Welcome to the second newsletter from the Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research Program. Our hope is to share information with potential applicants, mentors, grant recipients and supporters of the program.
In this issue, GIAR Committee Member Ann Yezerski discusses the importance of student research and grant writing at a small liberal arts institution and we catch up with David Haak (GIAR 2006) as he helps explain why some chilies are hot and some are not.
I hope you enjoy our second edition and please pass the newsletter along to colleagues and potential GIAR applicants.
Emma S. Creaser
Chair, Grants-in-Aid of Research Committee
October 2011 Awards Announced
Successful grant applicants for the October 15, 2011 cycle have been announced. Of the 801 applications received, 197 were funded. Winners can be viewed on the Sigma Xi website. Applications for the March 15, 2012 cycle are now being accepted.
Student Grant Writing at a Liberal Arts Institution
The National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) has noted exponential growth in undergraduate research in the last 20 years. It has become apparent that there is a great benefit of such experiences in undergraduate education. In fact, my own small liberal arts institution, King's College (the one in Wilkes-Barre, PA; not the slightly better known one in London), requires a minimum of one semester of research for all of our science majors. As this pedagogy becomes a regular part of the curriculum, the question of financially supporting such research can become an issue, especially in schools that do not have graduate programs. Many faculty in these small institutions may feel that they cannot be competitive for funding. A Sigma Xi Grants-In-Aid-of-Research (GIAR) could be a great foundation for future funding success.
Initially it might appear that a $1000 grant cannot compare to the hundreds of thousands available from other sources. However, a GIAR is not only attainable by undergraduate researchers, but has proven to impel many significant works, sometimes as the sole funding for undergraduate projects. For my research students, an acquisition of this funding effectively doubles the resources we can dedicate to a project. More importantly, Sigma Xi's GIAR is well-respected and larger granting institutions recognize the reception of a GIAR as an indicator of future productivity.
Notably, all of the three top candidates for our recent tenure-track position were previous recipients of a GIAR. This is certainly convincing evidence that GIAR benefit not only the recipient, but also the future students who will be learning their research skills from those who have been previously recognized by Sigma Xi. Therefore, this funding not only serves as a basis for research in small colleges, but also is part of a cycle that will continue to produce great scientists.
Ann Yezerski, Ph.D.
Professor and Chairperson
Biology Department, King's College
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Recently Published
David C. Haak (SX GIAR 2006) was recently published in The Proceedings of Royal Society B. Research for his article Why are not all chilies hot? A trade-off limits pungency was supported, in part, by a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research and was conducted while Haak was a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington working with Dr. Joshua Tewksbury (SX 2005).
Haak’s findings help explain why some chilies are hot and some are not.
Hot chilies growing in dry areas need more water to produce as many seeds as non-pungent plants, but the Fusarium fungus is less of a threat in dryer environments. Chilies in those areas are less likely to build up their reserves of spicy capsaicin as a self-defense mechanism than those grown in wetter regions.
“Despite the reduced benefit of pungency in dry environments, hot plants still occur there, as does the deadly fungus,” explains Haak. That suggests that the greater presence of non-pungent plants that produce substantially more seeds is the result of a fitness-based trade-off.
Haak is currently serving as a post-doc with Leonie Moyle (SX GIAR 1997, 1998) at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Supporting Grants-in-Aid of Research
Since 1922, Sigma Xi has extended the hand of companionship to more than 30,000 young researchers like David Haak and Leonie Moyle through the Grants-in-Aid of Research Program. Funds for GIAR come from support by Sigma Xi members, endowed funds with the National Academy of Sciences and private donations.
If you would like to find out how you can create a special Named Fund or join the thousands of other donors who support GIAR, please visit our website at Support GIAR.
