5 junior faculty members awarded $14,500 each

Five IU professors are being awarded $14,500 each to assist in their research projects. \nKay Connelly and Minaxi Gupta of the School of Informatics and Sara L. Friedman, Dongwhan Lee and Edward Watts of the College of Arts and Sciences are all junior professors who are 2006-07 recipients of the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award. \nThe award is presented each year by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculties and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.\nReceiving the award allows the recipients to enhance their research programs by giving each individual $14,500. The award, which one must be nominated for, recognizes the faculty members’ time, effort, contributions to IU research, teaching and service missions.\nTerry Dworkin, the dean of the Office of Women’s Affairs, nominated Connelly for the award. Both have worked for the past three years to advance women in science on campus. Connelly is a fourth-year assistant professor conducting research in the area of pervasive computing. Connelly said she plans on using the $14,500 to continue her project to encourage physical activity and exercise on the IU campus.\nHer research involves a mobile computing application that utilizes peer pressure. In the project she will have a subject wear a pedometer and enter the result of his or her day’s walking into a cell phone. The number will be sent to three of his or her friends, who will pressure the subject to walk more.\nShe is looking for participants, and those interested can be contacted at connelly@indiana.edu.\n“I was thrilled when I received my award letter,” Connelly said. “It was right before Christmas, so it was a nice message before break. The National Science Foundation is having an acceptance rate of 5 percent, so that is not much funding for a lot of research. This money and award is great for junior faculty to keep them funded. It’s such a hard funding climate right now.”\nGupta, who is from the School of Informatics, agreed with Connelly. \n“For me, it’s really important to have the money to support my students,” she said. “Funding has been low and it really hurts junior faculty the most.”\nAn assistant professor of three courses in computer networks, Gupta was nominated by computer science professor Dennis Gannon. Gupta plans to research how many computer worms and viruses are coming in with excessive downloading through peer-to-peer networks and other Internet security issues.\nLee, nominated by the Department of Chemistry, said he is still thinking about what research he will support with his money, but he knows for sure he will use some of it to support students working in the lab during the summer.\n“I was very excited to receive this award. I was hopeful, but you never know, so I was glad when I was chosen,” Lee said. “Throughout this entire country, research groups are really suffering from support in funding, so I’m really happy this is able to help me.”