Grants Make Research a Reality
By: Marga H. Row
In the last few decades, research grants at Penn State Berks have increased exponentially. Sixty percent of the 115 full-time faculty members conduct research in addition to their teaching duties, and much of this research is funded through grants from external agencies. In the 2008–09 academic year, Penn State Berks had seventeen active grants that totaled $2,729,108 in funding over the period of five years, from July 2004–June 2009.
Patricia Jepsen, Berks Business Education Coalition, Berks County Community Foundation, and Keystone Innovation Award
These organizations have awarded Patricia Jepsen, Coordinator of Career Services/Internships, a $94,637 grant in support of BerksWorks, a database-driven program designed to connect the employers and students of Berks County through internships and other work-based experiences. The goal of BerksWorks is to demonstrate to students the wealth of career opportunities available in Berks County, thus slowing the exodus of talent the county has experienced in the past. Students from the five Berks County colleges are eligible to utilize the BerksWorks database, as are those students who study elsewhere but return to Berks County during their college breaks. High school students can also access the database with the assistance of their school counselors. This award is effective October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2010.
Abdullah Konak, Wall Street West
Wall Street West has awarded Abdullah Konak, Associate Professor Information Sciences and Technology, a $55,777 grant to support the project titled “Leveraging Information Security Education and Training through Web-based Distance Learning.” The goal was to design online learning modules and problem-based cases specific to core information assurance subjects, such as security threats/attacks, cryptography, network defense, disaster recovery, risk management, and legal and ethical issues in information security. This online modular approach will expand information security learning in the region for all high school and college-level students, as well as incumbent workers through continuing education opportunities. This award was effective July 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009.
Sadan Kulturel-Konak, National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Sadan Kulturel-Konak, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems, $38,050 of a $448,793 grant to perform supplemental research on “Gender in Science and Engineering: Exploration of the Effects of Race, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Class on Gender Stereotyping of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Disciplines.” This Research Opportunity Award (ROA) will enable Kulturel-Konak to pursue research as a visiting scientist at other institutions. This is a supplemental grant for the following ongoing research grant: “Research on Gender in Science and Engineering: Exploration of the Effects of Race, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Class on Gender Stereotyping of STEM Disciplines,” awarded by the NSF to the Division of Human Resources Development, Penn State University Park (Dr. Eileen Trauth, PI). This award is effective April 1, 2009 through August 31, 2010.
Tom Weiss, Wall Street West
Wall Street West has awarded Tom Weiss, Executive Director of Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a $324,893 grant in support of the Project Lead the Way Pathway to Engineering curriculum, a four-year sequence of pre-engineering courses that prepares a diverse population of high school students in grades nine through twelve (ages 14 through 18) to be successful in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related post-secondary education. When combined with college preparatory mathematics and science courses in high school, the Pathway to Engineering program introduces students to the scope, rigor, and discipline of engineering and engineering technology prior to entering college. This award was effective March 31, 2009 through December 31, 2009.