OCAST restores second applied research, intern partnership competitions for 2011

OCAST’s governing board of directors has approved restoration of second applied research and student intern partnership competitions, both of which were cancelled in 2010 due to budget constraints. Approximately $2 million for research from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) will be made available to Oklahoma researchers who are successful in the highly competitive programs.

“Funding research has been our main purpose since our creation by lawmakers in 1986. The past few years of budget restrictions have been a challenge for us to advance our mission,” said Michael Carolina, executive director of OCAST.

“Our hope is that we never again have to cancel a research competition. The combined benefits of the Oklahoma Applied Research Support (OARS) program become obvious when you consider the momentum that has been created. We are always reluctant to cancel a competition, but last year there was not enough money available to fund two competitions in the OARS and the R&D Intern Partnerships programs. We had no choice but to cancel one of the funding cycles,” Carolina said.

Applicants for both the OARS and Intern programs must submit their statements of intent by 5 p.m. February 9 to be eligible for the competition. March 9 is the application deadline for both programs and all applications must be in OCAST offices in either Oklahoma City or Tulsa by 5 p.m. that day.

Workshops that provide information about the application process will be conducted at the following locations:

Oklahoma Applied Research Support

OARS workshops will be from 10 - 11:30 a.m. To register, visit the OCAST web site at www.ocast.ok.gov or contact tessa.north@ocast.ok.gov.

• February 1, 2011, Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, Wes Watkins Center Room 101
• February 2, 2011, Tulsa, OSU Center for Health Sciences, 1111 W. 17th St., Room D109
• February 3, 2011, Oklahoma City, Springlake Metro Tech Economic Development Center, 1700 Springlake Dr.

R&D Intern Partnerships

Intern workshops will be from 1 - 2:30 p.m. To register, visit the OCAST web site at www.ocast.ok.gov or contact tessa.north@ocast.ok.gov.

• February 1, 2011, Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, Wes Watkins Center Room 101
• February 2, 2011, Tulsa, OSU Center for Health Sciences, 1111 W. 17th St., Room D109
• February 3, 2011, Oklahoma City, Springlake Metro Tech Economic Development Center, 1700 Springlake Dr.

News of the second funding cycle should be met with great interest by Oklahoma researchers, especially those whose projects have qualified but could not be funded last year due to limited financial resources.

In 2010, Oklahoma researchers submitted 150 qualified peer-reviewed projects that were left unfunded due to budgetary constraints.
Since inception, OCAST has funded 2,258 individual science projects that have attracted $3.9 billion to Oklahoma in additional research support from outside sources. The OARS program alone accounts for $1.2 billion of that total.

Since 1998, 532 students have participated in the OCAST R&D Intern Partnerships program through higher education institutions across the state including Cameron University, Langston University, Northeastern State University, Oklahoma City Community College, Redlands Community College, Southwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa.

The Oklahoma Applied Research Support (OARS) program funds one to three year research and development projects with significant potential for commercialization. Oklahoma businesses, universities and nonprofit foundations are eligible to compete for OARS awards.
The R&D Intern Partnerships (Intern) program supports internships between local industries and two and four year colleges and universities.