Clark University

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM

SEE NOTICE OF AWARD, ATTACHMENT 1 - TERMS AND CONDITIONS, ATTACHMENT D-STATEMENT OF WORK, ABSTRACT.

UNKNOWN TITLE

ENHANCEMENT OF CANCER RESEARCH AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY

UNKNOWN TITLE

HIGH GROWTH

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY HBGI TITLE III PROJECT

HIGH GROWTH

ENHANCEMENT OF STUDENT TRAINING IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

NSF INCLUDES ALLIANCE: NATIONAL DATA SCIENCE ALLIANCE (NDSA) -THE NSF INCLUDES NATIONAL DATA SCIENCE ALLIANCE (NDSA) IS DESIGNED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF BLACK PEOPLE WHO EARN DATA SCIENCE CREDENTIALS, SUCH AS UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE, AND POST-BACCALAUREATE MINORS, CERTIFICATES, AND DEGREES. ON AVERAGE, BLACKS COMPRISE ABOUT 3% OF ALL DATA SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS, DEMONSTRATING THE NEED FOR AN ALLIANCE-SCALE EFFORT TO ADDRESS THIS STEM BROADENING PARTICIPATION CHALLENGE. ALSO CENTRAL TO NDSA GOALS IS EXPANDING DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH THAT ADVOCATES FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND TRANSFORMING DATA SCIENCE DISCOVERIES INTO TANGIBLE BENEFITS THAT ADVANCE EQUITY FOR ALL. THE POTENTIAL FOR THE PERPETUATION OF HARM THROUGH BIASED DATA TECHNOLOGIES AND ALGORITHMS IS WELL DOCUMENTED. THE NDSA ESTABLISHES A NATIONAL NETWORK OF HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUS) WITH INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT, AND ACADEMIC COLLABORATIONS TO APPLY AN EQUITY-CENTERED, COLLECTIVE APPROACH TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF BLACK DATA SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS AND ELIMINATE HARMFUL BIASES IN DATA-DRIVEN MODELS. THE PROPOSAL INVOLVES THREE HBCUS, ORGANIZED INTO REGIONAL HUBS: CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, FISK UNIVERSITY AND HOWARD UNIVERSITY. THE NDSA IS ENGAGING OVER 1,000 HBCU FACULTY, STAFF, AND ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERS IN TARGETED EFFORTS THAT CREATE EQUITY-BASED DATA SCIENCE ECOSYSTEMS WHERE ALL STUDENTS CAN THRIVE. THE PROJECT AIMS TO PRODUCE AT LEAST 20,000 BLACK STUDENTS WITH DATA SCIENCE CREDENTIALS. THE NDSA PURSUES FOUR MUTUALLY REINFORCING GOALS: (1) EXPAND ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES THAT ENGAGE HBCU STUDENTS IN DATA SCIENCE; (2) DEVELOP RESEARCH IN DATA SCIENCE THAT REDUCES BIAS AND PROMOTES ETHICS, FAIRNESS, AND VALIDITY; (3) FOSTER THE GROWTH OF SUSTAINABLE INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY IN DATA SCIENCE AT HBCUS; AND (4) CHAMPION EVIDENCE-BASED INCLUSIVE PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES THAT BROADEN THE PARTICIPATION OF HBCUS IN DATA SCIENCE. THE NDSA LEVERAGES PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH (PAR) THROUGH FACULTY/STAFF WORKSHOPS, CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT WORKGROUPS, AND RESEARCH AFFINITY COHORTS. PROJECT OUTCOMES ARE EXPECTED TO SIGNIFICANTLY DIVERSIFY THE DATA-CAPABLE WORKFORCE AND RESULT IN SOCIETAL IMPACT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ENTIRE NATION. THIS ALLIANCE IS FUNDED BY NSF INCLUSION ACROSS THE NATION OF COMMUNITIES OF LEARNERS OF UNDERREPRESENTED DISCOVERERS IN ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE (NSF INCLUDES), A COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL INITIATIVE TO ENHANCE U.S. LEADERSHIP IN DISCOVERIES AND INNOVATIONS BY FOCUSING ON DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN STEM AT SCALE. THE ALLIANCE IS ALSO FUNDED BY THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ? UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM (HBCU-UP), WHICH PROVIDES AWARDS TO STRENGTHEN STEM UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AT HBCUS, AND THE LOUIS STOKES ALLIANCES FOR MINORITY PARTICIPATION (LSAMP) PROGRAM, WHICH ASSISTS UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES IN DIVERSIFYING THE STEM WORKFORCE. 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.

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND-INSTITUTIONAL PORTION

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM (FUTURE ACT)

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT TO TRANSITION CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY TO R1 (REDI CAU TO R1)

LEAD APPLICANTORGANIZATION NAMECLARK UNIVERSITYLEAD APPLICANT ENTITYTYPEEDUCATION AND TRAINING PROVIDER INSTITUTION OF HIGHEREDUCATIONLEAD APPLICANT LOCATION WORCESTER, MAREQUIRED PARTNERSEMPLOYERS INDUSTRYASSOCIATIONS: AUTOMATION STRATEGY PERFORMANCE (ASP) CATALYTE LOCKHEED MARTIN WORCESTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE REPRESENTING MORETHAN 4 EMPLOYERS CYBER WORKFORCE ALLIANCE REPRESENTING 4,500MEMBERSEDUCATION AND TRAININGPROVIDER CLARK UNIVERSITY GEORGIA PIEDMONT TECHNICAL COLLEGE SANTA FE COLLEGE QUINSIGAMUND COMMUNITY COLLEGE PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY LEARNING ALLIANCE COALITION TFP LEARNING ALLIANCE IQ4 SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA JOBWORKS WIS ED CG SPECTRUM CYBERSTRONGERWORKFORCE DEVELOPMENTSYSTEM MASSHIRE CENTRAL WORKFORCE DEKALB CAPITAL AREA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD SOUTH BAY WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD BORDERPLEX THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE OFFICEOF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENTSTATE APPRENTICESHIPAGENCY NOT APPLICABLE FOR NATIONAL SCALE PROGRAMSWORKER LABORMANAGEMENTORGANIZATION MASSACHUSETTS MEP WORCESTER JOINT APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING FUND ETA, INC.GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE NATIONALTOTAL FUNDING REQUESTED 5,000,000TOTAL MATCH PROPOSED 750,000PROJECT TITLE NAME TECHBUILDPROPOSED NUMBER OFPARTICIPANTS WHO STARTTRAINING400SUMMARY OF PROJECT PURPOSE AND EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES OFFEREDCLARK UNIVERSITY WILL EXPAND ITS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL TECH QUEST APPRENTICESHIP TO TRAIN ANADDITIONAL 400 INDIVIDUALS IN INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRY CAREER PATHWAYS THROUGH OCCUPATIONALSKILLS TRAINING, PRE-APPRENTICESHIPS AND BY ENTRY INTO COMPETITIVE REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPOPPORTUNITIES THAT COMBINE RELATED INSTRUCTION WITH ON-THE-JOB TRAINING ON A NATIONAL SCALE.TARGETED POPULATION TO BESERVEDUNEMPLOYED, UNDEREMPLOYED AND INCUMBENT WORKERS CLARKUNIVERSITY WILL ENSURE THAT 50 OF THOSE SERVED ARE MEMBERS OFAN UNDERSERVED POPULATION OR UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITYSUCH AS THOSE LIVING IN RURAL ECONOMIES, WOMEN, PEOPLE OFCOLOR, JUSTICE-IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS, VETERANS, AND PERSONS WITHDISABILITIES. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND ACCESSIBILITY IS BUILTINTO ALL PROGRAMMING AND OUTREACH PROGRAM OPERATIONS.TRAINING TRACK SCALINGTARGETED INFRASTRUCTURESTRUCTURERENEWABLE ENERGY, TRANSPORTATION, BROADBANDTARGETED H-1BOCCUPATIONSOCCUPATIONS LISTED IN APPENDIX UNDER INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYAND PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC OCCUPATIONSRECOGNIZED POST-SECONDARY CREDENTIALOFFEREDAPPRENTICESHIP CREDENTIAL OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS TRAININGCERTIFICATES COLLEGE CREDITS RECOGNIZED INDUSTRY CREDENTIALSPUBLIC CONTACTINFORMATIONJOHN LABRIE, ED.D. DEAN AND ASSOCIATE PROVOST FORPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION950 MAIN STREET, 111 JONAS CLARK HALLWORCESTER, MA 01610617-504-3308JLABRIE CLARKU.EDU

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE DEVELOPMENT

CARES ACT: HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

MENTORING EFFECTIVENESS IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH: AN EXAMINATION OF ITS IMPACTS ON MINORITY STUDENTS? SELF-EFFICACY AND PERSISTENCE IN STEM FIELDS

PREM- EMERGENT INTERFACE MATERIALS

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY UPWARD BOUND

PARTNER: NSF AIHUB@CAU - AN AI HUB AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY (CAU) -THIS PROJECT IS AN EXPANDAI PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY (CAU) AND THE AI INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCES IN OPTIMIZATION (AI4OPT). IN THIS PROJECT, A MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION (CAU, AN HBCU) LEADS A NEW COLLABORATION WITH AN AI INSTITUTE TO PURSUE SHARED, COMPLEMENTARY GOALS TO UNLOCK UNTAPPED TALENT AT CAU AND OTHER HBCUS IN AI EDUCATION AND USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH. THE COLLABORATION CREATES AN AI HUB AT CAU (AIHUB@CAU) FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AT THE UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE LEVELS AND TO INITIATE RESEARCH COLLABORATION WITH AI4OPT. AIHUB@CAU WILL LEVERAGE AI4OPT INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS AS WELL TO ACCELERATE COURSE CREATION AND GROUND EXPERIENCES IN THE PROBLEMS AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE FROM REAL WORLD APPLICATION. THROUGH A RANGE OF RESEARCH AND EDUCATION INITIATIVES, THE PROJECT WILL BUILD COMMUNITY AND NEW CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN AI AIMED AT EDUCATING FUTURE GENERATIONS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN AI RESEARCHERS WHO WILL USE AI TO TRANSFORM SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES, ENGINEERING, BUSINESS, AND CYBERPHYSICAL SYSTEMS. THIS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL PARTNERSHIP IN RESEARCH, EDUCATION/WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE CENTERED ON THE VISION TO ADDRESS THE DEARTH OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS PHD STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS IN AI, AND TO ACHIEVE THAT VISION BY CREATING SUSTAINABLE AI HUBS IN HBCUS, BEGINNING WITH THE FIRST AT CAU. AIHUB@CAU LEVERAGES THE EXISTING AI4OPT FACULTY TRAINING PROGRAM, THE NSF INCLUDES NDSA, A DEEP COLLABORATION BETWEEN CAU AND AI4OPT/GT, EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL FROM INTEL TARGETED AT HBCUS AND MSIS, AND THE COMMITMENT OF THE PARTNERS TO BUILD THE NECESSARY CAPACITY. THE PROJECT TAKES A BROAD VIEW OF AI THAT GOES BEYOND MACHINE LEARNING, AND BRANCHES INTO DECISION MAKING AND INNOVATIVE APPLICATION AREAS WHERE AI IS POISED TO PLAY AN INCREASING ROLE. THE SELECTED APPLICATION AREAS LEVERAGE EXISTING STRENGTHS OF CAU IN BUSINESS ANALYTICS AND SUPPLY CHAINS, CYBER-PHYSICAL SECURITY, AND MATERIALS SCIENCE. A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH AI4OPT INCLUDES COLLABORATIVE GROWTH OF NEEDED RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL AS THE CO-SUPERVISION OF UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AT AIHUB@CAU. THE PROJECT IS PARTIALLY FUNDED BY NSF?S LOUIS STOKES ALLIANCES FOR MINORITY PARTICIPATION (LSAMP) PROGRAM WITHIN THE DIVISION OF EQUITY FOR EXCELLENCE IN STEM. 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 PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

TRIO UPWARD BOUND

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY PART F TITLE III PROJECT

INCREASING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN STEM TEACHER WORKFORCE WITH COMMUNITY COACHING, MENTORING, AND WELLBEING SUPPORT -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL NEED OF RECRUITING, PREPARING, RETAINING, AND SUPPORTING HIGH-QUALITY MATHEMATICS TEACHERS OF COLOR. USING A ROBUST SOCIAL MEDIA RECRUITMENT STRATEGY, THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THE RECRUITMENT OF GRADUATES FROM HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUS) WHO HAVE GRADUATED WITH AT LEAST A STEM BACCALAUREATE DEGREE. THROUGH A YEAR-LONG MASTER'S PROGRAM, PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS WILL RECEIVE THE PREPARATION AND SUPPORT NEEDED TO BECOME MATHEMATICS TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IN THEIR FIRST YEARS OF TEACHING, THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE COMMUNITY-BASED COACHING, MENTORING, AND HEALTH TOOLS RELATED TO SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING. LOCATED IN GEORGIA, THE PROJECT WILL STUDY THE PROBLEMS THAT HAVE HISTORICALLY HINDERED AFRICAN AMERICAN MATHEMATICS TEACHER RECRUITMENT, PREPARATION, AND RETENTION IN URBAN SCHOOLS. THIS PROJECT AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY (CAU) INCLUDES PARTNERSHIPS WITH CLAYTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (CCPS), GENESIS INNOVATION ACADEMY (GIA), THE ATLANTA ALGEBRA PROJECT & YOUNG PEOPLE?S PROJECT (ATLANTA APYPP), AND QUALITY EDUCATION FOR MINORITIES (QEM). NINETEEN STEM DEGREE-HOLDERS WILL BE RECRUITED IN TWO COHORTS USING MULTIPLE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND A NETWORK OF HBCUS. A SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT WILL ADVISE THIS EFFORT. EACH COHORT OF TEACHING FELLOWS WILL EARN A MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE THROUGH CAU?S NEW ONLINE-HYBRID ACCELERATED MATHEMATICS PROGRAM. UPON COMPLETION OF THE DEGREE PROGRAM, FELLOWS WILL BECOME FULL-TIME TEACHERS IN PARTNER HIGH-NEED DISTRICTS. CCPS AND GIA, ALONG WITH CAU FACULTY, WILL PROVIDE MENTORING. THE ATLANTA APYPP WILL OFFER MATHEMATICS LITERACY COACHING FOR THE FELLOWS AS THEY PROGRESS THROUGH THEIR FIRST YEARS OF TEACHING. FELLOWS WILL PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY-SCHOOL BASED ACTIVITIES FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. THE PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH QUESTIONS: (1) WHAT IMPACT DID THE MARKETING STRATEGY HAVE ON ATTRACTING STEM DEGREE-HOLDERS; (2) TO WHAT DEGREE DID SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH COACHING AND MATHEMATICS LITERACY COACHING IMPACT TEACHER PREPARATION; AND (3) TO WHAT DEGREE DID THE COACHING INFLUENCE RETENTION IN TEACHING? EACH COHORT WILL BE SURVEYED IN THE FIRST AND THIRD YEARS OF THEIR EXPERIENCE. THIS TRACK 2: TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (NOYCE). THE NOYCE PROGRAM SUPPORTS TALENTED STEM UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS AND PROFESSIONALS TO BECOME EFFECTIVE K-12 STEM TEACHERS AND EXPERIENCED, EXEMPLARY K-12 TEACHERS TO BECOME STEM MASTER TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IT ALSO SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTIVENESS AND RETENTION OF K-12 STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 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.

CAU G-RISE - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM, CAU G-RISE PROGRAM, WILL BUILD UPON OUR CURRENT GRADUATE PROGRAM AND IMPLEMENT A FORMAL TRAINING PROGRAM IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES. A MAJOR STRENGTH OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS OUR TRACK RECORD IN TRAINING UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS, AND OUR BROAD EXPERTISE AND INTERESTS IN BIOMEDICINE GIVING OUR STUDENTS A BROAD OFFERING OF APPROACHES TO CONDUCT RESEARCH IN BIOMEDICINE. OUR PRIMARY GOAL IS TO COMPETITIVELY TRAIN UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES, AND BUILD A COMPETITIVE AND INCLUSIVE TRAINING ENVIRONMENT THAT FOSTERS A POSITIVE TRAINING EXPERIENCE, AND IN THE LONG-TERM, RETENTION IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES. WE WILL REQUIRE GRADUATE STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN ACADEMIC AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES THAT WILL ENHANCE THEIR COMPETITIVE FIT FOR THE BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE. WE WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, AND ENHANCE THEIR RESEARCH ACUMEN WITH CORE FACILITY TRAINING AND R- SUITE CERTIFICATION. WE WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE SCIENTIFIC WRITING SKILLS AND EXPECT A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN APPLICATIONS FOR PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS. WE WILL ALSO STRENGTHEN PEER-TRAINEE RELATIONSHIPS WITH LEARNING COMMUNITIES. TO ENSURE A SUPPORTIVE TRAINING ENVIRONMENT, OUR MENTORS WILL REGULARLY UNDERGO TRAINING IN MENTORSHIP SKILLS WHICH WILL CREATE A COMMUNITY OF UNIFIED EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENT OUTCOMES. IN THE END, WE EXPECT PREDOCTORAL TRAINEES TO TRANSITION TO BIOMEDICAL CAREERS AND MAKE LIFE-LONG CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD. OUR CURRENT TRAINING ENVIRONMENT, ALONG WITH CAU G-RISE, WILL PRODUCE A ROBUST AND COMPETITIVE PROGRAM THAT WILL PRODUCE COMPETITIVE SCIENTISTS WHO ARE TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE FIELD.

TALENT SEARCH ATLANTA

TARGETING CHEMORESISTANT PROSTATE CANCER WITH NOVEL EED INHIBITORS - DOCETAXEL IS THE FIRST-LINE CHEMOTHERAPY FOR METASTATIC CASTRATION-RESISTANT PROSTATE CANCER (PCA), THE MAJOR CAUSE OF PCA MORTALITY. UNFORTUNATELY, IN MOST CASES PCA DEVELOPS DOCETAXEL RESISTANCE AND CONTINUES TO PROGRESS, WHICH HAS NO CURE. OUR RECENT STUDIES (THERANOSTICS, 2021, MAY 8; 11: 6873-6890) HAVE PROVIDED STRONG EVIDENCE DEMONSTRATING THAT CHEMORESISTANT PCA CELLS RELY ON AN ACTIVE EED-EZH2-STAT3-SKP2- ABCB1/SURVIVIN SIGNALING TO SURVIVE AND EVADE STANDARD CHEMOTHERAPY. IN THIS R01 PROJECT, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT TARGETING EED-EZH2 INTERACTION WITH NOVEL EED INHIBITORS IS EFFECTIVE TO OVERCOME CHEMORESISTANCE AND ELIMINATE LETHAL PCA CELLS. IN AIM 1, WE WILL CONDUCT RATIONAL DESIGN AND CHEMICAL OPTIMIZATION OF NOVEL EED INHIBITORS. A TOTAL OF 200 NEW CHEMICAL ENTITIES WILL BE DESIGNED AND SYNTHESIZED. IN AIM 2, WE WILL VALIDATE THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF POTENTIAL LEADS IN CHEMORESISTANT PCA CELLS. WE WILL IDENTIFY THE IN VITRO AND IN VIVO ACTIVITIES OF NEW EED INHIBITORS AGAINST CHEMORESISTANT PCA IN MULTIPLE, HETEROGENOUS PRECLINICAL MODELS OF CHEMORESISTANT PCA. IN AIM 3, WE WILL CONDUCT GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE (GLP) AND NON-GLP STUDIES TO EVALUATE THE DRUG-LIKE PROPERTIES OF LEAD COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING PHARMACOKINETICS, ABSORPTION, DISTRIBUTION, METABOLISM, AND EXCRETION (ADME), SINGLE- AND REPEAT-DOSE TOXICITY AND SAFETY PHARMACOLOGY. WITH SUCCESSFUL ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THIS PROJECT, WE EXPECT TO IDENTIFY 1~2 PATENTABLE LEAD COMPOUNDS AND ADVANCE THEM INTO FURTHER PRECLINICAL AND CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT. THE OVERARCHING GOAL IS TO TRANSLATE OUR BASIC RESEARCH INTO AN EFFECTIVE AND SAFE TREATMENT FOR LETHAL PCA, THEREFORE BENEFITING PATIENTS AND IMPROVING CLINICAL OUTCOMES.

THE HBCU CHIPS NETWORK: A PATH FOR CREATING, PREPARING, AND INCREASING RESEARCH, INNOVATION CAPACITY AND AN INCLUSIVE MICROELECTRONICS WORKFORCE -THE HBCU CHIPS NETWORK IS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT, INVOLVING HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUS), GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, ACADEMIA, AND INDUSTRY, THAT WILL SERVE AS A NATIONAL RESOURCE FOR SEMICONDUCTOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. THROUGH A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH, THE NETWORK WILL FACILITATE RESEARCH INNOVATIONS, RESOLVE LONG-STANDING DISPARITIES IN FACILITIES, BUILD DOMESTIC CAPACITY, PROVIDE SHARED ACCESSIBILITY ACROSS NETWORK STAKEHOLDERS, AND BROADEN PARTICIPATION IN THE MICROELECTRONICS WORKFORCE. THIS PROJECT ALLOWS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF A SUSTAINABLE, ADMINISTRATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROTOCOLS TO 1) SUPPORT THE MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH EFFORT AND 2) ADDRESS NATIONAL MICROELECTRONICS-RELATED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE NSF EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON INCLUDES INITIATIVE TO ADVANCE THE GOALS OF THE CHIPS AND SCIENCE ACT OF 2022. THIS PROJECT IS ALSO FUNDED BY THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM (HBCU-UP), WHICH PROVIDES AWARDS TO STRENGTHEN STEM UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AT HBCUS. THE NETWORK OBJECTIVE IS TO ADVANCE LEADERSHIP IN MICROELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY BY LEVERAGING THE COLLECTIVE RESEARCH EXPERTISE, CAPABILITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND CORE COMPETENCIES OF HBCUS. ACTIVITIES ADDRESS THE DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF CHIPS AT VARIOUS HBCU INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING: (1) TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2D) SEMICONDUCTOR FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTORS AND OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES (JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY AND NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY); (2) HIGH-EFFICIENCY THERMOELECTRIC MATERIALS AND INTEGRATED DEVICES FOR THE APPLICATION OF POWER GENERATION AND SOLID-STATE COOLING (ALABAMA A&M STATE UNIVERSITY); (3) 2D-3D MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT AND THEIR INTEGRATION (DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY); (4) SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGING USING COMPOSITE MATERIALS OF POLYMER AND BORON NITRIDE NANOTUBE COMPOSITES (NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY); (5) THE INTEGRATION OF UNDERFILL AND HEAT SPREADER MATERIALS FOR HETEROGENEOUS PACKAGING APPLICATIONS (NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY); AND (6) THE PACKAGING OF HBCU CHIPS INTO SYSTEMS (GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY). TO CULTIVATE A DIVERSE AND SKILLED WORKFORCE FOR THE NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY, THE NETWORK SUPPORTS STUDENT RESEARCH AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIALIZED CURRICULA IN SEMICONDUCTOR DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND RELATED FIELDS, ALONG WITH INTERNSHIP AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN COLLABORATION WITH INDUSTRY PARTNERS. 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 PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM- AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

HAZARDS SEES: UNDERSTANDING CROSS-SCALE INTERACTIONS OF TRADE AND FOOD POLICY TO IMPROVE RESILIENCE TO DROUGHT RISK

HBCU CAREER AWARENESS, RECRUITMENT, AND ENGAGEMENT SERVICES FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (HBCU C.A.R.E.S.)

PIRE: CO-CREATING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CAPACITIES TO UNDERSTAND, VISUALIZE AND MITIGATE CLIMATE-CHANGE IMPACT CASCADES AND INEQUITIES IN CENTRAL MEXICO -THE NEWS BRINGS MORE AND MORE REPORTS OF THE GROWING IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AROUND THE WORLD: SHRINKING WATER RESERVOIRS, SEVERE DROUGHT, FLOODING, FOREST FIRES AND DANGEROUS HEAT WAVES, TO NAME A FEW. THESE IMPACTS ARE BEYOND HUMAN EXPERIENCE, CATCHING US OFF-GUARD AND THEREFORE ARE CAUSING CATASTROPHIC LOSSES TO LIVES, LIVELIHOODS, AND PROPERTIES. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, ONE IMPACT OFTEN HAS A DOMINO EFFECT OR IMPACT CASCADE. IT IS BECOMING CLEAR THAT, WHILE CLIMATE CHANGE WILL IMPACT US ALL, SOME OF US ARE MORE AT RISK THAN OTHERS. THOSE LIVING OF THE ?EDGES? OF SOCIETY, UNDER SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC STRESS, WILL SUFFER THE MOST AND ARE THE LEAST PREPARED. THIS PROJECT MOBILIZES DIVERSE PARTNERS AND SOCIAL GROUPS IN THE U.S. AND MEXICO TO UNDERSTAND, VISUALIZE, AND ADDRESS THE MYRIAD IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WATER RESOURCES, ECOSYSTEMS, FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, HEALTH, AND LIVELIHOODS - IN AND AROUND MEXICO CITY. IT ALSO REVEALS HOW THESE IMPACTS VARY ACROSS POPULATIONS AND LANDSCAPES. THE RESEARCHERS INTEGRATE DIVERSE DATA - INCLUDING RAINFALL, TEMPERATURE, POPULATION, LAND USE/LAND COVER - AND TOOLS TO ANTICIPATE FUTURE IMPACTS. THE OVERARCHING GOAL IS TO CREATE NEW WAYS TO SIMULATE AND VIRTUALLY INHABIT FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE/IMPACT SCENARIOS TO BE USED BY COMMUNITIES AND POLICY MAKERS TO IMPLEMENT MITIGATION MEASURES. THIS PROJECT, THUS, RE-IMAGINES THE WAY RESEARCH, POLICY, COMMUNITY ACTION, AND EDUCATION CAN JOIN FORCES TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. ITS OUTCOMES WILL BE APPLICABLE NOT ONLY IN THE U.S. AND MEXICO, BUT GLOBALLY. THE PROJECT ALSO SUPPORTS THE TRAINING OF GRADUATE STUDENTS AT CLARK UNIVERSITY, NOTABLY FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN SCIENCE, AND OUTREACH TO THE PUBLIC. HOW DO DIVERSE SOCIAL GROUPS CO-CREATE A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEX CLIMATE-CHANGE IMPACT CASCADES TO WATER, ECOSYSTEMS, FOOD, HEALTH, LIVELIHOODS? HOW DO WE MAP AND MODEL IMPACT INEQUITIES? HOW DO WE TRANSFORM GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL LEARNING TO CHART SUSTAINABLE, SOCIALLY JUST, CLIMATE-RESILIENT PATHWAYS? HERE, THE TEAM WORKS IN A SETTING POWERFULLY EMBLEMATIC OF THIS GLOBAL CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE: MEXICO-LERMA-CUTZAMALA HYDROLOGICAL REGION, THAT INCLUDES MEXICO CITY. TO RESPOND, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THEIR APPROACH COMBINES FOUR COMPONENTS IN SYNERGY: C1) CO-CREATION WITH PARTNERS (INCLUDING PILOT COMMUNITIES) OF AN OPEN-SOURCE GIS/REMOTE SENSING-BASED REGIONAL CLIMATE-CHANGE ATLAS TO MAP AND SPATIALLY ANALYZE SOCIAL, CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS; C2) CO-CREATION OF A SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODEL INFORMED BY GIS, REPRESENTING INTERACTIONS/IMPACTS AMONG CLIMATE CHANGE, WATER, POPULATION, URBANIZATION, LAND-USE/LAND COVER CHANGE, ECOSYSTEMS, FOOD, HEALTH, AND LIVELIHOODS ? AND REVEALING OF IMPACT INEQUITIES AND INJUSTICE; C3) PILOTING OF EXTENDED REALITY (XR) DECISION ANALYSIS, SIMULATING CLIMATE-CHANGE/DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS CAN INHABIT VIRTUALLY AND INTERACT WITH IN GROUPS, INFORMED BY C1 AND C2; C4) INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH AND EDUCATION SUCH THAT THEY REINFORCE EACH OTHER, INCLUDING THE CO-CREATION OF COURSES AND FIELD RESEARCH THAT U.S. STUDENTS AND THEIR PEERS IN MEXICO CAN EXPERIENCE TOGETHER AS LEARNING TEAMS. 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.

CNH: SUBURBANIZATION, WATER USE, NITROGEN CYCLING, AND EUTROPHICATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY: INTERACTIONS, FEEDBACKS, AND UNCERTAINTIES IN A MASSACHUS

TALENT SEARCH LAGRANGE

HBCU LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION AWARENESS AND PREPARATION (LEAP) IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH - CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY (CAU) IS PART OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST AND LARGEST CONSORTIUM OF HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUS), THE ATLANTA UNIVERSITY CENTER (AUC) CONSORTIUM IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA. MEMBER INSTITUTIONS HAVE A RICH HISTORY OF COMMUNITY-ENGAGED COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS SINCE 1929. CAU BOASTS TWO CONTINUOUSLY REAFFIRMED PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS: THE COUNCIL ON SOCIAL WORK (CSWE) ACCREDITED AND HISTORIC WHITNEY M. YOUNG, JR. SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK AND THE COUNCIL FOR ACCREDITATION OF COUNSELING RELATED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS (CACREP) ACCREDITED SCHOOL OF EDUCATION MASTERS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING AND MASTERS IN CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING. THIS APPROACH FOR THE HBCU CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WILL BE FOCUSED ON THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF RACIALLY/ETHNICALLY UNDER-REPRESENTED GRADUATE STUDENTS IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROGRAMS ACROSS THE HBCU NETWORK WHILE BUILDING NETWORKS AND MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL FOSTER LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES AMONG MINORITY STUDENTS TRAINED IN THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SCIENCES. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO 1) RAISE STUDENT AWARENESS OF MULTIPLE CAREER PATHWAYS TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, 2) INCREASE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS PREPARED TO ENTER THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FIELD UPON COMPLETION OF THEIR TERMINAL DEGREE, AND 3) ENHANCE RETENTION AMONG STUDENTS BY EXPANDING PARTNERSHIPS AMONG HBCUS AND BETWEEN STUDENTS AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS. TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS, THE HBCU LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION AWARENESS AND PREPARATION IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE WILL EXPAND ITS REACH TO UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS IN THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE BY DEVELOPING DIGITAL PLATFORMS FOR ENGAGEMENT AND INCREASING AWARENESS ABOUT CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE HBCU STUDENTS. THE HBCU L.E.A.P. ALSO AIMS TO INCREASE AWARENESS ABOUT CRITICAL NEED AREAS OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS FOR A MINIMUM OF FIVE KEY AREAS OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (SOCIAL WORK, COUNSELING, PSYCHOLOGY, NURSING, AND PSYCHIATRIC AND/OR ADDICTION MEDICINE). THE PROJECT WILL ALSO STRENGTHEN PRE-CAREER DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EDUCATIONAL AND MENTORING PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION PREPARATION AND SUPPORT GRADUATE STUDENTS BY OFFSETTING THE FINANCIAL BURDEN ACCRUED WITH UNPAID PRACTICUM/INTERNSHIP/RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROGRAMS AT HBCUS. WITH THE HELP OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CAREER ADVISORY COUNCIL, STUDENTS IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROGRAMS AT HBCUS WILL RECEIVE FUNDING SUPPORT, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND MENTORING IN THEIR SELECTIVE FIELDS OF STUDY VIA THE L.E.A.P. PRE-CAREER FOOTSTEPS MENTORING CORPS.

CONTINUOUS AHR ACTIVITY ACCELERATES PROSTATE CANCER PROGRESSION IN AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

DISSECTING MECHANISMS OF TUMOR INITIATION VIA IMMUNOMODULATION - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT SINCE THE YEAR 2000, PANCREATIC CANCER DIAGNOSIS HAS BEEN ON THE RISE WITH FUTURE PROJECTIONS CONSIDERING IT TO BE THE 2ND LEADING CAUSE OF CANCER DEATH BY 2030. FURTHERMORE, THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS DIE WITHIN 1 YEAR OF DIAGNOSIS DUE TO A LACK OF EARLY DETECTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION, BOTH OF WHICH LIMIT THERAPY OPTIONS. PANCREATIC DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMA (PDAC) IS THE MAJOR FORM OF PANCREATIC CANCER AND A DISORDER OF ONCOGENIC KRAS. TURNING OFF KRAS MUTANTS, INCLUDING KRASG12D OR KRASG12V IS THE KEY TO CURING PDAC. HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO KNOWN INHIBITORS WHICH DIRECTLY TARGET THESE TWO MUTANTS. PDAC ORIGINATES FROM ACINAR CELLS THROUGH THE ACINAR-TO-DUCTAL METAPLASIA (ADM) PROCESS. UPON ACQUISITION OF ONCOGENIC KRAS MUTATION, IT CONVERTS ACINAR CELLS TO DUCT-LIKE CELLS, WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY DEVELOP INTO CANCER CELLS. BECAUSE 1) ACTIVATING KRAS MUTATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR PDAC GROWTH AND MAINTENANCE; 2) ADM IS THE INITIAL STEP OF PDAC DEVELOPMENT; 3) KRASG12D AND KRASG12V IN PDAC ARE UNDRUGGABLE; AND 4) PDAC PATIENTS ARE DIAGNOSED TOO LATE, IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW KRASG12D REGULATES ADM AND PRECANCEROUS LESION FORMATION. ACQUIRING INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE ADM PROCESS AND ITS REGULATION WILL PROVIDE GROUNDWORK FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF BIOMARKERS USED FOR EARLY DETECTION, AND DRUG TARGETS FOR EARLY INTERVENTION SUCCESSFULLY REDUCING THE DEATH TOLL OF PDAC. WE IDENTIFIED CCL9 AS A NEW DOWNSTREAM TARGET OF KRASG12D IN PANCREAS ACINI OF ADM AND SUBSEQUENT PANIN DEVELOPMENT. SO FAR, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT CCL9 IN PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL SETTINGS. GENE AMPLIFICATION OF CCL15, A HUMAN ORTHOLOGUE OF CCL9, IS PRESENT IN HUMAN PDAC AND IS A PREDICTOR OF SHORTER SURVIVAL. THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DISSECT THE MECHANISMS AND FUNCTIONS OF KRASG12D/CCL9 AXIS ON PDAC INITIATION AND TUMOR DEVELOPMENT. WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL WITH THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS. 1. TO DELINEATE THE MECHANISMS OF CCL9-INDUCED PDAC INITIATION THROUGH ADM; 2. TO EVALUATE THE IN VIVO FUNCTION OF CCL9 IN KRASG12D-MEDIATED PDAC INITIATION. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THESE AIMS WILL REVEAL NEW FUNCTIONS OF CCL9 IN PDAC INITIATION AND GROWTH, ADD NEW MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS INTO THE EARLY EVENT OF PDAC DEVELOPMENT, AND ESTABLISH THE ESSENTIAL GROUNDWORK FOR CCL15, THE HUMAN ORTHOLOGUE OF CCL9, AS ONE OF THE BIOMARKERS FOR EARLY DETECTION AND THE NEW TREATMENT STRATEGIES FOR EARLY INTERVENTION IN THE CLINIC TO FIGHT PDAC DEATH.

STUDY PROTEIN FOLDING MECHANISM USING A ROADMAP-BASED APPROACH

CAREER: BUILDING A MORE EXPANSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF IRON ADAPTATION IN MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON ACROSS THE GLOBAL OCEANS -PHYTOPLANKTON ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ROUGHLY HALF OF GLOBAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS. FOR THIS REASON IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT CONTROLS THEIR GROWTH ON A GLOBAL SCALE. IRON IS AN ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT FOR PHYTOPLANKTON AND IT LIMITS THEIR GROWTH IN ROUGHLY A THIRD OF THE WORLD?S OCEANS WHERE IT IS CHRONICALLY LOW IN SUPPLY. PRIOR RESEARCH ON IRON ADAPTATION OF PHYTOPLANKTON HAS UNDERSTANDABLY FOCUSED MOSTLY ON POPULATIONS FROM THESE REGIONS; HOWEVER, WE KNOW LESS ABOUT ADAPTATION TO IRON CONDITIONS IN THE OTHER TWO-THIRDS OF THE OCEANS. FURTHERMORE, PRIOR STUDIES HAVE OFTEN FOCUSED ON A FEW POPULATIONS FROM JUST ONE OR TWO OCEANIC REGIONS AND WITH ONLY A FEW CONDITIONS (IRON LIMITED AND REPLETE). WHAT IS NEEDED IS A MORE EXPANSIVE FRAMEWORK OF STUDY THAT ENCOMPASSES MANY GLOBALLY RELEVANT POPULATIONS AND OVER SEVERAL IRON CONDITIONS. THIS WORK AIMS TO BUILD A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW IRON IMPACTS PHYTOPLANKTON BY STUDYING GROWTH RESPONSES AND GENE REGULATION OVER A SPECTRUM OF IRON LEVELS ON MANY DIFFERENT PHYTOPLANKTON POPULATIONS THAT SPAN THE GLOBAL OCEANS. THIS PROJECT IN PARTICULAR TARGETS PHYTOPLANKTON BEYOND JUST THOSE FROM CHRONICALLY LOW-IRON REGIONS AND INCLUDES THOSE FROM REGIONS WITH LOW, MEDIUM, OR HIGH LEVELS OF IRON AND RELATIVELY STABLE OR VARIABLE IRON LEVELS OVER TIME. AUTHENTIC RESEARCH EXPERIENCES PROVIDE A MEANS TO HELP ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF INEQUITABLE REPRESENTATION IN STEM FIELDS, BUT ACCESS TO AND CAPACITY FOR SUCH EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES IS OFTEN LIMITING. THIS PROJECT HELPS ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS BY BUILDING CREATIVE, AUTHENTIC RESEARCH EXPERIENCES AND TRAINING ACROSS A SPECTRUM OF FUTURE SCIENTISTS: ELEMENTARY, UNDERGRADUATE, AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AND AT THE POSTDOCTORAL LEVEL. THE OVERARCHING HYPOTHESIS OF THIS WORK IS THAT DIFFERENT SYNECHOCOCCUS ECOTYPES AS A MODEL GROUP OF PHYTOPLANKTON, EMPLOY DISTINCT COMBINATIONS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS AND GENE REGULATORY STRATEGIES TO THRIVE IN THEIR PARTICULAR IRON NICHES. SYNECHOCOCCUS ARE GLOBALLY DISTRIBUTED ALLOWING THIS PROJECT TO CHARACTERIZE IRON ADAPTATION IN POPULATIONS FROM A RANGE OF IRON NICHES: ?CLASSIC? LOW-IRON, HIGH NUTRIENT LOW CHLOROPHYLL (HNLC) REGIONS AND UNDER-STUDIED HABITATS ?- ESTUARINE, COASTAL, AND NON-HNLC OPEN-OCEAN REGIONS. THE FIRST GOAL IS TO CONDUCT CULTURE EXPERIMENTS ON 20 SYNECHOCOCCUS STRAINS FROM ELEVEN ECOTYPES TO CHARACTERIZE IRON STORAGE CAPACITIES AND LIMITATION THRESHOLDS AS KEY METRICS OF THEIR ADAPTATION TO DIFFERENT IRON NICHES IN THE OCEANS. THE SECOND GOAL IS TO CHARACTERIZE GENE REGULATION RESPONSES TO VARYING IRON AVAILABILITY FOR A) THE 20 ISOLATES IN THE CULTURE EXPERIMENTS ABOVE AND B) IN SITU POPULATIONS USING BOTTLE EXPERIMENTS WHERE THEY ARE EXPOSED TO A RANGE OF IRON ADDITION AND REDUCTION (ADDITION OF AN IRON CHELATOR) CONDITIONS. THE THIRD GOAL IS TO BUILD AUTHENTIC RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE PATHWAYS FOR RESEARCH TRAINING AND SCIENTIFIC LITERACY AMONG ELEMENTARY AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THIS INVOLVES A) DEVELOPING A RESEARCH-FOCUSED COURSE WHERE UNDERGRADUATES CONTRIBUTE TO THE RESEARCH IN THE ABOVE GOALS AND EXPLORE TOPICS OF BIAS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND B) DEVELOPING AN INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING MODULE FOR 5TH GRADERS ON THE IMPACTS OF NUTRIENTS ON PHYTOPLANKTON IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WATERSHED. IN ADDITION, UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AND A POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW WILL RECEIVE TRAINING AND MENTORING AS THEY CONTRIBUTE TO THE RESEARCH IN THE FIRST TWO GOALS. 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 PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED STUDY IS TO EXPLORE SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE (IPV) EXPERIENCES AND CAMPUS CLIMATE AT HBCUS USING A VALIDATED CAMPUS CLIMATE SURVEY. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL USE THE METHODS DELINEATED IN A 2019 MANUAL ON CONDUCTING THESE SURVEYS AT HBCUS, WHICH WAS THE RESULT OF A PREVIOUSLY NIJ-FUNDED PROJECT THAT MODIFIED THE CAMPUS CLIMATE SURVEY PRODUCED BY THE BJS BASED ON INPUT FROM STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY (CAU). THE CAMPUS CLIMATE SURVEY WILL BE ADMINISTERED AT THREE HBCUS: CAU IN ATLANTA, GA; JC SMITH UNIVERSITY (JCSU) IN CHARLOTTE, NC; AND MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY (MVSU) IN ITTA BENA, MS. THE FUNDING WILL ALLOW FOR SURVEY IMPLEMENTATION AND DATA ANALYSIS TO DEVELOP A TOOLKIT THAT CAN BE DISTRIBUTED TO OTHER HBCUS. PROJECT AIMS ARE: 1) IDENTIFY THE PREVALENCE OF AND RISK FACTORS FOR SV AND IPV AT THREE HBCUS, 2) DETERMINE HOW INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE AND HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED SV OR IPV PERCEIVE THEIR INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSE TO SV AND IPV, THEIR AWARENESS OF THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS; AND THEIR WILLINGNESS TO INTERVENE WHEN WITNESSING THESE EVENTS, AND 3) DISSEMINATE INFORMATION ON BEST PRACTICES FOR ADAPTING AND ADMINISTRATING CAMPUS CLIMATE SURVEYS AT HBCUS. THIS PROJECT IS UNIQUELY SITUATED TO PROVIDE EMPIRICALLY BASED, CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE INFORMATION TO GUIDE PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION EFFORTS AT HBCUS. THIS RESEARCH HAS POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR HBCUS REGARDING POLICY, TRAINING, PROGRAMMING, AND RESPONSES TO SV AND IPV FOR SURVIVORS AND THE BROADER STUDENT POPULATION. SEVERAL PRODUCTS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND DISSEMINATED. FIRST, A REPORT FOR EACH PARTICIPATING HBCU WILL BE DRAFTED AND PUBLISHED, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW THEY CAN ADDRESS SV ON THEIR RESPECTIVE CAMPUSES. SECOND, A TOOLKIT WILL BE DEVELOPED AS A RESOURCE FOR NON-PARTICIPATING HBCUS. THIRD, THE APPLICANT WILL HOST A VIRTUAL CONFERENCE TO RELEASE FINDINGS AND THE TOOLKIT FOR THE 101 HBCUS IN THE UNITED STATES. FOURTH, THE RESULTS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN SCHOLARLY, PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS AND PRESENTED AT VARIOUS INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCES. FINALLY, STUDY DATA WILL BE ARCHIVED AT NACJD. CA/NCF

CLARK SCIENCE-MATH TEACHING AND EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP (C-STEP)

U-RISE AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY - PROJECT SUMMARY THE U-RISE PROGRAM AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY (CAU) IS DESIGNED TO TRANSITION ACADEMICALLY PROMISING UNDERGRADUATES SPREAD ACROSS THE BREADTH OF STEM DISCIPLINES INTO DOCTORAL PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES. WE RECOGNIZE THAT MILLENNIAL SCIENTISTS WILL BE EXPECTED TO KEEP PACE WITH INCREASING DEMANDS TO USE QUANTITATIVE AND COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES IN ORDER TO DETECT PATTERNS FROM LARGE DATASETS TO ANSWER BIOLOGICAL QUESTIONS. THEREFORE, THROUGH A THOUGHTFULLY DESIGNED TRAINING PROGRAM WITH A COMMITTED GROUP OF ACADEMIC LEADERS AND FACULTY MENTORS, WE PROPOSE TO ENGAGE A COHORT OF PROMISING SCHOLARS IN A TRULY INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM THAT BUILDS ON A FOUNDATION PROVIDED BY CAU (THROUGH THE U-RISE PREP PROGRAM). OUR OVERALL OBJECTIVE FOR THE U- RISE PROGRAM AT CAU IS TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AND MEASURABLE IMPACT ON STUDENT RETENTION AND COMPLETION RATES WITHIN OUR STEM MAJORS SO THAT THESE SPECIALLY TRAINED SCHOLARS THEN PROGRESS LOGICALLY INTO DOCTORAL STUDIES. GIVEN THAT CAU HOLDS THREE MAJOR DISTINCTIONS: 1) THE LARGEST UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND (UNCF) INSTITUTION; 2) A CARNEGIE R2 RESEARCH CLASSIFICATION—A DOCTORAL UNIVERSITY WITH HIGH RESEARCH ACTIVITY; AND 3) THE FOURTH LARGEST GENERATOR OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PHDS, WE ARE WELL-POSITIONED TO SUBSTANTIVELY CONTRIBUTE TO OUR NATION’S AGENDA OF GROWING ITS RESEARCH AND INNOVATION CAPACITY THROUGH THE PREPARATION OF COMPETITIVE SCIENTISTS WHO CONTINUE TO BE TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE BIOMEDICAL FIELD. OUR PLANNED OBJECTIVES SPAN FOSTERING A TALENTED POOL OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO ARE CAPABLE OF THRIVING IN HIGH-CALIBER, RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTIONS BOTH AS STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY WHILE UNDERTAKING A TRAINING PLAN THAT INCLUDES CURRICULAR ENHANCEMENTS, SPECIALIZED PROGRAMMING, AND RESEARCH IMMERSION THAT BEGINS EARLY AND ORCHESTRATED WITH DIRECT SUPPORT AND CONSULTATION FROM CAREFULLY MATCHED FACULTY MENTORS. BY INVESTING IN AN INCLUSIVE, TRAINING ENVIRONMENT FOR A COHORT OF PROMISING YOUNG SCIENTISTS, WE INTEND TO CREATE A PROGRAM THAT IS DESIGNED TO OFFER A FRAMEWORK, THAT IS CONSTRUCTED WITH A TECHNICAL-OPERATIONAL-PROFESSIONAL STRATEGY, GROUNDED IN THE VALUES OF RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT FOR THE PURSUIT OF RESEARCH, AND ENRICHED WITH A TAILORED AND MEANINGFUL CURRICULUM AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULES TO BECOME COMPETITIVE IN THE PURSUIT OF GRADUATE STUDIES. WITH PLANS FOR ONGOING EVALUATIONS AND DISSEMINATION, WE INTEND TO SHARE OUR KNOWLEDGE AND OUTCOMES WITH OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED WITH RETENTION AND PROGRAM ADVANCEMENT, PARTICULARLY AT OTHER HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WHERE MANY OF AMERICA’S NEXT GENERATION OF GREAT BIOMEDICAL RESEARCHERS CAN BE DISCOVERED.

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: MOLECULAR AND FUNCTIONAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE TEAD AND AR TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS -THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNCOVER HOW DIVERSE SIGNALING MOLECULES INTERACT WITHIN THE CELL. BY EMPLOYING MODERN SCIENTIFIC METHODS, THIS PROJECT OFFERS A HANDS-ON RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND A ROBUST TRAINING PLATFORM FOR GRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE RESEARCHERS, PARTICULARLY FROM AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN SCIENCE. ALSO, INTEGRATING THE DISCOVERIES FROM THIS PROJECT INTO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN CLASSROOM SETTINGS WILL NOT ONLY ENRICH LEARNING BUT ALSO FOSTER A MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE RESEARCH WORKFORCE IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. THIS PROJECT WILL EXPLORE THE MECHANISM OF THE MOLECULAR AND FUNCTIONAL INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE TEA DOMAIN (TEAD) TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR AND ANDROGEN RECEPTOR (AR) IN MAMMALIAN CELLS, WHICH MAY BE CRUCIAL FOR FINDING HOW CELLS GROW, MOVE, AND SURVIVE AS WELL AS KEEP THEIR PHYSIOLOGY UNDER CONSTANTLY CHANGING EXTRACELLULAR STIMULI. THE AIMS OF THIS PROJECT ARE (A) TO INVESTIGATE HOW ANDROGENS AND CYTOKINES AFFECT THE TEAD-AR INTERACTIONS, (B) TO DEFINE THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF TEAD-AR INTERACTIONS, AND (C) TO UNCOVER HOW AR AFFECTS THE TEAD-DEPENDENT GENE EXPRESSION AND CELLULAR NETWORKS. THIS PROJECT EMPLOYS A RANGE OF ADVANCED CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES, INCLUDING CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY, HIGH-THROUGHPUT DNA/RNA SEQUENCING, AND BIOINFORMATIC DATA ANALYSIS TO ACHIEVE THE AIMS. THE EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO GAIN A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE CROSSTALK BETWEEN TEAD AND AR AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL, SHEDDING LIGHT ON FUNDAMENTAL CELLULAR PROCESSES. THIS PROJECT WILL REDUCE DISPARITIES IN EMPLOYMENT IN THE NATION?S LIFE SCIENCES SECTORS THROUGH TRAINING THE HBCU UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN PROTEOMICS AND BIOINFORMATICS. 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.

TRAINING, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATION IN CYBERSECURITY FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (TRECCI)

CREATING ROBUST OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH REAL-WORLD, ORGANIZED, AND APPLIED DATA SCIENCE -DATA SCIENCE IS A TRANSFORMATIVE FIELD THAT HAS COME TO PROFOUNDLY IMPACT EVERY ASPECT OF SOCIETY. AS SUCH, PROVIDING WIDESPREAD DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR CULTIVATING A SKILLED AND ENGAGED WORKFORCE WHILE ENSURING NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS IN THIS RAPIDLY GROWING DOMAIN. CURRENTLY MUCH OF THE FOCUS IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION HAS BEEN ON CREATING COURSES AND PROGRAMS FOR MAJORS AND MINORS, YET THIS APPROACH LEAVES A SIGNIFICANT GAP: STUDENTS OUTSIDE DATA SCIENCE PROGRAMS OFTEN LACK OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP ESSENTIAL DATA SKILLS AND FAIL TO RECOGNIZE VALUABLE AND INNOVATIVE CONNECTIONS TO DATA SCIENCE. HOWEVER, DATA LITERACY IS CRITICAL FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS ACROSS ALL DISCIPLINES, ENABLING THEM TO THRIVE IN BOTH THEIR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIVES. THEREFORE, CONNECTING DATA SCIENCE TO DIVERSE FIELDS AND REAL-WORLD CHALLENGES WHILE FOSTERING COLLABORATIONS WITH DOMAIN EXPERTS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS WILL INSPIRE, PREPARE, AND ENGAGE STUDENTS WITH A DATA-DRIVEN WORLD. THE CROSSROADS (CREATING ROBUST OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH REAL-WORLD, ORGANIZED, AND APPLIED DATA SCIENCE) PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO CREATE FLEXIBLE PATHWAYS INTO, THROUGH, AND BEYOND DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR A BROAD SPECTRUM OF STUDENTS WHILE PROMOTING ENGAGEMENT WITH REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ESTABLISH AN INTERDISCIPLINARY EDUCATION ECOSYSTEM THROUGH THREE KEY COMPONENTS: (A) DOMAIN EXPLORATION MODULES THAT INTEGRATE DATA SCIENCE INTO DIVERSE DISCIPLINES TO ENHANCE DATA LITERACY AMONG GENERAL STUDENTS AND ENRICH DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR MAJORS AND MINORS; (B) DATA SCIENCE STUDIO, AS THE CORE OF A PRACTICUM SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES HANDS-ON LEARNING THROUGH STUDENT COLLABORATIONS WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS; AND (C) DATA SCIENCE COLLABORATIVE WORKSHOPS, FOSTERING PARTNERSHIPS AMONG EDUCATORS, STUDENTS, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO DRIVE CURRICULUM INNOVATION AND IMPACTFUL COMMUNITY SERVICE. ADDITIONALLY, THE RESOURCES AND FINDINGS DEVELOPED BY THE PROJECT WILL BE FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE, ENABLING OTHER INSTITUTIONS TO ADOPT AND ADAPT THESE CREATIVE APPROACHES AND THOUGHTFULLY DESIGNED MATERIALS TO STRENGTHEN THEIR CURRICULA. THROUGH THESE EFFORTS, THE PROJECT ADDRESSES CRITICAL GAPS IN DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION AND PROVIDES A HOLISTIC MODEL THAT PROMOTES REAL-WORLD LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS WHILE CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPETITIVE AND SKILLED NATIONAL WORKFORCE. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE DATA SCIENCE CORPS PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING TO BUILD A STRONG NATIONAL DATA SCIENCE INFRASTRUCTURE AND WORKFORCE. 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.

STRUCTURE AND MECHANISM OF HECT E3 UBIQUITIN LIGASES

UNRAVELING THE DIVERSITY, EVOLUTION, AND ORIGIN OF NOVEL SECONDARY METABOLISM IN COMMENSAL MICROSCOPIC FILAMENTOUS FUNGI. -FUNGI ARE IMPORTANT ORGANISMS THAT HELP BREAK DOWN MATERIAL IN NATURE AND PRODUCE USEFUL CHEMICALS, INCLUDING SOME USED IN MEDICINE AND FARMING. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON A GROUP OF UNUSUAL FUNGI CALLED BASIDIOBOLUS, WHICH CAN LIVE IN MANY PLACES SUCH AS SOIL, WATER, ROTTING LEAVES, AND EVEN IN ANIMAL GUTS. THESE FUNGI MAKE A LARGE NUMBER OF UNIQUE CHEMICALS THAT HELP THEM SURVIVE AND COMPETE WITH OTHER ORGANISMS. SOME OF THE GENES THAT ALLOW THEM TO DO THIS MAY HAVE COME FROM BACTERIA, SHOWING A RARE EXAMPLE OF GENE SHARING ACROSS DIFFERENT KINDS OF LIFE, OR HORIZONTAL GENE TRANSFER. STUDYING HOW BASIDIOBOLUS EVOLVED AND HOW IT MAKES THESE COMPOUNDS COULD LEAD TO NEW DISCOVERIES IN MEDICINE, AGRICULTURE, AND BIOTECHNOLOGY. THIS PROJECT ALSO SUPPORTS STUDENTS, INCLUDES COMMUNITY SCIENCE FOR K-12 STUDENTS, AND TRAINS FUTURE SCIENTISTS THROUGH MENTORSHIP AND HANDS-ON LEARNING. THE RESEARCH WILL STUDY HOW BASIDIOBOLUS MAKES CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS KNOWN AS SECONDARY METABOLITES, USING TOOLS FROM EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, GENOMICS, AND POPULATION GENETICS. THE PROJECT WILL: (1) RECONSTRUCT RELATIONSHIPS AMONG BASIDIOBOLUS SPECIES; (2) EXPLORE HOW SECONDARY METABOLITE GENES VARY ACROSS SPECIES AND TEST WHETHER SOME OF THESE GENES WERE ACQUIRED FROM BACTERIA THROUGH HORIZONTAL GENE TRANSFER; AND (3) EXAMINE HOW NATURAL SELECTION AND OTHER EVOLUTIONARY FORCES SHAPE THESE GENES WITHIN POPULATIONS. TO DO THIS, THE RESEARCHERS WILL COLLECT SAMPLES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, SEQUENCE THEIR GENOMES, AND ANALYZE PATTERNS OF GENE DIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION. THIS WORK WILL FILL IMPORTANT GAPS IN FUNGAL BIOLOGY AND COULD LEAD TO APPLICATIONS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY AGRICULTURE, AND MEDICINE. 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.

WHEN COVALENT ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS MEET CROSS-COUPLING REACTIONS: DIRECTED SYNTHESIS, MECHANISTIC INVESTIGATION, AND ENERGY APPLICATION

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: DEVELOPMENTAL REGULATION OF WDR77 COORDINATES PROSTATE GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION DURING THE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PUBERTY -THIS RESEARCH WILL ADDRESS HOW ALTERED MALE HORMONE LEVELS DURING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PUBERTY AFFECT GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION OF THE PROSTATE GLAND. THE PROJECT WILL FIRST DETERMINE WHETHER MALE HORMONE AT LOWER LEVELS (DURING PUBERTY) LEADS TO GROWTH OF THE PROSTATE GLAND AND, IN CONTRAST, IF HIGHER LEVELS OF THE MALE HORMONE (POST-PUBERTY) PROMOTE THE PROSTATE?S DIFFERENTIATION. THE RESEARCH WILL THEN INVESTIGATE HOW THE MALE HORMONE?S ACTION IS SWITCHED DURING PROSTATE DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT PUBERTY. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH REPRESENTS A NOVEL STUDY CONCEPT THAT RELATES TO THE BASIC BIOLOGY OF PROSTATE DEVELOPMENT. THE VARIOUS AGE-RELATED DISEASES IN OLDER ADULT PROSTATE REFLECT THE LOSS OF DEVELOPMENTAL COORDINATION OF CELL PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION. THEREFORE, THE RESEARCH MAY ALSO HELP TO UNDERSTAND THE DEVELOPMENT OF VARIOUS PROSTATIC DISEASES IN OLDER MEN. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO DIRECTLY SUPPORT GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT TRAINING AND PROMOTE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN A MINORITY POPULATION AT THIS HBCU. THE MAMMALIAN PROSTATE GLAND PASSES THROUGH SEVERAL PHASES OF RAPID GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION DURING DEVELOPMENT. THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT DETERMINE GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION STAGES, AS WELL AS COORDINATING THESE TWO PROCESSES ARE LESS DEFINED. THIS RESEARCH WILL ADDRESS THESE CRITICAL QUESTIONS. THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO STUDY MOLECULAR EVENTS AND MECHANISMS THAT COORDINATE CELL GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION DURING PROSTATE DEVELOPMENT FROM ADOLESCENT (PROLIFERATING) TO YOUNG ADULT (QUIESCENT/DIFFERENTIATED) STAGE. THE RESEARCH WILL FIRST INVESTIGATE THE ANDROGEN FUNCTION IN A DOSAGE-DEPENDENT MANNER TO CONTROL GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION OF THE PROSTATE DURING MOUSE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PUBERTY. A CONCENTRATION THRESHOLD AT WHICH THE ANDROGEN ACTION IS SWITCHED FROM GROWTH PROMOTION TO GROWTH INHIBITION/DIFFERENTIATION WILL BE DETERMINED. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE IDENTIFIED THE WDR77 PROTEIN LOCALIZED IN THE CYTOPLASM AT THE EARLY (DURING PUBERTY, PROLIFERATING) STAGE OF THE PROSTATE DEVELOPMENT DRIVES CELL PROLIFERATION. IN ADULT (POST-PUBERTY, QUIESCENT/DIFFERENTIATED) PROSTATE, THE PROTEIN IN THE NUCLEUS FUNCTIONS AS AN ANDROGEN RECEPTOR COFACTOR TO PROMOTE CELL DIFFERENTIATION. THE RESEARCH WILL THEN INVESTIGATE WHETHER WDR77 MEDIATES THE ANDROGEN?S ROLE TO COORDINATE GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION DURING THE PROSTATE DEVELOPMENT. HOW CHANGE OF ANDROGEN LEVELS ALTERS EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, LEADING TO ALTERED EXPRESSION OF AR-TARGET GENES AS WELL AS WDR77 SUBCELLULAR LOCALIZATION WILL BE STUDIED USING CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION AND GENE PROMOTER MAPPING. 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.

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE USDA SPENDS >$5 BILLION ANNUALLY ON CONSERVATION TO ENHANCE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. THE BIOPHYSICAL IMPACTS OF THESE PROGRAMS ON LANDSCAPES AND AQUATIC SYSTEMS (E.G., SOIL RETENTION; NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT DELIVERY; WATER QUALITY) ARE RELATIVELY WELL UNDERSTOOD AND CAN BE MODELED USING READILY AVAILABLE APPROACHES. YET CREDIBLE INFORMATION ON ECONOMIC (AND PARTICULARLY NON-MARKET) BENEFITS IS OFTEN LACKING, PARTICULARLY FOR HETEROGENEOUS CONSERVATION PRACTICES THAT OCCUR OVER LARGE SPATIAL SCALES. USDA AND ITS PARTNERS STRUGGLE TO ESTIMATE NON-MARKET BENEFITS FROM CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT AFFECT NATURAL RESOURCES AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ACROSS VARIOUS GEOSPATIAL SCALES. AT LEAST IN CONCEPT, MANY OF THESE BENEFITS CAN BE MEASURED USING ESTIMATES OF HOUSEHOLDS' INDIVIDUAL AND AGGREGATE WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) FOR SPATIALLY EXPLICIT IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSERVATION-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE OUTCOMES.AMONG AVAILABLE APPROACHES TO ESTIMATE BENEFITS OF THIS TYPE, ONLY STATED PREFERENCE METHODS (E.G., CHOICE EXPERIMENTS) PROVIDE A VALID MEANS TO MEASURE BOTH USE AND NONUSE VALUES LINKED TO CONSERVATION OUTCOMES (E.G., ECOSYSTEM SERVICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES DUE TO CONSERVATION PRACTICE IMPLEMENTATION). YET CURRENT STATED-PREFERENCE METHODS ARE CHALLENGED BY THE INDIVIDUALIZED AND SPATIALLY HETEROGENEOUS WAYS THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, USE AND VALUE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES OVER DIFFERENT SPATIAL SCALES, POSING CHALLENGES FOR THE VALIDITY AND CREDIBILITY OF WELFARE ESTIMATION. HOUSEHOLDS' WTP FOR CONSERVATION-RELATED ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS DEPENDS ON OFTEN COMPLEX MULTI-SCALE SPATIAL INTERACTIONS OF (A) ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE CHANGES, I.E., WHERE THEY OCCUR, AND (B) HOUSEHOLDS' INDIVIDUALIZED PREFERENCES, I.E., WHERE THEY ARE VALUED. ALTHOUGH SUCH INTERACTIONS MAY LEAD TO COMPLEX AND NONLINEAR SPATIAL PATTERNS IN ECONOMIC VALUES, EVEN STATE OF THE ART STATED-PREFERENCE APPROACHES CURRENTLY ESTIMATE WTP USING SIMPLIFIED APPROACHES THAT BELIE THIS SPATIAL COMPLEXITY. FOR EXAMPLE, CURRENT ARCHITECTURE FOR STATED-PREFERENCE BENEFIT ESTIMATION IS POORLY SUITED TO ESTIMATE WTP FOR LARGE-SCALE, SPATIALLY HETEROGENEOUS CONSERVATION OUTCOMES IN WAYS THAT ACCOMMODATE SPATIAL PREFERENCE HETEROGENEITY FOR MANY SMALL-SCALE INTRAREGIONAL CHANGES, WHERE THIS HETEROGENEITY MAY OR MAY NOT BE RELATED TO RESPONDENTS' PRIMARY HOMES.RESPONDING TO THIS GAP IN VALUATION METHODS AND PRACTICE, THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND EVALUATE NEXT-GENERATION CHOICE-EXPERIMENT ARCHITECTURE DESIGNED TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF VALUATION FOR SPATIALLY EXPLICIT, LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE OUTCOMES, GROUNDED IN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT MODELING. THIS REQUIRES COORDINATED INNOVATIONS IN QUESTIONNAIRE ARCHITECTURE, INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT, VALUE ELICITATION AND ECONOMETRIC ESTIMATION. THE APPROACH WILL BE GROUNDED IN: (1) A NOVEL, INTERACTIVE PREFERENCE ELICITATION THAT INCREASES RESPONDENTS' ABILITY TO MAKE INFORMED CHOICES OVER SPATIALLY COMPLEX ECOSYSTEM CHANGES, AND (2) INTEGRATED SURVEY ARCHITECTURE AND BAYESIAN ECONOMETRICS THAT ACCOMMODATE REALISTIC AND INDIVIDUALIZED SPATIAL PATTERNS IN WTP, INCLUDING DISCRETE AND CONTINUOUS FORMS OF HETEROGENEITY UNRELATED TO A PERSON'S HOME. THESE INTEGRATED METHODS ARE DESIGNED TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES FACED WHEN VALUING LARGE-SCALE CONSERVATION IMPACTS SUBJECT TO SMALL-SCALE BIOPHYSICAL AND PREFERENCE HETEROGENEITY. VALUATION SCENARIOS WILL BE INFORMED BY INTEGRATED MODELING OF VALUED CONSERVATION OUTCOMES VIA SWAT/HAWQS (SOIL & WATER ASSESSMENT TOOL / HYDROLOGIC AND WATER QUALITY SYSTEM).TO DEVELOP THESE METHODS, THE PROJECT TEAM WILL LEVERAGE ADVANCES IN ONLINE, INTERACTIVE MAP-BASED SURVEY ARCHITECTURE, TOGETHER WITH NOVEL APPROACHES FOR STATED-PREFERENCE SURVEY DESIGN AND BAYESIAN ECONOMETRICS FOR SPATIALLY EXPLICIT WTP ESTIMATION. THE APPROACH WILL BE DEMONSTRATED USING A CASE STUDY OF CONSERVATION AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE STATE OF VIRGINIA AT THE 12-DIGIT HYDROLOGIC UNIT CODE (HUC) SCALE, AGGREGATED TO 8-DIGIT HUC OR LARGER SCALES FOR THE PURPOSE OF ELICITING VALUES. SCENARIOS WILL CONSIDER WATER QUALITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES CHANGES DUE TO AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PRACTICES, WITH THESE BIOPHYSICAL OUTCOMES MODELED USING SWAT/HAWQS. PARTICULAR ATTENTION WILL BE GIVEN TO THE CAPACITY OF THE INTEGRATED APPROACH TO CHARACTERIZE DISTRIBUTIONAL ASPECTS OF NON-MARKET VALUES OVER DIFFERENT HOUSEHOLDS AND TO PROVIDE VALID BENEFIT ESTIMATES THAT ACCOMMODATE VARIOUS FORMS OF SPATIAL PREFERENCE HETEROGENEITY. THE GOAL IS AN INTEGRATED-ASSESSMENT APPROACH FOR VALUATION THAT PRODUCES VALID WELFARE (OR BENEFIT) ESTIMATES ACROSS VARIOUS SCALES AND ACCOMMODATES INDIVIDUAL SPATIAL PREFERENCES OF EACH HOUSEHOLD, WITHOUT THE RESTRICTIVE ASSUMPTIONS REQUIRED BY CURRENT METHODS.THE METHODS DEVELOPED BY THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A MEANS TO ESTIMATE PER HOUSEHOLD AND AGGREGATE WTP FOR A WIDE ARRAY OF CONSERVATION PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES, CONSIDERING OUTCOMES THAT AFFECT ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ACROSS VARIOUS SPATIAL SCALES. INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF BIOPHYSICAL OUTCOMES AND ECONOMIC VALUES--WITH ATTENTION TO VALIDITY IN BOTH NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE REALMS--WILL ENHANCE THE CREDIBILITY AND RELEVANCE OF RESULTS. THE RESULTING INFORMATION ON ECONOMIC BENEFITS WILL BE RELEVANT TO APPLICATIONS THAT CHALLENGE CURRENT METHODS. THESE INCLUDE CASES IN WHICH (A) WTP FOR CONSERVATION (E.G., ECOSYSTEM SERVICE) OUTCOMES IS AFFECTED BY SPATIAL PATTERNS ACROSS VARIOUS SCALES, (B) CURRENT STATED-PREFERENCE VALUATION METHODS PROVIDE INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO ENABLE RESPONDENTS TO UNDERSTAND ECOSYSTEM-SERVICE OUTCOMES IN AREAS THEY CARE ABOUT, AND/OR (C) VALUES DEPEND ON COMPLEX SPATIAL DIMENSIONS BEYOND THOSE THAT CAN BE CAPTURED VIA COMMONLY APPLIED VALUATION PARADIGMS AND TECHNIQUES. THE RESULT WILL BE MORE VALID, RELIABLE AND CREDIBLE ESTIMATES OF ECONOMIC VALUE LINKED TO AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PRACTICES.ALTHOUGH ILLUSTRATED FOR ONE ILLUSTRATIVE SET OF CONSERVATION PRACTICES AND OUTCOMES IN A SELECTED CASE-STUDY AREA, THESE METHODS WILL BE GENERALIZABLE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS. MOREOVER, BEYOND APPLICATIONS OF THE INTEGRATED MODEL, THE INDIVIDUAL ADVANCES PIONEERED BY THE PROJECT WILL FURTHER EXPAND THE SET OF TOOLS AVAILABLE FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VALUATION. THIS WILL FACILITATE VALUATION OF OUTCOMES FROM AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS OVERSEEN BY FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES, AMONG OTHERS. IN ADDITION TO METHODOLOGICAL BENEFITS, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE EMPIRICAL ESTIMATES RELEVANT TO THE BENEFITS OF CONSERVATION IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED. THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, WE WILL LEVERAGE THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PDS AND ADVISORY BOARD TO ENSURE THAT THE PROPOSED METHODS MEET POLICY NEEDS.

THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AN APPROACH TO ESTIMATE THE WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR USE/NONUSE WATER QUALITY BENEFITS. THE APPROACH WILL PROVIDE A MEANS TO

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE USDA SPENDS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER YEAR ON CONSERVATION TO ENHANCE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. THE BIOPHYSICAL IMPACTS OF THESE PROGRAMS (E.G., ON SOIL RETENTION AND WATER QUALITY) ARE RELATIVELY WELL UNDERSTOOD AND CAN BE ESTIMATED USING STANDARD MODELING APPROACHES. YET THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THESE PROGRAMS REMAIN LARGELY UNKNOWN, AND CREDIBLE INFORMATION ON NON-MARKET BENEFITS IS PARTICULARLY LACKING. DESPITE AN EXTENSIVE LITERATURE ON NON-MARKET VALUATION, THE METHODS FROM THIS LITERATURE ARE OFTEN IMPRACTICAL TO USE FOR THE ESTIMATION OF VALUES PROVIDED BY USDA AND OTHER CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. LARGE-SCALE, APPLIED VALUATION OF THIS TYPE ALMOST UNIVERSALLY REQUIRES BENEFIT TRANSFER, OR BT. BT USES EXISTING ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FROM PRIOR STUDIES AT ONE OR MORE LOCATIONS TO PREDICT ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES SUCH AS WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) AT OTHER, TYPICALLY UNSTUDIED LOCATIONS. BENEFIT TRANSFER CAN PRODUCE ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FOR AREAS AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS FOR WHICH ORIGINAL ECONOMIC VALUATION STUDIES HAVE NOT BEEN CONDUCTED--THEREBY QUANTIFYING THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION TO THE PUBLIC. YET BT METHODS TO SUPPORT RELIABLE LARGE-SCALE VALUATION ARE INADEQUATELY DEVELOPED, PARTICULARLY FOR APPLICATIONS SUCH AS RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS WITH WIDESPREAD, DIFFUSE AND PATCHY IMPACTS. DUE TO THE LACK OF SUFFICIENTLY ACCURATE BT METHODS, USDA AND ITS PARTNERS STRUGGLE TO PRODUCE CREDIBLE ESTIMATES OF NON-MARKET CONSERVATION BENEFITS.ADDRESSING THIS UNRESOLVED RESEARCH AND POLICY NEED REQUIRES A SET OF FLEXIBLE, STANDARDIZED BT APPROACHES THAT ARE ABLE TO PREDICT BENEFITS FOR THE LARGE SPATIAL SCALES OVER WHICH CONSERVATION OCCURS, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY ACCOUNTING FOR THE IMPORTANT EFFECTS OF LOCALIZED, PLACE-SPECIFIC SPATIAL AND OTHER DIMENSIONS ON VALUES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS. RESPONDING TO THIS IMPORTANT GAP IN KNOWLEDGE AND METHODS FOR ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, THE PRESENT PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND EVALUATE BT PROCEDURES WITH A PREVIOUSLY UNATTAINABLE CAPACITY TO ACCOUNT FOR LOCALIZED SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY OF CONSERVATION-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS OVER LARGE SPATIAL SCALES (SUCH AS WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS), WHILE IDENTIFYING AREAS WHEREIN IMPROVEMENTS ARE MOST VALUED BY TARGET POPULATIONS, INCLUDING DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES. ALTHOUGH APPLICABLE TO ANY CONSERVATION OUTCOME, METHODS WILL BE ILLUSTRATED FOR BTS THAT PREDICT WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) FOR SPATIALLY DIFFUSE WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS.THE PROJECT ADDRESSES USDA AFRI ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS (A1651) PROGRAM PRIORITIES, WHICH CALL FOR BENEFIT TRANSFER TO INFORM BENEFIT-COST CALCULATIONS FOR CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCE POLICY DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION. THESE NOVEL METHODS WILL INTEGRATE (1) LOCALLY WEIGHTED META-REGRESSION MODELS (LW MRMS) FOR WTP METADATA THAT PRODUCE UNIQUE BENEFIT FUNCTIONS FOR EACH SITE, (2) INTERAC,TIVE MAP-BASED SURVEY ARCHITECTURE THAT IDENTIFIES HIGHLY VALUED (SALIENT) AREAS NATIONWIDE FOR SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS, (3) A MACHINE-LEARNING SPATIAL SALIENCE CLASSIFICATION MODEL (SCM) THAT USES THESE SURVEY DATA TO PROVIDE GENERALIZABLE PREDICTIONS, FOR ANY CENSUS BLOCK GROUP (CBG) NATIONWIDE, ON THE DEGREE TO WHICH ANY POTENTIAL WATERSHED AREA IS SALIENT (OR PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT) TO RESIDENTS FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS, AND (4) VALIDATED METADATA ON HOUSEHOLD WTP FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS IN US WATERBODIES DRAWN FROM PRIOR STUDIES IN THE VALUATION LITERATURE, AUGMENTED WITH SCM RESULTS TO SUPPORT LW MRMS WITH ENHANCED WTP-PREDICTION ACCURACY. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE TRANSFORMATIVE YET STANDARDIZED BT METHODS ABLE TO PREDICT VALUES DUE TO DIFFUSE CONSERVATION OVER LARGE SCALES, TOGETHER WITH A SET OF NATIONWIDE SPATIAL SALIENCE DATA LAYERS THAT CAN BE USED INDEPENDENTLY TO IDENTIFY AREAS WHEREIN WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS ARE MOST VALUED BY RESIDENTS OF ANY CBG. THESE METHODS WILL ENHANCE THE ACCURACY OF LARGE-SCALE BT, BY INCORPORATING SYSTEMATIC INFORMATION ON THE EXTENT TO WHICH PATCHY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS OCCUR IN LOCAL (OR NON-LOCAL) AREAS THAT ARE IMPORTANT (OR SALIENT) TO HOUSEHOLDS. IN DOING SO, THESE APPROACHES WILL INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF USDA AND OTHERS TO QUANTIFY THE ECONOMIC VALUES GENERATED BY AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.

BUILDING COMMUNITY TO FOSTER CHANGE ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: A COORDINATED MULTILEVEL VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAM

MRI: TRACK 1 DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A FAST COOLING PULSED MAGNET DESIGN FOR REPETITIVE OPERATION -THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP SPECIAL RESEARCH MAGNETS THAT WILL CREATE SOME OF THE HIGHEST MAGNETIC FIELDS ON EARTH. THESE HIGH MAGNETIC FIELDS WILL HELP SCIENTISTS UNDERSTAND HOW MAGNETISM AND SUPERCONDUCTIVITY WORK AT THE ATOMIC LEVEL, AND HOW TO MAKE NEW FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS THAT RELY ON THESE PROPERTIES. THE DEVELOPMENT WORK WILL INCLUDE TRAINING AT THE UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE, AND POSTDOC LEVEL. THESE STUDENTS WILL BE EXPOSED TO COMPLEX INSTRUMENTATION IN THEIR HOME LABORATORY AND AT NATIONAL LABORATORIES WHERE THEY WILL BE EXPOSED TO HIGH LEVEL SCIENCE. NEW SUPERCONDUCTING SYSTEMS SEEM TO BE DISCOVERED EVERY FEW YEARS, AND ADVANCES IN MAGNETISM SHOW NO SIGNS OF STOPPING. DEVELOPING THESE PROPOSED RESEARCH MAGNETS WILL ACCELERATE DISCOVERIES IN NEW MATERIALS WITH MAGNETIC AND SUPERCONDUCTING PROPERTIES. FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS DISCOVERIES INVOLVING MAGNETISM HAVE LED TO THE RAPID MINIATURIZATION OF EVERYTHING FROM EARBUDS TO HARD DRIVES. ADVANCES IN SUPERCONDUCTING MATERIALS AND MAGNETS HAVE TRANSFORMED MEDICAL IMAGING, AND ARE AT THE HEART OF MOST SUCCESSFUL QUANTUM COMPUTERS. THE USE OF MAGNETIC AND SUPERCONDUCTING MATERIALS TO IMPROVE OUR ELECTRIC GRID, ELECTRIC MOTORS, AND APPLIANCES IS WIDELY ANTICIPATED, BUT DEPENDS ON THE CONTINUED ADVANCEMENT OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MATERIALS WITH BOTH MAGNETIC AND SUPERCONDUCTING PROPERTIES. HIGH MAGNETIC FIELDS AND LOW TEMPERATURES ARE ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTANDING QUANTUM STATES OF MATTER, THE STATES OF MATTER THAT GIVE US TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, MAGNETISM, AND QUANTUM COMPUTERS. THIS DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL WILL CREATE PULSED MAGNETS IN THE RANGE OF 30 - 50 TESLA THAT WILL GREATLY INCREASE THE THROUGHPUT OF HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD RESEARCH LABORATORIES AND CREATE MAGNETS THAT CAN BE USED AT LIGHT SOURCES SUCH AS X-RAY LABORATORIES. LOW TEMPERATURES ARE ESSENTIAL TO LOWER THE ENERGY OF A SYSTEM SO THAT THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ELECTRONS DOMINATE THE PHYSICS OF MATERIALS. ELECTRONS ARE INTRINSICALLY MAGNETIC, SO MAGNETIC FIELDS ARE A NATURAL PROBE OF ELECTRON BEHAVIOR. GIVEN THE ENERGY SCALES OF TEMPERATURE AND HOW AN ELECTRON INTERACTS WITH A MAGNETIC FIELD, 10 KELVIN IS ABOUT EQUAL TO 15 TESLA. THEREFORE, TO STUDY MATERIALS, MANY QUANTUM PHENOMENA REQUIRE MAGNETIC FIELDS ON THE ORDER OF TENS OF TESLA. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CREATE A MAGNET THAT CAN BE PULSED TO 40 TESLA ONCE A MINUTE, OR 50 TESLA EVERY FIVE MINUTES THUS INCREASING THE REPETITION RATE OF MAGNET PULSES BY A FACTOR OF FOUR, GREATLY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF EXPERIMENTS THAT CAN BE DONE AT THE UNIVERSITY BASED LABORATORY. THESE DESIGNS WILL BE APPLICABLE TO MANY OTHER PULSED FIELD LABORATORIES, AND IN PARTICULAR FOR THE ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY X-RAY BEAM LINE. THE RESEARCHERS WILL DESIGN A MAGNET THAT COULD BE USED IN THE BEAM LINE AT ADVANCED PHOTON SOURCE. ADDITIONALLY, THIS RESEARCH WILL TRAIN SCIENTISTS AT THE LEVEL OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, GRADUATE STUDENTS, AND POSTDOCS. THESE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS WILL BE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN EXPERIMENTS AT OUR UNIVERSITY AND NATIONAL LABORATORIES, PREPARING THEM TO BE THE NEXT GENERATION OF SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTISTS AT LEADING US RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS. 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.

MSB/PEET: POLYPEET: ENHANCING TAXONOMIC EXPERTISE IN THE POLYPORALES

SBP: INDIVIDUAL AND CONTEXTUAL FACTORS THAT SUPPORT LANGUAGE LEARNING AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN BILINGUAL CLASSROOMS -THIS PROJECT EXAMINES LANGUAGE AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES IN K-4 STUDENTS WHO HAVE DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. SCHOOLS SERVING STUDENTS FROM LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS FOLLOW DIFFERENT TYPES OF BILINGUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. ADDITIONALLY, TEACHERS DEVELOP DIFFERENT CLASSROOM STRATEGIES TO MEET THEIR STUDENTS' NEEDS. THIS PROJECT EXAMINES TEACHER PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES THAT PREDICT STUDENT LANGUAGE AND ACADEMIC CONTENT LEARNING. THE PROJECT ADVANCES UNDERSTANDING OF CHILD LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THREE INTERACTING LEVELS OF CONTEXT: TYPE OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, TEACHER CLASSROOM PRACTICES, AND CHILD FACTORS. THE OUTCOMES OF THIS RESEARCH CAN PROVIDE EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDANCE TO BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND DIRECT TEACHERS? LANGUAGE PRACTICES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS FROM DIVERSE LANGUAGE BACKGROUNDS. THIS PROJECT PROVIDES RESEARCH TRAINING IN DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE TO GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ACROSS THE DEPARTMENTS OF PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATION, AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY STUDIES. THIS PROJECT EXAMINES WHETHER FLEXIBLE LANGUAGE USE BY TEACHERS IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION CLASSROOMS (SUCH AS TRANSLATION AND MAKING CROSS-LINGUISTIC CONNECTIONS) IS ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER STUDENT OUTCOMES THAN LANGUAGE SEPARATION, A COMMON APPROACH IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION. THIS PROJECT USES A LONGITUDINAL APPROACH TO EXAMINE LANGUAGE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS ATTENDING RACIALLY, ETHNICALLY, AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE SCHOOLS. THE TEACHERS OF PARTICIPATING STUDENTS ARE OBSERVED TEACHING LESSONS IN MATH AND LITERACY IN THE FALL AND SPRING OF EACH ACADEMIC YEAR. TEACHERS ALSO PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS. RESEARCHERS GATHER DATA ABOUT CLASSROOM TEACHER PRACTICES ACROSS DIFFERENT TYPES OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS TO PREDICT STUDENT LANGUAGE AND ACADEMIC PROGRESS IN GRADES K-4 USING MULTIVARIATE GROWTH MODELING TECHNIQUES. THE OUTCOMES OF THIS PROJECT CAN ADVANCE COGNITIVE THEORIES OF BILINGUALISM AND LANGUAGE LEARNING AND INFORM EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE. 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 PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE DISTRIBUTED BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY (DBO) - A CHANGE DETECTION ARRAY IN THE PACIFIC ARCTIC REGION -THE ARCTIC OCEAN ECOSYSTEM IS CHANGING WITH WARMING TEMPERATURES AND DECLINING SEA ICE. THE DISTRIBUTED BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY (DBO) PROJECT WILL OBSERVE THESE CHANGES IN THE NORTHERN BERING AND CHUKCHI SEAS. SAMPLING LOCATIONS ARE BIOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT AND ARE IN THE U.S. EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE. OTHER INVESTIGATORS FROM THE USA AND SEVERAL PARTNER COUNTRIES WILL SAMPLE THE SAME LOCATIONS MULTIPLE TIMES A YEAR ON A COOPERATIVE BASIS. THIS WILL PROVIDE EXPANDED AND COST-EFFECTIVE DATA COLLECTION DURING DIFFERENT SEASONS AND CONDITIONS. DATA COLLECTED WILL INCLUDE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS SUCH AS THE WATER COLUMN CHARACTERISTICS AND THE SEA FLOOR ANIMALS THAT ARE FOOD FOR WHALES, SEALS, WALRUS AND SEABIRDS. DATA WILL BE SHARED AND AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC USE AS SOON AS IS PRACTICAL. THE PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE CURRENT U.S. NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY AND THE INTERAGENCY ARCTIC RESEARCH POLICY COMMITTEE?S 5-YEAR PLAN. THE DATA WILL BE OF VALUE TO U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES, PRIVATE INDUSTRY, AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES AS THEY TRY TO UNDERSTAND AND ADAPT TO CHANGES IN THE ARCTIC. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT TRAINING FOR THREE GRADUATE STUDENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES. DBO OBSERVATIONS WILL BE COLLECTED ANNUALLY THROUGH AN ARRAY OF STRATEGIES DEPLOYED VIA SHIPBOARD, AUTONOMOUS, LABORATORY, AND SATELLITE PLATFORMS. AN ANNUAL TRANSIT OF A CANADIAN COAST GUARD ICEBREAKER WILL SERVE AS THE CORE FLAGSHIP FOR DBO SAMPLING. THE OBSERVATIONS PERFORMED WILL INCLUDE STANDARD HYDROGRAPHIC AND BIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS ALONG FIVE TRANSECT LINES THAT REPRESENT ZONES OF HIGH BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTIVITY AND BIODIVERSITY. SAMPLING LOCATIONS IN EACH TRANSECT WILL BE ARRAYED SOUTH-TO-NORTH AND REFLECT A GRADIENT OF SEASONAL SEA ICE CHANGE AND SEAWATER WARMING. SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS WILL ALSO BE USED TO EVALUATE SEASONAL CHANGES IN SEA ICE CONCENTRATION, SURFACE SEAWATER TEMPERATURE, AND CHLOROPHYLL CONCENTRATIONS. COLLECTIVELY, THESE MEASUREMENTS WILL EXTEND A MARINE TIME-SERIES THAT PREVIOUSLY HAS REVEALED A FRESHENING AND WARMING OF PACIFIC SEAWATER AND IMPACTS ON PREY FOR LARGER MARINE MAMMALS, SEABIRDS AND PROBABLY FISH AND SHELLFISH. THIS RESEARCH WILL INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF IMPACTS ON BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES AS KEY ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS CHANGE. THE USE OF BIOLOGICAL DATA TO DETERMINE THE STATUS OF PREY-PREDATOR RELATIONSHIPS ALONG WITH PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL MEASUREMENTS WILL ALLOW FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF CHANGING CONDITIONS AND THAT IN TURN PROMOTE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN AND SURROUNDING ECOSYSTEMS. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO CONNECT THE OFFSHORE DBO WHERE SHIPBOARD MEASUREMENTS ARE MADE WITH EXISTING LOCAL COMMUNITY-BASED OBSERVATIONS, AS WELL AS BUILD CONNECTIONS TO A NEWLY FORMED DBO NETWORK THAT IS BEING IMPLEMENTED BY OTHER COUNTRIES AROUND THE ARCTIC. 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.

THE CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY P. A. N. T. H. E. R. PROJECT (SPECIAL EDUCATION PERSONNEL ACQUIRING NEEDED TRAINING TO HELP EXCEPTIONAL READERS)

22-LCLUC22_2-0003 IRRIGATION AS CLIMATE-CHANGE ADAPTATION IN THE CERRADO BIOME OF BRAZIL EVALUATED WITH NEW QUANTITATIVE METHODS SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND SCENARIO MODELS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CHARACTERIZATION OF SYNECHOCOCCUS-CYANOPHAGE INTERACTIONS ACROSS PHYLOGENETIC AND TEMPORAL SCALES

POSTPARTUM MENTAL HEALTH AMONG VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE MINORITY WOMEN

HOW THE MUSHROOM LOST ITS GILLS: PHYLOGENOMICS AND POPULATION GENETICS OF A MORPHOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN THE FUNGAL GENUS LENTINUS -FUNGI REPRESENT ONE OF THE FEW BRANCHES IN THE TREE OF LIFE IN WHICH COMPLEX MULTICELLULAR FORMS (I.E., MUSHROOMS) HAVE EVOLVED. MUSHROOMS COME IN A DAZZLING ARRAY OF SHAPES, FROM THE CLASSIC ?TOADSTOOL,? WITH A CAP AND STALK, TO CORAL- AND CANDELABRA-SHAPED MUSHROOMS, BIRD?S NEST FUNGI, BRACKET FUNGI, PUFFBALLS, AND OTHERS. FUNGAL BIOLOGISTS HAVE LEARNED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE HISTORICAL PATTERNS OF CHANGES IN THE SHAPES OF MUSHROOMS, BUT THE GENETIC MECHANISMS THAT UNDERLIE CHANGES IN MORPHOLOGY (FORM) ARE OBSCURE. THIS RESEARCH WILL USE GENOMIC METHODS TO UNDERSTAND PATTERNS AND MECHANISMS OF MORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION IN MUSHROOMS IN THE GENUS LENTINUS, WHICH INCLUDES A MIX OF GILLED MUSHROOMS AND POLYPORES?MUSHROOMS THAT FORM PORES INSTEAD OF GILLS. A PARTICULAR FOCUS WILL BE THE SPECIES LENTINUS TIGRINUS (THE ?TIGER SAWGILL?), WHICH CONTAINS BOTH GILLED MUSHROOMS AND PUFFBALL-LIKE ?SECOTIOID? FORMS, IN WHICH THE GILLS ARE COVERED BY A PERSISTENT LAYER OF TISSUE. THESE TWO FORMS ARE SO DISSIMILAR THAT THEY WERE ONCE THOUGHT TO BE DIFFERENT SPECIES, BUT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF MATING AND THEY OCCUR SIDE-BY-SIDE IN POPULATIONS THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA. LENTINUS TIGRINUS PRESENTS A CASE OF ?EVOLUTION CAUGHT IN THE ACT.? BY STUDYING THE GENETIC BASIS OF THE SWITCH FROM A GILLED MUSHROOM TO THE SECOTIOID FORM IN L. TIGRINUS, THIS PROJECT WILL SHED LIGHT ON THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE PRESENT DIVERSITY OF MUSHROOMS. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE TRAINING FOR A GRADUATE STUDENT AND A POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW, AND IT HAS A SIGNIFICANT OUTREACH COMPONENT, INVOLVING WORKSHOPS ON FUNGAL BIOLOGY FOR YOUTHS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, AND MUSHROOM FORAYS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC. UNDERGRADUATES WILL BE ENGAGED THROUGH COURSE ACTIVITIES THAT BRING RESEARCH INTO THE CLASSROOM. THIS RESEARCH WILL INVOLVE FOUR MAIN COMPONENTS: (1) HIGHER-LEVEL RELATIONSHIPS OF THE GENUS LENTINUS WILL BE RESOLVED, USING PHYLOGENOMIC APPROACHES. GENOME DATA WILL BE COLLECTED FROM LIVING CULTURES AS WELL AS HERBARIUM SPECIMENS REPRESENTING EXEMPLARS OF PREVIOUSLY RECOGNIZED SECTIONS OF LENTINUS. (2) A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE SECTION TIGRINI (WHICH CONTAINS L. TIGRINUS) WILL BE CONDUCTED, WITH THE AIM OF RESOLVING SPECIES LIMITS. GENOMIC DATA WILL BE OBTAINED FROM ALL SPECIES IN SECTION TIGRINI, EMPHASIZING POPULATIONS OF L. TIGRINUS IN NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA. (3) TWO APPROACHES WILL BE TAKEN TO IDENTIFY THE GENETIC REGION(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SECOTIOID FORM: (A) A CROSS-POPULATION POPULATION-GENOMIC ANALYSIS OF SECOTIOID AND AGARICOID (GILLED) INDIVIDUALS WILL BE CONDUCTED, USING SPECIMENS COLLECTED FROM POPULATIONS IN ILLINIOIS AND MASSACHUSETTS, AND (B) A GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY WILL BE PERFORMED, USING PROGENY OF A CROSS BETWEEN SECOTIOID AND AGARICOID INDIVIDUALS FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS POPULATION. (4) POPULATION-GENETIC ANALYSES WILL BE CONDUCTED TO ASSESS WHETHER THE GENETIC REGION(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SECOTIOID FORM IS(ARE) UNDER POSITIVE SELECTION. ANALYSES OF GENOTYPE FREQUENCIES WILL ALSO BE PERFORMED TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS ASSORTATIVE MATING AMONG THE SECOTIOID AND AGARICOID FORMS. COLLECTIVELY, THE RESULTS OF THIS RESEARCH WILL RECONSTRUCT HIGHER-LEVEL RELATIONSHIPS IN LENTINUS AND RESOLVE THE GENETIC BASES AND POPULATION-LEVEL DYNAMICS OF A MORPHOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN L. TIGRINUS. 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.

THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO ENHANCE AN EXISTING PHYSIOLOGICALLY BASED PHARMACOKINETIC (PBPK) MODEL FOR THE PESTICIDE, CHLORPYRIFOS (CPF), IN HUM

INHOMOGENEITY AND CHARGE MODULATION IN UNCONVENTIONAL SUPERCONDUCTORS

STABILIZING AND RECOVERING POLYMERIC NANOSCALE ASSEMBLIES UTILIZING DYNAMIC COVALENT BONDS

IN RESPONSE TO THE CRITICAL NEED FOR BOLSTERED SECURITY MEASURES, THE UNIVERSITY PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT, LOCATED IN A MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREA, SEEKS FUNDING TO ENHANCE ITS CAMPUS SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO FORTIFY THE SAFETY OF THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY, PREDOMINANTLY COMPRISING UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, BY UPGRADING SECURITY CAMERAS, INTEGRATING A FULLY FUNCTIONAL VIDEO COMMUNICATION CENTER, AND REPLACING EMERGENCY CALL BOXES. THE PRIMARY ACTIVITIES OF THIS PROJECT ENTAIL THE INSTALLATION OF ADVANCED SECURITY CAMERAS EQUIPPED WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY ACROSS STRATEGIC POINTS ON THE CAMPUS PREMISES. THESE CAMERAS WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO A CENTRALIZED COMMUNICATION CENTER, FACILITATING REAL-TIME MONITORING AND RESPONSE TO SECURITY INCIDENTS, TO INCLUDE EFFICIENT UPGRADES IN THE VIDEO INTEGRATION COMMUNICATION CENTER. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT INVOLVES THE REPLACEMENT OF OUTDATED EMERGENCY CALL BOXES WITH MODERNIZED VERSIONS, ENSURING SWIFT ACCESS TO EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF. THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF THIS INITIATIVE ARE MANIFOLD. FIRSTLY, THE UPGRADED SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE THE OVERALL SAFETY OF THE CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT, FOSTERING A SENSE OF SECURITY AMONG STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ADVANCED SECURITY CAMERAS AND A FULLY FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION CENTER WILL ENABLE PROACTIVE MONITORING AND RAPID RESPONSE TO SECURITY THREATS, THEREBY MITIGATING POTENTIAL RISKS EFFECTIVELY. MOREOVER, THE REPLACEMENT OF EMERGENCY CALL BOXES WILL FURTHER STREAMLINE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROCEDURES, ENSURING SWIFT ASSISTANCE DURING CRITICAL SITUATIONS. THE SERVICE AREA OF THIS PROJECT ENCOMPASSES THE ENTIRE CAMPUS, CATERING TO THE DIVERSE NEEDS OF ITS STUDENT BODY AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITY. THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, AND VISITORS. BY FORTIFYING CAMPUS SECURITY, THIS INITIATIVE AIMS TO CREATE A SAFE AND CONDUCIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT PRIORITIZES THE WELL-BEING OF ALL INDIVIDUALS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INSTITUTION. WHILE SUB-RECIPIENTS ARE NOT SPECIFIED IN THIS PROPOSAL, THE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY WILL COLLABORATE WITH RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND SECURITY TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS, TO ENSURE THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROJECT. IN SUMMARY, THIS PROPOSAL SEEKS FUNDING TO UPGRADE THE UNIVERSITYS CAMPUS SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE, COMPRISING THE INSTALLATION OF ADVANCED SECURITY CAMERAS, INTEGRATION OF A FULLY FUNCTIONAL VIDEO COMMUNICATION CENTER, AND REPLACEMENT OF EMERGENCY CALL BOXES. BY ENHANCING SECURITY MEASURES, THE PROJECT ENDEAVORS TO CREATE A SAFE CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT AND MEET THE DIVERSE NEEDS OF ITS STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: AFTOL: RESOLVING THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE FUNGI

OBSERVING AND UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACTS OF A THINNING AND RETREATING SEA ICE COVER ON LIGHT PROPAGATION, PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY, AND BIOGEOCHEMISTRY IN

CAREER: EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF MORPHOGENESIS AND LOCOMOTION OF MULTICELLULAR MAGNETOTACTIC BACTERIA

LATINO MEN AND DEPRESSION: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOR

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MODELING AND SURVEYING SEDIMENT CREEP UNDER GROUNDWATER FLOW FORCING, TO PREDICT FAILURE EVENTS AND LONG-TERM EVOLUTION IN LANDSCAPES -ACCURATE MODELING OF SEDIMENT MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR IS CRUCIAL FOR BUILDING AND PRESERVING OUR ROADS, BRIDGES, AND HOUSING; NOTABLY TO RESIST FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES FOLLOWING HEAVY RAINS. THE FAILURE OF DAMS AND LANDSLIDES PRESENT SOME OF THE HIGHEST HAZARDS. THE LATEST ASCE REPORT ON THE STATE OF INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE UNITED STATES GAVE A D GRADE TO THE US DAMS. IN 2017, 15,498 DAMS IN THE US (17 %) WERE CLASSIFIED AS HIGH-HAZARDS. EXTRA WATER-FLOW THROUGH EARTHEN DAMS AND SOILS IS KNOWN AS A RISK FACTOR FOR LANDSLIDING OR BREACHING. TO BETTER TACKLE THESE HIGH-STAKES PROBLEMS THE INVESTIGATORS WILL DEVELOP AND TEST A NEW MODEL THAT CONSIDERS HOW SUCH GROUNDWATER FLOW IMPACTS SEDIMENT CREEP. THESE PROJECT OUTPUTS WILL THEN HELP WITH THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL PART OF RISK PREVENTION OR MITIGATION. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR BASED AT CLARK UNIVERSITY, IN WORCESTER, MA, WILL CONDUCT AN ACTIVITY FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE COLUMBUS PARK SCHOOL IN WORCESTER, FOR THEM TO DEVELOP PHYSICAL INTUITION OF HOW DAMS (SUCH AS THE PATCH POND DAM) CAN HOLD OR SOMETIMES BREAK. THE CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR BASED AT THE NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL (NPS) IN MONTEREY, CA, WILL BRING STEM CHALLENGES TO THE LOCAL MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS AS PART OF THE NPS ANNUAL DESIGN CHALLENGE. SEDIMENT CREEP IS UBIQUITOUS, AND IT PRECEDES FAILURE IN MOST LANDSCAPES. QUANTIFYING THE SEDIMENT CREEP FLUX OVER HILL SLOPES IS CRUCIAL FOR PREDICTING THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF LANDSCAPES. CURRENT MODELS ARE DETERMINED EMPIRICALLY OVER GEOLOGICAL TIME SCALES AND ARE DIFFUSION-LIKE, ALTHOUGH THE MECHANICS OF SEDIMENT CREEP ON ALL TIME SCALES REMAIN POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THE RISK OF HILLSLOPE DESTABILIZATION HAS BEEN OBSERVED AS INCREASING WITH EXCESS GROUNDWATER, YET, THERE IS NO MODEL LINKING GROUNDWATER FLOW AND SEDIMENT CREEP. THE INVESTIGATORS PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A NEW MODEL OF SEDIMENT CREEP AND TEST IT AGAINST NEW AND COMPLEMENTARY DATA SETS FROM LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AND FIELD SURVEYS. THE PROPOSED NEW MODEL FOR SEDIMENT CREEP BUILDS ON RESULTS RECENTLY OBTAINED BY THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR TO EXPLICITLY INCLUDE THE MECHANICAL EFFECTS OF GROUNDWATER FLOW, FRICTION, AND GRAVITY ON LOCAL SEDIMENT CREEP DEFORMATION. LABORATORY AND FIELD DATA WILL BE ACQUIRED BEFORE THE BREACHING OF SANDY DAMS ALLOWING THE INVESTIGATORS TO TEST THEIR NEW LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION MODEL, OVER TIME SCALES OF MINUTES TO WEEKS AND FROM FAR TO NEAR-FAILURE. FIELDWORK WILL BE CONDUCTED AT THE CARMEL RIVER, CA, PRIOR TO SEASONAL BREACHING AT THE RIVER MOUTH. THE NEW SEDIMENT CREEP FUNCTION WILL BE IMPLEMENTED AS PART OF AN OPEN-SOURCE MODELING TOOLKIT. 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.

INDICATED TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF MARITAL DETERIORATION IN AT-RISK COUPLES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE DISTRIBUTED BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY (DBO) - A CHANGE DETECTION ARRAY IN THE PACIFIC ARCTIC REGION

PROTECTING FOREST CARBON STORAGE AND UPTAKE IS CENTRAL TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLICES AIMED AT MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE. THE SUCCESS OF SUCH

EVOLUTION OF NEURAL INDUCTION AND DORSAL-VENTRAL AXIS SPECIFICATION: BMP NETWORK INVOLVEMENT IN ANNELIDS

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: CROSSTALK BETWEEN THE STK4/HIPPO AND NF-KAPPA B PATHWAY IN MAMMALIAN CELLS

CAREER: SOLID STATE NMR STUDIES OF TRANSITION METAL OXIDES: CORRELATION OF LOCAL STRUCTURE WITH PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

2020 HPF HBCU - CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, PARK STREET CHURCH ROOF RESTORATION

2017 HPF HBCU - CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY

CYBER SECURITY LEADERSHIP CENTER - RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING IN CYBERSECURITY FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

CAREER: MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTING NANOPARTICLES AT THE AEROSOL/VAPOR-PHASE INTERFACE -ROBUST ENERGY STORAGE IS CRITICAL FOR OUR NATION?S FUTURE. MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR NANOMATERIALS FOR ENERGY STORAGE POSSESSING HIGH ELECTRONIC CONDUCTIVITY AND HIGH ENERGY STORAGE CAPACITY COULD TRANSLATE INTO BATTERIES POSSESSING LARGER ?FUEL TANKS? AND IS CRITICAL TO THE US ECONOMY. THE CURRENT STATE-OF-THE-ART IN MANUFACTURING OF ORGANIC NANOPARTICLES FOR ENERGY STORAGE APPLICATIONS PRODUCES PARTICLES OF LOW ELECTRONIC CONDUCTIVITY RESULTING IN POOR ENERGY STORAGE PERFORMANCE. AMONG NANOMATERIALS, ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTING NANOPARTICLES ARE ESPECIALLY ATTRACTIVE FOR BATTERIES DUE TO SOLUTION PROCESSING PROPERTIES THAT ENABLE COST-EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE PARTICLES. THIS FACULTY EARLY CAREER DEVELOPMENT (CAREER) AWARD SUPPORTS FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH SEEKING TO ENABLE SCALABLE PRODUCTION OF ORGANIC NANOPARTICLES USING AN AEROSOL PROCESS THROUGH INVESTIGATION OF THE INTERPLAY OF AEROSOL FORMATION AND VAPOR PHASE CHEMISTRY. THIS RESEARCH WILL DETERMINE THE COMBINED TRANSPORT AND CHEMICAL KINETICS NEEDED TO CONTROL THE SYNTHETIC PATHWAYS FOR THE MANUFACTURING OF HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE PARTICLES IN AEROSOL-BASED SYNTHESIS WITH CONTROLLED COMPOSITION AND SIZE. THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF THESE NEW SYNTHETIC PATHWAYS WOULD IMPACT ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES BY LOWERING COSTS FOR ENERGY STORAGE IN DEVICES AND ENABLING DEVELOPMENT OF LIGHT-WEIGHT BATTERIES FOR TRANSPORTATION APPLICATIONS. THE INTEGRATED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE TRAINING OF UNDERREPRESENTED HIGH SCHOOL, UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS FOR CAREERS IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNOLOGY BY LEADING PROJECT-BASED WORKSHOPS THAT STUDY AEROSOL SCIENCE. MANUFACTURING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ACTIVE MATERIALS FOR BATTERIES WILL REQUIRE DEVELOPING SYNTHETIC TECHNOLOGIES COMPETITIVE IN AN ECONOMY OF SCALE. THERE IS A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE REGARDING MOLECULAR VARIABLES AND EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS THAT PROMOTE REACTIVITY BETWEEN AEROSOLS OF WATER DROPLETS AND VAPORS OF ORGANIC MOLECULES UNDERGOING OXIDATIVE RADICAL POLYMERIZATION. THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO DISCOVER MOLECULAR CORRELATIONS THAT ENABLE CONTROL OF POLYMERIZATION KINETICS AND REACTION MECHANISMS BY INVESTIGATING PRODUCTION AND DESICCATION OF WATER DROPLET AEROSOLS WITH CONCOMITANT VAPOR-BASED POLYMERIZATION WITHIN A FLOW REACTOR. DATA PRODUCED BY THIS RESEARCH WILL INFORM MANUFACTURING PROTOCOLS THAT LEAD TO KILOGRAM-PER-DAY PRODUCTION OF ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTING NANOPARTICLES. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE ORGANIC-INORGANIC NANOPARTICLE COMPOSITES USING FE2O3, V2O5, NB2O5, AND MNO2 TO PRODUCE PARTICLES CHARACTERIZED BY INTIMATE ELECTRONIC CONTACT BETWEEN ORGANIC AND INORGANIC COMPONENTS. THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO: 1) ACHIEVE MECHANISTIC UNDERSTANDING AT THE AEROSOL WATER DROPLET/VAPOR INTERFACE TO PINPOINT STEADY-STATE POLYMERIZATION KINETICS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIGH ELECTRONIC CONDUCTIVITY, 2) INVESTIGATE RESIDENCE TIME OF SUSPENDED AEROSOLS OF WATER DROPLETS UNDER REACTION CONDITIONS TO DESIGN NANOPARTICLES POSSESSING LONG CONJUGATION LENGTH AND HIGH CRYSTALLINITY, AND 3) PROBE SYNTHETIC CONDITIONS THAT TAILOR MASS TRANSPORT OF REACTANT VAPORS TO TRIGGER RAPID POLYMERIZATION AND HIGH THROUGHPUT BATCH PROCESSING. 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.

THE STRENGTHENING CULTURALLY SPECIFIC CAMPUS APPROACHES TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING INITIATIVE (CSC INITIATIVE) SUPPORTS HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUS), HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS (HSIS), AND TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (TCUS) TO STRENGTHEN THEIR INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING ON CAMPUS. THE CSC INITIATIVE FOCUSES ON BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF THESE INSTITUTIONS TO ESTABLISH CULTURALLY RELEVANT STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING, INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE RESPONSE PROTOCOLS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMMING. CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IS A PRIVATE, HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY (HBCU) LOCATED IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA. WITH THIS NEW AWARD, CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, IN COLLABORATION WITH ITS CAMPUS PARTNERS, WILL CREATE CULTURALLY SPECIFIC STRATEGIES TAILORED TO STUDENTS THAT ARE UNDOCUMENTED, LGBTQ+, OR FROM OTHER MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, AND WORK WITH THE DESIGNATED CAMPUS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER TO: 1) BUILD THE CAPACITY OF THE INSTITUTION TO DEVELOP A CULTURALLY SPECIFIC, COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING BY SECURING RELEVANT PARTNERSHIPS, CONDUCTING TRAININGS, AND DEVELOPING RESOURCES TAILORED TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY; 2) DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN TO OUTLINE KEY STRATEGIES NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH A COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE; AND 3) ESTABLISH A COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE TEAM THAT WILL OVERSEE AND IMPLEMENT PROJECT ACTIVITIES.

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH MECHANOCHEMISTRY AS AN ENABLING TOOL FOR THE SYNTHESIS, MODIFICATION, AND APPLICATION OF COVALENT ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS -PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY AS SOCIETY FACES CRITICAL CHALLENGES RELATED TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO DEVELOP NEW SYNTHETIC APPROACHES IN MATERIAL CHEMISTRY. MECHANOCHEMISTRY, THE SCIENCE OF USING MILLING, SHEARING, AND COMPRESSING TO DRIVE CHEMICAL REACTIONS, HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED INTERNATIONALLY AS AN IMPORTANT SYNTHESIS TECHNIQUE. THROUGH THIS EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH (EIR) PROJECT RESEARCHERS AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY LEVERAGE MECHANOCHEMISTRY FOR THE SYNTHESIS AND TRANSFORMATION OF COVALENT ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS (COFS). COFS ARE 2D OR 3D CRYSTALLINE POROUS POLYMERS WITH PRECISE INTEGRATION OF MONOMER UNITS INTO EXTENDED PERIODIC NETWORKS, REPRESENTING ONE OF THE MOST EMERGING POROUS SOLIDS OWING TO THEIR EMINENT STRUCTURAL FEATURES AND WIDESPREAD APPLICATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE IN GAS STORAGE, CATALYSIS, ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION, CANCER THERAPY, AND BATTERY TECHNOLOGY. HOWEVER, TRADITIONAL SYNTHESIS METHODS OF COFS REQUIRE LONG REACTION TIMES (3-9 DAYS), HARSH CONDITIONS (HIGH TEMPERATURES AND VACUUM), AND THE USE OF TOXIC SOLVENTS, LIMITING THEIR WIDESPREAD APPLICATION. THE PROJECT ADVANCES INSIGHTS INTO MECHANOCHEMICAL COF SYNTHESIS AND ENABLES THE CAPABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES. THE RESEARCH PLAN INCLUDES THE MECHANOSYNTHESIS OF COFS THROUGH MULTICOMPONENT REACTIONS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF COF-BASED COMPOSITES, THE APPLICATION OF COFS FOR RADIONUCLIDE SEQUESTRATION, AND THE ELUCIDATION OF MECHANOCHEMICAL COF FORMATION MECHANISMS. ADDITIONALLY, THE EDUCATIONAL PLAN INTEGRATES THE RESEARCH INTO A NEW GRADUATE COURSE, UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH INITIATIVES, AND AN OUTREACH PROGRAM RELATED TO MECHANOCHEMISTRY. BY ENGAGING POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS, GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, AND K-12 STUDENTS, THIS PROJECT PROVIDES EXPOSURE TO FRONTIER RESEARCH WHICH CONSIDERABLY EXPANDS THE RESEARCH CAPABILITY AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY. PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARY WITH THIS EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH (EIR) PROJECT RESEARCHERS AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY ESTABLISH A SOLID-STATE MECHANOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS METHODOLOGY FOR THE PREPARATION OF COVALENT ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS (COFS) THROUGH MECHANISTIC INVESTIGATIONS AND CARRY OUT PROOF-OF-PRINCIPLE EXPERIMENTS AIMED AT RADIONUCLIDE SEQUESTRATION. CURRENTLY, FULL EXPLOITATION OF THE POTENTIAL USES FOR COFS IS HAMPERED BY SYNTHETIC HURDLES ASSOCIATED WITH PREVALENT SOLVOTHERMAL SYNTHESIS, INCLUDING LONG REACTION TIMES (3-9 DAYS), HIGH TEMPERATURES, HAZARDOUS ORGANIC SOLVENTS, ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS, AND LIMITED SCALABILITY. THEREFORE, THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR AND HIS TEAM FOCUS ON MECHANOCHEMICAL APPROACHES TO SYNTHESIZE, MODIFY, AND UTILIZE COFS, AN APPROACH THAT IS NOT WIDELY USED IN THE UNITED STATES. SPECIFICALLY, THE RESEARCHERS MECHANOCHEMICALLY HYBRIDIZE COFS WITH VARIOUS FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS TO CREATE UNIQUE HETEROSTRUCTURES AND HIERARCHICAL COFS TO CREATE DESIRED HIERARCHICAL POROSITY. THEY INVESTIGATE THE RESULTANT COFS FOR RADIONUCLIDE SEQUESTRATION, WITH CLEAR STRUCTURE-FUNCTION CORRELATIONS AND IN-DEPTH ELUCIDATION OF THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM. TO ENABLE THE PRECISION MECHANOSYNTHESIS OF COFS, THE RESEARCHERS UNRAVEL THE MECHANISM OF MECHANOCHEMICAL COF FORMATION VIA COMBINED EXPERIMENTAL AND COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS, INCLUDING EX-SITU KINETIC STUDIES, IN-SITU PROBES, AND COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATIONS. 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.

CNH2-L: LINKAGES AND INTERACTIONS BETWEEN URBAN FOOD SECURITY AND RURAL AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS -THIS RESEARCH INVESTIGATES THE LINKAGES AND INTERACTIONS BETWEEN URBAN FOOD SECURITY AND RURAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT EVALUATES THE IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABILITY ON RURAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND HOW THIS AFFECTS URBAN FOOD SECURITY, AND, IN TURN, HOW URBAN POPULATION GROWTH AFFECTS THE DEMAND FOR LOCAL AND REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AS MEASURED THROUGH FOOD TRADE AND OTHER FLOWS. FUTURE CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD IN TERMS OF MEETING URBAN FOOD DEMAND DUE TO POPULATION GROWTH, THE CHANGING NATURE OF FOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERNS, AND THE VULNERABILITY OF BOTH LOCAL AND REGIONAL FOOD PRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABILITY. GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONAL FLOWS AND TRADE OF FOOD AND COMMODITIES ARE KEY ASPECTS OF HOW URBAN AREAS WILL MEET FUTURE FOOD DEMAND. BUT URBAN AREAS EXHIBIT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CONNECTIVITY TO INTERNATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS. GIVEN COMPLEX PATTERNS OF URBANIZATION AND THEIR DIFFERENTIAL ENGAGEMENT WITH GLOBAL, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS, NEW RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TYPES OF URBAN PLACES ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO IMPACTS OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL CROP PRODUCTION, AND WHAT TYPE OF URBAN AGGLOMERATIONS CAN MITIGATE THOSE IMPACTS THROUGH FOOD IMPORTS FROM DISTANT AREAS. THIS PROJECT PRODUCES A NEW AND TRANSFORMATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHALLENGES OF MAINTAINING FUTURE URBAN FOOD SECURITY AND HOW LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND GLOBAL FOOD FLOWS AFFECT URBAN FOOD SECURITY UNDER DIFFERENT SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. THIS HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES AND IS OF CONCERN FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. THE PROJECT INCLUDES EDUCATIONAL AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND DISSEMINATES ACADEMIC AND POLICY RELEVANT MATERIALS. THE PROJECT USES A NOVEL SPATIAL NETWORK APPROACH TO MODEL THE FLOW OF FOOD WITHIN REGIONS AND ACROSS INTERNATIONAL BORDERS BY ANALYZING RURAL FOOD PRODUCTION UNDER RECENT AND PROJECTED URBAN FOOD DEMAND SCENARIOS. THIS SPATIAL ANALYSIS IS LINKED TO HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA COLLECTED IN URBAN AREAS OF DIFFERENT SIZES AND WITHIN DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXTS TO UNDERSTAND HOW SHOCKS IN RURAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AFFECT URBAN FOOD FLOWS. HOUSEHOLD LEVEL INFORMATION IS LINKED TO FOOD DEMAND AND PRODUCTION INFORMATION, AS WELL AS PRICING INFORMATION. WHILE THERE HAS BEEN A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF RESEARCH FOCUSING ON THE DRIVERS AND OUTCOMES OF RURAL FOOD INSECURITY, LESS WORK HAS BEEN DONE TO UNDERSTAND THE DRIVERS OF URBAN FOOD INSECURITY. ADDITIONALLY, MOST URBAN FOOD SECURITY RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON LARGE METROPOLITAN AREAS, MOSTLY PRIMATE CITIES, DESPITE THE REALITY THAT SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OF URBAN RESIDENTS LIVE IN SMALL TO MODERATE SIZED URBAN PLACES. THIS PROJECT WILL MAKE IMPORTANT THEORETICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN INTEGRATED SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND WILL MAKE METHODOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY MODELLING URBAN-RURAL FEEDBACKS AND INTEGRATION AND BY DEVELOPING WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING THE INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT SMALL-TO-MODERATE URBAN DIMENSION OF FOOD SECURITY. THE RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED IN A VARIETY OF SETTINGS, BUT THE APPLICATION OF THE FINDINGS IS RELEVANT TO MANY URBAN AREAS UNDERGOING SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE, AND HOW THIS IMPACTS URBAN FOOD SECURITY. 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.

THE CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY LUCY CRAFT LANEY SCHOLARS PROGRAM (SPECIAL EDUCATION PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO ADDRESS LITERACY ACQUISITION NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL YOUTH)

CARBON DIOXIDE AND WATER FLUX RESPONSES TO EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATE ANOMALIES: A FLUXNET SYNTHESIS

NEW REP GRANT "ACQUISITION OF A HIGH-PERFORMANCE 400 MHZ NMR SPECTROMETER FOR MATERIALS/PHYSICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY"

1.PROBLEM STATEMENTTHE LIFESPAN OF FUEL TREATMENTS IS CONSTRAINED BY VEGETATION RECRUITMENT AND GROWTH AND RESULTANT FUEL ACCUMULATION (STEPHENS ET AL. 2012), BUT IT ALSO IS AFFECTED BY THOSE TREATMENTS MODULATING SUSCEPTIBILITY TO NON-FIRE DISTURBANCES. AS CLIMATE CHANGE CONTINUES, FORESTS ARE INCREASINGLY AFFECTED BY MULTIPLE TYPES OF DISTURBANCES OVER SHORT PERIODS (E.G., DECADAL). NOTABLY, OUTBREAKS OF BARK BEETLES HAVE BEEN WIDESPREAD AND AFFECT FIRE REGIMES IN COMPLEX WAYS (KULAKOWSKI VEBLEN 2015, FETTIG ET AL. 2022A). WHILE MUCH RESEARCH HAS EXAMINED HOW SUSCEPTIBILITY TO OUTBREAKS DEPENDS, IN PART, ON THE SAME ATTRIBUTES THAT ARE MANIPULATED BY FUEL TREATMENTS (FETTIG ET AL. 2010), LESS ATTENTION HAS BEEN PLACED ON HOW THOSE OUTBREAKS, IN TURN, AFFECT THE LONG-TERM EFFICACY OF FUEL TREATMENTS. CONVERSELY, FIRE SEVERITY (WHICH IS MODULATED BY FUEL TREATMENTS) ALSO AFFECTS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO OUTBREAKS (KULAKOWSKI VEBLEN 2015, FETTIG ET AL. 2022B). IMPORTANTLY, FULL ACCOUNTING OF THE INTERACTIONS AMONG FUEL TREATMENTS, OUTBREAKS, AND FIRES UNDER AN ALTERED CLIMATE IS LACKING, SETTING THE STAGE FOR UNPREDICTED OUTCOMES.2.OBJECTIVESWE PROPOSE FOUR OBJECTIVES FOR THE MONTANE FORESTS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAIN RANGE (SNMR), CA. (1) UNDERSTAND EFFECTS OF FUEL TREATMENT AND CLIMATE ON FIRE SEVERITY. (2) UNDERSTAND HOW POST-TREATMENT FIRES AND BARK BEETLE OUTBREAKS INTERACT TO DETERMINE LONGEVITY OF FUEL TREATMENTS. (3) UNDERSTAND HOW FUEL TREATMENTS, FIRES, AND BARK BEETLE OUTBREAKS INTERACT TO DETERMINE CUMULATIVE TREE MORTALITY, REGENERATION, AND VEGETATION CONDITIONS. (4) MODEL INTERACTIONS AMONG FUEL TREATMENTS, FIRES, AND BARK BEETLE OUTBREAKS UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS. WE HYPOTHESIZE: (1) FUEL TREATMENTS BECOME LESS EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING FIRE SEVERITY AND THEIR LONGEVITY DECREASES AS DROUGHT BECOMES MORE EXTREME. (2) FUEL TREATMENTS (ALONE OR COMBINED WITH SUBSEQUENT FIRES) DECREASE OCCURRENCE AND SEVERITY OF OUTBREAKS BUT NOT UNDER EXTREME DROUGHT CONDITIONS. (3-1) CUMULATIVE TREE MORTALITY WILL BE LOWER IN STANDS WITH FUEL TREATMENTS, BUT THIS EFFECT WILL DIMINISH WITH TIME SINCE TREATMENT AND WITH MORE EXTREME DROUGHT. (3-2) HIGH CUMULATIVE TREE MORTALITY REDUCES TREE REGENERATION, ESPECIALLY UNDER DROUGHT CONDITIONS. (4) UNDER MORE EXTREME FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIOS, (4-1) FIRE AND BARK BEETLE SEVERITY WILL BE LESS INFLUENCED BY PRE-DISTURBANCE FUEL TREATMENTS AND VEGETATION CONDITIONS AND (4-2) REGENERATION OF TREE SPECIES WILL BE MOST INHIBITED IN VULNERABLE BIOPHYSICAL SETTINGS AND FOLLOWING FIRE OR BEETLE DISTURBANCES.3.BENEFITSRESPONDING TO THE URGENT NEED TO REDUCE FUELS, THE USFS AND STATE OF CALIFORNIA SIGNED A SHARED STEWARDSHIP AGREEMENT IN 2020, WHICH COMMITS TO TREATMENT OF 1 MILLION ACRES OF FOREST YEAR UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE CA WILDFIRE AND FOREST RESILIENCE TASK FORCE (WILDFIRETASKFORCE.ORG). THE RESULTS FROM THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL NOT ONLY MEET GOALS OF JFSP, BUT ALSO WILL CONTRIBUTE TO NEW EFFORTS TO MANAGE FUELS IN THE REGION. NEW KNOWLEDGE ON MULTIPLE DRIVERS OF VEGETATION CHANGE WILL INFORM THE FREQUENCY AND TYPE OF TREATMENTS NEEDED TO MAINTAIN THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN FORESTS AFFECTED BY COMPLEX, CLIMATICALLY-DRIVEN DISTURBANCE REGIMES AS WELL AS BY THE DIRECT EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. DELIVERABLES WILL INCLUDE WORKSHOPS WITH FS PERSONNEL, CONFERENCE AND WEBINAR PRESENTATIONS, FIELD TOURS, GRADUATE THESES, REFEREED PUBLICATION, AND CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS AIMED AT THE MANAGEMENT AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITIES.4.TASK STATEMENT RELEVANCYTHIS RESEARCH DIRECTLY ADDRESSES THE SOLICITATION UNDER TASK 1 AND PROVIDES KEY INSIGHTS INTO HOW BIOPHYSICAL SETTING, CLIMATE, AND POST-TREATMENT DISTURBANCES DETERMINE VEGETATION CHANGE AND FUEL CONDITIONS OVER TIME. IN REMEASURING SITES AT WHICH FUELS HAVE BEEN TREATED 10 YRS AGO, WE WILL ELUCIDATE KEY DRIVERS OF FUEL TREATMENT LONGEVITY AND THEN MODELS THESE DYNAMICS UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS.

FOLDING, CRUMPLING AND ENTANGLING OF SHEETS AND FILAMENTS

THE USDA AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY ON CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT ENHANCE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, IMPROVE RURAL QUALITY OF LIFE, AND BENEFIT THE US PUBLIC. THESE PROGRAMS PROMOTE AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY AND PROVIDE BENEFITS SUCH AS IMPROVED WATER QUALITY AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, BOTH REGIONALLY AND NATIONWIDE. THE BIOPHYSICAL IMPACTS OF THESE PROGRAMS, E.G., EFFECTS ON WATER QUALITY AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS, CAN BE ESTIMATED USING ESTABLISHED BIOPHYSICAL MODELS. THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THESE PROGRAMS, HOWEVER, ARE GENERALLY UNKNOWN. DESPITE DECADES OF ACADEMIC AND OTHER RESEARCH SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS, USDA IS CURRENTLY UNABLE TO ACCURATELY MEASURE THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICE BENEFITS PROVIDED BY MANY OF ITS POLICIES AND PROGRAMS. BECAUSE ORIGINAL, PRIMARY-DATA STUDIES TO MEASURE THESE VALUES CANNOT BE CONDUCTED EVERYWHERE, LARGE-SCALE ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VALUATION (ESV) OF THIS TYPE ALMOST ALWAYS REQUIRES BENEFIT TRANSFER. BENEFIT TRANSFER USES EXISTING ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FROM PRIOR STUDIES AT ONE OR MORE LOCATIONS TO PREDICT ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES SUCH AS WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) AT OTHER, TYPICALLY UNSTUDIED LOCATIONS. BENEFIT TRANSFER CAN PRODUCE ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FOR AREAS AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS FOR WHICH ORIGINAL ECONOMIC VALUATION STUDIES HAVE NOT BEEN CONDUCTED--THEREBY PROVIDING ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FOR LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION. METHODS SUCH AS THESE CAN PROVIDE OTHERWISE-UNAVAILABLE INFORMATION ON THE PUBLIC BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. HOWEVER, BENEFIT TRANSFER METHODS SUFFICIENT FOR RELIABLE, REPEATED, LARGE-SCALE ESV ARE NOT YET SUFFICIENTLY DEVELOPED.ADDRESSING THIS LONGSTANDING CHALLENGE REQUIRES PRACTICAL AND RELIABLE BENEFIT TRANSFER METHODS DESIGNED FOR LARGE-SCALE ESV. VALUATION META-REGRESSION MODELS (MRMS) PROVIDE A PROMISING FOUNDATION FOR THESE BENEFIT TRANSFERS. THESE MODELS SYNTHESIZE DATA (CALLED VALUATION METADATA) FROM MANY PRIOR ECONOMIC VALUATION STUDIES ON SIMILAR TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL OR ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS (E.G., WATER QUALITY CHANGES) TO PRODUCE AN UMBRELLA VALUATION FUNCTION. THESE FUNCTIONS MAY BE USED TO PREDICT THE SAME TYPE OF VALUES FOR SITUATIONS OR LOCATIONS WHERE NO ORIGINAL ECONOMIC VALUATION STUDIES HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED. METHODS OF THIS TYPE CAN PROVIDE IDEAL TOOLS TO HELP UNDERSTAND AND PREDICT THE PER HOUSEHOLD, REGIONAL AND NATIONWIDE BENEFITS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS, SUCH THAT THOSE THAT RESULT FROM AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION. YET DESPITE THE PROMISE OF THESE VALUE-PREDICTION MODELS, NO EXISTING MRMS POSSESS THE COMPLETE PROPERTIES REQUIRED TO SUPPORT FLEXIBLE, VALID AND RELIABLE LARGE-SCALE BENEFIT TRANSFER FOR AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.RESPONDING TO THIS GAP IN AVAILABLE METHODS, THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP, ILLUSTRATE AND EVALUATE THE FIRST INTEGRATED BIOPHYSICAL AND META-ANALYTIC BENEFIT TRANSFER MODEL SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO ESTIMATE SPATIALLY EXPLICIT ECOSYSTEM SERVICE BENEFITS FROM LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION, WHILE ADDRESSING KEY LIMITATIONS THAT HAVE AFFECTED PRIOR BENEFIT TRANSFER APPROACHES. THE APPROACH WILL ENABLE PRACTICAL, VALID AND RELIABLE BENEFIT TRANSFER USING META-REGRESSION METHODS INTEGRATED WITH COMMON TYPES OF BIOPHYSICAL MODELS USED TO PREDICT ECOSYSTEM SERVICE CHANGES. THE APPROACH WILL BE DEMONSTRATED USING CASE STUDIES AT MULTIPLE HYDROLOGIC UNIT SCALES WITHIN TWO US REGIONS (MIDWEST, NORTHEAST), FOCUSING ON AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT ENHANCE AQUATIC SYSTEMS AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. THE METADATA WILL EXTEND EXISTING DATA DRAWN FROM PRIMARY STATED PREFERENCE STUDIES OF WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) FOR WATER QUALITY CHANGES THAT AFFECT AQUATIC SYSTEMS, AND WILL BE SUPPLEMENTED USING EXTERNAL DATASETS ON LAND USE/COVER, HYDROGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, AGRICULTURE, AND HUMAN POPULATIONS. THE RESULTING META-REGRESSIONMODELS WILL INCLUDE MULTIPLE INNOVATIONS TO ENABLE VALID AND RELIABLE WTP PREDICTIONS TARGETED TO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AND TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICE CHANGES. THESE ESTIMATES WILL BE VALIDATED USING A LARGE-SCALE PRIMARY STUDY ADAPTED FOR THIS PURPOSE, LEVERAGING ONGOING WORK FUNDED BY US EPA. THESE MODELS WILL ENABLE PER HOUSEHOLD AND AGGREGATE ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM SERVICES CHANGES IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, AND WILL ENABLE LOCALLY TARGETED BENEFIT TRANSFERS THAT ACCOUNT FOR SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY IN BENEFIT FUNCTIONS, BIOPHYSICAL IMPACTS AND ECONOMIC VALUES. THE APPROACHES WILL BE ADAPTABLE TO A WIDE RANGE OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMS. THE GOAL IS A FLEXIBLE AND PRACTICAL BENEFIT TRANSFER FRAMEWORK APPLICABLE TO LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT ENHANCE WATER QUALITY AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. THIS WILL INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF USDA AND OTHERS TO UNDERSTAND THEECONOMIC VALUES GENERATED VIA US AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.

MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH OF MEN WHO SUSTAIN PARTNER VIOLENCE AND THEIR CHILDREN

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP)

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP)

BRC-BIO: FAMILIARITY WITH FRIENDS: TRANSGENERATIONAL EFFECTS AS A MECHANISM FOR PARTNER CHOICE IN THE LEGUME-RHIZOBIA MUTUALISM -MUTUALISMS ARE OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE AND FOUND AT EVERY ORGANISMAL LEVEL, WHERE THEY FACILITATE THE FITNESS AND SURVIVAL OF THE INTERACTING PARTNERS. FOR EXAMPLE, NITROGEN IS AN ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT REQUIRED FOR PLANT GROWTH, YET THE MOST ABUNDANT FORM IS INACCESSIBLE TO PLANTS, MAKING IT A LIMITING RESOURCE. LEGUMES HAVE OVERCOME THIS LIMITATION BY FORMING BENEFICIAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH SYMBIOTIC BACTERIA, KNOWN AS RHIZOBIA, WHERE THEY RECEIVE USABLE NITROGEN IN EXCHANGE FOR CARBON METABOLITES. THE PROBLEM IS THAT PRIOR TO ESTABLISHING THE RELATIONSHIP, THE PLANT HAS NO INFORMATION ABOUT THE QUALITY OF ITS PARTNER. CHOOSING THE RIGHT MUTUALISTIC BACTERIAL PARTNER, WHILE EXCLUDING PARASITIC BACTERIA, IS ESSENTIAL BECAUSE THE PROCESS TO FORM THE MUTUALISTIC RELATIONSHIP REQUIRES THE PLANT TO EXPEND ENERGY THAT COULD OTHERWISE BE USED FOR GROWTH. MANY LEGUME SPECIES ALREADY SHOW SOME DEGREE OF SPECIFICITY USING SIGNALING TO LIMIT PARTNERSHIP WITH COMPATIBLE RHIZOBIA SPECIES. ONCE THE PARTNERSHIP IS INITIATED, THERE IS ADDITIONAL MOLECULAR SIGNALING THAT TRIGGERS THE PLANT IMMUNE SYSTEM. EITHER TYPE OF SIGNALING MAY LEAVE AN IMPRINT OR MEMORY ON THE HOST PLANT THAT IS SPECIFIC TO INDIVIDUAL RHIZOBIA STRAINS. THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THIS MEMORY MAY BE HERITABLE AND HELP FUTURE GENERATIONS OF THE HOST PLANT CHOOSE BENEFICIAL STRAINS DUE TO FAMILIARITY, GIVING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF NON-GENETIC HERITABILITY AND PROVIDING INSIGHT INTO THE MAINTENANCE OF MUTUALISTIC RELATIONSHIPS. THIS PROJECT ALSO PROVIDES UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH FUNDED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, WHICH HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE DIVERSITY AND INCREASE RETENTION IN STEM. THE ORIGINATION AND MAINTENANCE OF MUTUALISMS PRESENTS AN EVOLUTIONARY CONUNDRUM AS BOTH PARTNERS ARE EXPECTED TO ACT IN THEIR OWN SELF-INTEREST. AS WITH ALL MUTUALISMS, THERE IS A RISK OF THE HOST BEING EXPLOITED BY THEIR PARTNER LEADING TO THE BREAKDOWN OF THE RELATIONSHIP. THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE A FAITHFUL AND BENEFICIAL PARTNER CAN STABILIZE THE PARTNERSHIP. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISM THAT ALLOWS FOR PARTNER CHOICE HAS NOT YET BEEN UNCOVERED IN THE LEGUME-RHIZOBIA MUTUALISM, DESPITE EVIDENCE THAT HOST PLANTS ARE ABLE TO PREFERENTIALLY NODULATE WITH MORE BENEFICIAL PARTNERS. THIS PROJECT EXAMINES THE PREDICTION THAT THE SELECTED PARTNER WILL LIKELY BE DETERMINED THROUGH A COMBINATION OF GENETIC (HOST PLANT AND RHIZOBIA GENES), EPIGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS. USING THE BEARDED CLOVER, TRIFOLIUM BARBIGERUM, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL DETERMINE WHETHER TRANSGENERATIONAL EFFECTS FROM PREVIOUS GENERATIONS CAN INFLUENCE THE HOST PLANT?S CHOICE OF SYMBIOTIC PARTNER. THIS PROJECT WILL QUANTIFY NODULE OCCUPANCY TO DETERMINE WHETHER PREVIOUS EXPOSURE TO A STRAIN AND ITS EFFICACY INFORM HOST PLANT SELECTION USING A COMBINATION OF FLUORESCENT LABELING, QPCR AND METABARCODING TO DISTINGUISH RHIZOBIA AT THE STRAIN LEVEL. 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.

DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL PROXIMITY CATALYZED CHEMICAL EPITOPE TARGETING TECHNOLOGY FOR ISOLATING MACROCYCLIC PEPTIDE INHIBITORS OF KRAS(G12V)-SOS INTERACTION

RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD: DERIVING GENE FUNCTION FROM THREE-DIMENSIONAL GENE CLUSTERING -NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM (HBCU-UP) THROUGH RESEARCH INITIATION AWARDS PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR JUNIOR AND MID-CAREER FACULTY AT HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WHO ARE BUILDING NEW RESEARCH PROGRAMS OR REDIRECTING AND REBUILDING EXISTING RESEARCH PROGRAMS. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE AWARD HELPS TO FURTHER THE FACULTY MEMBER'S RESEARCH CAPABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPROVE RESEARCH AND TEACHING AT THE HOME INSTITUTION. THIS AWARD TO CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO BE TRAINED IN COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY RESEARCH. THIS RESEARCH CHALLENGES THE TRADITIONAL BELIEF THAT EUKARYOTIC GENES ARE DISTRIBUTED RANDOMLY ON CHROMATIN THROUGHOUT THE NUCLEUS AND ARE NOT FUNCTIONING IN COORDINATION WITH EACH OTHER. IT AIMS TO IDENTIFY AND CONNECT PHYSICAL GENE CLUSTERING IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3D) SPACE IN THE NUCLEUS TO HELP IDENTIFY GENE FUNCTIONS. THIS COULD LEAD TO DISCOVERING NOVEL BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS OR PRODUCTS AND MAY BECOME TARGETS FOR BIOENGINEERING. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: WHILE GENE CLUSTERS AND COEXPRESSION OF CO-LOCATED GENES IS COMMON IN PROKARYOTES, THE ORGANIZATION OF EUKARYOTIC GENOME IS THOUGHT TO EXCLUDE THESE TYPES OF GENOMIC FEATURES. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO IDENTIFY FUNCTIONAL GENE CLUSTERING AND COORDINATED GENE EXPRESSION IN A GREEN ALGA, A. PROTOTHECOIDES, BY INTEGRATING MULTIPLE TYPES OF SEQUENCING DATA TO MAP THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL GENOME ARCHITECTURE. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH EXPANDS UPON PREVIOUS RESEARCH FROM THIS RESEARCH TEAM THAT SUCCESSFULLY IDENTIFIED SEVERAL EVOLUTIONARILY CONSERVED FUNCTIONAL GENE CLUSTERS IN ALGAE. THIS RESULTED IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF GENE FUNCTIONS FOR UNKNOWN GENES IN THESE CLUSTERS, ONE OF WHICH WAS VERIFIED IN BY EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE CURRENT RESEARCH ARE: (1) EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENE CLUSTERING AND CO-EXPRESSION IN EUKARYOTES IN 3D SPACE BY EXPANDING THE COMPUTATIONAL SEARCH FOR THESE FEATURES, (2) IDENTIFY GENOMIC FEATURES (TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, LONG RANGE CHROMOSOMAL INTERACTIONS, GENOMIC ISLANDS, ETC.) THAT SUPPORT THE CO-REGULATION OF CO-FUNCTIONAL GENE CLUSTERS IN 3D SPACE, AND (3) EXPLORE THE DYNAMIC CHANGES OF GENE CLUSTERING THROUGH FUNCTIONAL GENOMIC STRESS ANALYSIS. THIS PROJECT WILL INFORM BASIC SCIENCE BY ELUCIDATING GENOME ARCHITECTURE AND FUNCTIONAL GENE DISTRIBUTION OF EUKARYOTES. IT SPECIFICALLY TARGETS NON-MODEL EUKARYOTES WITH SMALL GENOMES TO PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE EVOLUTIONARY TRANSITION TO EUKARYOTIC CELL TYPES. 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.

DECODING CIS-REGULATORY GRAMMAR AT HOX GENES

ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE CO2 CONVERSION WITH ATOMICALLY PRECISE NANO-INTERMETALLIC CATALYSTS -NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT: ACHIEVING CARBON NEUTRALITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SOCIETY AS CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSION BECOMES AN INCREASINGLY URGENT ISSUE. THE CONVERSION OF CARBON DIOXIDE USING ELECTRICITY PRESENTS A PROMISING SOLUTION. THIS PROJECT AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY AIMS TO ADVANCE CLEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS BY DEVELOPING NEXT-GENERATION NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS TO MAKE ELECTRICITY-DRIVEN CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION MORE EFFICIENT AND ECONOMICALLY VIABLE. THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS LEVELS AND CONTRIBUTE TO A GREENER FUTURE WITH SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT ENRICHES THE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED BACKGROUNDS BY OFFERING INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS THAT INTEGRATE ELECTROCHEMISTRY, MATERIAL SCIENCE, CATALYSIS AND ENGINEERING. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR?S (PI) RESEARCH WILL BE CLOSELY INTEGRATED WITH EDUCATION PLANS AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY OF CLEAN ENERGY AND ADVANCED MATERIALS EDUCATION TO STUDENTS AND COMMUNITIES. THIS WILL EXPAND THE PIPELINE OF UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS INTO CAREERS IN CLEAN ENERGY AND ADVANCED MATERIALS BY EQUIPPING THEM WITH THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICAL SKILLS. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT: THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON ADVANCING THE FIELD OF ELECTROCHEMICAL CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION. CURRENT CATALYST MATERIALS FOR THIS PROCESS FACE SEVERAL CHALLENGES: (1) LOW ENERGY EFFICIENCY TO DRIVE THE REACTION, (2) PRODUCTION OF A MIXTURE OF VARIOUS PRODUCTS THAT COMPLICATES PRODUCT SEPARATION, AND (3) FAST DEGRADATION. TO ADDRESS THOSE CHALLENGES, THE PI AIMS TO ACHIEVE PRECISE CONTROL OVER THE INTERMETALLIC PHASE, NANOSTRUCTURES, SURFACE COMPOSITION AND LOCAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE CATALYST MATERIALS, THUS IMPROVING THE CATALYTIC EFFICIENCY AND STABILITY. THESE ATOMICALLY PRECISE MATERIALS ALSO SERVE AS A PLATFORM TO STUDY THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE-CATALYSIS RELATIONSHIP, FURTHER PROVIDING GUIDELINES TO ADVANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTROCHEMICAL CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION DEVICES FOR WIDE APPLICATIONS. LEVERAGING THE PI?S EXPERTISE IN THE CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS OF NANOMATERIALS, MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION, ELECTROCHEMISTRY AND SPECTROSCOPY, THE PROJECT WILL IMPLEMENT COMPREHENSIVE METHODS INCLUDING COLLOIDAL SYNTHESIS, SURFACE MODIFICATION, ELECTROCHEMICAL TECHNIQUES, X-RAY STUDY, ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY, AND IN-OPERANDO SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY. THE OBJECTIVES ARE: (1) DEVELOPING NOVEL SYNTHETIC APPROACHES OF NANO-INTERMETALLICS BASED ON EARTH-ABUNDANT METALS VIA CONTROLLABLE SOLUTION-BASED SYNTHESIS AND POST-TREATMENT; (2) HARNESSING THE ELECTRONIC AND STRAIN EFFECTS FOR EFFICIENT CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION BY CONTROLLING THE SURFACE COMPOSITION, CORE/SHELL STRUCTURE AND FACETS OF NANO-INTERMETALLICS; (3) UNRAVELING THE REACTION PATHWAYS AND MECHANISMS FOR PRODUCING VALUABLE CHEMICALS AND FUELS BY STUDYING THE CATALYST STRUCTURES AND INTERMEDIATES UNDER THE REACTION CONDITIONS. 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.

(NO IDC) ACQUISITION OF THERMOMECHANICAL INSTRUMENTATION TO SUPPORT RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND CAPACITY BUILDING IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AT CAU

INVESTIGATING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION AT DROSOPHILA HOMEOTIC GENES

CONTINUED CLIMATE WARMING IN THE ARCTIC WILL LIKELY HAVE PROFOUND CONSEQUENCES FOR MANY SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE REGION, INCLUDING DECLINES IN SEA ICE

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF THE AGE-RELATED RE-GROWTH OF THE PROSTATE

AN INTEGRATED STUDY OF ION DYNAMICS AND POPULATION DISTRIBUTIONS TO UNDERSTAND THE MOLECULAR UNDERPINNINGS OF CHARGE TRANSPORT THROUGH SELF-ASSEMBLED SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTES

THE NANOSCALE EFFECTS OF INTRINSIC AND EXTERNALLY-APPLIED STRAIN ON CHARGE DENSITY WAVE STATES

CURRENT PREDICTIONS ARE THAT GLOBAL FOOD DEMANDS WILL OUTPACE AGRICULTURAL CROP PRODUCTION BY 2050. ALTHOUGH 80% OF THE ATMOSPHERE IS COMPOSED OF DINITROGEN GAS, IT IS INACCESSIBLE TO MOST PLANTS IN THAT FORM, MAKING NITROGEN AVAILABILITY ONE OF THE PRIMARY BARRIERS TO INCREASED CROP PRODUCTION. THIS LIMITATION SPAWNED THE DEVELOPMENT OF NITROGEN-BASED FERTILIZERS, WHICH MORE THAN TRIPLED GLOBAL CROP YIELDS. BETWEEN 1960 AND 2000, THE APPLICATION OF NITROGEN FERTILIZERS INCREASED ~800% CAUSING A DOUBLING OF GLOBAL CEREAL PRODUCTION. WITHOUT THEM, OVER FOUR TIMES AS MUCH LAND WOULD BE NECESSARY TO MEET CURRENT GLOBAL DEMAND. HOWEVER, CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS ARE EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT. LESS THAN 50% OF THE NITROGEN IS APPLIED IS CAPTURED BY CROPS SO MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS ARE OFTEN UTILIZED, BUT THIS HAS RESULTED IN SOIL ACIDIFICATION AND INCREASED EMISSION OF GREENHOUSE GASES. AWARENESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS HAS CREATED A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT IN AGRICULTURE TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY USING MORE EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUES.ONE SUCH METHOD IS BY USING SOIL MICROBES THAT CAN SUPPLY PLANTS WITH USABLE NITROGEN THROUGH A PROCESS CALLED BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN FIXATION (BNF). UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF CURRENT AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH CREATING A SOIL ENVIRONMENT THAT IS HOSPITABLE FOR THESE BACTERIA. WE WILL COLLECT SOIL FROM DIFFERENT FIELD SITES BOTH AGRICULTURAL AND FROM UNDISTURBED PRAIRIE TO MEASURE AND CULTURE THESE NITROGEN-FIXING BACTERIA. WE WILL THEN GROW WHEAT IN SOIL FROM THESE SITES, AND ALSO IN THE PRESENCE OF THESE MICROBES TO MEASURE THE EFFECT ON PLANT TRAITS. WE HOPE TO SHOW THAT THE MICROBES IN PRAIRIE SOIL ARE MORE ABUNDANT, BETTER AT PROVIDING NITROGEN, AND LEAD TO MORE PRODUCTIVE CROPS. IF THIS IS TRUE, WE CAN ARGUE THAT AGRICULTURE SHOULD MOVE TOWARDS USING FEWER CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS AND USE TILLING METHODS THAT ARE NOT AS DESTRUCTIVE FOR THE SOIL, WHICH CAN DECREASE THE ABUNDANCE OF THESE HELPFUL MICROBES. THE RESULTS FROM THIS WORK WILL PROVIDE SHAREHOLDERS AND RESEARCHERS WITH DATA ABOUT WAYS TO IMPROVE CROP YIELDS TO MEET GLOBAL FOOD DEMANDS IN MORE ECONOMICALLY EFFICIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE WAYS.

NOVEL SUPERCONDUCTING STATES IN ACTINIDES AND OTHER ANISOTROPIC SUPERCONDUCTORS

EVOLUTION OF FRUITING BODY FORMS IN THE MUSHROOM-FORMING FUNGI (AGARICOMYCETES): A COMPARATIVE PHYLOGENETIC, PHYLOGENOMIC, AND DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH

TARGET INFUSION PROJECT: GEOSPATIAL DATA SYSTEMS-POLICY ANALYSIS CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENT PROJECT (GDS-PACE) -THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM (HBCU-UP) THROUGH TARGETED INFUSION PROJECTS SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND STUDY OF EVIDENCE-BASED, INNOVATIVE MODELS AND APPROACHES FOR IMPROVING THE PREPARATION AND SUCCESS OF HBCU UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS SO THAT THEY MAY PURSUE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, OR MATHEMATICS (STEM) GRADUATE PROGRAMS AND/OR CAREERS. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO INFUSE GEOSPATIAL SYSTEMS AND DATA ANALYTICS INTO POLITICAL SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT NEW UNDERGRADUATE GEOSPATIAL RESEARCH COURSES IN THE POLITICAL SCIENCE CURRICULUM, INCORPORATE GEOSPATIAL DATA SYSTEMS AND/OR DATA ANALYTICS MODULES IN CURRENTLY EXISTING POLITICAL SCIENCE COURSES, AND INCREASE GEOSPATIAL RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYTICS THROUGH FACULTY-MENTORED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECTS. THE PROJECT WILL LEAD TO A MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLICY ANALYSES IN AN INTELLECTUAL SENSE AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN PRACTICAL TERMS. THE OUTCOME OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE GRADUATES THAT CAN SOLVE REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS UTILIZING THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF POLITICAL SCIENCE THEORY AND PRACTICE COUPLED WITH GEOSPATIAL DATA AND DATA ANALYTICS. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO BETTER PREPARE OUR GRADUATES FOR GRADUATE STUDY AND THE WORKFORCE. 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.

INTEGRATING DATA SCIENCE INTO SOCIAL WORK UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY DEVELOPING UNDERGRADUATE COURSE MODULES THAT MODEL HOW TO APPLY SOCIALLY RELEVANT DATA SCIENCE AND ADVANCE THE FIELD OF SOCIAL WORK BY CULTIVATING DATA-DRIVEN TOOLS ADDRESSING HUMAN AND SOCIAL ISSUES. OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT ARE EXPECTED TO ADDRESS A CRITICAL GAP IN THE INFUSION OF DATA SCIENCE IN THE UNDERGRADUATE SOCIAL WORK CURRICULUM. THE PLANNED MODULES WILL PREPARE STUDENTS TO LEVERAGE DATA SCIENCE TO ADDRESS COMPLEX HUMAN AND SOCIAL ISSUES THAT CONFRONT SOCIETY USING AN AFROCENTRIC PERSPECTIVE FOCUSED ON SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS AND OTHER MARGINALIZED GROUPS. THE MODULES CREATED IN THIS PROJECT PROVIDE ACTIONABLE IMPACT IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION BY INCORPORATING DATA SCIENCE INTO SOCIAL SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE COURSES. SUCH AN APPROACH CAN ALSO BE APPLIED IN OTHER COURSES WANTING TO INCLUDE DATA SCIENCE. FRAMEWORKS FROM SOCIAL WORK AND DATA SCIENCE WILL GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODULES THAT WILL EQUIP STUDENTS WITH SKILLS TO USE DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS TO ADDRESS SOCIAL CHALLENGES. THE INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS INCLUDE BOTH SOCIAL WORK AND MATHEMATICS FACULTY, GUIDED BY AN ADVISORY BOARD OF DATA SCIENCE EXPERTS. FOUR OBJECTIVES FRAME THE PROJECT'S EFFORT. FIRST, IS TO DEVELOP CURRICULAR MODULES FOR THREE SOCIAL WORK CORE COURSES AND REDESIGN THREE SOCIAL WORK ELECTIVE COURSES TO REACH STUDENTS WITH DATA ANALYSIS SKILL-BUILDING. SECOND, IS TO IMPLEMENT A SEQUENCE OF DATA SCIENCE ACTIVITIES, ASSIGNMENTS, AND ASSESSMENTS WITHIN CLASSROOMS REACHING APPROXIMATELY 60 UNIQUE JUNIOR AND SENIOR SOCIAL WORK MAJORS STUDENTS OVER THE DURATION OF THE PROJECT. THIRD, IS TO EVALUATE THE MODULES TO DETERMINE THEIR IMPACT ON STUDENTS? CAPABILITIES, AMBITIONS, AND EVENTUAL GRADUATE SCHOOL/WORKFORCE PLACEMENTS. FOURTH, IS TO HOST A SYMPOSIUM AND DEVELOP A MANUAL THAT OFFERS MODEL CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND EVIDENCE-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PEER INSTITUTIONS SEEKING TO INTEGRATE DATA SCIENCE INTO EXISTING AND NEW SOCIAL WORK OR OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCE PROGRAMS. THE PROJECT RESEARCH FOCUSES ON UNDERSTANDING THE VARIED IMPACTS OF THE COURSE MODULES ON DIFFERENT STUDENTS. SPECIFICALLY, A MIXED-METHODS APPROACH COLLECTING BOTH QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA WILL INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF DATA SCIENCE MODULES ON STUDENTS? PERCEPTION OF DATA SCIENCE; WHAT IS REQUIRED OF FACULTY TO INTEGRATE DATA SCIENCE INTO SOCIAL WORK COURSES; AND HOW THE NEW AND ENHANCED MODULES PROVIDE THE NECESSARY DATA SCIENCE COMPETENCIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE COURSES IN SOCIAL WORK. THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ARE TO MEASURE STUDENTS' COMPETENCY WITH PROGRAMMING, COMPUTATION, AND DATA ANALYSIS; MEASURE DIFFERENTIAL IMPACTS OF COURSE MODULES ON STUDENTS; AND DETERMINE THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS TO INFUSE EXISTING CLASSES WITH DATA SCIENCE CONTENT. THE PROJECT WILL INFORM THE BROADER COMMUNITY ON HOW DATA SCIENCE CAN BE INCORPORATED IN A VARIETY OF UNDERGRADUATE COURSES SEEKING TO ADDRESS SOCIALLY RELEVANT CHALLENGES. THE NSF IUSE: EDU PROGRAM SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STEM EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS. THROUGH ITS ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING TRACK, THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS THE CREATION, EXPLORATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROMISING PRACTICES AND TOOLS. 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.

TARGETED INFUSION PROJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF DATA SCIENCE COURSES, MODULES, AND CAPSTONE EXPERIENCES TO ENHANCE CAREER AND GRADUATE SCHOOL READINESS -THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM (HBCU-UP) THROUGH TARGETED INFUSION PROJECTS SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND STUDY OF EVIDENCE-BASED, INNOVATIVE MODELS AND APPROACHES FOR IMPROVING THE PREPARATION AND SUCCESS OF HBCU UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS SO THAT THEY MAY PURSUE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, OR MATHEMATICS (STEM) GRADUATE PROGRAMS AND/OR CAREERS. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO PROVIDE STEM STUDENTS AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY WITH EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN MODERN PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES OF DATA-DRIVEN DISCOVERY BY INFUSING DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH INTO THE UNIVERSITY STEM CURRICULUM. THE GOALS OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO (1) DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT THREE NEW UNDERGRADUATE DATA SCIENCE COURSES TO EDUCATE AT LEAST 60 STUDENTS PER YEAR WITH INTERDISCIPLINARY DATA SCIENCE SKILLS; (2) DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT 10 DATA SCIENCE MODULES IN CURRENT STEM COURSES TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO DATA SCIENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR DISCIPLINE; AND (3) INCREASE DATA SCIENCE INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING IMPLEMENTATION OF A DATA SCIENCE LABORATORY TO SUPPORT DATA SCIENCE COURSES AND MODULES, AND HOST TWO FACULTY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS PER YEAR. THIS ENDEAVOR WILL LEVERAGE THE EFFORTS OF THE ATLANTA UNIVERSITY CENTER DATA SCIENCE INITIATIVE TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY AND INFUSE DATA SCIENCE INTO CLASSROOMS AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS. THE INFUSION OF DATA SCIENCE INTO THE UNDERGRADUATE STEM CURRICULUM WILL BETTER PREPARE UNDERGRADUATES, PRIMARILY AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS, FOR GRADUATE STUDY AND THE STEM WORKFORCE. THE FINDINGS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL SERVE AS A MODEL FOR OTHER HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS THAT SEEK TO EDUCATE AND MAINTAIN A DIVERSE DATA-DRIVEN STEM WORKFORCE. 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.

INSTABILITIES, ASYMPTOTIC ISOMETRY, AND ENERGY CONDENSATION IN ELASTIC SHEETS UNDER TWIST

REGULATION OF NITROGEN ASSIMILATION IN MARINE DIATOMS: INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF POST-TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROCESSES

COMMUNITY DIVERSITY AND PARASITE DYNAMICS

COASTAL SEES COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: A CROSS-SITE COMPARISON OF SALT MARSH PERSISTENCE IN RESPONSE TO SEA-LEVEL RISE AND FEEDBACKS FROM SOCIAL ADAP

DETERMINANTS OF THE PROTEOLYTIC DEGRADATION OF SOLUBLE AMYLOID-BETA

RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD - BEYOND TRADITIONAL DYNAMIC LINKAGES: REINFORCING CHEMICAL STABILITY AND COMPLEXITY IN NEXT-GENERATION COVALENT ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS

COMPETITION TO PREVENT HIGH-RISK DRINKING & VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

PHYSICS OF CHANNELIZATION: THEORY, EXPERIMENT & OBSERVATION

REU SITE: LAND CHANGE AND VULNERABILITY STUDIES IN NEW ENGLAND: THE HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT REGIONAL OBSERVATORY (HERO)

EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGE

RESEARCH ON BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN STEM PROJECT: STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE PERSISTENCE IN BIOLOGY -THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM (HBCU-UP) THROUGH RESEARCH ON BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN STEM PROJECTS SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND STUDY OF NEW THEORY-DRIVEN MODELS AND INNOVATIONS RELATED TO THE PARTICIPATION AND SUCCESS OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN STEM UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE AWARD WILL FURTHER THE FACULTY MEMBER'S RESEARCH CAPABILITY, AS WELL AS IMPROVE THE RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND SUCCESS OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN STEM EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE. THIS PROJECT AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY SEEKS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CONCURRENT INTEGRATION OF SCIENTIFIC LITERACY CURRICULA, PEER MENTORING, AND SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION IN THE FIRST YEAR SEMINAR COURSE, AS WELL AS THE GATEWAY STEM COURSES FOR ALL FIRST-YEAR BIOLOGY MAJORS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO ENHANCE RETENTION, GRADUATION RATES, AND GATEKEEPER COURSE PASS RATES FOR FRESHMAN BIOLOGY MAJORS AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY. EMPLOYING A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL DESIGN, STUDENTS WILL BE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TREATMENT AND CONTROL GROUPS TO RIGOROUSLY EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF THESE INTERVENTIONS. DATA COLLECTION WILL ENCOMPASS PRE- AND POST-INTERVENTION SURVEYS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE METRICS, AND QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK THROUGH FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS. THE PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE REGRESSION ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY HIGH-RISK STUDENTS AND APPLY LONGITUDINAL TRACKING TO MONITOR ACADEMIC OUTCOMES. THE ANTICIPATED CONTRIBUTION INCLUDES GENERATING NEW KNOWLEDGE ON EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY STUDENTS IN STEM, PROVIDING EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, AND INFORMING POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENHANCE STEM EDUCATION EQUITY AND SUCCESS. 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.

INTERNATIONAL EROSION, PARTICLE TRANSPORT, AND CHANNELIZATION DRIVE BY FLUID FLOW

IN THE UNITED STATES, MORE THAN HALF OF PRIMARY CROP SPECIES AND 20% OF PRIMARY CROP PRODUCTION RELY IN PART ON ANIMAL POLLINATION, MOST OF WHICH IS PROVIDED BY BEES. THESE POLLINATOR-DEPENDENT CROPS--MOSTLY FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND NUTS--TEND TO BE HIGH-VALUED, HIGH-NUTRITION FOOD AND SHORTAGES IN THE AVAILABILITY OF POLLINATION SERVICES COULD BE DEVASTATING FROM BOTH NUTRITIONAL AND ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES. RECENT DECLINES IN BOTH MANAGED AND WILD POLLINATORS HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED IN PART TO HABITAT LOSS AND PESTICIDE EXPOSURE. IN ADDITION TO GENERAL LAND-COVER CHANGE ACROSS THE U.S., SUBSTANTIAL MANAGED-BEE SUMMER "PASTURE" IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS HAS RECENTLY BEEN CONVERTED TO CROPLAND. AT THE SAME TIME, NEONICOTINOID INSECTICIDES ('NEONICS'), HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN SUDDEN DIE-OFFS OF MANAGED BEES AND LONG-TERM DECLINES IN WILD BEE POPULATIONS. IN PARTICULAR, NEONICS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE POLLEN AND NECTAR OF CROPS AS WELL AS THE FLORA IN ADJACENT BUFFER STRIPS, AND NEONICS CAN REMAIN IN SOIL FOR SEVERAL YEARS THREATENING GROUND-NESTING POLLINATORS.GROWERS OF POLLINATOR-DEPENDENT CROPS ARE THUS CONFRONTED WITH POTENTIAL ON-FARM TRADEOFFS BETWEEN EFFECTIVE PEST CONTROL AND SUCCESSFUL POLLINATION AND THEIR DECISION MAKING IS FURTHER COMPLICATED BECAUSE POLLINATORS AND PESTICIDES OFTEN CROSS PROPERTY BOUNDARIES. FARMERS DIFFER IN THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF BOTH THE POLLINATION SERVICES PROVIDED BY INSECTS AS WELL AS IMPACTS OF NEONIC EXPOSURE ON SUCH SERVICES. THEY ALSO DIFFER IN THEIR WILLINGNESS TO ADJUST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO ADDRESS THESE IMPACTS, AND THESE DIFFERENCES LIKELY DEPEND ON THE PARTICULAR CROPSCAPE (I.E., THE LAND-USE PATTERNS AND SPECIFIC CROPS GROWN) WITHIN WHICH THE FARMER OPERATES. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL FIRST DEVELOP AN INTEGRATED POLLINATOR-PESTICIDE CROPSCAPE TYPOLOGY THAT PLACES EACH COUNTY IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. ALONG A POLLINATOR RISK-REWARD GRADIENT. BROADLY SPEAKING, POLLINATOR RISK COMES FROM LANDSCAPES WITH HIGH PESTICIDE USE AND LOW POLLINATOR HABITAT NEAR OR ADJACENT TO POLLINATOR-DEPENDENT CROPLAND WHILE POLLINATOR REWARD COMES FROM LANDSCAPES WITH LOW (OR MITIGATED) PESTICIDE USE AND HIGH POLLINATOR HABITAT. THE RESEARCH WILL THEN CONDUCT GROWER SURVEYS IN SELECT CROPSCAPES TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (I) HOW AWARE ARE GROWERS OF THE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS THROUGH WHICH POLLINATORS ARE EXPOSED TO NEONICS? (II) WILL PROVISIONING OF INFORMATION REGARDING THE DAMAGES OF NEONICS AND THE BENEFITS OF POLLINATOR HABITAT OFFER ENOUGH PRIVATE INCENTIVE FOR GROWERS TO CHANGE THEIR MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OR ARE ADDITIONAL POLICIES OR PROGRAMS, SUCH AS PAYMENTS FOR HABITAT CONSERVATION OR PESTICIDE ABATEMENT, WARRANTED? (III) HOW DO DIFFERENCES AMONG GROWERS AND CROPSCAPES VARY ACROSS THE U.S. AND HOW CAN WE USE THIS INFORMATION TO GUIDE TARGETING OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL POLLINATOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS? ULTIMATELY, THE RESEARCH WILL IDENTIFY WHICH CONSERVATION STRATEGY (I.E., COMBINATION OF POLLINATOR HABITAT PROVISIONING AND PESTICIDE DRIFT ABATEMENT) IS BEST SUITED FOR EACH CROPSCAPE TYPE AND WILL GUIDE POLLINATOR CONSERVATION PROGRAM TARGETING BASED ON BOTH POLLINATOR REWARDS AND POLLINATOR RISKS.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MSA-FRA: ALTERNATIVE ECOLOGICAL FUTURES FOR THE AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL MACROSYSTEM

INTRUDER DYNAMICS IN FLUID SATURATED GRANULAR MEDIUM

REU SITE: THE APPLICATION OF DATA SCIENCE TO CHEMISTRY -THIS RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU) AWARD TO CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, LOCATED IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, SUPPORTS THE TRAINING OF A TOTAL OF 9 STUDENTS FOR 9 WEEKS DURING THE SUMMERS OF 2022-2024. THIS REU SITE, SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY AND THE DIVISION OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT HBCU-UP PROGRAM, PROVIDES UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH A CHALLENGING RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN APPLYING DATA SCIENCE METHODS TO PROBLEMS IN MATERIALS CHEMISTRY. IN ADDITION TO RESEARCH, THE REU PROGRAM INCLUDES A TWO-WEEK DATA SCIENCE BOOTCAMP, SCIENTIFIC SEMINARS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS, ORAL PRESENTATIONS, AN END OF PROGRAM SYMPOSIUM, AND MULTIPLE SOCIAL ACTIVITIES. STUDENT RECRUITMENT FOCUSES ON AFRICAN AMERICAN AND OTHER UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS, STUDENTS FROM MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS, AND STUDENTS FROM INSTITUTIONS WITH LIMITED RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES. TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF MATERIAL SCIENTISTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY AND DATA SCIENCE IS A KEY TO ACCELERATING MATERIALS MATERIALS INNOVATION . THE REU PROGRAM: (1) PROVIDES UNDERGRADUATES WITH AN EARLY RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN APPLYING DATA SCIENCE TO PROBLEMS IN CHEMISTRY WITH THE FOCUS ON PUBLISHING THE RESULTS, (2) PREPARES UNDERGRADUATES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES IN STEM AND THE STEM PROFESSIONAL WORKFORCE, AND (3) CONTRIBUTES TO THE DIVERSIFICATION OF THE STEM WORKFORCE. THE PROJECT WILL ACHIEVE THESE OBJECTIVES THROUGH THE FOLLOWING KEY ELEMENTS. THE TWO-WEEK DATA SCIENCE BOOTCAMP UPSKILLS STUDENTS IN DATA SCIENCE AND ITS ROLE IN CHEMISTRY. THE RESEARCH PROJECTS INVESTIGATE APPLICATIONS OF DATA SCIENCE TECHNIQUES TO ACCELERATE MATERIALS INNOVATION AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS. RESEARCH TOPICS INCLUDE APPLYING DATA SCIENCE METHODS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRYSTALLINE POROUS MATERIALS, PEROVSKITES FOR 2-DIMENSIONAL LAYERED OXIDE MATERIALS, GRAPHENE AND GRAPHENE NANORIBBONS FOR NANOSCALE FUNCTIONAL INTERFACES, AND NON-SUSTAINABLE PETROLEUM-BASED COMPOSITES. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES ENGAGE STUDENTS IN A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS ON TOPICS NECESSARY FOR FUTURE SUCCESS IN STEM. SCIENTIFIC SEMINARS HIGHLIGHT THE WORK OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY RESEARCHERS WHO ARE ACTIVE IN THE APPLICATION OF DATA SCIENCE TO PROBLEMS IN CHEMISTRY. THE END-OF-PROGRAM SYMPOSIUM PROVIDES PARTICIPANTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THEIR WORK TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY. THE PROJECT ACTIVITIES WILL POSITION STUDENTS TO ACQUIRE VALUABLE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS WHILE MAKING SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHEMISTRY THROUGH DATA SCIENCE. 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.

BURROWING DYNAMICS IN SEDIMENT BEDS -THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOFT ROBOTS THAT CAN NAVIGATE THROUGH COMPLEX TERRAINS TO MINE RESOURCES, AND ACTUATED DEVICES THAT TRANSPORT GRANULAR MEDIUM, REQUIRES A PHYSICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERACTIONS OF OSCILLATING THIN ELASTIC BODIES WITH PARTICULATES IMMERSED IN A FLUID. A SET OF PROTOTYPES WILL BE CONSTRUCTED WITH ELASTIC MATERIALS EMBEDDED WITH MAGNETIC PARTICLES THAT CAN BE OSCILLATED WITH CONTROLLED EXTERNAL FIELDS AND CAN BE OBSERVED INSIDE OPAQUE MEDIUM WITH OPTICAL INDEX MATCHING TECHNIQUES. A THEORETICAL MODEL WHICH INCORPORATES THE FORCES EXERTED BY THE GRANULAR AND FLUID MEDIUM, THE ELASTIC FORCES OF THE BODY, AND THE EXTERNAL FIELDS WILL BE DEVELOPED GUIDED BY EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE SHAPE AND VELOCITY OF THE ROBOTS. THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH WILL BE REPORTED AT SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES AND PUBLISHED AS PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES THAT WILL BE FREELY AVAILABLE VIA THE WEB. GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AND DISSERTATION WORK WILL BE SUPPORTED BY THE GRANT. THE PROJECT WILL ENABLE THE YEAR-ROUND RESEARCH TRAINING OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS THROUGH INTENSIVE PARTICIPATION IN SUMMER RESEARCH, AND CAPSTONE COURSES TOWARDS PURSUING STEM CAREERS. EDUCATIONAL TOYS EXPLORING THE PHYSICS OF BURROWERS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND DEMONSTRATED AT COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS TO INSPIRE K-12 STUDENTS AS WELL AS ADULTS. THE AWARD WILL STUDY THE PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES THAT DETERMINE THE DYNAMICS OF UNDULATING SOFT FILAMENTS IN GRANULAR MEDIUMS WITH EXPERIMENTS AND ELASTO-HYDRODYNAMIC THEORY. PROTOTYPES WILL BE CONSTRUCTED THAT SPAN THE RANGE OF BURROWERS OBSERVED IN NATURE INCLUDING UNDULATING FILAMENT-SHAPED ORGANISMS, AND THOSE THAT ARE COATED WITH OSCILLATING CILIA. CONDITIONS WHICH GIVE RISE TO METACHRONAL WAVES IN MULTI-FILAMENT ARRAYS WILL BE ELUCIDATED AND THEIR RELATIVE EFFICIENCY IN TRANSPORT WILL BE EXAMINED WITH VARYING PHASE-FIELD TECHNIQUES. MEDIUM-STRUCTURE INTERACTION MODELS WILL BE DEVELOPED TO CAPTURE THE SHAPE AND SPEED BASED ON THE ELASTICITY OF THE BODY AND THE RHEOLOGY OF THE MEDIUM. CONTROL OVER THE DIRECTION OF MOTION, AND ABILITY TO RISE OR FALL THROUGH THE BED, WILL BE INVESTIGATED IN TERMS OF LIFT EXPERIENCED BY AN OSCILLATING BODY IN SEDIMENTS AND BY SIZE SEPARATION MECHANISMS. THIS STUDY WILL ENABLE A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERACTIONS OF OSCILLATING ELASTIC STRUCTURES WITH GRANULAR ENVIRONMENTS UNDER UNSTEADY FLOW CONDITIONS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL RESULT IN A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF BIOLOCOMOTION AND SOFT ROBOT DESIGN IN SEDIMENT BEDS THROUGH PHYSICAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THE DESIGN OF JAMMING-FREE PUMPS THAT CAN TRANSPORT GRANULAR SUSPENSIONS THROUGH CHANNELS. THE PROJECT ACTIVITIES WILL FURTHER SUPPORT TRAINING OF STUDENTS AT VARIOUS STAGES OF THEIR EDUCATION, INCLUDING ENABLING UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE LABORATORY RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, AND OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN OUTREACH ACTIVITIES. MODELS DEPICTING THE PHYSICS OF BURROWING WILL BE DEVELOPED TO DEMONSTRATE TO SCHOOL STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AT COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS. 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.

REU SITE: MAPPING BEETLES, TREES, NEIGHBORHOODS, AND POLICIES: A MULTI-SCALED, URBAN ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE INVASION IN

PROTEIN AND LIPID ORGANIZATION IN BACTERIA

ANCESTRAL PLASTICITY AND MATING SYSTEM EVOLUTION IN THE STICKLEBACK RADIATION

GRANULAR EROSION, TRANSPORT, AND DYNAMIC-FILTRATION DRIVEN BY FLUID FLOW

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: AUTOMATED AND COMMUNITY-DRIVEN SYNTHESIS OF THE TREE OF LIFE

THE OVERARCHING SCIENTIFIC GOALS OF ACT-AMERICA ARE TO REDUCE UNCERTAINTIES IN BOTH MESOSCALE ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT AND BIOGENIC SURFACE CARBON FLUX

STRUCTURAL REARRANGEMENTS AND TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF CYCLICALLY SHEARED GRANULAR PACKINGS

RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD: TURAN-TYPE PROBLEMS ON PARTIALLY ORDERED SETS -HBCU-UP?S RESEARCH INITIATION AWARDS PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR STEM FACULTY TO PURSUE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES TO FURTHER THEIR RESEARCH CAPABILITIES AND EFFECTIVENESS AND HELP ENHANCE RESEARCH AND TEACHING AT HBCUS. THIS AWARD TO CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY (CAU) WILL ESTABLISH A RESEARCH PROGRAM IN COMBINATORICS AIMED AT ADVANCING THE STUDY OF PARTIALLY ORDERED SETS AND STRUCTURES THAT DO NOT CONTAIN THEM. THIS PROJECT WILL FURTHER ENRICH TEACHING AND LEARNING AT CAU BY ENGAGING UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THROUGH RESEARCH TRAINING AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE THEIR SKILL SETS WHILE PREPARING THEM FOR ADVANCED DEGREES OR TO ENTER THE WORKFORCE IN STEM FIELDS. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON TUR?N-TYPE PROBLEMS AND EXPAND THE KNOWLEDGE OF TUR?N-TYPE THEORY ON PARTIALLY ORDERED SETS (POSETS). POSETS ARE SETS WHICH ARE REFLEXIVE, ANTISYMMETRIC, AND TRANSITIVE. TUR?N-TYPE POSET PROBLEMS INVESTIGATE THE MAXIMUM SIZE OF A FAMILY IN THE ??-DIMENSIONAL BOOLEAN LATTICE POSET THAT DOES NOT CONTAIN SOME SUBPOSET, WHICH IS CALLED THE FORBIDDEN SUBPOSET PROBLEM. SPECIFICALLY, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO RESOLVE THE FORBIDDEN SUBPOSET PROBLEM ON POSETS LIKE THE CROWN POSET, AND ADVANCE THE FORBIDDEN SUBPOSET PROBLEM AND THE POSET SATURATION PROBLEM FOR INDUCED SUBPOSETS. THIS PROJECT WILL UTILIZE PROGRAMMING CODE IN PYTHON TO ANALYZE THE STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF FAMILIES IN THE BOOLEAN LATTICE THAT DO NOT CONTAIN VARIOUS POSETS. THE ANALYSES WILL THEN BE USED TO IMPROVE CURRENTLY KNOWN TECHNIQUES LIKE COUNTING AND DISCHARGING ARGUMENTS TO SOLVE THE FORBIDDEN SUBPOSET AND POSET SATURATION PROBLEMS FOR VARIOUS (INDUCED) SUBPOSETS. THE FINDINGS OF THIS PROJECT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE THE KNOWLEDGE AND STUDY OF TUR?N-TYPE THEORY FOR POSETS AND INDUCED POSETS. IN COLLABORATION WITH CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY, THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL INTEGRATE THE LEARNING OF COMBINATORICS FOUNDATIONS, PROGRAMMING IN PYTHON, AND RESEARCH IN COMBINATORICS FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY. 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.

(T&E) TRANSMISSION OF RADIO-FREQUENCY SIGNALS THROUGH PLASMA DURING HYPERSONIC FLIGHT

RESEARCH INITIATION AWARD: TOWARD UNDERSTANDING PERSISTENT HOMOLOGY IN TOPOLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS -HBCU-UP?S RESEARCH INITIATION AWARDS PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR STEM FACULTY TO PURSUE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES TO FURTHER THEIR RESEARCH CAPABILITIES AND EFFECTIVENESS AND HELP ENHANCE RESEARCH AND TEACHING AT HBCUS. THIS AWARD TO CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ADVANCE TOPOLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES, TRAIN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AND DATA SCIENCE, AND PRODUCE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION MODULES FOR COURSES. THIS PROJECT IS SIGNIFICANT IN THAT THE RESULTS MAY HAVE BROAD APPLICATIONS TO A NUMBER OF FIELDS AND THE WORK IS NECESSARY TO ADVANCE THE POTENTIAL OF TOPOLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS, WHICH FOCUSES ON HOW SPACES ARE ORGANIZED, STRUCTURED, AND CONNECTED. THE PROJECT WILL TRAIN UNDERGRADUATE HBCU STUDENTS IN DATA SCIENCE AT THE INTERSECTION OF GEOMETRY AND TOPOLOGY. THE PROJECT AIMS TO PRODUCE RESULTS THAT WILL LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRACTICAL MATHEMATICAL TOOLS TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PERSISTENT HOMOLOGY BY BOLSTERING ITS CONNECTION TO STATISTICS AND MACHINE LEARNING. ONCE THESE TOOLS EXIST, THEY MAY BE APPLIED TO A DIVERSE SET OF APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING ECONOMICS, BIOLOGY, MEDICINE, POLITICS, CHEMISTRY, AND IMAGE ANALYSIS; THEREBY INCREASING PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH MATHEMATICS. THE RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES PROPOSED IN THIS PROJECT AIM TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS FROM MINORITIZED GROUPS TO ENGAGE IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND BECOME COMPETITIVE, WELL-SUITED CANDIDATES FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL AND ULTIMATELY, THE WORKFORCE. THIS PROJECT WILL POSITIVELY CONTRIBUTE TO AND ENCOURAGE THE RETENTION OF STUDENTS FROM HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES. 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.

RI: PRACTICAL PARAMETRIZATION AND EFFICIENT MOTION PLANNING OF LINKAGE SYSTEMS

NEW START REP GRANT: ACQUISITION OF AN INSTRON 68FM-100 FLOOR MODEL UNIVERSAL TESTER FOR POLYMER AND MATERIALS SCIENCE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

LINKING COASTAL ADAPTATION PORTFOLIOS TO TIDAL MARSH RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VALUES: TRANSFERABLE GUIDANCE FOR DECISIONS UNDER U

MULTI-WORM ALGORITHM FOR PATH INTEGRAL QUANTUM MONTE CARLO IN ULTRACOLD DIPOLAR GASES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FUNCTIONAL AND EVOLUTIONARY BASES OF SUBSTRATE-SPECIFICITY IN WOOD-DECAYING BASIDIOMYCETES

THE GLOBAL SHIFT IN R&D ALLIANCES: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES (MNES) AND THE QUEST FOR THE BASE-OF-THE-PYRAMID (BOP) MARKETS

NSF LEAPS-MPS: MACROCYCLIC PEPTIDOMIMETIC SCAFFOLDS FOR SENSING OF PHOSPHATE-CONTAINING METABOLITES -THIS AWARD IS FUNDED IN WHOLE OR IN PART UNDER THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021 (PUBLIC LAW 117-2). IN THIS PROJECT, FUNDED BY THE MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES DIRECTORATE AND HOUSED IN THE CHEMISTRY DIVISION, PROFESSOR ARUNDHATI NAG AND HER STUDENTS AT CLARK UNIVERSITY, WORCESTER, MA WILL WORK ON DESIGNING SENSORS FOR PHOSPHATE-CONTAINING METABOLITES. METABOLIC PATHWAYS SUCH AS GLYCOLYSIS USE PHOSPHATE TO FORM INTERMEDIATE METABOLITES, AND THE LEVELS OF THE PHOSPHATE CONTAINING METABOLITES CAN PROVIDE IMPORTANT INFORMATION IMPLICATED IN HUMAN DISEASES SUCH AS CANCER. THE NAG LAB WILL FOCUS ON DEVELOPING SENSORS FOR ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE, A NUCLEOSIDE PHOSPHATE METABOLITE, AND FOR GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE, A SUGAR PHOSPHATE METABOLITE, WHICH BELONG TO TWO DIFFERENT IMPORTANT CLASSES OF PHOSPHATE-CONTAINING METABOLITES. UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY (URM) STUDENTS WILL BE INVOLVED IN THIS RESEARCH, THROUGH SUMMER FELLOWSHIP AND DIRECTED STUDIES WITH PROFESSOR NAG. PROF. NAG WILL ALSO BE INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY OF URM STUDENTS AT CLARK UNIVERSITY THOROUGH MINGLES, AND SHE AND HER STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN OUTREACH ACTIVITIES AND DEVELOP WORKSHOPS FOR REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS. PROFESSOR NAG WILL DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH FOR SENSING PHOSPHATE-CONTAINING METABOLITES BY TARGETING SIMULTANEOUSLY BOTH THE PHOSPHATE MOIETY AND THE NUCLEOSIDE OR SUGAR COMPONENT ATTACHED TO THE PHOSPHATE. THE BINDING MOTIFS WILL BE ASSIMILATED INTO CYCLIC FLUORESCENT PEPTIDIC OR PEPTIDOMIMETIC LIBRARIES. THE LIBRARIES WILL BE DESIGNED SUCH THAT THEY CAN BE EASILY CONVERTED IN A ONE-STEP REACTION TO LINEAR ANALOGS THAT CAN BE READILY SEQUENCED USING DE NOVO SEQUENCING. THE CYCLIC LIBRARIES WILL BE SCREENED FOR SELECTIVELY BINDING THE PHOSPHATE-CONTAINING METABOLITE OF INTEREST, AND THE HITS FROM THE SCREEN, ONCE SEQUENCED, WILL BE STUDIED TO HELP UNDERSTAND WHICH INTERACTIONS OF THE SENSOR WITH A METABOLITE ARE CRITICAL FOR SELECTIVE DETECTION OF METABOLITES. 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.

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY COLLINS SCHOLARS PROJECT (SPECIAL EDUCATION PERSONNEL PREPARATION THROUGH COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LITERACY LEADERS TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED SERVICES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: BOCP-DESIGN US-SAO PAULO: LAND USE CHANGE, ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE AND ZOONOTIC SPILLOVER RISK -HABITAT LOSS AFFECTS PLANT AND ANIMAL ABUNDANCE, COMPOSITION, AND ECOLOGY. THESE CHANGES AFFECT HOW SPECIES INTERACT, LEADING TO CHANGES IN ECOLOGICAL FUNCTION AND SERVICES, INCLUDING THE TRANSMISSION OF PATHOGENS FROM ANIMALS TO HUMANS (CALLED ZOONOTIC SPILLOVER). THE BRAZILIAN ATLANTIC FOREST IS RICH IN BIODIVERSITY, INCLUDING DIVERSE POPULATIONS OF RODENTS ALSO CONSIDERED RESERVOIRS FOR PATHOGENS. BECAUSE OF THIS, THE AREA IS A POTENTIAL HOTSPOT FOR FUTURE EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES. THE ATLANTIC FOREST HAS A DYNAMIC FOREST COVER WITH THOUSANDS OF HECTARES EXPERIENCING DEFORESTATION AND RESTORATION YEARLY. THESE DYNAMICS MAKE THE AREA IDEAL FOR STUDYING THE EFFECTS OF LANDSCAPE CHANGES ON SMALL MAMMAL COMMUNITIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE TRANSMISSION OF PATHOGENS TO HUMANS. THE RESEARCH AIMS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE REORGANIZATION OF BIODIVERSITY DUE TO LANDSCAPE CHANGES AFFECTS HUMAN HEALTH. THIS RESEARCH WILL INCREASE KNOWLEDGE ON THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN LANDSCAPE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY LOSS, FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY CHANGE, AND SPILLOVER RISK. IN ADDITION, IT WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION TO DELINEATE POLICIES AND GUIDELINES TO MAINTAIN AND CREATE LANDSCAPES, WHICH CAN CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY AND DELIVER HEALTH-PROVISIONING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. RESULTS WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING NGOS, GOVERNMENTS, RESEARCHERS, AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES. IN ADDITION, AWARENESS TALKS WILL INFORM COMMUNITIES ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAND CHANGE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES TO DECREASE SPILLOVER RISK AND PREVENT FUTURE PANDEMICS. ZOONOTIC DISEASES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MULTIPLE SPECIES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT. BECAUSE OF THIS, THEY ARE EXPECTED TO BE AFFECTED BY LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS. THE RESEARCH HAS TWO OBJECTIVES: 1) TO UNDERSTAND HOW HABITAT LOSS AND LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE AFFECT FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY, VIRAL DIVERSITY, NETWORK COMPOSITION, AND ZOONOTIC SPILLOVER RISK; AND 2) TO UNDERSTAND HOW FOREST RESTORATION CAN REINSTATE FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY, ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE, AND THE PROVISION OF DISEASE REGULATION SERVICES. FOR THE FIRST OBJECTIVE, THE RESEARCHERS WILL USE SECONDARY DATA TO ESTABLISH RODENT-PATHOGEN (VIRAL DIVERSITY) NETWORKS TO UNDERSTAND HOW FOREST COVER AND LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE AFFECT SPILLOVER RISK. RESULTS WILL BE EXTRAPOLATED TO THE ENTIRE ATLANTIC FOREST, CREATING A SPILLOVER RISK MAP THAT WILL HELP POLICYMAKERS AND STAKEHOLDERS TO CREATE POLICIES AND GUIDELINES. OBJECTIVE 2 WILL BE BASED ON PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION. THE RESEARCHERS WILL EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF FOREST RESTORATION ON THE RECOVERY OF SMALL MAMMAL SPECIES RICHNESS, THE RECOVERY OF FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY, THE REESTABLISHMENT OF INTERACTION NETWORK COMPOSITION (SMALL MAMMALS AND PATHOGEN NETWORKS), AND THE REDUCTION OF SPILLOVER RISK. FINALLY, THE INFLUENCE OF LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE AND THE RESTORATION AGE ON THE RECOVERY OF THE DISEASE REGULATION SERVICES WILL BE ASSESSED. THIS RESEARCH WILL ADVANCE THE KNOWLEDGE ON DISEASE ECOLOGY BY DEVELOPING TOOLS FOR PREDICTING THE EFFECTS OF LAND-USE CHANGE, INCLUDING FOREST RESTORATION, ON COMPLEX NETWORKS AND ZOONOTIC SPILLOVER RISK. KNOWLEDGE OF THE EFFECTS OF LAND-USE CHANGE ON SPILLOVER RISK IS ESSENTIAL, AS ZOONOTIC DISEASES HAVE COMPLEX TRANSMISSION CYCLES INVOLVING AGENTS THAT RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO LANDSCAPE CHANGES. UNDERSTANDING HOW RESTORATION AFFECTS VIRAL DIVERSITY AND ZOONOTIC RISK IS CRITICAL TO DEVELOPING WIN-WIN STRATEGIES TO ENSURE HEALTHY LANDSCAPES FOR HUMANS AND ANIMALS AND TO AVOID NEW EPIDEMICS AND PANDEMICS. 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.

THE ROLE OF INFORMATION-COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT AND INDUSTRIAL CHANGE IN AFRICA: EVIDENCE FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND TANZANI

PRIMASE ACTIVITY OF THE MITOCHONDRIAL REPLISOME

LUNG FIBROSIS IN AN HERMANSKY-PUDLAK SYNDROME MOUSE MODEL

GENE REGULATORY NETWORKS CONTROLLING CARBOHYDRATE-SELECTIVE DECONSTRUCTION PATHWAYS IN FUNGI

A NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE EXEMPLAR SYSTEM PROTOTYPE

EXPERIENCE INDUCED CHANGES IN TASTE SENSITIVITIES FOR SWEETENERS AND MONOSODIUM G

RAPID: PREDICTING CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19) IMPACT WITH MULTISCALE CONTACT AND TRANSMISSION MITIGATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ADAPTIVE BUILDING ENCLOSURE SYSTEMS USING CELLULAR SOLID-SOLID PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS WITH VARIABLE TRANSPARENCY

CAREER: INVESTIGATING THE EVOLUTION OF GENE REGULATION AT DROSOPHILA HOX GENES

MRI-R2: ACQUISITION OF X-RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SYSTEM FOR IMAGING OF HETEROGENEOUS MATERIALS

MOLECULAR DISSECTION OF DROSOPHILA HOX GENE CIS-REGULATORY MODULES

OPUS: PHYLOGENETIC SYNTHESIS OF THE MUSHROOM GROUP, AGARICOMYCOTINA

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE DISTRIBUTED BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY (DBO)-A CHANGE DETECTION ARRAY IN THE PACIFIC ARCTIC REGION

OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH HBCU/MI FACULTY START-UP PROGRAM IN MATERIALS PHYSICS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE DISTRIBUTED BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY (DBO)-A CHANGE DETECTION ARRAY IN THE PACIFIC ARCTIC REGION

EXAMINING THE MECHANISMS OF RESPONSE TO ANTI-ANDROGEN THERAPIES IN AGGRESSIVE GENITOURINARY CANCERS - PROJECT SUMMARY PATIENTS WITH AGGRESSIVE PROSTATE CANCER INITIALLY EXHIBIT STRONG RESPONSES TO ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION THERAPY (ADT) TO BLOCK ANDROGEN-MEDIATED CELL PROLIFERATION. HOWEVER, DESPITE THIS STRONG RESPONSE TO ADT, THESE PATIENTS WILL ULTIMATELY DEVELOP RESISTANCE AND PROGRESS INTO CASTRATION-RESISTANT PROSTATE CANCER (CRPC). THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THIS RESPONSE OR RESISTANCE TO ADT IN EARLY-STAGE CANCERS REMAIN LARGELY UNKNOWN. THE FOUNDATION FOR THIS PROPOSAL DERIVES FROM OUR WORK EXAMINING PRIMARY PROSTATE CANCER SPECIMENS FROM A PHASE II CLINICAL TRIAL EXAMINING INTENSE NEOADJUVANT ADT (INADT) IN PATIENTS WITH LOCALLY ADVANCED PROSTATE CANCER WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE INELIGIBLE FOR SURGERY. BY EXAMINING THE GENOMIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC FEATURES OF THESE TUMORS AT AN EARLY STAGE, WE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY NEW DRIVERS OF EARLY-STAGE PROSTATE CANCER PROGRESSION. WE IDENTIFIED RESIDUAL CANCER BURDEN (RCB) AFTER TREATMENT, WHICH SERVES AS A SURROGATE FOR OVERALL PROGRESSION-FREE SURVIVAL, AND THEN STRATIFIED PATIENTS INTO THOSE WHO EXHIBITED EITHER EXCEPTIONAL RESPONSE (ER) OR INCOMPLETE/NON-RESPONSE (INR). THIS ALLOWS US TO EXAMINE THE GENOMIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CLASSES, WHICH LED TO OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS THAT A SUBSET OF GENETIC ALTERATIONS DRIVING TUMORIGENESIS PREDISPOSE TUMOR SENSITIVITY OR RESISTANCE TO ADT. OUR PRELIMINARY DATA HIGHLIGHT THE EGFR FAMILY, AND SPECIFICALLY HER2, IS OVEREXPRESSED IN POORLY RESPONDING TUMORS WITH LOW ANDROGEN RECEPTOR (AR) SIGNALING, WHILE THE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR PHOSPHATASE, INPP4B, AS SIGNIFICANTLY OVEREXPRESSED IN ER SAMPLES COMPARED TO INR TO IDENTIFY MECHANISMS PREDISPOSING PROSTATE TUMORS TO INTRINSIC RESPONSE OR RESISTANCE TO INADT, WE WILL DETERMINE 1) THE MECHANISM UNDERLYING HER2-MEDIATED PROLIFERATION IN AN AR-LOW ENVIRONMENT; AND 2) HOW INPP4B PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY DRIVES RESPONSE TO ADT. IN AIM 1, WE WILL EXAMINE HER2-MEDIATED SIGNALING TO DRIVE PROSTATE CANCER PROLIFERATION IN AN AR-LOW ENVIRONMENT. IN AIM 2, WE WILL DETERMINE HOW INPP4B MEDIATES PROSTATE CANCER CELL SENSITIVITY OT ADT, BOTH IN PTEN-INTACT AND PTEN-NULL TUMORS. THIS WORK WILL ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING EARLY STAGE PROSTATE CANCER CELL RESPONSE TO ADT, WHICH WILL PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO POTENTIAL MECHANISMS TO PHENOCOPY THESE RESULTS TO IMPROVE OVERALL SURVIVAL OF AGGRESSIVE PROSTATE CANCER.

NEW START GRANT - ACQUISITION OF A CHEMI-/PHYSI-SORPTION/MICROPORE ANALYTIC SYSTEM FOR RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AT CAU

EARMARKS

START-UP FUNDS FOR A MATERIAL SCIENCE FACULTY AT CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INVESTIGATING THE INFLUENCE OF SEA-SURFACE VARIABILITY ON ICE SHEET MASS BALANCE AND OUTLET GLACIER BEHAVIOR USING RECORDS FR

IN THE PREVIOUS FUNDING CYCLE WE DEVELOPED A MODELING FRAMEWORK THAT EXPLOITED THE NEW FOREST DISTURBANCE TIME SERIES MAPS PROVIDED BY THE NASA FUNDE

LAND COVER CHANGE AND DISTURBANCE AFFECT GLOBAL CLIMATE THROUGH BOTH BIOCHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL MECHANISMS, AND RADIATIVE FORCING FROM ALBEDO IS THOUGH

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ECOLOGICAL HOMOGENIZATION OF URBAN AMERICA

CRII: CSR: FROM BLOOM FILTERS TO NOISE REDUCTION STREAMING ALGORITHMS -DATA STREAM MONITORING RELIES ON MEASUREMENT FUNCTIONS THAT EXTRACT USEFUL INFORMATION FROM RAW DATA ITEMS AND PASS THIS INFORMATION TO APPLICATION SOFTWARE -- WEB SERVICES, E-COMMERCE, STOCK TRADING, SOCIAL NETWORKS, DISTRIBUTED SENSING, AND MORE. THE PAST TWO DECADES HAVE SEEN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANY INDIVIDUAL STREAMING ALGORITHMS THAT MEET SPECIFIC MEASUREMENT REQUIREMENTS, SUCH AS DETERMINING ITEM FREQUENCIES AND IDENTIFYING HEAVY HITTERS, SUPER SPREADERS, ANOMALIES, LARGE DEVIATIONS, PERSISTENT PATTERNS, ETC. HOWEVER, NEW ALGORITHMS MUST BE CONTINUOUSLY DESIGNED TO MEET NEW DEMANDS FROM MODERN DATA STREAMING APPLICATIONS. THIS PROJECT CHARTS A DIFFERENT COURSE WITH A HOLISTIC, SYSTEMATIC APPROACH THAT EXPLORES THE DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF FUNDAMENTAL STREAMING ALGORITHMS (E.G., BLOOM FILTERS) AND ESTABLISHES SEVERAL COMMON FRAMEWORKS THAT CAN BE USED TO DEVELOP A NEW AND HIGHLY FLEXIBLE, FUTURE-PROOF FAMILY OF STREAMING ALGORITHMS. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO DESIGN A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL FAMILY OF STREAMING ALGORITHMS THAT CAN BE EASILY RECONFIGURED FOR DIFFERENT MEASUREMENT TASKS OR MULTIPLE COMBINED TASKS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE PROPOSED STREAMING ALGORITHMS WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY MALICIOUS INTRUSIONS AND ANOMALIES IN ENTERPRISE NETWORKS, AND AT THE SAME TIME RANK THE POPULARITY OF ONLINE CONTENT (E.G., SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, PRODUCT PAGES) TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE FOR BUSINESS DECISIONS. REAL-WORLD DATA STREAMING APPLICATIONS IN LARGE DATA CENTERS MUST DEAL WITH HETEROGENEOUS, AND OFTEN LIMITED, RESOURCE AVAILABILITY. THE ALGORITHMS EXPLORED IN THIS WORK ARE DESIGNED TO BE LIGHTWEIGHT. IN A SECURITY CONTEXT, THEY MIGHT BE USED TO MONITOR AND SECURE A NETWORK WITHOUT INTERFERING WITH OTHER APPLICATIONS. FURTHER, USERS / APPLICATIONS WILL ALSO HAVE OPTIONS FOR MULTI-DIMENSIONAL TRADEOFFS AMONG PERFORMANCE, OVERHEAD, RESOURCE USAGE, AND ACCURACY. FOR EXAMPLE, USERS WILL BE ABLE TO DYNAMICALLY COMMIT MORE MEMORY TO QUICKLY IDENTIFY AND PREVENT MALICIOUS USERS MORE ACCURATELY. THE ADVANCES WILL IMPACT THE APPLICATIONS AND MEASUREMENT FUNCTIONS THAT ARE BUILT UPON THEM. 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: SPRUCE BEETLE AND WILDFIRE INTERACTIONS UNDER VARYING CLIMATE IN THE ROCKIES

THE WORK WILL DEVELOP AND TEST INDICATOR-BASED STATED PREFERENCE VALUATION FOR AQUATIC LIVING RESOURCES AND ASSESS IMPLICATIONS FOR BENEFITS TRANSFE

CAREER: TOWARDS FAULT-TOLERANT EDGE COMPUTING FOR CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS: DISTRIBUTED PRIMITIVES FOR COORDINATION UNDER CYBER ATTACKS -EDGE COMPUTING IS AN EMERGING PARADIGM THAT EXTENDS CLOUD COMPUTING BY ALLOCATING A RANGE OF (EDGE) SERVERS AT OR NEAR THE USER TO PROVIDE NECESSARY NETWORKING, STORAGE, AND COMPUTING SERVICES. CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS (CPS) CONNECT PHYSICAL DEVICES TO THE INTERNET AND TO EACH OTHER. THIS RESEARCH EXPLORES THE MARRIAGE BETWEEN EDGE COMPUTING AND CPS, NAMELY EDGE-BASED CPS. IT HAS ATTRACTED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ATTENTION FROM BOTH ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY BECAUSE IT IS EXPECTED TO FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE INTERACT WITH ENGINEERED SYSTEMS. ONE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT ?THE STUDY OF FAULT-TOLERANT DISTRIBUTED PRIMITIVES? IS STILL MISSING IN THE LITERATURE. THIS RESEARCH IS FOCUSED ON DISTRIBUTED CONSENSUS PRIMITIVES THAT ALLOW A COLLECTION OF NODES TO WORK AS A COHERENT ENTITY IN THE PRESENCE OF VARIOUS FAILURES AND CYBERATTACKS. CONCRETELY, THERE ARE THREE INTERRELATED TASKS: (I) IDENTIFYING FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES, LIMITATIONS, AND TRADE-OFFS IN THE CONTEXT OF EDGE-BASED CPS; (II) DESIGNING ALGORITHMS THAT AUTOMATICALLY ADAPT UNDER CHANGING CONDITIONS AND VARYING CYBERATTACKS TO MAINTAIN GOOD PERFORMANCE; AND (III) DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING A REALISTIC SIMULATOR TO STUDY PERFORMANCE UNDER PRACTICAL SCENARIOS. THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES WILL ENABLE EFFICIENT AND FAULT-TOLERANT SERVICES FOR EDGE-BASED CPS, ALLOWING MORE INNOVATION IN CPS APPLICATIONS. THIS RESEARCH IS EXPECTED TO ADVANCE THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE BY IDENTIFYING A SET OF PRINCIPLES, FAULT-TOLERANCE TOOLS, AND ANALYSES FOR DESIGNING DISTRIBUTED FAULT-TOLERANT PRIMITIVES. THE WORK WILL EMPHASIZE MODELS AND PRIMITIVES THAT ALLOW FOR PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION, WITH PLANS FOR REALISTIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF THEIR FAULT-TOLERANCE AND PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGES. EDGE COMPUTING AND CPS ARE EXPECTED TO BE KEY COMPONENTS OF NEXT-GENERATION INFRASTRUCTURE, SO MAKING EDGE-BASED CPS FAULT-TOLERANT CAN YIELD LARGE-SCALE BENEFITS. CONVERSELY, MISSED OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENTS CAUSED BY A LACK OF FOUNDATIONAL UNDERSTANDING COULD HAVE SIGNIFICANT PERFORMANCE AND FAULT-TOLERANCE CONSEQUENCES. THIS RESEARCH HELPS ADDRESS THESE ISSUES BY IDENTIFYING TRADE-OFFS AND LIMITATIONS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ALSO PLANS TO DEVELOP NEW PEDAGOGICAL MATERIAL ON DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS THAT THE PI PLANS TO TEACH, BOTH THROUGH COURSES AT BOSTON COLLEGE AND IN ONLINE TUTORIALS MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. IN ADDITION, THE RESEARCH AND OUTREACH WORK WILL BENEFIT SOCIETY BY PROVIDING PRINCIPLES TO HELP INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA DESIGN FAULT-TOLERANT PRIMITIVES FOR EDGE-BASED CPS; INCREASING PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY; INVOLVING WOMEN, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, AND UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN STEM; AND INCREASING PUBLIC SCIENTIFIC LITERACY AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. 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.

INT: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DETECTING, PREDICTING AND REMEDIATING STUDENT AFFECT AND GRIT USING COMPUTER VISION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RETHINKING HOW TO TEACH ENERGY: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PURPOSE: THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A NOVEL ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACH BASED ON AN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF TREATMENT EFFECTS VIA CAUSAL-FOREST (CF) MACHINE LEARNING (ML) TO EVALUATE AND PREDICT THE EXTENT TO WHICH HETEROGENEOUS ENGAGEMENT AND CAPACITY-BUILDING ACTIVITIES ENHANCE COMMUNITIES? CAPACITY TO PROGRESS TOWARDS TRANSFORMATIVE ADAPTATION. THE APPROACH WILL BE ILLUSTRATED USING AN EXTENSIVE DATASET ON ~600 COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN THE NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC US THAT HAVE BOTH COMPLETED AND NOT COMPLETED CRB. THESE DATA WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH A CF ML TREATMENT-EFFECT MODEL TO (I) ESTIMATE HETEROGENEOUS, CAUSAL TREATMENT EFFECTS LINKED TO CRB PARTICIPATION IN A NONPARAMETRIC FRAMEWORK, AND (II) PREDICT, FOR ANY US COASTAL COMMUNITY, THE EXTENT TO WHICH SIMILAR ENGAGEMENTS WITH GIVEN CHARACTERISTICS WILL INDUCE PARTICULAR SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND BIOPHYSICAL ADAPTATION OUTCOMES. THIS APPROACH ALLOWS FOR THE LIKELIHOOD THAT SIMILAR ENGAGEMENTS MAY HAVE DIFFERENT EFFECTS ON DIFFERENT ADAPTATION OUTCOMES, AND THAT THESE EFFECTS MAY VARY DEPENDING ON COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS. RESULTS WILL BE USED IN COORDINATION WITH PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE FOR EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT AND CAPACITY-BUILDING, TARGETED TO COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS. THIS WILL BE THE FIRST RIGOROUS ATTEMPT TO QUANTIFY, USING CF ML WITH DATA FROM HUNDREDS OF COMMUNITIES, THE EXTENT TO WHICH ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES INDUCE MEASURABLE ADAPTATION OUTCOMES.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: WILDFIRE AND MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE OUTBREAKS IN SUBALPINE FORESTS: CROSS-SCALE INTERACTIONS UNDER VARYING CLIMATE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DEVELOPMENTAL AND FUNCTIONAL MECHANISMS OF COMPLEX TRAIT RE-EVOLUTION: LIMB LOSS AND GAIN IN SKINK LIZARDS.

THE CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM (CAUAM) WILL EXPAND CAPACITY TO SERVE ITS COMMUNITY BY ESTABLISHING A MUSEUM EDUCATOR POSITION TO EXPAND ACCESS TO THE COLLECTION, FOSTER PARTNERSHIPS WITH CAU FACULTY, AND ENHANCE PROGRAMS FOR THE PUBLIC AT THE MUSEUM. PROJECT ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE ESTABLISHING THE POSITION OF MUSEUM EDUCATOR, ESTABLISHING CONNECTIONS WITH AT LEAST FIVE FACULTY MEMBERS IN AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, DEVELOPING AND PRESENTING CUSTOMIZED PROGRAMS FOR THOSE FACULTY AND THE STUDENTS, AND EVALUATING THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. THE MUSEUM EDUCATOR WILL BRING THE MUSEUM’S RESOURCES TO LIGHT AND ENHANCE STUDENT EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCES ACROSS THE ATLANTA UNIVERSITY CENTER, A CONSORTIUM OF CAU, SPELMAN, AND MOREHOUSE, IMPACTING APPROXIMATELY 8,500 STUDENTS.

TRANSITION TO ADOPTIVE PARENTHOOD

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SMART GRID: AN ANALYSIS OF HOW SOCIO-POLITICAL CONTEXTS SHAPE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND POLICY

THE FOLLOWING IS A PROPOSAL FOR WORK NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE NASA NEW INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM GRANT (NNX15AC64G) FOLLOWING THE MOVE OF THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FROM PRINCETON UNIVERSITY TO CLARK UNIVERSITY S GRADUATE SCHOOL OF GEOGRAPHY. THE ORIGINAL OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSAL WERE TO: 1. IDENTIFY PATTERNS OF CROPLAND CHANGE WITHIN ZAMBIA 2. IDENTIFY LANDSCAPE-SCALE TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY WITHIN ZAMBIA S CROPLAND. 3. UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CHANGES IN CROP PRODUCTIVITY LANDCOVER AND CLIMATIC VARIABILITY. TO ACHIEVE THESE OBJECTIVES THE PROJECT WAS DESIGNED AROUND THREE PRIMARY TASKS: 1. DEVELOP A NEXT-GENERATION LANDCOVER MAPPING SYSTEM THAT CAN ACCURATELY DELINEATE SMALLHOLDERS FIELDS AND USE THIS SYSTEM TO TRACK CROPLAND CHANGES OVER TIME. 2. DEVELOP A METHOD TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE SMALLHOLDERS CROP YIELDS BY INTEGRATING IN SITU ENVIRONMENTAL SENSING REMOTE SENSING AND NUMERICAL MODELING AND APPLY IT TO ESTIMATE HOW ANNUAL YIELDS HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME. 3. USING THE RESULTS OF TASKS 1 AND 2 UNDERTAKE STATISTICAL ANALYSES TO DETERMINE WHETHER A) PRONOUNCED CROP PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES ARE CORRELATED WITH AND PRECEDE INCREASES OR DECREASES IN FARMLAND AND B) WHETHER HIGHER YIELDS LEAD TO INCREASED OR DECREASED SENSITIVITY TO CLIMATIC VARIABILITY PARTICULARLY RAINFALL. THIS PROPOSAL NECESSITATED BY THE PI S CHANGE OF INSTITUTION (TO CLARK UNIVERSITY EFFECTIVE AUGUST 21 2017) ADDRESSES THE REMAINING WORK TO BE DONE TO COMPLETE THESE TASKS FACTORING IN THE PROGRESS MADE AGAINST THE ORIGINAL TASKS AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE PROJECT SINCE INCEPTION.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DIFFUSION OF EMERGING ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES WITHIN A STATE CONTEXT

BELMONT FORUM COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MIGRATION, TRANSFORMATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

THE FRAMEWORK WILL PROVIDE POLICY MAKERS WITH MORE EFFECTIVE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND MORE ACCURATE AND TIMELY ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION AT LOCAL AND REGIONAL LEVELS.

AUSTRALIA PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN GLOBAL CARBON AND WATER CYCLES AS A RESULT OF ITS LARGE INTER-ANNUAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY. THOUGH WELL KNOWN FOR DROUGHTS AUSTRALIA HAS MOST OF ITS CONTINENT SEVERELY AND PERSISTENTLY AFFECTED BY THE RECENT MILLENNIUM DROUGHT WHICH IS REGARDED AS ONE OF EARTH S MOST SEVERE AND PERSISTENT DROUGHTS DURING THE SATELLITE ERA. TREE MORTALITY HAS BEEN WIDELY REPORTED DURING AND POST THE MILLENNIUM DROUGHT. GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF AUSTRALIAN ECOSYSTEMS IN THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE THE APPARENT VULNERABILITY OF THESE FORESTS TO DROUGHT-INDUCED DECLINE AND THE PROJECTION OF HOTTER AND DRIER CONDITIONS FOR MUCH OF THE CONTINENT IT IS CRITICAL TO ANALYZE THE IMPACTS OF RECENT CLIMATE EXTREMES AS AN INDICATOR OF THE POSSIBLE IMPACTS OF FUTURE TRENDS. HOWEVER LARGE-AREA MONITORING AND COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENTS OF VEGETATION DIEBACK AND RECOVERY AT CONTINENTAL SCALE TO THE SCALE OF VEGETATION PATCHES REMAIN LACKING. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO ASSESS VEGETATION DECLINE AND POSSIBLE RECOVERY FROM THE MILLENNIUM DROUGHT OVER AUSTRALIA USING MULTI-SENSOR (E.G. MODIS AVHRR QUICKSCAT) AND HIGHER RESOLUTION DATA (LANDSAT). THE CORE METHOD OF THIS WORK IS TO ANALYZE A SET OF AVAILABLE REMOTE SENSING DERIVED TIME SERIES OF VEGETATION ATTRIBUTES INCLUDING FRACTION OF ABSORBED PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVE RADIATION (FPAR) PHOTOSYNTHETIC VEGETATION COVER (PV) CANOPY WATER CONTENT (E.G. VEGETATION OPTICAL DEPTH (VOD)) AND ABOVEGROUND BIOMASS (AGB) OR CARBON (ABC) TO ASSESS THE MAGNITUDE SENSITIVITY AND CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF VEGETATION RESPONSE TO DROUGHT AND THE DEGREE OF RECOVERY POST-DROUGHT. OUR ANALYSIS WILL PROVIDE NOT ONLY CONTINENTAL OVERVIEW BUT ALSO REGIONAL DETAILS FOR DROUGHT IMPACTS; ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF VEGETATION SENSITIVITY ACROSS DIFFERENT ECOHYDROLOGICAL SETTINGS; AND CONTRIBUTE VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO THE CUMULATIVE EFFECTS AND POST-DROUGHT RESPONSES. THESE IMPLICATIONS FOR ECOSYSTEMS WATER AND ENERGY CYCLES WOULD MAKE THIS WORK DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE SMD EARTH SCIENCE DIVISION S PROGRAM TO DETECT AND PREDICT CHANGES IN EARTH S ECOLOGICAL AND BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES.

PHYSICS OF CHANNELIZATION: THEORY, EXPERIMENT & OBSERVATION

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY GLS CAMPUS SUICIDE PREVENTION INITIATIVE

THE CURRENT SCALE OF DEFORESTATION AND THE DEGREE OF DEGRADED FORESTS IN TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS UNDERSCORE THE URGENT NEED FOR INTERVENTIONS TO RESTORE

LEAP-MPS: TWO CONJECTURES IN MATHEMATICAL RELATIVITY -THIS PROJECT WILL USE GEOMETRIC METHODS TO ADDRESS TWO IMPORTANT CONJECTURES IN THE MATHEMATICS OF GENERAL RELATIVITY: THE PENROSE INEQUALITY CONJECTURE, AND THE HOROWITZ-MYERS CONJECTURE. GENERAL RELATIVITY IS A GEOMETRIC THEORY OF GRAVITATION IN WHICH GRAVITY CAN BE EXPLAINED BY THE CURVATURE OF SPACETIME. PERHAPS THE MOST FASCINATING PREDICTION OF GENERAL RELATIVITY IS THE EXISTENCE OF BLACK HOLES ? EXTREMELY DENSE AND MASSIVE REGIONS OF SPACETIME WHERE GRAVITY IS EXTREMELY POWERFUL. THE RECENT GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTION OF BLACK HOLE MERGERS BY LIGO, AND THE `PICTURE' OF THE M87 SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE BY THE EHT COLLABORATION, CONFIRM THIS PREDICTION. IN ONE PART OF THE PROJECT, THE PI WILL CONSIDER THE PENROSE INEQUALITY CONJECTURE WITH ANGULAR MOMENTUM, WHICH AIMS TO CLARIFY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TOTAL ENERGY, HORIZON AREA, AND ANGULAR MOMENTUM OF A ROTATING BLACK HOLE. THE PI WILL ALSO WORK ON THE HOROWITZ-MYERS CONJECTURE, WHICH WOULD BUILD ON THE ANTI-DE SITTER/CONFORMAL FIELD THEORY (ADS/CFT) CORRESPONDENCE, A BREAKTHROUGH IN MODERN PHYSICS RELATING QUANTUM FIELD THEORIES AND SUPERGRAVITY THEORY. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO WORK ON RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THE MATHEMATICS OF GENERAL RELATIVITY, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE RECRUITMENT OF STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES HOSTED AT CLARK UNIVERSITY WILL ENCOURAGE LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO EXPLORE CAREERS IN STEM. IN RECENT JOINT WORK WITH M. KHURI, H. KUNDURI, AND S.-T. YAU, THE PI HAS STUDIED SINGULAR HARMONIC MAPS TO NEGATIVELY CURVED MANIFOLDS AND INVERSE CURVATURE FLOWS ON RIEMANNIAN MANIFOLDS TO PROVE SEVERAL GEOMETRIC INEQUALITIES INVOLVING (TOTAL OR QUASI-LOCAL) ENERGY, ANGULAR MOMENTUM, HORIZON AREA, AND CHARGES OF ROTATING BLACK HOLES IN GENERAL RELATIVITY. THESE RESULTS PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION TO ADDRESS THE PENROSE INEQUALITY CONJECTURE WITH ANGULAR MOMENTUM. ON THE OTHER HAND, IN COLLABORATION WITH P.-K. HUNG AND M. KHURI, THE PI PROVED A POSITIVE ENERGY THEOREM FOR ASYMPTOTICALLY HYPERBOLOIDAL INITIAL DATA SETS WITH TOROIDAL INFINITY AND SMOOTH NON-EMPTY BOUNDARY USING THE NEW LEVEL SET TECHNIQUE OF SPACETIME HARMONIC FUNCTIONS. THE PI WILL MODIFY THIS TECHNIQUE TO DEAL WITH COMPLETE ASYMPTOTICALLY HYPERBOLIC MANIFOLDS WITH TOROIDAL INFINITY, WHICH IS THE SETTING OF THE HOROWITZ-MYERS CONJECTURE. 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.

LEGALIZING COMMUNITY: LAWYERS AND CITIZEN ACTIVISM IN NEIGHBORHOOD DISPUTES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PACIFIC-ARCTIC CARBON SYNTHESIS - TRANSFORMATIONS, FLUXES, AND BUDGETS

IMPACTS OF SEA ICE VARIABILITY AND POLYNYA FORMATION ON BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTIVITY IN THE NORTHERN BERING SEA

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM WILL ESTABLISH GREATER INTELLECTUAL AND PHYSICAL CONTROL OF THE 1,200 ITEMS IN ITS COLLECTION. FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF A COLLECTIONS ASSESSMENT FOR PRESERVATION (CAP) REPORT, THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT THE HIRING OF A FULL-TIME REGISTRAR/COLLECTIONS MANAGER. THE NEW POSITION WILL WORK WITH THE DIGITAL HUMANITIES MANAGER TO DEVELOP A SYSTEM TO PRIORITIZE THE DIGITIZATION OF ITEMS FOR THE HBCU HISTORY AND CULTURE ACCESS CONSORTIUM (HCAC). THE REGISTRAR/COLLECTIONS MANAGER WILL ALSO EVALUATE THE COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM RECORDS, ASSESS STORAGE SPACE MANAGEMENT, AND CONDUCT AN INVENTORY OF THE COLLECTION. THEY WILL THEN UPDATE CATALOG RECORDS, CREATE NEW COLLECTIONS POLICIES, IMPLEMENT NEW STORAGE MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES AND A LOAN SYSTEM, AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRIORITY CONSERVATION ACTION. THIS PROJECT WILL IMPROVE THE PROFESSIONAL CARE OF COLLECTIONS AND COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY TO FACULTY, STUDENTS, AND SCHOLARS.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE POLARIS PROJECT II: AMPLIFYING THE IMPACT

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF SWIMMING IN VISCOELASTIC MEDIA

THE SEASONALLY DRY TROPICAL FORESTS OF THE SOUTHERN YUCAT N ARE THE LARGEST REMAINING FOREST TRACTS IN MEXICO YET ARE THREATENED BY DISTURBANCES SUCH