The new Center for Excellence in Research, created in January to encourage mentorship among USC researchers, has taken its first step toward that goal with the naming of six fellows.

Presented to the USC community at an All-University Faculty Assembly on April 26, the CER fellows touched on the contrast between the wealth of research talent at USC and the need for tools for helping faculty find potential collaborators.

Rand Wilcox, a CER fellow and professor of psychology specializing in statistics, highlighted the communication gap when he pledged to “help anyone in any discipline who has any interest in analyzing data,” if only they would come forward.

Wilcox said he would use his three-year term to develop collaborations among statisticians at USC by organizing meetings and seminars, developing libraries of statistics software and building a database of USC research projects in statistics.

The other CER fellows announced similar plans:

Richard Cote, professor of pathology and urology in the Keck School of Medicine of USC, said he would promote interdisciplinary research in biomedical nanoscience through workshops and seminars.

Hossein Jadvar, associate professor of radiology at the Keck School with a joint appointment in biomedical engineering, plans to hold workshops and a multimedia presentation on the interdisciplinary potential of biomedical imaging, as well as a seminar on scientific critical thinking.

Peter Mancall, professor of history in USC College, pledged to organize workshops on grant writing skills for the humanities and on getting published by academic presses.

Maja Mataric, professor of computer science and associate dean of research for the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, wants to create workshops bridging science, engineering and clinical research and aimed at aiding recovery, rehabilitation and training of patients with special needs.

Carol Prescott, professor of psychology in USC College, plans to hold workshops on incorporating genetic information in research studies across the social sciences.

CER also will encourage undergraduate participation in research projects, said Gene Bickers, professor of physics and associate vice provost for undergraduate programs.

In light of the rapid rise in quality of the undergraduate student body, faculty who do not invite younger students into their research programs ignore a vast pool of talent, Bickers warned.

“If you’ve not taught undergraduates in the last few years, you’ve missed something,” he said.

USC currently supports undergraduate research with more than $1 million of funding annually, Bickers added.

The CER’s initiatives all converge on the same goal: to encourage peer mentoring and “significantly enhance the research climate at USC,” said Vice Provost for Research Advancement Randolph Hall, who established CER in January as a follow-up to the successful Center for Excellence in Teaching.

For more information on CER, visit http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/13277.html