Western New England University

INSTITUTIONAL PORTION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND UNDER SECTION 18004(A)(1) OF THE CARES ACT.

EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS UNDER SECTION 18004(A)(1) OF THE CARES ACT.

TAS::89 0321::TAS NEXT GENERATION WIND TURBINE

SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING EDUCATION & DEVELOPMENT (SEED): GROWING CAREER-READY ENGINEERS THROUGH COLLABORATION -THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE NATIONAL NEED FOR WELL-EDUCATED SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, ENGINEERS, AND TECHNICIANS BY SUPPORTING THE RETENTION AND GRADUATION OF HIGH-ACHIEVING, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED AT WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY (WNE). A TOTAL OF 22 SCHOLARS PURSUING BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING (BSE) IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, BSE IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, BSE IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING, BSE IN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING, BSE IN CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, BSE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, AND BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (BS) IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT WILL RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS AVERAGING $15,000 PER YEAR FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS. SCHOLARS WILL RECEIVE FACULTY AND PEER MENTORING, AND THE PROJECT WILL BUILD STRONG SCHOLAR COHORTS THROUGH A SUMMER BRIDGE PROGRAM, COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING, MONTHLY COHORT COACHING SESSIONS, AND INTERNSHIPS & CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR SCHOLARS INCLUDE A TWO-TRACK COURSE SEQUENCE ALIGNED WITH ENGINEERING CAREER PATHWAYS, ENGAGEMENT WITH WNE CAREER SERVICES, ACCESS TO THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING (COE) INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP NETWORK, AND MENTORSHIP THROUGH THE COE ALUMNI MENTOR PROGRAM. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS TRACK 2 SCHOLARSHIPS IN STEM PROJECT IS TO INCREASE STEM DEGREE COMPLETION OF ACADEMICALLY TALENTED, LOW-INCOME UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT NATIONAL NEED TO GROW THE STEM WORKFORCE AND NURTURE KEY TALENT THAT WILL ENSURE ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS AND PROVIDE DOMESTIC LEADERSHIP ACROSS CRITICAL SECTORS. THIS PROJECT DIRECTLY SPEAKS TO THIS NEED BY SUPPORTING STEM STUDENT SUCCESS, WHICH WILL STRENGTHEN THE WORKFORCE IN HIGH DEMAND ENGINEERING AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING FIELDS AND OTHER KEY AREAS OF NEED. THE PROJECT WILL BE ASSESSED BY AN EXPERIENCED EVALUATOR THAT WILL UTILIZE INSTITUTIONAL DATA REPORTS, DESIGN SURVEYS, AND CONDUCT FOCUS GROUP STUDIES WITH STANDARDIZED PROTOCOLS. THE EVALUATION WILL ENSURE BOTH RELIABILITY AND DEPTH OF INSIGHT INTO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT. QUANTITATIVE METRICS WILL BE REVIEWED ANNUALLY FOR PROGRESS TOWARD OBJECTIVES, WHILE QUALITATIVE DATA WILL BE GATHERED EACH SEMESTER TO CAPTURE IMMEDIATE STUDENT EXPERIENCES. FINDINGS WILL BE SHARED WITH THE PI AND PROGRAM LEADERSHIP TEAM TO ENABLE TIMELY PROGRAM ADJUSTMENTS AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, AND THE DATA GENERATED WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE KNOWLEDGE BASE REGARDING EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TALENTED, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS IN STEM. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY NSF?S SCHOLARSHIPS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ACADEMICALLY TALENTED, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED WHO EARN DEGREES IN STEM FIELDS. IT ALSO AIMS TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION OF FUTURE STEM WORKERS, AND TO GENERATE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ACADEMIC SUCCESS, RETENTION, TRANSFER, GRADUATION, AND ACADEMIC/CAREER PATHWAYS OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

PURPOSE: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTED SPENDING AWARDS ARE AUTHORIZED UNDER THE CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2022 PUBLIC LAW 117-328 AND THE EXPLANATORY STATEMENT FOR DIVISION L OF THAT ACT. PROJECTS SELECTED FOR COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTED SPENDING ARE LISTED IN THE JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT (JES) THAT ACCOMPANIES A SPECIFIC FISCAL YEAR’S APPROPRIATIONS ACT OR CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. THE JES LISTS PROJECT, RECIPIENT, STATE, AMOUNT AND CONGRESSIONAL SPONSOR.; ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING AWARD PROJECTS INCLUDE A WIDE VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES THAT RESULT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES. HUD WILL NOT KNOW THE FULL SCOPE OF THE PROJECT UNTIL THE RECIPIENT SUBMITS THE REQUIRED PROJECT NARRATIVE AND CONFIRMS ALIGNMENT WITH THE LANGUAGE AS PROVIDED IN THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. TO FIND THE DETAILS OF THE GRANT AWARD AS WRITTEN WITHIN THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD USE THE FOLLOWING LINK AND PATH SELECTIONS TO GET TO THE DESCRIPTION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING GRANTS HTTPS://WWW.HUD.GOV/PROGRAM_OFFICES/COMM_PLANNING/EDI-GRANTS, SELECT THE FISCAL YEAR OF INTEREST, SCROLL DOWN TO PROGRAM LAWS AND REGULATIONS, UNDER FISCAL YEAR 20XX CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 20XX: CONGRESSIONAL RECORD (JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT).; EXPECTED OUTCOMES: COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT AS DESCRIBED IN THE JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT (JES) PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SUBSEQUENT APPROVED PROJECT NARRATIVE.; INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE PROJECT BENEFICIARIES ARE THE INDIVIDUALS AND/OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE AWARDED GRANT FUNDS OR SERVED BY THE ENTITIES THAT ARE AWARDED GRANT FUNDS AS IDENTIFIED IN THE JES RECIPIENT OR PROJECT DESCRIPTION SECTIONS.; SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES ARE UNKNOWN AT THE TIME OF AWARD.

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF ALCOHOL ACTIONS IN THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN

SUPPORTING THE SUCCESS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STUDENTS THROUGH SUSTAINABLE PATHWAYS THAT EMPHASIZE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN COMPUTING THROUGH AUTHENTIC, COLLABORATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH COMPUTING FOR THE GREATER GOOD

PFI-BIC: A LARGE SCALE ACOUSTOPHORETIC MULTI-COMPONENT SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM

ACTIVITY DEPENDENT MECHANISMS OF OLFACTORY SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

MANIPULATING ABERRANT CALCIUM SIGNALING TO TARGET RELAPSED HIGH-RISK NEUROBLASTOMA - PROJECT SUMMARY (30 LINES) HIGH-RISK NEUROBLASTOMA (HRNB) IS AN EXTRACRANIAL PEDIATRIC CANCER IN WHICH UP TO 65% OF PATIENTS ARE RESISTANT TO THERAPIES. RECENT BIOMEDICAL ADVANCES HAVE IMPROVED TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR CANCER PATIENTS. YET, THERE ARE NO EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR RELAPSED HRNB PATIENTS WHO HAVE UNDERGONE TREATMENT AND EXPERIENCED TUMOR RECURRENCE. OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO DEVELOP MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS THAT TARGET RELAPSED HRNB. A KEY FEATURE OF HRNB THAT DRIVES DISEASE PROGRESSION IS ABERRANT CALCIUM (CA2+) SIGNALING. THIS OFFERS TARGETED THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL FOR CA2+ CHANNEL INHIBITORS. OTHER GROUPS HAVE MADE PROGRESS IN CREATING AND IDENTIFYING CA2+ CHANNEL INHIBITORS THAT MAY BE USED FOR CANCER TREATMENT. OUR GROUP IS TAKING AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH BY TARGETING CA2+ SIGNALS THAT PROMOTE NB PROGRESSION THAT ARE UNIQUE TO RELAPSED HRNB. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE THE ELEVATED LEVELS OF CYTOSOLIC CA2+ IN RELAPSED HRNB DRIVEN BY ENHANCED STORE-OPERATED CA2+ ENTRY (SOCE) TO PROMOTE MITOCHONDRIAL CA2+ OVERLOAD AND APOPTOSIS. THE HYPOTHESIS IS THAT THE ACTIVATION OF AUTOPHAGY PREVENTS MITOCHONDRIAL CA2+ OVERLOAD AND APOPTOSIS IN RELAPSED HRNB THAT OTHERWISE MIGHT BE PRONE TO APOPTOSIS DUE TO THE ELEVATED SOCE. THEREFORE, COMBINATION TREATMENT COMPOSED OF A NOVEL DRUG 249 AND AN AUTOPHAGY INHIBITOR WILL EFFECTIVELY KILL RELAPSED HRNB. TARGETING THE MITOCHONDRIAL CA2+ TRANSPORTERS TO REGULATE APOPTOSIS MAY OFFER A NEW THERAPEUTIC APPROACH FOR TREATING RELAPSED HRNB AND A VARIETY OF CANCERS. A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF MTCA2+ SIGNALING WILL ALLOW TARGETING OF THE DISEASED TISSUE WITHOUT DELETERIOUS EFFECTS ON HEALTHY TISSUE. IN ADDITION, THIS WORK INCLUDES UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHERS, INCLUDING THOSE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUPS. THEREFORE, THIS WORK WILL TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCHERS AND INCREASE DIVERSITY IN THE BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE.

THE GRANTS TO REDUCE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING ON CAMPUS PROGRAM (CAMPUS PROGRAM) IS AUTHORIZED BY 34 U.S.C. 20125. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO COMBAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING ON CAMPUSES. THESE COMPREHENSIVE EFFORTS ARE DESIGNED TO ENHANCE VICTIM SERVICES (INCLUDING LEGAL SERVICES), IMPLEMENT PREVENTION AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND DEVELOP AND STRENGTHEN SECURITY AND INVESTIGATION STRATEGIES TO PREVENT, PROSECUTE, AND RESPOND TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING. THE CAMPUS PROGRAM SUPPORTS ACTIVITIES THAT DEVELOP CAMPUS-BASED COORDINATED RESPONSES AMONG CAMPUS VICTIM SERVICES, CAMPUS LAW ENFORCEMENT, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, HOUSING OFFICIALS, ADMINISTRATORS, STUDENT LEADERS, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS, AND DISCIPLINARY BOARDS, ENHANCE VICTIM SAFETY AND THE PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE, AND HOLD OFFENDERS ACCOUNTABLE. TO BE EFFECTIVE, THESE RESPONSES MUST BE LINKED TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, PROSECUTORS OFFICES, COURTS, AND NONPROFIT, NONGOVERNMENTAL VICTIM ADVOCACY AND VICTIM SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS. WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY IS A PRIVATE FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTION LOCATED IN SPRINGFIELD, MA. WITH THIS NEW AWARD, WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY, IN COLLABORATION WITH YWCA OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS AND HAMPDEN COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WILL: 1) CREATE A COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE TEAM TO OVERSEE ALL PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES; 2) PROVIDE PREVENTION PROGRAMMING, INCLUDING BYSTANDER INTERVENTION AND ONGOING PREVENTION ACTIVITIES TO ALL STUDENTS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING; 3) PROVIDE ONGOING TRAINING TO ALL CAMPUS LAW ENFORCEMENT ON HOW TO EFFECTIVELY RESPOND TO THESE CRIMES; 4) PROVIDE ACCESS TO 24-HOUR CONFIDENTIAL VICTIM SERVICES AND ADVOCACY; AND 5) CONDUCT ONGOING TRAINING TO ALL PERSONNEL IN THE CAMPUS RESOLUTION PROCESS.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EPIIC: EXCELLENCE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INDUSTRY, ACADEMIA, AND NEW DISCOVERIES (EXPAND) -THE EXPAND CONSORTIUM CONSISTS OF FIVE UNIVERSITIES (ANDREWS UNIVERSITY, MILWAUKEE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY, UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS, AND WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY) SPREAD ACROSS THE INDUSTRIALIZED NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES FROM MINNESOTA TO MASSACHUSETTS. THE INSTITUTIONS ARE FOUR-YEAR PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES BASED NEARBY OR WITHIN LARGER METROPOLITAN AREAS WITH WELL-ESTABLISHED INDUSTRIES THAT TYPICALLY PRIORITIZE PARTNERSHIPS WITH MORE PROMINENT MAJOR RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES. THIS EPIIC PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE THE NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE, SKILLSET AND PREPARATION FOR THE INSTITUTIONS IN THE EXPAND CONSORTIUM TO INCREASE AND INSTITUTIONALIZE EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS. IN TURN, THIS WILL ENHANCE REGIONAL INDUSTRY COMPETITIVENESS BY ACCELERATING INNOVATION AND TRANSFERRING EXPERTISE FROM UNDERUTILIZED ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, RESULTING IN REALISTIC USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE RESEARCH FRONTIER. THE PROJECT AIMS TO BUILD STRONG AND SUSTAINABLE EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS IN VARIOUS DISCIPLINES OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE, FOCUSING ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. THE PROJECT'S METHODS AND APPROACHES INCLUDE SHARING BEST PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED TO IMPROVE POLICIES AND PROCESSES FOR EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS, BUILDING FACULTY AND STAFF EXPERTISE THROUGH DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT, AND DEVELOPING INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHILE RAISING THE INSTITUTIONS' PROFILES THROUGH TARGETED ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS. THE POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTION OF THIS PROJECT LIES IN ENHANCING THE CAPACITY OF THESE INSTITUTIONS TO SUPPORT LOCAL INNOVATION AND USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH, PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, DEVELOPING FACULTY EXPERTISE IN STRATEGIC INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS, FOSTERING INNOVATION IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES BY STRENGTHENING ACADEMIA-INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS, AND CONTRIBUTING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR RESPECTIVE REGIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL NOT ONLY BENEFIT THE EXPAND CONSORTIUM UNIVERSITIES BUT ALSO DEMONSTRATE A MODEL FOR HOW SMALLER INSTITUTIONS CAN COLLABORATE TO PROMOTE THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVE EFFICIENCIES THROUGH THE SHARING OF EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: OPENPATH - IMPROVING STUDENT PATHWAYS TO COMPUTING PROFESSIONS VIA HUMANITARIAN FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

RESPONSE TO PQ12 - USING THIOL ISOMERASE INHIBITORS TO DIMINISH CANCER INDUCED THROMBOSIS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A 400 MHZ NMR SPECTROMETER FOR THE COOPERATING COLLEGES OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD

INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF CURCUMIN ON TH2 SENSITIZATION AND MAST CELL FUNCTION IN A M

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), A CHRONIC, PROGRESSIVE, AND PRESENTLY INCURABLE CONDITION, AFFECTING MILLIONS OF AMERICANS. THIS PROJECT'S CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT BLUEBERRY-DERIVED NANOCOMPONENT EXOSOMES (BBDEXO) CAN MODULATE MICROBIOTA METABOLITES, INHIBIT GUT INFLAMMATION, AND ALLEVIATE COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT THROUGH THE MICROBIOTA-GUT-BRAIN (MGB) AXIS. THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO CREATE A PRECISE AND PERSONALIZED BLUEBERRY NUTRITION PLAN TO MITIGATE THE SYMPTOMS EXPERIENCED BY AD PATIENTS BASED ON THEIR SPECIFIC GUT MICROBIOME.OBJECTIVE 1 IS TO EVALUATE THE PROTECTIVE IMPACT OF BBDEXO ON BIOACTIVES DURING GUT TRANSIT AND ITS PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES. WE WILL ASSESS THE STABILITY AND RELEASE OF DIETARY BIOACTIVES FROM BBDEXO IN SIMULATED GI FLUIDS, AND EXPLORE CELLULAR UPTAKE AND EFFICACY IN TARGETED MICROBIOTA, GUT, AND BRAIN CELLS. OBJECTIVE 2 AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE INFLUENCE OF BBDEXO ON THE MGB AXIS IN MOUSE MODELS TRANSPLANTED WITH AD PATIENT MICROBIOTA. THE EFFECTS OF BBDEXO ON MICROBIOTA COMPOSITION, MICROBIOTA RELATED METABOLIC PROFILES, GUT FUNCTIONALITY, GUT PRODUCTION OF NEUROACTIVE MOLECULES, BRAIN INFLAMMATION, AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN MICE WILL BE EVALUATED.THIS PROJECT, ALIGNING WITH PROGRAM AREA A1343 FOOD AND HUMAN HEALTH, INTENDS TO DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF BLUEBERRY'S BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON THE MGB AXIS AND LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR DEVELOPING TARGETED INTERVENTIONS. IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SUBSTANTIALLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE FIELD OF PRECISION NUTRITION AND PUBLIC HEALTH.

MRI-R2: ACQUISITION OF INSTRUMENTATION FOR A BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH LABORATORY

SHF: MEDIUM: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ENHANCING MOBILE VR/AR USER EXPERIENCE: AN INTEGRATED ARCHITECTURE-SYSTEM APPROACH

RUI: CONFIGURATION SPACES OF RIGID ORIGAMI

MULTIDISCIPLINARY DESIGN PROJECTS TO ASSIST INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

ERI: ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF OUTDOOR WATER-USE RESTRICTIONS AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON WATER CONSUMPTION IN MASSACHUSETTS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: A NEW THEORY OF 3D PARTICLE CHARACTERIZATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: OPENFE - DEVELOPING FACULTY EXPERTISE AND CREATING LEARNING MATERIALS FOR HUMANITARIAN FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

SOFTHUM: STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMUNITY OF OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR HUMANITY

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A HIGH-SPEED CAMERA FOR A PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION

EASI EFFICIENT, AESTHETIC, SOLAR INNOVATION

BUILDING BRIDGES: 2ND EU/US SUMMER SCHOOL & WORKSHOP ON AUTOMORPHIC FORMS AND RELATED TOPICS, JUNE 30-JULY 1, 2014

INTERDISCIPLINARY ETHICS TRAINING FOR STUDENTS IN THE BIOSCIENCES

DEVELOPING ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AND THREE CENTRAL AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES

TRAVEL: STUDENT PARTICIPATION GRANT FOR MWSCAS 2024 -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS STUDENT TRAVEL FOR ATTENDING THE 63RD MIDWEST SYMPOSIUM ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS (MWCAS) TO BE HELD IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, USA ON AUG. 11-14, 2024. THE MWCAS IS A PREMIER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN THE FIELD OF CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS. OTHER THAN TUTORIALS, KEYNOTE AND PLENARY LECTURES BY LEADING EXPERTS IN THE FIELD, THE CONFERENCE WILL BE ATTENDED BY ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRY RESEARCHERS AND STUDENTS TO PRESENT THEIR RECENT WORK BOTH IN LECTURE SESSIONS AND POSTER SESSIONS. THE CONFERENCE WILL HOST A STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION TO ENCOURAGE THE BEST STUDENTS TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE MOST MODERN TECHNOLOGIES. RECIPIENTS OF THIS GRANT WILL BE SELECTED FROM THE POOL OF US-BASED STUDENTS PRESENTING PAPERS AND WILL BE PAID PART OF THEIR EXPENSES FOR TRAVEL AND REGISTRATION AT THE CONFERENCE. US CITIZENS AND PERMANENT RESIDENTS WILL BE GIVEN PRIORITY IN THE SELECTION PROCESS. THE EXPERIENCE GAINED BY THE STUDENTS IN THE PROCESS IS GOING TO BE AN INVALUABLE COMPONENT OF THEIR EDUCATION. DUE TO A GOOD NUMBER OF INDUSTRIAL PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEETING THE EXPERIENCE WILL ALSO HELP THEM TO SECURE POSITIONS IN INDUSTRY, THUS CONTRIBUTING TO THE MUCH-NEEDED TECHNOLOGICAL WORKFORCE OF THE UNITED STATES. THE SELECTION COMMITTEE WILL PAY DUE ATTENTION TO INCLUDE WOMEN, MINORITY, AND POPULATIONS FROM OTHER UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS FOR PROVIDING SUPPORT FROM THIS GRANT. EDUCATION AND WORK FORCE DEVELOPMENT (EWD) FOR MICROELECTRONICS IS A MAJOR FOCUS OF MWCAS 2024. THE CONFERENCE WILL EXTENSIVELY COVER TECHNICAL AREAS IN CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO: ANALOG AND MIXED SIGNAL CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS, DIGITAL INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS, POWER AND ENERGY CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS, SENSORY CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS, SIGNAL, IMAGE, AND MULTIMEDIA PROCESSING, COMMUNICATIONS CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS, RF AND WIRELESS CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS, BIOMEDICAL CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS, NEURAL NETWORKS AND NEUROMORPHIC ENGINEERING, BEYOND CMOS CIRCUITS AND ARCHITECTURES ETC. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HUMIT: STUDENT IT SERVICES TO SUPPORT OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR HUMANITY

FY 2011 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (SURF) - GAITHERSBURG

RUI: CONFIGURATION SPACES OF FLEXIBLE POLYHEDRAL SURFACES -IMAGINE A 3D SURFACE MADE OF MANY METAL PLATES JOINED ALONG THEIR SIDES BY HINGES. COULD SUCH A SURFACE START AS A LARGE DOME AND BE FLEXED INTO A COMPACT SHAPE SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT INTO A ROCKET? COULD THE FLEXING OF SUCH A SURFACE BE CONTROLLED TO ACT AS PART OF A ROBOTICS MECHANISM? ANSWERING QUESTIONS LIKE THESE IS THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT. PI WILL DEVELOP NEW TOOLS TO ESTABLISH A STRONG CONNECTION BETWEEN GENERAL 3D FLEXIBLE POLYHEDRAL SURFACES (WHICH MIGHT LOOK LIKE A DOME, WITH POSITIVE CURVATURE, OR A SADDLE, WITH NEGATIVE CURVATURE) AND ORIGAMI, WHICH IS FOLDED FROM FLAT, ZERO-CURVATURE PAPER. THE FOLDING AND UNFOLDING OF ORIGAMI CREASE PATTERNS HAS BEEN STUDIED HEAVILY IN RECENT YEARS FOR APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING AND PHYSICS. BRINGING MATHEMATICAL TOOLS FROM ORIGAMI TO FLEXIBLE POLYHEDRAL SURFACES COULD OPEN UP THE FIELD FOR PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS IN ARCHITECTURE, ROBOTICS, AND STRUCTURE DESIGNS FOR OUTER SPACE. IN ADDITION, THE PI WILL ORGANIZE WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES ON THE TOPIC OF THIS PROJECT FOR STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, LEVERAGING THE POPULARITY OF ORIGAMI TO INCREASE INTEREST IN STEM AND ITS INTERSECTIONS WITH ART. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE AND DEVELOP THREE NEW TOOLS TO ESTABLISH CONNECTIONS BETWEEN FLEXIBLE POLYHEDRAL SURFACES AND ORIGAMI. THE FIRST IS A NEWLY-DISCOVERED DUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VERTICES IN A POLYHEDRAL SURFACE THAT ARE ELLIPTIC (HAVE POSITIVE DISCRETE CURVATURE) AND HYPERBOLIC (WITH NEGATIVE CURVATURE). PI WILL PROVE THAT SUCH DUAL VERTICES OF DEGREE 4 ARE KINEMATICALLY EQUIVALENT TO EACH OTHER (HAVE THE SAME KINEMATIC EQUATIONS) AS WELL AS TO A FAMILY OF DEGREE-4 FLAT-FOLDABLE ORIGAMI VERTICES, WHOSE KINEMATICS ARE VERY WELL-UNDERSTOOD. THE SECOND IS TO ESTABLISH A BIJECTION BETWEEN FOLDINGS OF GENERAL ORIGAMI VERTICES AND FLAT-FOLDABLE ORIGAMI VERTICES. THE THIRD IS TO FIND A GEOMETRIC EXPLANATION FOR WHY IT IS SO USEFUL TO PARAMETERIZE THE ANGLES AT EACH HINGE OF A FLEXIBLE POLYHEDRAL SURFACE WITH THE TANGENT OF THE HALF ANGLE; SUCH PARAMETERIZATIONS OFTEN LINEARIZE THE CONFIGURATION SPACE OF FLEXIBLE POLYHEDRAL VERTICES, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN AS TO WHY. THE TECHNIQUES USED TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS WILL INCLUDE DISCRETE DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRY TOOLS LIKE THE GAUSS MAP AND NEW TOOLS FROM ORIGAMI LIKE THE MIDPOINT NORMAL AXES OF A RIGID ORIGAMI VERTEX AND PROJECTIONS OF ORIGAMI VERTICES INTO HIGHER DIMENSIONAL FOLDINGS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THERMAL DRAWING OF COMPOSITE FIBERS FOR WEARABLE ENERGY STORAGE TEXTILES -THIS GRANT SUPPORTS RESEARCH THAT WILL ADVANCE THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL COMPOSITE FIBERS THROUGH THERMAL DRAWING TO ENABLE ENERGY STORAGE TEXTILES FOR NEXT-GENERATION WEARABLE ELECTRONICS AND SMART TEXTILES. THERMAL DRAWING, A MANUFACTURING PROCESS THAT PULLS FIBERS OUT OF MELTS, IS THE MOST COMMONLY USED FIBER PRODUCTION METHOD IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY. ITS CAPABILITY OF MANUFACTURING MULTIFUNCTIONAL COMPOSITE FIBERS HAS BEEN LIMITED DUE TO ITS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MELT FRACTURE. THIS RESEARCH WILL FILL THE KNOWLEDGE GAP ON HOW THE COMPOSITION AND NANOSTRUCTURES OF THE COMPOSITES AFFECT THE FAILURE MECHANISMS DURING THE THERMAL DRAWING PROCESS. WITH THE NEW FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE, COMPOSITES CONTAINING NANOSTRUCTURED CARBON ELECTRODES AS THE FILLER AND POLYMER ELECTROLYTES AS THE MATRIX WILL BE DESIGNED AND PROCESSED INTO WEARABLE FIBERS. SUCH COMPOSITE FIBERS CAN BE WOVEN INTO ENERGY STORAGE TEXTILES TO SERVE AS THE POWER SOURCE FOR WEARABLE ELECTRONICS AND SMART TEXTILES IN MANY CONSUMER, MEDICAL, AND MILITARY APPLICATIONS. THIS RESEARCH WILL PROMOTE US MANUFACTURING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND HELP PRESERVE US TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC DOMINANCE IN WEARABLE AND SMART ELECTRONICS. THE RESEARCH TASKS WILL BE USED TO TRAIN HIGHLY SKILLED ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS IN STEM FIELDS FOR THE US MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE. THE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS RESEARCH WILL PROMOTE THE EARLY EXPOSURE OF K-12 STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM WOMEN AND UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUPS, TO STEM. WHILE THERMAL DRAWING IS A VERSATILE TOOL CAPABLE OF SCALABLE MANUFACTURING OF MULTIMATERIAL MULTIFUNCTIONAL FIBERS, IT HAS YET TO ACHIEVE ITS FULL POTENTIAL IN MANUFACTURING COMPOSITE FIBERS DUE TO THE LIMITED UNDERSTANDING OF ITS FAILURE MECHANISM. THIS RESEARCH DESIGNS AND EXPERIMENTS ON NEW ELECTRODE-ELECTROLYTE COMPOSITES WITH ONE-DIMENSIONAL CARBON NANOMATERIALS AND SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTES AND SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND THE FUNDAMENTAL FAILURE MECHANISMS DURING THE THERMAL DRAWING OF SUCH COMPOSITES. THE FAILURE MECHANISM WILL BE ELUCIDATED USING TRANSPORT PHENOMENA MODELING AND IN-PROCESS RHEOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS. AS A RESULT, THE RESEARCH WILL ELUCIDATE 1) THE CURRENTLY UNKNOWN STRUCTURAL EFFECTS OF ONE-DIMENSIONAL NANOFILLERS ON THE RATE-LIMITING FAILURE MECHANISMS DURING THE THERMAL DRAWING PROCESSING OF COMPOSITE FIBERS, AND 2) THE WIDELY OBSERVED BUT UNEXPLAINED PROCESS EFFECT OF THERMAL DRAWING ON THE ALIGNMENT AND DISPERSION OF THE NANOFILLERS IN THE PRODUCED COMPOSITE TEXTILE FIBERS. THIS BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE FAILURE, ALIGNMENT, AND DISPERSION MECHANISMS WILL PROVIDE A NEW SOLUTION TO PRODUCE SUPERCAPACITOR-TYPE ENERGY STORAGE TEXTILES AND ENABLE THE CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURING OF NEW FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS AND DEVICES USING THERMAL DRAWING FROM A PREFORM. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.