The goals of the South Carolina EPSCoR (SC EPSCoR) are (1) to improve the State's research and development (R&D) competitiveness through the utilization of science and technology resources in its major research universities; and (2) to promote productive, long-term partnerships among academic, government, and the private R&D sectors. Consistent with these goals, as well as with EPSCoR's overall mission, the proposal submitted by the South Carolina Research Authority will focus on three major research areas: biological engineering and biotechnology; genomics/proteomics with an emphasis on agricultural/plant genomics; and neurodevelopment, cognition, and brain function. In order to accomplish its goals, South Carolina will recruit 15 tenure track faculty to complement existing strengths in the targeted areas, purchase start-up and shared equipment to support the new hires and expand interuniversity collaborative research activities, and develop the research capacity at two of South Carolina's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
As a result of a long-term statewide strategic plan development process for academic R&D, the SC EPSCoR will build biological engineering and biotechnology infrastructure at University of South Carolina and Claflin University, respectively; develop excellence in plant gene discovery and bioengineered products at Clemson University; and establish a Phenomics Neuroscience Center at the Medical University of South Carolina for the state-of-the-art investigations of brain and neural function. New faculty and equipment proposed for South Carolina State University, the State largest HBCU, and Claflin, the oldest private HBCU, will expand their primary mission of undergraduate education to include research and provide thereby research access to undergraduate students.
In addition, the proposal pursues both the integration of research efforts at various institutions to make them competitive for other federal support, and the enhancement of graduate programs in biological engineering, neuroscience, plant genomics, and biotechnology through outreach activities. Post-doctoral fellows will receive training in instruction while bringing research issues and projects to the undergraduate classroom of predominantly undergraduate institutions.
In terms of education and outreach activities, the SC EPSCoR proposes the continuation of the Collaborative Research Program (CRP), and the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase 0 initiative. The goal of the CRP is to build sustainable research clusters among South Carolina's institutions of higher education. The SBIR Phase 0 program will support small business that have targeted a specific SBIR solicitation and have the potential to yield a successful Phase I proposal.
