By Richard P. Morin
With Congress reducing funds earmarked for research at the University level, competition for the shrinking federal dollar has pushed many faculty, particularly junior members, into a precarious position, according to Kathryn Spoehr, dean of the Graduate School and research.
Junior faculty "start with one foot in the hole," says Spoehr. Brian Sheldon, assistant professor of engineering, agrees, adding that "in the current funding climate, you usually can't obtain outside support unless you already have some significant results." But to get those initial results, one must have funding. It's a Catch-22 situation, says John Marshall, assistant professor of pharmacology and biotechnology.
Younger faculty members are not the only ones in a quandary. Established faculty members looking to begin research in new areas often find it difficult to secure funding as well, Spoehr said.
To help eliminate this predicament at Brown, President Gregorian has earmarked $1 million from the bequest of the late Richard B. Salomon, former chancellor of the University, to establish a fund to provide grants to selected faculty research projects. "This could not have come at a better time," said Spoehr. "This is not only an investment in our faculty, it is an investment in the health of the entire University."
The first round of Salomon Research Awards was announced in January, with 19 faculty members receiving funds totaling close to $250,000. Awards will be made over the next three years as well, with preference given to faculty who have not previously received a Salomon Award. The University Research Council considers the overall merit of the research project in selecting proposals for funding.
The awards have been received enthusiastically by this year's recipients. "With the government cutting back, this kind of thing needs to happen," said Dian Kriz, assistant professor of the history of art and architecture. "I am pleased that Brown is willing to step into the breach." Joachim Krueger, assistant professor of psychology, calls his award "invaluable" because "federal funding for social research is tight and not about to be expanded."
According to Marshall and Sheldon, the awards will give them the necessary funds to secure preliminary results that can be used to secure outside funding from the federal government and private agencies.
The Salomon Research Awards will be used by most recipients to pay for travel, computer equipment and software, data and subjects. "As a junior faculty member, it is important to travel and spread the word of your research," said Bent Sorensen, assistant professor of economics. "For people who do applied work, a little bit of money can be a big help."
The awards also are intended to allow faculty members to take risks in their research, according to Spoehr. Michael Tarr, assistant professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences, is doing just that by moving onto new areas of research in visual object recognition. Although Tarr's grant application to the National Science Foundation was enthusiastically received by many, some thought he didn't have the necessary experience to complete his stated goals. The Salomon Research Award "is good seed money to show them that we can do the work," he said.
The awards have additional benefits. For Diane Lipscombe, assistant professor of neuroscience, her award has opened new avenues of investigation, leading to a successful collaboration with a colleague at the University of Virginia. "Dr. Scrable and I bring very different skills to bear, and our combined effort has led us into new and uncharted areas in the field of neurofibromatosis research," she said. For In-Koo Cho, associate professor of economics, the award provides flexibility to deal with unexpected problems in a long-term research project.
This year 42 faculty members applied for Salomon Research Awards of up to $15,000. Over the next three years, Spoehr would like to see the number of applicants rise.