sub-subfolders etc. Email is generally answered promptly and filed away. But my office... There are so many piles of paper it's hard to see any of the desktop. I have folders on the floor. Books and files on the window sill. It's a mess. How is it I can keep one part of my work life so tidy, but the other is a disaster area? Interestingly, in both cases I do know exactly where everything is. I never have to use the really cool search feature (Spotlight) on my Mac to find things, and I know not only which pile on my desk a particular paper is in, but also almost exactly where it is in the foot plus high pile. Usually within a half inch or so.
I'm going to devote at least 30 minutes a day for the next few weeks cleaning up my office (yes, it will take that long). That much clutter can't be good. Definitely bad feng shui.
- I updated my laptop to OS X 10.5.2 (Leopard) today. So far it seems to have worked without a hitch. It's worth updating for the built-in backup program Time Machine. Sure, there are a lot of backup programs out there. I've used a really good one called Carbon Copy Cloner for a couple of years. But somehow Apple managed to make backing up your computer cool. You have to see it.
- 'Cakes and her hubby, Barfless, gave me a book called "How to be a Genius" for Christmas. After having read it I understood why I haven't won that Nobel yet - you need to be a genius first. So, evil genius, or not-so-evil genius?
- JollyRgr and his L gave me Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion". A must read. Really makes you think. Kind of made my head hurt. Dawkins does a great job of demonstrating what a crock "intelligent design" is.
- Lastly, M and J were watching "Chicken Run" yesterday when they came up with that famous old question: What came first, the chicken or the egg? After some debate amongst themselves. M decided chicken. J decided egg. It's so cool watching them grow up.
I keep my work computer well organized. Everything is filed in appropriate folders, subfolders, sub-subfolders etc. Email is generally answered promptly and filed away. But my office... There are so many piles of paper it's hard to see any of the desktop. I have folders on the floor. Books and files on the window sill. It's a mess. How is it I can keep one part of my work life so tidy, but the other is a disaster area? Interestingly, in both cases I do know exactly where everything is. I never have to use the really cool search feature (Spotlight) on my Mac to find things, and I know not only which pile on my desk a particular paper is in, but also almost exactly where it is in the foot plus high pile. Usually within a half inch or so.
I'm going to devote at least 30 minutes a day for the next few weeks cleaning up my office (yes, it will take that long). That much clutter can't be good. Definitely bad feng shui.
- I updated my laptop to OS X 10.5.2 (Leopard) today. So far it seems to have worked without a hitch. It's worth updating for the built-in backup program Time Machine. Sure, there are a lot of backup programs out there. I've used a really good one called Carbon Copy Cloner for a couple of years. But somehow Apple managed to make backing up your computer cool. You have to see it.
- 'Cakes and her hubby, Barfless, gave me a book called "How to be a Genius" for Christmas. After having read it I understood why I haven't won that Nobel yet - you need to be a genius first. So, evil genius, or not-so-evil genius?
- JollyRgr and his L gave me Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion". A must read. Really makes you think. Kind of made my head hurt. Dawkins does a great job of demonstrating what a crock "intelligent design" is.
- Lastly, M and J were watching "Chicken Run" yesterday when they came up with that famous old question: What came first, the chicken or the egg? After some debate amongst themselves. M decided chicken. J decided egg. It's so cool watching them grow up.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Did you know...
Einstein once said:
"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy."
He (was) the man!
"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy."
He (was) the man!
Monday, February 25, 2008
We're so vacuous
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Obama Baby!!
This is worth watching. My favorite part is the line comparing politicians to diapers...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
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