Faculty Success
The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), in collaboration with Academic Affairs and ADVANCE at UNM, has launched an institutional initiative to support main campus faculty in navigating the post-pandemic world. UNM data show that during the pandemic, many faculty members spent less time on research and scholarship and related professional development as they revised their teaching and dealt with new and different demands in their home lives. As we transition out of the pandemic, the WeR1 Faculty Success Program seeks to support UNM faculty in new and creative ways.
Goals of the WeR1 Faculty Success Program were created with the understanding that faculty retention and advancement depends upon increased transparency, supportive structures, and resources that allow faculty to transition, rebuild, recover, and/or refocus their research, scholarship, and creative work. Any investment must encompass both small steps and expansive interdisciplinary initiatives—faculty need support now, but they also need that support to remain in place and be accessible in the coming years. The OVPR has committed over $1 million in funding for this program over the next two years.
Eligibility
UNM Main Campus tenure track or research faculty are eligible to apply for the programs when available. Preference will be given to non-tenured early career, tenure-track faculty and faculty whose research progress/productivity has been demonstrably affected by the pandemic. Recipients must have submitted all reports and requirements from previous OVPR awards.
Request for Proposals
For a complete listing of all internal competitions and RFP's please visit the Office of the Vice President for Research Infoready Engagement HUB.
Program for Enhancing Research Capacity (PeRC)
The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) is pleased to announce that the application window for a second round of the Program for Enhancing Research Capacity (PeRC) will open in January 2022. PeRC supports acquisition of shared instrumentation or enhancement of shared facilities that enable major endeavors to advance discovery, creativity and innovation across campus. This program seeks to add or augment research capacity through the acquisition or upgrading of instrumentation for use by multiple investigators. Thus, the proposed equipment must be housed within a space accessible to more than one PI/lab group and must have multiple committed users either within a single department/college, or preferably from multiple departments and colleges. Up to $400,000 will be invested in this funding cycle. Future funding will be dependent on availability of funds and program outcomes. The full RFP is attached.
Important Dates for Spring 2022 PeRC:
- January 28, 2022: Application window opens in InfoReady Review
- March 11, 2022: Proposal due date
- April 15, 2022: Proposals awarded
PeRC Awardees
| Fiscal Year | Organization | Lead Investigator | Application |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY22 | Manufacturing Engineering | Matthias Pleil | Maskless Photolithography for Cost Effective, Rapid Successful Research and Development |
| FY22 | Center for High Technology Materials (CHTM) | Payman Zarkesh-Ha | Support for Purchasing of Agilent Universal Spectrophotometer Acquisition of a PrepFAST IC System to be Coupled with the Existing Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometer (ICP/MS) for simultaneous Trace Metals Analysis and Elements |
| FY22 | Earth and Planetary Sciences | Abdulmehdi Ali | Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometer (ICP/MS) for simultaneous Trace Metals Analysis and Elements |
| FY22 | Geography and Environmental Sciences | Christopher Lippitt | Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) for Terrain and Vegetation analysis |
| FY22 | Center for Water & the Environment | Katelin Fisher | Acquisition of a Thermofisher Gallery Discrete Wet Chemistry Analyzer for the Center for Water and the Environment |
| FY22 | Film and Digital Arts | James Stone | Post-Production Research Lab |
| FY22 | Physics and Astronomy | Elohim Becerra | High-efficiency photon number resolving camera for interdisciplinary sciences |
Faculty Scholarship Time (FaST)
The FaST application deadline for Spring 2024 teaching assistance is May 26, at 11:59 p.m.
The FaST program provides tenure-track and tenured faculty with a reduced teaching load to enhance their capacity to bring their research, scholarship, and creative activities to the next level. Examples of “leveling-up” one’s research include, but are not limited to:
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Making progress on or finishing a book
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Directed research development activities such as collaboration building, proposal development, or extended community engagement
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Data collection and/or analysis
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Manuscript preparation
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Preparing for an exhibition, performance, or concert
UNM Main Campus tenure-track and tenured faculty in all disciplines are eligible to apply for this program. Applicants must discuss their proposal with their Department Chair before submitting their application.
Currently accepting applications for Spring 2024. Please visit the Infoready Portal for details and how to submit.
FaST Applicant and Demographic Distribution
- 43 applications received; 21 awards to faculty from 6 colleges
- 71% from Arts and Sciences
- 67% of submissions from women faculty
- 95% of submissions from assistant professors
Summer Research for Faculty (SuRF)
In Summer 2021, over $280,000 of allocated funds were distributed to faculty members for support of research graduate students, writing, travel, repair or replacement of equipment, and incentives for human subject research:
- 87 faculty participants
- Over 2/3 of the applicants were women
- 83% of the submissions were from assistant and associate professors
- View the Summer 2021 Full RFP
Currently accepting applications for Fall 2022. Please visit the Infoready Portal for details and how to submit.
View the 2022 RFP
Fostering Research Expansion in the Social Sciences & Humanities (FRESSH)
The Fostering Research Expansion in Social Sciences and Humanities (FRESSH) Program establishes annual cohorts of faculty, staff, and postdocs with research projects in the Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities. Each participant develops research concepts and proposals suitable for funding opportunities from federal agencies or major foundations. The FRESSH program focuses on awareness and use of internal resources, targeted training for opportunity scoping, concept and proposal development, and building community around Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts research. In addition to full-group meetings, participants attend sessions on research development topics more narrowly relevant to their fields. Participants are expected to submit a funding proposal as lead on a project within 18 months of the program’s start.
Cohort Members
Contact Info
For more information contact frdo@unm.edu
Faculty-Mentored Research Award
The UNM Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) and the Undergraduate Research, Arts and Design Network (URAD) are seeking nominations for the Faculty-Mentored Research Award. This joint award is given annually to an outstanding undergraduate researcher and their faculty research mentor based upon the demonstration of a strong research partnership.
In addition to quality of research and research outcomes, this award recognizes successes in developing a collaborative relationship and prioritizes aspects of the research process that contribute to professional growth of the student. As part of UNM’s WeR1 initiative, this award develops UNM’s tenet “Research Is Education” by promoting a culture of diverse research participation, advancing UNM students into successful futures, and increasing capacity for research to impact society.
Nominations for the 2023 award must be submitted via InfoReady by May 31. Award selections will be made in June.
Faculty award recipients will receive a $2,500 prize to be awarded as an honorarium or a contribution to their research index. Student award recipients will receive a $1,500 cash prize. Both will be publicly recognized during the Research & Discovery Week in Fall 2023.
If you have any questions or require assistance submitting materials, please contact:
- Assistant Vice President for Research Melissa Emery Thompson at: memery@unm.edu
- URAD Director Tim Schroeder at timschroeder@unm.edu