Science2009 Recap
10.19.09 by FundScience
The University of Pittsburgh’s Science2009 event took place on Thursday and Friday of last week. Despite inclement weather, the event was a success. The FundScience booth attracted approximately 50 visitors over the two days. These visitors included graduate students, postdocs and faculty members, all of whom shared very good ideas for funding implementation, the direction of the organization, the website/blog, and other issues. Of note, Dr. Victor Ambrose of the University of Massachusetts, Science2009 Plenary Speaker and winner of the Dickson Prize in Medicine, stopped by and had some very insightful and inspiring comments for us.
Dr. Victor Ambrose meets with FundScience cofounders David Vitrant and Mark Friedgan.
We appreciate the time all of our visitors took to share their ideas for FundScience development and their excitement for our cause! The University of Pittsburgh hosts these events annually, so we look forward to an even greater turnout for Science2010! In addition, watch this blog and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for announcements of our participation in other upcoming science events!
Science2009
10.13.09 by FundScience
The University of Pittsburgh’s Science2009 event happens this Thursday and Friday. The event is free and open to the public, and includes lectures on a variety of scientific topics, including cutting edge technology such as microRNAs, evolutionary biology, renewable energy, and infectious diseases. Anyone in the area should take a look and consider attending sessions they are interested in.
FundScience will have a presence at Science2009 in the form of a booth where you can meet FundScience members and obtain more detailed information about our mission and our upcoming funding opportunities. We are excited to meet members of our community and share the progress we have made over the past few months, so please stop by and, as always, spread the word!
Science2009—Unplugged, the University’s ninth annual celebration of science, technology, and research, is coming on Thursday and Friday, 15 and 16 October, to Alumni Hall (with two special preview events on Wednesday, 14 October). Here are six great reasons to attend:
1. Highlighting the program will be plenary lectures by four distinguished scientists: Victor Ambros, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School; Michael Graetzel, PhD, of Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne; Cori Bargmann, PhD, of the Rockefeller University; and Bruce Beutler, MD, of The Scripps Research Institute.
2. Pitt and Carnegie Mellon researchers will present Spotlight Sessions on a dozen timely topics in which they are actively engaged. Likewise, five Science at Work Sessions will draw on expertise from local industry.
3. Some of the latest laboratory equipment that makes today’s research possible will be on display at the Science2009 Supplier Showcase from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, 14 October, at the Petersen Events Center.
FundScience Collaborates with Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
08.11.09 by FundScience
FundScience and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center(PSC) have agreed to work together on the common goal of broadening research resources available to scientists and the public. PSC provides university, government, and industrial researchers with access to high-performance computing (HPC), communications and data-handling technologies. As a result of the partnership with PSC, applicants eligible for the grants funded and facilitated by FundScience will have an option to qualify for access to PSC’s HPC resources. PSC will also provide computing resources for FundScience .
The FundScience grant application, which will be soon posted on the FundScience website, will include information required to receive a PSC starter grant. The donation is subject to the applicant qualifying for a FundScience grant and subject to final approval by PSC. FundScience is working on establishing similar partnerships with organizations across the country in order to service a broader population.
About PSC:
The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center is a joint effort of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh together with Westinghouse Electric Company. Established in 1986, PSC is supported by several federal agencies, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and private industry, and is a partner in the National Science Foundation TeraGrid program.
FundScience Receives $100,000 Donation
06.26.09 by FundScience
FundScience Receives $100,000 Donation
Pittsburgh, PA – June 21, 2009
FundScience, an organization dedicated to enabling public funding of scientific research projects, announced today that it has received its first corporate donation in the amount of $100,000. The donation was received from Check Giant, a financial services company. This initial donation will support first year operating costs and allow FundScience to carry out its central goals, including the funding of small research projects.
About FundScience
FundScience is an online charitable organization which aims to create an open platform for funding the research of promising young scientists. Its mission is to generate start-up funding for pilot projects while raising public awareness of basic research. Founded in 2008 by David Vitrant and Mark Friedgan with the goal of creating a virtual collaborative ecosystem for scientists and the general public, by drawing on the growing online giving market as well as social networking , thus promoting science education and reducing the average age of independent scientists. FundScience is based in Pittsburgh, PA, USA and is currently accepting public donations. For more information, visit http://fundscience.org.
Media Contact:
Getting The Public Invested in Science
06.25.09 by FundScience
Below is a reprint of our most recent press release. Read the actual press release here.
Getting The Public Invested in Science
Pittsburgh, PA – June 1, 2009
FundScience is an online charitable organization which aims to create an open platform for funding the research of promising young scientists. Its mission is to generate start-up funding for pilot projects while raising public awareness of basic research. The organization intends to fill a well recognized funding gap of the major players in research funding: the government, foundations and the private sector, which tend to focus on seasoned scientists. FundScience identifies itself alongside these groups but provides an unconventional source of funding by drawing on the growing online giving market as well as social networking.
FundScience has discovered a market that is excluded by the current funding process: young researchers needing small amounts of funding to initiate research projects and create the data necessary for accessing larger and more sustainable forms of funding. By communicating these funding opportunities to the general public in an accessible fashion FundScience can help these young researchers generate the funds necessary to get their research started. By providing opportunities for these researchers at an earlier stage in their career, FundScience can lower the average age of researchers receiving large funding grants, provide money for training, and get young researchers trained for the competitive grant writing environment. It aims to educate the public about science and the research process, from grant writing to funding, all the way to the results, enabling everyone to be a part of scientific discovery. FundScience will create an ecosystem for scientists to collaborate with each other and general public.
FundScience Enters Social Media
06.23.09 by FundScience
Social media is not new. Sites like MySpace and Facebook have been around for years, and social media is increasingly becoming a meeting place for professionals seeking to connect and network with other professionals from around the world. As science continues to move toward more openness, more and more scientists and research organizations are embracing social media for its limitless opportunities to network and share ideas. Collaboration is the most efficient method of doing science, and open science is the future of scientific research. Providing a mechanism for open science is one of the primary goals of FundScience. We will be discussing this topic much more on this site in the future. Until then, you can connect with FundScience on Twitter @fundscience and on Facebook.
More resources for scientists in social media:
Social Media for Scientists: Video Resources for Life Science Researchers (via San Diego Biotechnology Network)
Social Media for Scientists (via San Diego Biotechnology Network)
Social Media for Scientists (via Sciencebase)
Scientists and social media (via Pharma Strategy Blog)
Scientists Use Social Media (via The Scholarly Kitchen)
Twitter links scientists, writers, geeks and more (via examiner.com)
FundScience Enters the Google Competition!
10.21.08 by FundScience
We recently stumbled upon Google’s project 10 to the 100th. This concept is very similar to how FundScience would like to approach the problem but with more feedback from the community. We think that ideas should be funded on the merit of the idea, and scientific logic. Many great ideas are never tested because there are no preliminary results and no funding to get those results.
As part of our application we did our first 30 Second Clip, with real live scientists from different walks of life. Unfortunately we where limited to 30 seconds but we will be coming out with a larger clip in the coming weeks.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09E6WwCeNxo[/youtube]
We are also beginning to film new science technique oriented videos for the public (and other scientists as well). If you would like to make your own, or have suggestions for videos or topic you want covered please comment below or send us an email.
Thanks,
David Vitrant