Office of Research Newsletter

June 2026

Congratulations to Dr. Swati Sharma and Kara Timinski for winning awards at the American Heart Association's HDL Workshop held in Seattle, WA in May. The workshop is focused on basic science, clinical applications, and pharmaceutical aspects of High Density Lipoproteins.

Ms. Timinski won the Raydel Award for junior scientists in the HDL field for her poster presentation, and Dr. Sharma won the Raydel Award for junior scientists in the HDL field for her oral presentation in addition to receiving an AHA travel award.

Both researchers work in the lab of Dr. Kailash Gulshan, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science (BGES) and a member of the Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease (GRHD).

Learn More »

Change to Qualtrics Directory API Endpoints

The Users of legacy Qualtrics Research Core Contacts API should replace those endpoints before June 30, 2026. Specifically:

Research Core Contacts endpoints

You'll need to migrate to the equivalent XM Directory endpoints before June 30, 2026. The migration guide in the Public API documentation walks through each replacement endpoint.

Get Transaction Contacts Import

Use the Get Transaction Contacts Import Status endpoint in its place.

All other deprecated endpoints — No action required

The Contact Frequency Rules, Sample Definitions, Segment Memberships, and Update Sample endpoints are being removed entirely with no replacement. If your workflows use these, simply remove those calls.

If you have questions about this change, contact Qualtrics Support by filing a support request from your Customer Success Hub.

New Indirect Cost Rate in Effect

Cleveland State’s federally negotiated indirect cost rate (NICRA) for research grants has been reviewed and is now approved at 49.9% of modified total direct costs (MTDC). PIs should use this rate when budgeting for new grant applications and other funding agreements. If you have questions, please contact Sponsored Programs and Research Services.

UPDATE: U.S. Patent Issuance

On May 19, 2026, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 12,632,035 titled Generic PID Design and Tuning that names Zhiqiang Gao, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the Center for Advanced Control Technologies (CACT), along CSU doctoral student Yu Hu.

The invention provides an improved method for tuning and scaling a proportional-integral derivative controller (PID). PID systems automatically apply accurate and responsive correction to a control function. PID controllers are found in a wide range of applications for industrial process control. Approximately 95% of the closed-loop operations of the industrial automation sector use PID controllers.

UPDATE: Patent Review Committee Approval

The CSU Patent Review Committee reviewed and approved the invention disclosure submitted by Dr. Jerzy Sawicki, the Bently and Muszynska Endowed Chair, Professor, and Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering (MCE), and a team of doctoral students titled: Passive Mechanical Brake with Electromagnet Release for Powered Orthoses for filing as a provisional patent application.

The invention presents a magnetic brake for joint actuators that provides passive locking force in an unpowered state, reducing actuator size and power consumption. The brake consists of a permanent ring magnet or series of magnets mounted within a rotor, a spring-loaded plunger assembly containing a ferromagnetic armature, and a solenoid integrated into a stator.