Monday, February 22, 2016

2016 Department of Energy's Fulbright Hays Research Fellowships

The Department of Education will soon announce opportunities for the 2016 Fulbright Hays Research Fellowships. It is likely that the deadline will be in April.

This program provides grants to colleges and universities to fund individual doctoral students who conduct research in non-Western countries for periods of six to 12 months. The goal of the fellowship is to “deepen research knowledge on and help the nation develop capability in areas of the world not generally included in U.S. curricula. Projects focusing on Western Europe are not supported.”

Based on a scan of last year’s projects, students pursuing History, Latin American Art, Spanish, Portuguese, Educational Policy, Linguistics, Musicology, Sociology, Political Science, Geography, International Development, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Religious Studies, Public Health, Communication Technology and Ecology were funded.

Students must apply through USC.  Please direct anyone who is interested in applying to the graduate school.  We would be happy to provide additional information and resources.

A student is eligible to receive a fellowship if he or she:
Is a citizen or national of the United States or is a permanent resident of the United States;
Is a graduate student in good standing at an institution of higher education in the United States who, when the fellowship begins, is admitted to candidacy
Is planning a teaching career in the United States upon graduation; and
Possesses adequate skills in the language(s) necessary to carry out the dissertation project.

Duration of the Grant:
Students may propose research for 6 to 12 months. The fellowship may not be renewed.

Terms and Conditions: A fellow shall:
Maintain satisfactory progress in the conduct of his or her research;
Devote full time to research on the approved topic;
Not engage in any gainful employment during the fellowship period; and
Remain a student in good standing at his or her institution.

Expenses Covered by the Award:
Travel expenses, including excess baggage to and from the residence of the fellow to the host country of research;
Maintenance and dependents allowances based on the cost of living in country(ies) of research for the fellow and his or her dependent(s);
Project allowance for research related expenses such as books, copying, tuition and affiliation fees, local travel and other incidental expenses;
Health and accident insurance premiums

Department of Energy's Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science is pleased to announce that the Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program is now accepting applications for the 2016 Solicitation 1.  Applications are due 5:00pm ET on Wednesday May 11, 2016. 

Starting from 2015 Solicitation 2, the SCGSR program is open to graduate students with Permanent Resident status, in addition to U.S. Citizens, who meet all other eligibility requirements. Detailed information about the program, including eligibility requirements and access to the online application system, can be found at: http://science.energy.gov/wdts/scgsr/.  

The SCGSR program supports supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to conduct part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE national laboratory in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist for a period of 3 to 12 consecutive months—with the goal of preparing graduate students for scientific and technical careers critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission.

The SCGSR program is open to current Ph.D. students in qualified graduate programs at accredited U.S. academic institutions, who are conducting their graduate thesis research in targeted areas of importance to the DOE Office of Science. The research opportunity is expected to advance the graduate students’ overall doctoral thesis while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the DOE laboratories. The supplemental award provides for additional, incremental costs for living and travel expenses directly associated with conducting the SCGSR research project at the DOE host laboratory during the award period.

The Office of Science expects to make approximately 50 awards in 2016 Solicitation 1, for project periods beginning anytime between November 1, 2016 and February 28, 2017.

The 2014 program solicitation and the 2015 Solicitation 1 have resulted in awards to a total of 112 graduate students from more than 50 different universities to conduct thesis research at 15 DOE national laboratories.

The SCGSR program is sponsored and managed by the DOE Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS), in collaboration with the six Office of Science research programs offices and the DOE national laboratories, and the Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE).

For any questions, please contact the SCGSR Program Manager, Dr. Ping Ge, at sc.scgsr@science.doe.gov.

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Thesis and Dissertation Submission Info Sessions - March 2nd & 9th

Greetings,

As the thesis and dissertation submission deadline approaches for the Spring 2016 semester, the Graduate School will host information sessions covering the thesis/dissertation submission process on two Wednesdays in March. The University Park Campus sessions will take place on March 2nd, in THH 301, from 12noon – 1pm, and 5pm – 6pm.  The Health Sciences Campus session will take place on March 9th, in MCA 149 from 12noon – 1pm.

Topics will include important information for both students and advisors, such as:
•         Thesis Center navigation
•         submission deadlines
•         required documentation

There will be an opportunity for questions following the presentation. Please mark your calendars. These dates and times will also be listed in myGradSchool for reference. Hope to see you there!

Fight On!


Samuel Mantell
Academic Services Coordinator
The Graduate School
Office of the Provost
University of Southern California
3601 Trousdale Pkwy, STU 301N
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1695
(213) 740-9033
http://www.usc.edu/schools/GraduateSchool

Advanced Fellowship Signature Pages - DUE TOMORROW, 2/17

Signature pages for the Graduate School’s Advanced Fellowships must be submitted to your Student Services Advisor (Adolfo Dela Rosa or Hayley Peltz) no later than this Wednesday, 2/17 at 5 PM. Please gather only the signatures of your Faculty Advisor and the Department Chair/Graduate Program Director. Thank you!









Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Ph.D. Hooding Registration deadline - TODAY @ 5:00pm!

Any candidates who want to participate in the ceremony must register by today's deadline. No exceptions will be made.

The online registration form may be found here.


Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Graduate Diversity Luncheons

Workshop | Introduction to High-Performance Computing at USC

Dear Colleagues:

•        Have large data sets such as Next-Generation Sequencing data?
•        Need to perform computationally intensive analysis such as NGS data alignment, genome assembly, or protein structure analysis?

Then come and join us to find out how USC High-Performance Computing (HPC), one of fastest academic HPC in the world, can help you to get the job done super-fast.

USC HPC and Norris Medical Library Bioinformatics Service are proud to present the following workshop:

Introduction to High-Performance Computing at USC

Time: 9am-12pm
Date: Thursday, February 18th, 2016

and

Time: 9am-12pm
Date: Wednesdays, March 9th, 2016

Location: Aresty Auditorium at Health Science Campus
Breakfast: Coffee and snacks will be provided

In this introductory workshop, you will learn:

•        A tour of USC’s HPC network
•        How to apply for a free HPC account with up to 2 TB free disk space
•        How to access your HPC account from your own computer
•        How to transfer data between your HPC account and your own computer
•        Linux commands for basic file/directory manipulation
•        Write a demo script and run it on HPC cluster
•        Software packages, including bioinformatics software, available to you on the HPC Cluster

For the hands-on practice, a workshop account will be created for anyone who does not have an HPC account, but you must register for the workshop by February 13th for the Feb 18th workshop or Feb. 29th for the March 9th workshop, in order to have an account created for you. Those who already have HPC accounts can register at any time.

Register for the Thursday Feb. 18 workshop:

https://uschsl.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_01a71mLBA7xE73v

Or the Wednesday March 9 workshop (re-run)

https://uschsl.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3UZ3triYoVvFWgl

The following software is required and should be downloaded from USC’s ITS website and installed prior to the workshop. We will spend the first ten minutes on how to configure it and connect. Those who have active HPC accounts should test them prior to attending the workshop.

Mac OS X Users

XQuartz*: quartz.macosforge.org  (*X11 no longer comes pre-installed)
Fetch: itservices.usc.edu/sftp/fetch-5/

Windows Users

X-Win32: itservices.usc.edu/unix/xservers
Filezilla: itservices.usc.edu/sftp/filezilla/

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop.

Erin Shaw
Advanced Cyber Infrastructure-Research & Education Facilitator
USC Center for High-Performance Computing (hpc@usc.edu)

Yibu Chen and Meng Li
Bioinformatics Service Program
Norris Medical Library
University of Southern California
nmlbio@usc.edu
http://nml.usc.edu/bioinformatics/
323-442-3309 (Yibu)
323-442-3447 (Meng)

2016 Tillman Scholars application now open

I’m excited to let you know the application to join the 2016 Class of Tillman Scholars opened this morning and will remain open until March 1st.

The application is open to military veterans (active duty or separated, including National Guard & reserve) and spouses pursuing a full-time four-year, master’s, PhD, or professional degree at a US-based accredited institution. Each award is based on the applicant’s unique financial need—last year we committed $1.7M in academic scholarships to 60 Tillman Scholars.

The Tillman Scholars program unites the best talent and leadership from the military and military spouses and is not a gift; it’s an investment in excellence and potential.

A one-page overview can be found here.

Each year the Tillman Scholar applicants amaze us with their determination, perseverance, and desire to make this world a better place. Thanks in advance for helping share the application announcement so we can support military veterans and spouses with academic scholarships and a network of like-minded individuals.

Please direct any eligibility or criteria questions to scholarships@pattillmanfoundation.org.

Thank you!

Liz

--
Elizabeth O'Herrin | Director of Programs & Scholarships
Pat Tillman Foundation | 217 North Jefferson | Suite 602 | Chicago, IL | 60661
o: (773) 828-5412 | c: (608) 358-7453 | e: eoherrin@pattillmanfoundation.org
pattillmanfoundation.org | @pattillmanfnd | Facebook | Instagram

Get to know the stories of the Tillman Scholars
To view the NAFA [SCHLRSHP] listserv archives or to unsubscribe from the listserv, click on (or type) http://listserv.uark.edu/archives/schlrshp.html.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Seminar | Lindsey Schier | Feb 11, 2016

Lindsey Schier, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Program in Neuroscience,
Department of Psychology, Florida State University
(Applicant for open Assistant Professor position in Neural Metabolic Regulation)

Viscerosensory Modulation of Taste Function

Foods and fluids elicit a cascade of sensory and metabolic signals as they are ingested, digested, and assimilated into the body. Among the many wisdoms of the body are its capacities to predict a food’s biologically significant consequences and tailor ingestion to nutritional needs by flexibly linking oral and postoral signals. The fact that obesity is, in part, associated with the overconsumption of highly palatable but weakly satiating foods, places special emphasis on understanding precisely how sensory signals arising from the gastrointestinal tract are functionally integrated in the brain with those at the forefront of ingestion (e.g., taste). Accordingly, my research has been aimed at characterizing both the transient and lasting effects of postoral feedback on various domains of taste-guided behavior. Such work has revealed that postoral signals rapidly and chemo-specifically modulate the hedonic significance of taste stimuli. Recently, we found that experience with the differential sensory and metabolic events associated with consuming fructose and glucose functions to establish differential responding to the orosensory properties of the same two sugars as well; this challenges the current model of sweet taste reception and implicates a novel T1R2+T1R3-independent taste receptor for glucose.In parallel, using a high resolution lesion/reporter mapping system, our research has begun to pinpoint a region of insular cortex that may be necessary for some types of taste-visceral integrative processing. Future work will continue to combine neural manipulations, both at the level of the peripheral inputs and higher order CNS structures, with comprehensive psychophysical and behavioral measures, to elucidate how taste and visceral signals are processed, integrated, and functionally organized in the control of food and fluid intake.

Thursday, February 11, 2016
4:00 PM

HEDCO Auditorium / HNB 100
USC University Park Campus, Los Angeles, CA 90089

Meet the 2015 Science & Eppendorf Prize for Neurobiology Winners - Apply Now for 2016!

The Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology acknowledges the increasingly active and important role of neurobiology in advancing our understanding of the functioning of the brain and the nervous system -- a quest that seems destined for dramatic expansion in the coming decades. This international prize, established in 2002, encourages the work of promising young neurobiologists by providing support in the early stages of their careers.

It is awarded annually for the most outstanding neurobiological research based on methods of molecular and cell biology by a young scientist of 35 years of age or younger, as described in a 1,000-word essay based on research performed during the past three years.

The winner of the Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology is awarded US$25,000 and publication of his or her essay in Science. The essay and those of up to three finalists are also published on Science Online. The award is announced and presented at a ceremony concurrent with the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in the USA. Eppendorf provides financial support to help enable the grand prize winner and finalists to attend the event.

Watch this video to learn about the 2015 Winners and their research.

Click here to enter your research now!

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

USC Career Center's Beyond the PhD Conference

Join us at the 5th annual Beyond the PhD and Postdoctoral Career Conference Wednesday, March 9, 2016 in the USC Radisson Ballroom from 9:00am-3:30pm.

We look forward to engaging and inspiring you. Learn from distinguished professionals in the academy and industry fields including:

Keynote Speakers 

Dr. Anita Sengupta, Project Manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Dr. Steve Carter, Vice President of Matching, eHarmony

RSVP today!

Click here for up-to-date conference information.

Fight On!
Beyond the PhD Team

http://careers.usc.edu/beyond-phd

Thank you to our Sponsors:
USC Graduate School, USC Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, USC Postdoctoral Association, USC Graduate Student Government, USC Marshall School of Business Ph.D Program, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, USC Viterbi Graduate Student Association, and the USC Career Center.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Invitation to Graduate Student Luncheons with Vice-Provost Dr. Sally Pratt

We are honored to invite you to join Vice Provost Dr. Sally Pratt for lunch this semester on Wednesday February 17 2016 on the University Park Campus (UPC) or on Tuesday March 8 2016 on the Health Sciences Campus.  The menu will consist of salads, sandwiches, and dessert.

This event will provide the opportunity to engage with the Vice Provost for Graduate Programs, Dr. Sally Pratt, regarding a variety of graduate and professional student topics, including your own concerns and discussion items. Dr. Pratt is interested in hearing your news, updates, and concerns, and she would like to hear what you think the USC Graduate School does well what it could improve on and how.

The event is open to all USC graduate students, and attendance will be limited to 20 graduate students per luncheon. Since space is limited, please remember that your RSVP does not guarantee you a seat at the luncheon. The exact location of each event will be communicated through a confirmation email to the first 20 students (per event) who express their interest in participating.

RSVP here: http://goo.gl/forms/zvDPpDgc2M

Thank you for your response. We look forward to meeting you!

Sincerely

Alison Kozberg, Graduate Students’ Advocate
graduate.sr@usc.edu

Dr. Sally Pratt, Vice Provost for Graduate Programs