The Office of Research is pleased to again host the one-day grant writing seminar "Write Winning Grants" on Friday, March 13, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Nebraska Union on city campus. This seminar will focus primarily on NIH/NSF/USDA proposals and is designed for faculty members, graduate students and others interested in developing grant proposals to these and other funding agencies.  I would ask that you encourage faculty and graduate students in your departments to register for this highly acclaimed grant writing seminar, presented by grantwriting consultant Dr. Stephen Russell.

On-line registration is available at: http://research.unl.edu/events/grantseminar/

USDA and DOE are issuing a joint funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for several types of projects aimed at increasing the availability of alternative renewable fuels and biobased products.  The projects will aim to create a diverse group of economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass.  Advanced biofuels produced from these types of sources are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 50 percent.

The FOA will fund projects in the following three technical areas specified in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008: Feedstocks development; Biofuels and biobased products development; and, Biofuels development analysis.

Award amounts are planned to range from $1 million to up to $5 million with project periods up to four years, subject to annual appropriations.  Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, national laboratories, federal research agencies, state research agencies, private sector entities, non-profit organizations, or a consortium of two or more of those entities.    
The FOA is available online at Grants.gov.

On February 2, 2009, The Association for Dressings and Sauces (ADS) selected the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) to receive the 2009 Technical Achievement Award.

ADS represents manufacturers of salad dressings and condiment sauces as well as suppliers of materials and services to the industry.  Several clients of the Food Processing Center and FARRP are members of this trade organization.

The Technical Achievement Award will be presented on Monday, April 27, 2009, in conjunction with the 2009 ADS Technical Meeting to be held at The Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas.  The Technical Achievement Award is presented to an individual or group which has made outstanding achievements in furthering the knowledge of the dressing and sauce industry.  FARRP was selected for outstanding leadership, research and education in the field of food allergens.

Dr. Stephen Taylor, administrator of FARRP acknowledges that this is a major award.  “I am not quite sure who nominated FARRP but realize that it is quite an honor to be selected for this recognition.”

He has little doubt how FARRP won this award.  “The hard work and dedication of our fabulous staff is in large measure responsible for this sort of recognition.”