The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to announce that Laura Tambrallo has been named university veterinarian after a national search.

As university veterinarian, Tambrallo will provide institutional level guidance and oversight which is consistent with federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to university veterinary care, animal facilities and animal welfare for Auburn University's Animal Care and Use Program.

Several faculty members from the College of Sciences and Mathematics have recently received funding awards for research and development.

Drs. Mark Steltenphol and Luke Marzen, of the Department of Geology and Geography recently received a Vulcan Materials Competitive grant sponsored by the National Center for Asphalt Technology and the Environmental Institute. The proposal, Generating geologic maps along the Fall Line in east-central Alabama and west-central Georgia in a GIS vector format most practicable for the mining industry, was chosen as one of two $30,000 awards.

When Auburn University meat scientist Chris Kerth expanded his research program into the area of grass-fed beef six or so years ago, most Alabama cattle producers weren’t all that interested in it.

They were making a living doing business the way they had for years: shipping feeder calves to Midwestern feedlots to be fattened on grain and then slaughtered.

An AAES-funded study headed by AU entomologist Art Appel could one day give humans highly effective weapons against the lowly, filthy, seemingly invincible German cockroach.

At the heart of the project are essential oils—the oils that carry the distinctive aromas of plants— or, actually, components of those oils, such as carvacol, which is present in the thyme oil that’s extracted from thyme plants.

To accommodate for holiday travel, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will meet once during December 2008. The IACUC will meet on December 11, 2008 (the second Thursday of the month). All proposal submissions must be received by the Office of Animal Resources (OAR) by 11:30 AM on Thursday, December 4th for review at the meeting. Researchers are strongly encouraged to review the "Protocol Reminders for Investigators" (http://www.auburn.edu/research/vpr/animals) to facilitate the IACUC process. For more information, call the OAR at 334-844-5978.

The NSF has announced continuation of the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) that began in FY1998 as part of the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI). Approximately 15-25 new awards are expected with funding of $16 million for new awards in FY2009. The overall goals of this program are to support basic research in plant genomics and to accelerate the acquisition and utilization of new knowledge and innovative approaches to elucidating fundamental biological processes in plants. The focus is on plants of economic importance and plant processes of potential economic value. The proposal is due on January 20, 2009. For general questions and the complete announcement contact Marc Haon at haonmar@auburn.edu or 844-5929.

A call for abstracts has been issued by The National Student Research Forum for the 50th annual forum. The deadline for submission is January 23, 2009. The NSRF is held annually on the University of Texas Medical Branch campus in Galveston, TX. The National Student Research Forum is organized and run by students for the discussion of student research papers in a scientific atmosphere.

The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to announce that Marc Haon has joined the Office of Sponsored Programs as the advisor of research services effective November 21.

As the advisor for research services, Haon provides various funding opportunities information to faculty and staff and assists with proposal development on an as-requested basis. Marc also coordinates all internal competitions for proposal submission where the sponsor limits the number that the institution may submit.