The Cayuse community is thrilled to shine its Champion Spotlight on @Jonathan Lew, MPA, eRA Officer at University of California, Irvine. Keep reading below to get to know Jonathan better.
How do you interact with Cayuse products on a daily basis?
Here at UC Irvine, we currently use Cayuse Proposal (S2S) for proposal preparation and submission. We integrated Cayuse with the campus routing system (Kuali Research) so that the two systems can talk to each other and exchange data for reporting and tracking. We have heard nothing but praise for Cayuse from the campus users. It has made successful proposal submissions so much easier. Users appreciate the real-time error checking which saves them so much time on the back end when preparing an application. Since our implementation of Cayuse in mid 2015, we’ve submitted approximately 4,100 proposal applications.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I like to travel with my family – whether that be a couple weeks in Hawaii, or just a weekend staycation – we love explore new sites, lounge & play by the beach or pool, and especially enjoy trying the local food from wherever we’re visiting. Speaking of food, I enjoy cooking and pretending to be a foodie! I love watching cooking shows and trying to learn new techniques on preparing food. It has always been a hobby of mine ever since being a kid in the kitchen and learning how to cook from my mom. I hope to be able to pass that love for food along to my kids – teaching them how to cook (more than just boiling water for instant ramen!), and having an appreciation for quality food.
What do you see as the hottest trends in research today?
We’ve been seeing a lot of interdisciplinary research projects in the past several years. There has been a push for researchers in different specialties to collaborate and explore new ways of working together. Part of it probably has to do with the change in the financial landscape of research. Since federal funding for research has fluctuated throughout the years, the interest in interdisciplinary projects has come about out of the need to pool resources and stand out from typical research endeavors with hopes of increasing their chances for funding.
What do you consider most promising in the era of big data?
Transparency: being able to run reports & metrics on how funding is being sought, how it’s being awarded and how it’s being used. With more and more technical resources available, being able to run practical and informative reports is key to future planning of research.
How can an organization stay relevant five years from now?
Being able to adapt to the change in trends & practices is key for an organization to stay relevant. The saying of “Oh, that’s how it’s always been done” cannot be part of the vocabulary of an organization. One must constantly observe how things are being done at other institutions. The opportunity to share and collaborate with other is so beneficial for all parties and entities involved. There’s no need to ‘re-invent the wheel’ – there are so many resources that can be utilized so that everyone can work in the more efficient and effective way.
What app would be hard for you to live without?
Yelp! This goes back to my love of food. I constantly rely on reviews for new places to eat at. I’m trying to avoid becoming a creature of habit when it comes to eating out – I want to be able to expand and try new places. I don’t want to miss out on something great just because I want to stick to something I’m comfortable with.
If you could meet any historical figure, who would you choose and why?
I would love to be able to meet Thomas Edison and learn from his work ethic, and ask him about what encouraged him to work so hard at what he did, leading to over 1000 patents! I would want to know more about his background and how his curiosity for things grew into practical application into creating new ideas & inventions.
Thank you, Jonathan, for being a Cayuse Champion and sharing your thoughts!