The Church

ALPACA: ADVANCED CRYOGENIC L-BAND PHASED ARRAY CAMERA FOR THE ARECIBO RADIO TELESCOPE

MULTIPLEXED, NON-AMPLIFIED, NUCLEIC ACID-BASED IDENTIFICATION OF MULTIDRUG RESISTANT PATHOGENS USING AN INTEGRATED OPTOFLUIDIC PLATFORM

PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE OF PHOSDUCINS IN THE RETINA

NEW AWARD: TESTING AND MODEL -BASED OPTIMIZATION OF COAL-FIRED PRIMARY HEATER DESIGN FOR INDIRECT SUPERCRITICAL CO2 POWER CYCLES

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF PATHOGENESIS-ASSOCIATED BACTERIAL STRUCTURES BY ELECTRON CRYOTOMOGRAPHY

BRIDGING DIVIDES: A NATIONAL CIVIL DISCOURSE INITIATIVE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE RESILIENCE AND RISK PEDIGREES

BIOCHEMICAL CONSEQUENCES OF REGIOSPECIFIC METABOLIC BIAS IN THE BRAIN

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IN NATIVE HAWAIIANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS: SAMPLE ACQUISITION AND WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING - PROJECT SUMMARY ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD) IS AMONG THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL CHALLENGES OF OUR DAY. APPROXIMATELY 7 MILLION AMERICANS ARE LIVING WITH AD, AND WITHOUT EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS, THE NUMBER WILL DOUBLE IN THE NEXT 25 YEARS. HOMOGENOUS DATASETS LIMIT THE CLINICAL UTILITY OF DISCOVERIES, POSSIBLY LEADING TO RACE-BASED DISPARITIES IN THERAPEUTICS AND DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS. ALMOST ALL AD RESEARCH DATA WERE DERIVED FROM MAJORITY-WHITE POPULATIONS IN HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES. NATIVE HAWAIIANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS (NHPIS) HAVE EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH RISK. YET, DESPITE BEING THE SECOND FASTEST-GROWING RACIAL MINORITY GROUP, NHPIS ARE THE LEAST REPRESENTED RACIAL MINORITY GROUP IN LARGE REPOSITORIES/DATASETS. THE ADSP WAS INITIATED, IN PART, TO SOLVE THE GENETIC ARCHITECTURE OF AD. WHILE LIMITED DATA EXIST, AVAILABLE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE GENETIC ARCHITECTURE OF AD IN NHPIS IS UNIQUE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE APOE SNPS ARE NOT CORRELATED WITH AD IN CHAMORROS OR POLYNESIANS. WE PLAN TO DO THE FOLLOWING. AIM 1. RECRUIT AND COLLECT DATA FROM 5,000 NHPIS. WE WILL RECRUIT 1,000 NHPIS ANNUALLY THROUGH OUR NETWORK OF CONNECTIONS, INCLUDING COMMUNITY AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS, SOCIAL MEDIA, RADIO, TV, PERSONAL CONNECTIONS, AND WORD OF MOUTH. EACH PARTICIPANT WILL COMPLETE THOROUGH HEALTH, MEDICAL, SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, DIET, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND DEMOGRAPHICS SURVEYS; A NEUROPHYSICAL EXAM; PROVIDE A BLOOD SAMPLE; AND AD TESTING. WE WILL COLLECT WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCES, SNP ARRAY DATA, AND STANDARD LABORATORY ASSAYS FOR EACH PARTICIPANT. AIM 2. PARTICIPANT DIAGNOSIS. EACH PARTICIPANT WILL BE DIAGNOSED USING THE NACC BATTERY AND ADJUDICATED FOLLOWING THE PROTOCOLS ESTABLISHED BY ACAD WITH MINOR ADAPTATIONS TO MAKE THE ASSESSMENTS CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE FOR NHPIS. AIM 3. GENETIC ANALYSES. WE WILL DESCRIBE NHPI GENETICS (E.G., ESTIMATE SNP FREQUENCIES IN NHPIS), ANALYZE NHPI POPULATION STRUCTURE, AND CONDUCT THE FIRST AD GWAS IN NHPIS.

CYBERCORPS SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE: BUILDING RESEARCH-MINDED CYBER LEADERS -THIS PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH A NEW CYBERCORPS? SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE (SFS) PROGRAM AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY (BYU). OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT 23 UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS STUDYING CYBERSECURITY. THESE FUTURE CYBER LEADERS WILL ENTER THE GOVERNMENT WORKFORCE WITH A STRONG GROUNDING IN CYBERSECURITY'S TECHNICAL AND HUMAN DIMENSIONS. SFS UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS WILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN FACULTY-MENTORED RESEARCH, BYU?S SECURITY OPERATIONS CENTER (SOC), A NEW CYBERCLINIC, CYBERSECURITY AND NETWORKING CLUBS, COMPETITIONS, CAREER FAIRS, GOVERNMENT INTERNSHIPS, AND OUTREACH EFFORTS. IN ADDITION, THIS PROJECT WILL ENABLE STRATEGIC ENHANCEMENTS AT BYU DESIGNED TO INCREASE THE CYBERSECURITY STUDENT DIVERSITY PROFILE, BUILD A STRONG COMMUNITY AMONG SFS STUDENTS, AND PROMOTE STUDENT RESEARCH. THIS WILL, IN TURN, PROVIDE THE GOVERNMENT WITH AN INCREASINGLY DIVERSE SET OF CAPABLE, WELL-CONNECTED GRADUATES READY TO SOLVE THE CYBERSECURITY CHALLENGES OF TODAY AND THE FUTURE. THE BYU SFS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO BECOME ETHICAL CYBER LEADERS IN GOVERNMENT, RAISE THE VISIBILITY OF CYBERSECURITY PROGRAMS AND OPPORTUNITIES AT BYU, AND FURTHER DEVELOP PARTNERSHIPS WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT AN SFS STUDENT RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM, A GOVERNMENT CYBERSECURITY CAREER EVENT TIED TO BYU?S STEM FAIR, AND NEW DIVERSITY OUTREACH EFFORTS THAT WILL BETTER INTEGRATE EFFORTS ACROSS CAMPUS (E.G., BYU ENGINEERING BE TOGETHER, WOMEN IN CYBERSECURITY CLUB, CS BELONGING, WOMEN IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, BYU MULTICULTURAL STUDENT SERVICES) AND THE COMMUNITY TO RECRUIT MORE WOMEN, MINORITIES, AND FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS INTO THE FIELD. A NEW CYBERSECURITY SFS SEMINAR WILL HELP BUILD A COMMUNITY AMONG SFS STUDENTS AND FACULTY AND BRING IN EXPERTS FROM OTHER UNIVERSITIES AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN RESEARCH WILL WORK WITH FACULTY STUDYING HIGH-PRIORITY AREAS, INCLUDING AI AND CYBERSECURITY, HUMAN ASPECTS OF CYBERSECURITY, EMBEDDED SYSTEMS SECURITY, NETWORK SECURITY, AND CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION. GRADUATE SFS STUDENTS WILL COMPLETE A RIGOROUS THESIS CENTERED AROUND A CYBERSECURITY TOPIC, HELPING PREPARE THEM FOR CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH WITHIN GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE CYBERCORPS? SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE (SFS) PROGRAM, WHICH FUNDS PROPOSALS ESTABLISHING OR CONTINUING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS IN CYBERSECURITY AND ALIGNS WITH THE U.S. NATIONAL CYBER STRATEGY TO DEVELOP A SUPERIOR CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE. FOLLOWING GRADUATION, SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS ARE REQUIRED TO WORK IN CYBERSECURITY FOR A FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION FOR THE SAME DURATION AS THEIR SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT. 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.

I/UCRC: CENTER FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS, PHASE II SITE

NICOTINE AND ALCOHOL CO-DEPENDENCE

IRON BASED COUPLING MEDIA (IBCM) FOR MRI-GUIDED TRANSCRANIAL ULTRASOUND SURGERIES - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT FATAL OR IMPAIRING NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES, INCLUDING MOVEMENT DISORDERS, BRAIN CANCERS, PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS, EPILEPSIES, MALFORMATIONS, AND MEMORY DISORDERS, IMPOSE HEAVY BURDENS ON BOTH INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY AT LARGE. TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE GUIDED FOCUSED ULTRASOUND SURGERY (TMRGFUS) IS AN EXTREMELY PROMISING, MINIMALLY INVASIVE TREATMENT MODALITY FOR NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES WHEREBY SOUND WAVES ARE FOCUSED TO A SPECIFIC REGION OF THE BRAIN. BECAUSE IT IS NONINVASIVE, THE EFFICACY OF TMRGFUS PROCEDURE HEAVILY RELIES ON THE ACCURACY AND INFORMATION CONTENT OF THE GUIDANCE TECHNOLOGY. THIS STUDY PROPOSES TO IMPROVE THE TREATMENT EFFICACY OF NEARLY ALL TMRGFUS SURGERIES BY ELIMINATING A UBIQUITOUS IMPEDIMENT TO ACCURATE AND INFORMATION-RICH GUIDANCE MRI: THE ACOUSTIC COUPLING MEDIUM. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE COUPLING MEDIA AND GUIDANCE IMAGING IMPEDE TMRGFUS EFFICACY AND TRANSLATION. FOR EXAMPLE, WHILE FDA-APPROVED TMRGFUS TREATMENTS FOR ESSENTIAL TREMOR AND PARKINSON’S DISEASE CAN RELY ON REAL-TIME PATIENT FEEDBACK TO COMPENSATE FOR ERRORS IN GUIDANCE MR IMAGING, OTHER TMRGFUS INDICATIONS CANNOT ACCESS PATIENT FEEDBACK BECAUSE EITHER THE PATIENT IS UNCONSCIOUS, OR THE CONSEQUENCES OF TREATMENT ERRORS APPEAR ONLY DAYS LATER. IN THESE CASES, GUIDANCE IMAGING ERRORS IMPOSED BY THE COUPLING BATH CANNOT BE COMPENSATED AND DEGRADE TREATMENT EFFICACY TO MEET THIS NEED, OUR STUDY PROPOSES A DILUTE, IRON-BASED COUPLING MEDIA (IBCM) THAT WILL ELIMINATE COUPLING- MEDIA-INDUCED ERRORS IN MRI GUIDANCE IMAGING WHILE MAINTAINING THE COUPLING AND COOLING FUNCTIONALITY CRITICAL TO ACOUSTIC TRANSMISSION. THE SPECIFIC AIMS OF THE STUDY ARE AS FOLLOWS. AIM 1: DEVELOP NOVEL SURFACE–MODIFIED IRON OXIDE NANOPARTICLES FOR AN IBCM. DILUTE, AQUEOUS, SURFACE- MODIFIED IRON OXIDE NANOPARTICLES CAN ACCELERATE MRI SIGNAL DECAY SUCH THAT, DURING IMAGE ACQUISITION, A COUPLING MEDIUM WILL CONTRIBUTE NEGLIGIBLE EFFECTS TO GUIDANCE IMAGING. HOWEVER, AQUEOUS NANOPARTICLES ALSO AGGLOMERATE AND SEED TREATMENT-IMPEDING CAVITATION NUCLEATION IN THE PREFOCAL ACOUSTIC FIELD. THIS AIM WILL DEVELOP NOVEL SURFACE-MODIFIED PARTICLES THAT, UPON SUSPENSION, ACCELERATE MRI SIGNAL DECAY WITHOUT PROMOTING PREFOCAL NUCLEATION. AIM 2: INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF IBCM SUSPENSION FLUID PROPERTIES ON CAVITATION NUCLEATION. FLUID PROPERTIES PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN PARTICLE SUSPENSION, ACOUSTIC COUPLING, SUBJECT COOLING, AND CAVITATION NUCLEATION. THIS AIM WILL INVESTIGATE CAVITATION NUCLEATION WITHIN THE IBCM AND HOW SUSPENSION FLUID PROPERTIES, SUCH AS PH, TEMPERATURE, GAS CONTENT, AND FLOW STATE, CAN MODIFY OR SUPPRESS THE NUCLEATION PROCESS WHILE MAINTAINING SUSPENSION, COUPLING, AND COOLING CAPABILITIES. AIM 3: ENHANCE MRI GUIDANCE FOR TMRGFUS THROUGH THE USE OF AN IBCM. THIS AIM WILL QUANTIFY THE VALUE OF THE IBCM DESIGNED IN AIMS 1 AND 2 FOR TMRGFUS BY MEASURING IMAGE QUALITY METRICS DERIVED FROM GUIDANCE MRI SCANS OF HUMAN SUBJECTS. THIS AIM WILL ALSO DEVELOP NOVEL MRI GUIDANCE TECHNIQUES THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY RENDERED IMPOSSIBLE DUE TO SEVERE IMAGE CORRUPTIONS IMPOSED BY THE ACOUSTIC COUPLING MEDIUM. THE RESULTING IBCM WILL IMPROVE IMAGE QUALITY FOR NEARLY ALL GUIDANCE TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED DURING, OR UNDERGOING DEVELOPMENT FOR, TMRGFUS, BY RENDERING THE ACOUSTIC COUPLING MEDIUM INVISIBLE TO THE MRI SCANNER WITHOUT SACRIFICING NECESSARY ACOUSTIC COUPLING AND COOLING FUNCTIONALITY.

COMPUTATIONAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CRYOGENIC GRAIN BOUNDARY MOTION FOR ENHANCED MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

ENHANCED SENSITIVITY AND QUANTITATIVE PRECISION FOR SINGLE CELL PROTEOMICS - SINGLE CELL PROTEOMICS (SCP) IS RAPIDLY EMERGING AND CAN QUANTIFY > 1000 PROTEINS PER CELL. SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES IN INSTRUMENTATION AND SAMPLE PREPARATION ARE MAKING SCP MORE BROADLY ACCESSIBLE. YET TECHNICAL ADVANCES IN DATA ACQUISITION HAVE NOT BEEN PAIRED WITH ADVANCES TO COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS. ALGORITHMS FOR PROTEOMICS WERE DESIGNED AND OPTIMIZED ON DATA FROM BULK PROTEOMICS, AND ARE ILL-SUITED FOR SCP DATA. OUR PRELIMINARY RESEARCH SHOWS THAT DATA FROM SCP LACK MANY FEATURES THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR CURRENT PROTEOMICS ALGORITHMS. WE WILL DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE ACCURACY AND COVERAGE OF THE SINGLE CELL PROTEOME THROUGH CREATION OF THE FIRST-EVER DEDICATED SCP SEARCH SOFTWARE. THIS WILL BE COUPLED WITH AN INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE SCP PEPTIDE AND PROTEIN QUANTIFICATION. THESE ALGORITHMIC IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE INFORMED FROM A LARGE CORPUS OF SCP DATA, GATHERED AND CENTRALIZED INTO THE FIRST SCP DATA ARCHIVE.

ASSESSING THE INFLUENCE OF SPACE LAUNCH AND LANDING NOISE ON SPECIES OF CONCERN AT VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE.

ADVANCED SAMPLE PREPARATION, SEPARATION AND MULTIPLEXED ANALYSIS FOR IN-DEPTH PROTEOME PROFILING OF >1000 SINGLE CELLS PER DAY - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT CANCER TISSUES EXHIBIT A HIGH DEGREE OF PHENOTYPIC HETEROGENEITY AND PLASTICITY AND CONTAIN NUMEROUS SUBPOPULATIONS OF CELLS IN VARIOUS STATES. QUANTIFYING THIS HETEROGENEITY AT THE SINGLE-CELL LEVEL AND WITH MOLECULAR DEPTH ACROSS LARGE NUMBERS OF CELLS PROVIDES INFORMATION THAT CANNOT BE OBTAINED AT THE BULK SCALE AND WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO IMPROVED DIAGNOSTICS AND MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS. WHILE SINGLE-CELL NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCING APPROACHES ARE HAVING A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON CANCER RESEARCH, PROTEINS MEDIATE THE BULK OF CELLULAR FUNCTION AND ARE THE TARGETS OF MOST THERAPEUTICS. THERE IS THUS AN URGENT NEED TO DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR LARGE- SCALE DIRECT PROTEOME PROFILING AT THE SINGLE-CELL LEVEL. TO FILL THIS GAP, MASS SPECTROMETRY (MS)-BASED PROFILING OF PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN SINGLE CELLS HAS RECENTLY BEEN DEMONSTRATED THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MORE EFFICIENT SAMPLE PROCESSING WORKFLOWS, NOVEL EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS AND IMPROVED INSTRUMENT SENSITIVITY. LABEL-FREE MS- BASED PROTEOMICS CAN NOW QUANTIFY >2,000 PROTEIN GROUPS PER CELL ACROSS >4 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE OF DYNAMIC RANGE, BUT EFFORTS TO PROFILE MORE THAN A FEW DOZEN CELLS PER DAY HAVE RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PROTEOME COVERAGE. THIS LOW THROUGHPUT IS INSUFFICIENT FOR THE LARGE-SCALE STATISTICALLY POWERED STUDIES REQUIRED TO CHARACTERIZE HETEROGENEITY IN CANCER CELL POPULATIONS. TO INCREASE MEASUREMENT THROUGHPUT, MULTIPLEXED WORKFLOWS BASED ON ISOBARIC TANDEM MASS TAGS (TMTS) ENABLE UP TO 18 SINGLE CELLS TO BE MEASURED IN AN LC- MS ANALYSIS, BUT THESE HAVE STILL BEEN LIMITED TO ~100 CELLS/DAY AND, AS GENERALLY IMPLEMENTED, SUFFER FROM A LARGE PROPORTION OF MISSING VALUES AND OTHER ISSUES AFFECTING QUANTITATIVE PERFORMANCE. OUR OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP A PLATFORM THAT COMBINES SIMPLIFIED PIPETTE-FREE HIGH-THROUGHPUT SAMPLE PREPARATION WITH RAPID, MULTICOLUMN LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY SEPARATIONS AND ‘GREEDY’ DATA-DEPENDENT ACQUISITION TO PROFILE >2000 PROTEINS PER CELL WITH A MEASUREMENT THROUGHPUT OF >1000 SINGLE CELLS PER DAY. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THE ADVANCED SAMPLE PREPARATION AND SEPARATION, COMBINED WITH A FAR MORE EFFICIENT MS ACQUISITION WORKFLOW, WILL ACHIEVE IN-DEPTH SCP WITH A 10× THROUGHPUT GAIN, THUS PROVIDING A CAPABILITY FOR DIRECT, IN-DEPTH AND LARGE-SCALE PROTEIN QUANTIFICATION THAT IS ANALOGOUS TO SINGLE-CELL RNA-SEQ. STUDIES IN AIM 1 WILL FOCUS ON DEVELOPING MASSIVELY PARALLEL CENTRIFUGAL NANOLITER DISPENSING TO PREPARE >10,000 SINGLE-CELLS PER DAY AT A TOTAL REAGENT AND CONSUMABLES COST OF <$0.40/CELL. IN AIM 2, WE WILL DEVELOP RAPID, ROBUST AND HIGH-PEAK-CAPACITY 20-MIN NANOLC SEPARATIONS WITH 100% DUTY CYCLE. IN AIM 3, WE WILL DEVELOP A NOVEL ‘GREEDY’ DATA ACQUISITION STRATEGY IN WHICH ONLY PROTEOTYPIC PEPTIDES ARE SELECTED FOR FRAGMENTATION, AND WITH CUSTOM AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL SETTINGS AND FRAGMENTATION ENERGY FOR EACH PEPTIDE, PROVIDING AN UNPRECEDENTED COMBINATION OF SENSITIVITY AND THROUGHPUT. WITH THIS NEXT-GENERATION PLATFORM, WE WILL PROFILE >10,000 CELLS TO STUDY ACQUIRED RESISTANCE TO AUTOPHAGY INHIBITORS IN THE CONTEXT OF AUTOPHAGY-DEPENDENT TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER, THUS ESTABLISHING AN INNOVATIVE PLATFORM FOR ADVANCING BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND INDIVIDUALIZING THERAPY.

FULLY AUTOMATED AND ULTRA-HIGH-THROUGHPUT PLATFORM FOR IN-DEPTH SINGLE-CELL PROTEOMICS

DEVELOPING THE PEDAGOGICAL SKILLS AND SCIENCE EXPERTISE OF TEACHERS IN UNDERSERVED RURAL SETTINGS

AREA A: IN-DEPTH PROTEOME MAPPING OF THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT WITH SINGLE-CELL RESOLUTION

BULKY DEHYDROAMINO ACIDS AS CONSTRAINING AND STABILIZING COMPONENTS OF PEPTIDES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DESIGNING A TEACHER LEARNING SEQUENCE FOR BUILDING ON MATHEMATICAL OPPORTUNITIES IN STUDENT THINKING -MATHEMATICAL OPPORTUNITIES IN STUDENT THINKING (MOSTS) ARE HIGH-LEVERAGE INSTANCES OF STUDENT MATHEMATICAL THINKING THAT EMERGE IN WHOLE-CLASS DISCUSSIONS. THE CHALLENGE FOR TEACHERS IS TO BUILD ON THESE OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP THE WHOLE CLASS UNDERSTAND THE MATHEMATICS UNDERLYING THESE STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS. TO HELP TEACHERS LEARN HOW TO BUILD ON MOSTS, THERE IS A NEED FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES AND TOOLS THAT FACILITATORS CAN USE. THERE IS ALSO A NEED FOR RESEARCH ABOUT HOW TEACHERS USE WHAT THEY LEARN IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR TEACHING. THIS PROJECT IS DEVELOPING A TEACHER LEARNING SEQUENCE THAT WILL SUPPORT TEACHERS IN LEARNING TO PRODUCTIVELY USE STUDENT THINKING THAT SURFACES IN-THE-MOMENT DURING THEIR INSTRUCTION?THAT IS, IN LEARNING TO BUILD ON MOSTS. THIS PROJECT BUILDS ON PRIOR WORK THAT DEVELOPED A FRAMEWORK FOR RECOGNIZING MOSTS AND CONCEPTUALIZED THE BUILDING PRACTICE TEACHERS USE TO EFFECTIVELY CAPITALIZE ON MOSTS. THE OVERARCHING RESEARCH QUESTION FOR THE PROJECT IS: TO WHAT EXTENT DOES THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SEQUENCE HELP TEACHERS UNDERSTAND AND ENACT THE TEACHING PRACTICE OF BUILDING? AS PART OF THIS INVESTIGATION, THE PROJECT ALSO CONSIDERS FACTORS THAT MIGHT MITIGATE TEACHERS? LEARNING, SUCH AS TEACHER ATTRIBUTES (KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICES, OR EXPERIENCES) AND CONTEXTUAL FACTORS. THE STUDY USES A DESIGN RESEARCH FRAMEWORK TO DOCUMENT HOW TEACHERS TAKE UP ASPECTS OF BUILDING ON MOSTS FROM THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, THE PROCESS OF TEACHERS? LEARNING, AND CHANGES IN THEIR CLASSROOM PRACTICE. THE STUDY RELIES ON DATA FROM THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES, TEACHER SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSROOM DATA. THE PROJECT SITES INCLUDE SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN URBAN AND RURAL SETTINGS. THE DISCOVERY RESEARCH PREK-12 PROGRAM (DRK-12) IS AN APPLIED RESEARCH PROGRAM THAT SEEKS TO SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE THE LEARNING AND TEACHING OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) BY PREK-12 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. PROJECTS IN THE DRK-12 PROGRAM BUILD ON FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH IN STEM EDUCATION AND PRIOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS THAT PROVIDE THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR FUNDED PROJECTS. 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.

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF YEAST PAS KINASE REGULATION AND FUNCTION.

WEARABLE NANOCOMPOSITE SENSOR SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSING MECHANICAL SOURCES OF LOW BACK PAIN AND GUIDING REHABILITATION - PROJECT SUMMARY BACK PAIN HAS GAINED THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE MOST DISABLING CONDITION IN THE WORLD [1-3], AFFECTING 80-90% OF THE US POPULATION AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIFETIME, WITH 29% OF THE US POPULATION HAVING EXPERIENCED LOWER BACK PAIN WITHIN THE LAST 3 MONTHS. BACK AND NECK PAIN ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF MISSED WORK DAYS AND RANK SECOND ONLY TO THE COMMON COLD AS A REASON FOR A VISIT TO THE DOCTOR, ACCOUNTING FOR APPROXIMATELY 30% OF GENERAL PRACTITIONER VISITS. OF PARTICULAR CONCERN IS CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP), WHICH IS RECURRENT AND OFTEN NON-RESPONSIVE TO CONSERVATIVE TREATMENTS. IT HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED THAT SPINAL PATHOLOGY CHANGES THE WAY THAT WE MOVE. BIOMECHANISTS, PHYSICAL THERAPISTS, AND SURGEONS EACH UTILIZE A VARIETY OF TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TO ASSESS AND INTERPRET QUALITATIVE MOVEMENT CHANGES AS A WINDOW TO UNDERSTANDING POTENTIAL MECHANICAL AND NEUROLOGICAL SOURCES OF LOW BACK PAIN AND AS A CRITICAL ELEMENT IN THEIR TREATMENT PARADIGM. HOWEVER, OBJECTIVELY CHARACTERIZING AND COMMUNICATING THIS INFORMATION IS CURRENTLY IMPOSSIBLE, SINCE CLINICALLY FEASIBLE (E.G., COST-EFFECTIVE, OBJECTIVE, AND ACCURATE) TOOLS AND QUANTITATIVE BENCHMARKS DO NOT EXIST. THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES THE CHALLENGE TO IMPROVE CLBP OUTCOMES THROUGH THE USE OF UNIQUE, INEXPENSIVE, SCREEN-PRINTABLE, ELASTOMER-BASED NANO-COMPOSITE PIEZORESPONSIVE SENSORS WHICH WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO A SPINAL NANOSENSOR ENVIRONMENT (SPINE SENSE SYSTEM) TO MEASURE LUMBAR KINEMATICS AND PROVIDE AN OBJECTIVE, QUANTITATIVE PLATFORM FOR DIAGNOSIS, MONITORING, AND FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENT OF CLBP.

HIGH DENSITY 3D PRINTED MICROFLUIDICS WITH OPEN SOURCE RESINS FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

PHASE I IUCRC BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY: CENTER FOR SPACE, HIGH-PERFORMANCE, AND RESILIENT COMPUTING (SHREC)

ADVANCING THE NASA GEOGLOWS TOOLBOX FOR REGIONAL WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND DECISION SUPPORT

INTBIO: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SILK PROTEIN INNOVATION AND NOVELTY (SPIN) : INTEGRATING ACROSS DISCIPLINES TO DECIPHER SILK FIBER EVOLUTION -SILK IS ONE OF NATURE?S STRONGEST AND LIGHTEST BIOMATERIALS. IT IS USED BY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SPECIES FOR AN ARRAY OF APPLICATIONS. YET, OUTSIDE OF A FEW SPECIES, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE GENOMIC BASIS AND MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF NATURAL SILKS. THIS PROJECT TAKES AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO EXAMINE THE MOLECULAR, DEVELOPMENTAL, AND FUNCTIONAL BASIS OF SILK ACROSS A DIVERSITY OF USES. AN INTEGRATIVE TEAM OF NATURAL HISTORIANS, MOLECULAR BIOLOGISTS, DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGISTS, AND BIOENGINEERS ARE COMBINING THEIR EXPERTISE TO GAIN INSIGHT INTO HOW NATURE SHAPES SILK FIBER FUNCTION. THIS RESEARCH IS FOUNDATIONAL TO ENGINEERING NEW MATERIALS THAT CAN APPLIED TO MANY PRODUCTS, FROM SURGICAL ADHESIVES TO SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING. AS PART OF THIS PROJECT, MULTIPLE POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS GAIN INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING IN GENOMICS, GENE EDITING, AND ENGINEERING. FURTHERMORE, THIS PROJECT CREATES A TRAVELING MUSEUM EXHIBIT TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE NATURAL PROPERTIES OF SILK. SILK HAS BEEN SHAPED AND RE-ADAPTED FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY DIVERSITY OF USES ACROSS MULTIPLE DISTANTLY RELATED ARTHROPOD GROUPS AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS OF EVOLUTION. TO DATE, SILK RESEARCH IN INSECTS HAS FOCUSED LARGELY ON FIBERS FROM THE DOMESTICATED SILKWORM MOTH, BOMBYX MORI. THIS PROJECT USES A COMPARATIVE, MULTI-TIERED APPROACH TO STUDY SILKS OF THE MOST DOMINANT CLADE OF SILK-PRODUCING INSECTS, THE CADDISFLIES AND MOTHS. THE COMBINATION OF GENOMICS, PROTEOMICS, FUNCTIONAL GENETICS, AND BIOPHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS WILL ILLUMINATE HOW SILKS ADHERE TO UNDERWATER SUBSTRATES, HOW THEY CONSOLIDATE INTO AN INSOLUBLE FIBER, AND HELP UNDERSTAND THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF THEIR MECHANICAL PROPERTIES. EVOLUTIONARY CORRELATIONS ARE WOVEN BETWEEN GENOTYPES AND PHENOTYPES AND DIRECT TESTS OF CAUSALITY ARE CONDUCTED IN STRATEGICALLY CHOSEN FOCAL SPECIES THAT ARE AMENABLE TO GENETIC MODIFICATION. OVERALL, THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE OVERARCHING QUESTION, ?HOW DOES NATURE SHAPE SILK FIBER FUNCTION?? WITH A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR A FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL SUPERSTRUCTURE THAT HAS UNTAPPED POTENTIAL FOR THE PRODUCTION OF NEW POLYMER-BASED BIOMATERIALS. 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.

2018-2022 CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EDUCATION GRANT

DEVELOPMENT OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES FOR A PRESSURIZED DRY FEED OXY-COAL REACTOR

CENTERS FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EDUCATION

3D-PRINTED INTEGRATED MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES FOR PRETERM BIRTH BIOMARKER ANALYSIS

THE CAUSES OF GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER MICROBIOTA COMPOSITION

HELPING PRODUCERS IMPROVE WILDLIFE HABITAT WITH INNOVATIVE SED COATING TECHNOLOGIES

MRI: DEVELOPMENT OF A LOCAL AIR TRAFFIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (LATIS) FOR UAS COLLISION AVOIDANCE RESEARCH

MRI: ACQUISITION OF THE LANGUAGELENS FOR LARGE-SCALE LANGUAGE MODELING -MACHINE LEARNING IS REVOLUTIONIZING MANY PARTS OF SOCIETY, BUT TRAINING THE VERY BEST MODELS REQUIRES TREMENDOUS COMPUTING RESOURCES THAT ARE OFTEN OUT OF REACH FOR ACADEMIC GROUPS. THIS PROJECT THEREFORE ACQUIRES A SPECIAL-PURPOSE INSTRUMENT, NAMED THE LANGUAGELENS, THAT IS DESIGNED TO PROCESS VAST AMOUNTS OF NATURAL LANGUAGE TEXT. THE LANGUAGELENS WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH IN NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING, DEEP LEARNING, COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS, CRISIS INFORMATICS, CONVERSATIONAL AI, NEURAL MACHINE TRANSLATION, AND LEGAL CORPUS LINGUISTICS, AND WILL ENABLE ACADEMIC RESEARCH TO ADVANCE BOTH THE MACHINE LEARNING NEEDED TO TRAIN LARGE MODELS, AS WELL AS SOCIETIALLY RELEVANT APPLICATIONS OF THOSE MODELS. THE LANGUAGELENS IS A HIGH-PERFORMANCE GPU CLUSTER THAT BALANCES COMPUTE, STORAGE AND INTERNODE COMMUNICATION TO SUPPORT A VARIETY OF DEMANDING NLP-BASED WORKLOADS. THE LANGUAGELENS WILL BE FOCUSED ON SOLVING RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL, INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPACT ACROSS A WIDE VARIETY OF FIELDS. A KEY AREA OF FOCUS FOR THE INSTRUMENT IS THE ABILITY TO TRAIN NEW LARGE-SCALE LANGUAGE MODELS AND TO EXAMINE THEIR INNER WORKINGS IN REAL-TIME. LANGUAGE MODELS WILL BE TRAINED WITH SPECIFIC DOWNSTREAM APPLICATIONS IN MIND, ON NOVEL CORPORA AS WELL AS WITH NOVEL NEURO-SYMBOLIC ARCHITECTURES, TO HELP DERIVE INSIGHT FROM THE RESULTING WEIGHTS. THE LANGUAGELENS WILL PRIORITIZE SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH THAT ADDRESSES PRESSING SOCIETAL PROBLEMS. IT WILL ALSO PROVIDE AUTHENTIC WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS: AS THE RESOURCE GAP BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA GROWS, IT IS INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITIES TO PURSUE HIGH-IMPACT RESEARCH THAT INVOLVES HUGE MODELS AND DATASETS. FINALLY, AS MANY COMPANIES REFUSE TO RELEASE THE PRETRAINED WEIGHTS OF THEIR MODELS, A CENTRAL GOAL IS TO MAKE TRAINED WEIGHTS FREELY AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE, SUBJECT TO ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS, TO DRIVE NATIONAL IMPACT FOR BOTH INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA. PROJECT RESOURCES SUCH AS CODE, PUBLICATIONS, DATASETS AND PRETRAINED MODELS WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE LANGUAGELENS WEBSITE AT HTTPS://LL.CS.BYU.EDU/. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: QUANTIFYING CURRICULAR REASONING AS A CRITICAL PRACTICE IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS -TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS ENGAGE IN CURRICULAR REASONING AS THEY DESIGN AND INTERACT WITH THEIR STUDENTS, CHOOSE CURRICULAR MATERIALS, AND IMPLEMENT CURRICULUM STANDARDS IN THE SERVICE OF HIGH-QUALITY INSTRUCTION. CURRENTLY, THERE IS NO SHARED MEASURE OF CURRICULAR REASONING OF MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER CLASSROOM DECISION MAKING IN MATHEMATICS. IN THIS RESEARCH PROJECT, THE TEAM DEVELOPS AND VALIDATES TWO MEASURES OF MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS? CURRICULAR REASONING IN MATHEMATICS AS PRACTICED. THE FIRST MEASURE LOOKS AT CURRICULUM REASONING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE TEACHER, THE SECOND MEASURE ATTENDS TO THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION RESEARCH COMMUNITY. THE RESEARCH EXAMINES TEACHER SELF-ASSESSMENT COMPARED AND ALIGNED WITH THOSE OF PROFESSIONAL OBSERVERS (E.G., COACHES, SCHOOL LEADERS, AND RESEARCHERS) TO ESTABLISH THE VALIDITY OF THE TEACHER SELF-REPORT MEASURE. THE RESEARCH ESTABLISHES BENCHMARK SCORES OF TEACHERS CURRICULAR REASONING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS, SUPPORTING INCREASED INTERPRETABILITY AND UTILITY OF THE CURRICULAR REASONING SCORE TO IMPROVE CLASSROOM PRACTICE. THE RESEARCHERS CAREFULLY EXAMINE FOUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS: [1] TO WHAT EXTENT DOES VALIDITY EVIDENCE SUPPORT USE OF THE CURRICULAR REASONING SELF-ASSESSMENT SURVEY SUITE FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TEACHERS TO MEASURE THEIR OWN CURRICULAR REASONING? [2] TO WHAT EXTENT DOES VALIDITY EVIDENCE SUPPORT USE OF THE CURRICULAR REASONING OBSERVATION ASSESSMENT TO MEASURE MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TEACHERS? CURRICULAR REASONING? [3] IS THERE A SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TEACHERS? CURRICULAR REASONING WHEN MEASURED BY THE NEW CURRICULAR REASONING TOOLS? [4] WHAT BENCHMARKS DEFINE DIFFERENT CURRICULAR REASONING LEVELS ON EACH OF THE TWO MEASURES? THE RESEARCH TEAM GATHERS VALIDITY DATA BASED ON SHARED STANDARDS HELD BY THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON MEASUREMENT IN EDUCATION, AND THE AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATION. THE RESEARCH ADVANCES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF TEACHER CURRICULAR REASONING THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TWO MEASURES. THE WORK BRIDGES RESEARCH AND PRACTICE AS THE RESEARCHERS USE SELF-REPORT AND OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT AND IMPROVE TEACHERS? PRACTICE OF CURRICULAR REASONING. THE TEAM USES RASCH PSYCHOMETRIC TOOLS FOR STANDARD SETTING TO IMPROVE THE USABILITY OF THE MEASURES FOR CLASSROOM USAGE. THE DISCOVERY RESEARCH PREK-12 PROGRAM (DRK-12) SEEKS TO SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE THE LEARNING AND TEACHING OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) BY PREK-12 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, THROUGH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE RESOURCES, MODELS, AND TOOLS. PROJECTS IN THE DRK-12 PROGRAM BUILD ON FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH IN STEM EDUCATION AND PRIOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS THAT PROVIDE THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR PROPOSED PROJECTS.? 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.

3D TEMPERATURE CONTROL TO STUDY BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

MECHANISMS OF CHAPERONE-MEDIATED FOLDING OF BETA-PROPELLER PROTEINS ESSENTIAL FOR VISION. - PROJECT SUMMARY THE CYTOSOLIC CHAPERONIN CCT IS A LARGE PROTEIN COMPLEX THAT PLAYS AN INDISPENSABLE ROLE IN MAINTAINING THE CELLULAR PROTEOME BY ASSISTING IN THE FOLDING OF NUMEROUS PROTEINS WITH COMPLEX TERTIARY STRUCTURES AND UNFAVORABLE FOLDING TRAJECTORIES. PROPER CCT FUNCTION IS VITAL TO HUMAN VISION AS EVIDENCED BY THE FACT THAT INACTIVATING MUTATIONS IN CCT CAUSE LEBER CONGENITAL AMAUROSIS (LCA). CCT CONTRIBUTES TO THE VISUAL PROCESS BY FOLDING THE CYTOSKELETAL PROTEINS ACTIN AND TUBULIN AS WELL AS OTHER PROTEINS WITH B-PROPELLER FOLDS THAT HAVE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS IN VISON. THESE INCLUDE THE G PROTEIN B1 (GB1) SUBUNIT OF THE VISUAL G PROTEIN TRANSDUCIN, THE G PROTEIN B5 (GB5) SUBUNIT OF THE REGULATOR OF G PROTEIN SIGNALING 9 (RGS9) DIMER, AND THE BBS2 AND BBS7 SUBUNITS OF THE BARDET-BIEDL SYNDROME (BBS) CILIARY TRANSPORT COMPLEX, THE BBSOME. DESPITE THE IMPORTANCE OF CCT IN MAINTAINING THE PROTEOME, WE KNOW VERY LITTLE AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL ABOUT HOW CCT ASSISTS IN THE FOLDING OF THESE B-PROPELLER PROTEINS AND HOW MUTATIONS DISRUPT FOLDING AND CAUSE DISEASE. TO ADDRESS THIS GAP IN KNOWLEDGE, WE PROPOSE TO DETERMINE THE STRUCTURES OF HUMAN GB1 AND GB5 AND THEIR DISEASE-CAUSING MUTANTS. STRUCTURES OF GB5 BOUND TO CCT AND ITS CO-CHAPERONE PHLP1 SHOW PROGRESSIVE STEP-BY-STEP FORMATION OF THE GB5 B-PROPELLER THAT REVEALS ITS FOLDING TRAJECTORY. UNRAVELING HOW CCT INFLUENCES THE FOLDING TRAJECTORY OF A B-PROPELLER PROTEIN REPRESENTS A BREAKTHROUGH IN UNDERSTANDING CHAPERONE-MEDIATED PROTEIN FOLDING. MOREOVER, APPLYING THESE SAME TECHNIQUES TO MISFOLDING AND DISEASE-CAUSING MUTANTS OF GB1 AND GB5 WILL SHOW HOW THE MUTATIONS DISRUPT THEIR FOLDING TRAJECTORIES. FINALLY, WE PROPOSE TO EMPLOY OUR BIOCHEMICAL AND HIGH RESOLUTION CRYO-EM EXPERTISE TO UNDERSTANDING BIOGENESIS OF THE BBSOME COMPLEX. A KEY STEP IN BBSOME ASSEMBLY IS THE FORMATION OF THE BBS2-BBS7 DIMER, WHICH REQUIRES BOTH CCT AND THREE CHAPERONIN- LIKE (CL-BBS) PROTEINS BBS6, BBS10 AND BBS12 TO COME TOGETHER. DESPITE THE 18 YEARS SINCE CL-BBS PROTEIN DISCOVERY AND THE PREDOMINANT ROLE THEIR MUTATIONS PLAY IN CAUSING BBS, THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM BY WHICH THE CL-BBS PROTEINS AND CCT ASSIST IN BBS2 AND BBS7 FOLDING AND BBS2-BBS7 DIMER FORMATION IS UNKNOWN. THE PROPOSED STUDIES WILL FILL THIS GAP IN KNOWLEDGE AND WILL DEEPEN UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR DEFECTS CAUSED BY MUTATIONS IN GB SUBUNITS, BBS7 AND CL-BBS PROTEINS. THE STRUCTURAL WORK WILL ESTABLISH A FOUNDATION FOR TARGETED, STRUCTURE-BASED DRUG DESIGN TO CREATE NEW THERAPIES FOR THE RETINOPATHIES, NEUROPATHIES AND CILIOPATHIES CAUSED BY THESE MUTATIONS.

VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA GABA NEURONS: PLASTICITY & OPIATE RECEPTORS AT INHIBITORY INPUTS

TRACKING INTERGRANULAR STRAIN DYNAMICS WITH NEAR-ATOMIC SCALE COHERENT X-RAY IMAGING AT NEXT GENERATION LIGHT SOURCES

FISCAL YEAR 2024 CONSOLIDATED INNOVATIVE NUCLEAR RESEARCH. UNIVERSITY NAME: BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

DEVELOPING A CRISPR-BASED FORWARD-GENETIC SCREENING METHOD IN EMBRYONIC ZEBRAFISH

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: NETWORK CLUSTER: DUST IN THE CRITICAL ZONE FROM THE GREAT BASIN TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

RAGE TARGETING ATTENUATES SMOKE-INDUCED INFLAMMATION

2022-2026 CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EDUCATION GRANT

QUANTITATIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF ESSENTIAL TREMOR FOR FUTURE TREMOR SUPPRESSION

THE REGULATION AND TARGETING OF CELL SURVIVAL PATHWAYS IN CANCER

MASS SPECTROMETRY-BASED BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF SINGLE CELLS BEYOND THE GLOBAL PROTEOME - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT BIOLOGICAL TISSUES EXHIBIT A HIGH DEGREE OF PHENOTYPIC HETEROGENEITY AND PLASTICITY, COMPRISING MANY DIFFERENT SUBPOPULATIONS OF CELLS IN VARIOUS STATES. QUANTIFYING THIS HETEROGENEITY AT THE SINGLE-CELL LEVEL AND WITH MOLECULAR DEPTH ACROSS LARGE NUMBERS OF CELLS AND MULTIPLE CLASSES OF MOLECULES PROVIDES INFORMATION THAT CANNOT BE OBTAINED AT THE BULK SCALE AND WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO IMPROVED DIAGNOSTICS AND MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS. WHILE SINGLE-CELL NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCING APPROACHES ARE HAVING A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, PROTEINS, LIPIDS AND METABOLITES MEDIATE THE BULK OF CELLULAR FUNCTION AND MEASUREMENT OF THEIR EXPRESSION PROVIDES MORE DIRECT INSIGHT INTO CELLULAR PHENOTYPE. THERE IS THUS AN URGENT NEED TO DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR LARGE-SCALE DIRECT PROTEOME, LIPIDOME AND METABOLOME PROFILING AT THE SINGLE-CELL LEVEL. TO FILL THIS GAP, MASS SPECTROMETRY (MS)-BASED PROFILING OF PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN SINGLE CELLS HAS RECENTLY BEEN DEMONSTRATED THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MORE EFFICIENT SAMPLE PROCESSING WORKFLOWS, NOVEL EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS AND IMPROVED INSTRUMENT SENSITIVITY. LABEL-FREE MS-BASED PROTEOMICS CAN NOW QUANTIFY >3,000 PROTEIN GROUPS PER CELL ACROSS >4 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE OF DYNAMIC RANGE. HERE WE PROPOSE TO APPLY MASS SPECTROMETRY TO STUDY BIOMOLECULAR EXPRESSION AT THE SINGLE-CELL LEVEL BEYOND THE GLOBAL PROTEOME. WE WILL DEVELOP GLOBAL AND TARGETED APPROACHES TO PROFILE POSTTRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS IN SINGLE CELLS, BEGINNING WITH PHOSPHORYLATION. WE WILL ALSO EXTEND NANOFLOW LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-MS CAPABILITIES FOR IN-DEPTH SINGLE-CELL LIPID PROFILING. ULTIMATELY, WE WILL DEVELOP NOVEL MEANS OF GENERATING COMPLEX LC GRADIENTS THAT UTILIZE MORE THAN TWO MOBILE PHASES TO EFFICIENTLY PROFILE MULTIPLE CLASSES OF BIOMOLECULES (E.G., PROTEOME AND LIPIDOME) FROM THE SAME SINGLE CELL. THESE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS WILL, IN COMBINATION WITH MATURE NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCING STRATEGIES, PROVIDE AN UNPRECEDENTED VIEW OF CELLULAR REGULATION FROM GENOTYPE TO PHENOTYPE AT THE SINGLE-CELL LEVEL.

A RE-CONFIGURABLE TESTBED FOR AUTONOMOUS HETEROGENEOUS MARINE MAPPING, SENSING, AND SEARCH

FISCAL YEAR 2023 CONSOLIDATED INNOVATIVE NUCLEAR RESEARCH - BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

NUCLEAR ENERGY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS - NUCLEAR ENERGY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS CONSOLIDATED INNOVATIVE NUCLEAR RESEARCH - BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GENEALOGY OF ODONATA (GEODE): DISPERSAL AND COLOR AS DRIVERS OF 300 MILLION YEARS OF GLOBAL DRAGONFLY EVOLUTION

PREDICTIVE STRUCTURE-BASED GUIDELINES FOR IDENTIFYING OPTIMAL PEGYLATION SITES WITHIN PROTEINS

PROBING SHORT-RANGE STRUCTURE AND MAGNETISM IN NEXT-GENERATION ENERGY CONVERSION MATERIALS

YIP MODELING NATURAL DYNAMIC SCENES FOR AUTONOMOUS LITTORAL OPERATIONS

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** ENGINEERING FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS PARTNERSHIP: THE INFLUENCE OF LEAF SHEATH ON GREENSNAP GRAIN FAILURE

EXPANSION OF THE 'GETTING STARTED IN CRYO-EM' COURSE INTO A COMPREHENSIVE THEORY AND PRACTICE CURRICULUM

IMPROVING RESILIENCY AND REDUCING RISK OF EXTREME HYDROLOGIC EVENTS THROUGH APPLICATION OF EARTH OBSERVATIONS AND INSITU MONITORING INFORMATION

23-TTT-0032 BRINGING THE POWER OF ALGORITHMIC AND IMPLICIT DIFFERENTIATION TO OPENMDAO

REAL TIME ADAPTIVE BEAMFORMING AND INTERFERENCE MITIGATION

FISCAL YEAR 2023 CONSOLIDATED INNOVATIVE NUCLEAR RESEARCH - BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

IUCRC PHASE I BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY: CENTER FOR AUTONOMOUS AIR MOBILITY AND SENSING (CAAMS) -THE WORLD?S AVIATION INDUSTRY IS MOVING TOWARDS AUTONOMOUS AIR MOBILITY AND SENSING, WHERE NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ENERGY SYSTEMS, AERODYNAMICS, STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY DESIGN ARE ENABLING NEW AIR VEHICLE CONCEPTS AND NEW WAYS OF USING AVIATION IN THE DAILY TRANSPORT OF INFORMATION, PEOPLE, AND CARGO. THE CENTER FOR AUTONOMOUS AIR MOBILITY AND SENSING (CAAMS) WILL PRODUCE NEW FUNDAMENTAL ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE, WILL DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGIES, AND WILL TRAIN A NEW WORKFORCE NEEDED BY POOLING THE TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW OF AMERICA?S LEADING ENGINEERING RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES WITH INNOVATIVE COMPANIES RANGING FROM STARTUPS TO LONG-ESTABLISHED LEADERS IN THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY. CAAMS RESEARCH FOCUSES ON IMPROVING AIR VEHICLE PERFORMANCE, SUSTAINABILITY, SAFETY SYSTEMS, MANUFACTURABILITY, AND RELIABILITY BY INTEGRATING RESEARCH IN TRADITIONAL AEROSPACE FIELDS SUCH AS CONTROL, AERODYNAMICS, STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS, COMMUNICATION, AND ENERGY STORAGE WITH NEW DISCIPLINES INCLUDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MACHINE LEARNING, AND ROBOTICS. BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY?S CONTRIBUTIONS TO CAAMS INCLUDE RESEARCH SPECIALIZATIONS IN GPS-DENIED AND DEGRADED NAVIGATION, ALGORITHMS FOR AUTONOMOUS TRACKING FROM UNMANNED AIRCRAFT USING ELECTRO-OPTICAL AND INFRARED CAMERAS, GUIDANCE AND CONTROL OF ELECTRIC VERTICAL TAKE-OFF AND LANDING (EVTOL) AIRCRAFT, MULTI-VEHICLE COORDINATION AND CONTROL, UNMANNED AIRCRAFT TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, AIRBORNE INFRASTRUCTURE MONITORING, AND EVTOL AIRCRAFT AERODYNAMIC MODELING AND DESIGN OPTIMIZATION. AUTONOMOUS AIR MOBILITY AND SENSING INCLUDES A BROAD RANGE OF VEHICLE CONCEPTS, INTEGRATED SUBSYSTEMS, SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT TOOLS, AND APPLICATIONS THAT EXPLOIT INCREASINGLY AUTONOMOUS CAPABILITIES IN AVIATION. THESE AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY, REDUCE COSTS, AND ENABLE NEW MISSIONS OF NATIONAL AND GLOBAL IMPORTANCE. THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR AUTONOMOUS AIRCRAFT IS EXPECTED TO REACH $1.5 TRILLION BY 2040, AND CAAMS WILL BE A KEY ASSET IN ENHANCING US COMPETITIVENESS. CENTER RESEARCH WILL SUPPORT DOZENS OF STUDENTS EVERY YEAR, GIVING THEM HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE WITH ADVANCED AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS AND DIRECT UNDERSTANDING OF INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES AND NEEDS. CENTER OUTCOMES WILL BE BROADLY DISSEMINATED THROUGH ARCHIVAL PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS AT ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE CONFERENCES, AND TECHNICAL INTERCHANGES WITH AVIATION INDUSTRY MEMBERS. A SINGLE CENTER-WIDE DATA REPOSITORY WILL BE ESTABLISHED BY THE LEAD SITE WITH A PASSWORD-PROTECTED WEB PORTAL THAT CAN BE ACCESSED BY ALL CENTER INDUSTRY MEMBERS. PROJECT DATA WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO CENTER MEMBERS ANNUALLY AND WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST TO THE PUBLIC TWO YEARS AFTER THE CENTER FISCAL YEAR HAS ENDED. 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.

GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION TOOLS THAT USE MACHINE-LEARNING TO ENABLE SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT IN WEST AFRICA

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN (SSARP) PROJECT

CAREER: COMBINING ENGINEERING, BIOMECHANICS, AND GENETIC ANALYSIS TO ENABLE THE DESIGN OF STRUCTURALLY SUPERIOR GRAIN CROPS

EXPANDING THE CAPABILITIES AND USAGE OF THE TELSAM PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION CHAPERONE - THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED FOR NEW PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION METHODS THAT ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL AND REQUIRE LESS LABOR, TIME, AND RESOURCES. LACK OF STRAIGHTFORWARD METHODS TO SUCCESSFULLY CRYSTALLIZE ANY PROTEIN OF INTEREST SIGNIFI- CANTLY HINDERS STUDY OF MOLECULAR DISEASE MECHANISMS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS. THIS LACK OF EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR MANY DISEASES FORCES THEM TO BE ADDRESSED INSTEAD WITH COSTLY SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS. OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS, WE HAVE INVESTIGATED TELSAM, A NOVEL POLYMER-FORMING PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZA- TION CHAPERONE. TELSAM CARRIER PROTEINS CAN BE GENETICALLY FUSED TO DISEASE PROTEINS, DRUG TARGETS, AND BIOEN- GINEERED PROTEINS. IN LOW PH CRYSTALLIZATION CONDITIONS, TELSAM-TARGET PROTEIN FUSIONS POLYMERIZE, AND THE RE- SULTING POLYMERS ZIPPER UP TO FORM CRYSTALS SUITABLE FOR X-RAY DIFFRACTION AND ATOMIC RESOLUTION STRUCTURE DETERMI- NATION. TELSAM FUSION READILY FORMS CRYSTALS OF 90% OF PROTEINS OF INTEREST (A STARK IMPROVEMENT OVER THE 30% CRYSTALLIZATION RATE OF TRADITIONAL METHODS) AND ROUTINELY AT PROTEIN CONCENTRATIONS OF 1 MG/ML (PROMISING TO ENABLE THE STRUCTURE DETERMINATION OF PROTEINS THAT CAN ONLY BE PRODUCED IN MINUTE QUANTITIES). TELSAM FUSION CRYSTAL- LOGRAPHY THUS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE SMALL MOLECULE AND BIOLOGIC THERAPEUTIC INDUSTRIES BY ACCEL- ERATING STRUCTURE DETERMINATION STEPS, CURRENTLY A BOTTLENECK. FOR TELSAM TO REALIZE THIS POTENTIAL, ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE BIOLOGISTS NEED 1) EXPERIMENTALLY VALIDATED GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE USE OF TELSAM, 2) A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF SUCCESSFUL USE CASES TO DEMONSTRATE GENERAL EFFICACY, AND 3) DEMONSTRATION OF THE APPLICA- TIONS AND LIMITS OF TELSAM FUSION CRYSTALLIZATION. THUS FAR WE HAVE RIGOROUSLY INVESTIGATED THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR TELSAM’S USE AND BEGUN TO DEMONSTRATE ITS USEFULNESS WITH PROTEINS RELEVANT IN HUMAN DISEASE. OUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS ARE TO RIGOROUSLY ADDRESS THE ABOVE THREE NEEDS AND BROADLY DISSEMINATE OUR FINDINGS TO THE STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY COMMUNITY. THE OVERALL VISION OF OUR RESEARCH PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON PUSHING THE LIMITS OF PROTEIN ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURE DETERMINATION FIELDS WHILE AT THE SAME TIME DEVELOPING UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, INCLUDING THOSE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED BACKGROUNDS, INTO EXCELLENT BIOCHEMISTS. WE DO THIS BY PUTTING THEM AT THE FRONT LINES OF GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH. BOTH UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS IN OUR GROUP PARTICIPATE IN ALL PARTS OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY, INCLUDING REAGENT PREPARATION, EXPERIMENT DESIGN AND EXECUTION, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS, AND MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION AT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL ACCELERATE THE SUCCESSFUL STRUCTURE DETERMINATION OF A GREATER NUMBER AND VARIETY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AND DISEASE-RELEVANT PROTEINS, DRUGS, AND BIOLOGICS, ULTIMATELY LEADING TO NEW BIOTECHNOLOGY TOOLS, MORE EFFECTIVE DISEASE TREATMENTS, AND REDUCED HEALTHCARE COSTS.

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY (BYU) AND HILL AIR FORCE BASE (HAFB), NATURAL RESOURCES PROGRAM, WILL COOPERATE TO CONDUCT NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY, MONITORING, AND HABITAT RESTORATION THAT ENSURES MILITARY MISSION ACTIVITIES ARE CONDUCTED IN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS, REGULATIONS AND POLICIES THAT PROTECT SPECIES AND MAINTAIN HEALTHY HABITATS AND PLANT COMMUNITIES. BYU WILL WORK IN CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH HAFB TO ADDRESS NATURAL RESOURCE RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON BIOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, AND RESOURCE (NATURAL) SCIENCES FOR ADDRESSING RESOURCE ISSUES AND INTERDISCIPLINARY PROBLEM-SOLVING AT MULTIPLE SCALES. BYU WILL PROVIDE THE NECESSARY PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT, AND MATERIALS REQUIRED TO CONDUCT NATURAL RESOURCE SUPPORT, AND PROVIDE ANNUAL REPORTS THAT SUMMARIZE THE WORK THAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD TO SUPPORT THE NATURAL RESOURCES PROGRAM WITHIN THE HILL AFB ENVIRONMENTAL BRANCH AT ITS UTAH TEST AND TRAINING RANGE (UTTR). BYU WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT IN 1) MAPPING AND MONITORING OF WILDLIFE HABITATS, 2) INVENTORYING BURROWING OWL POPULATIONS, 3) TRAPPING SMALL MAMMALS INCLUDING DARK KANGAROO MICE TO ASSESS POPULATION TRENDS, 4) CONDUCTING RAPTOR HABITAT SURVEYS THROUGHOUT THE UTTR, 5) ASSESSING KIT FOX POPULATIONS AND DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS, 6) PERFORMING AVIAN MIST NET AND POINT COUNT SURVEYS, 7) MONITORING PREDATOR POPULATIONS, 8) CONDUCTING UNGULATE, REPTILE, AND BAT SURVEYS, AND 9) CONDUCTING HABITAT RESTORATION AND VEGETATION MONITORING. AT THE COMPLETION OF THE FIELD SEASON, BYU WILL PROVIDE UTTR HAFB MANAGERS WITH FINAL ANNUAL REPORTS, SUBMITTED IN DECEMBER 2024, THAT PRESENT THE WORK, DATA COLLECTED, ANALYSES, AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT APPLY TO EACH TASK. THESE DATA WILL BE USED TO INFORM NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGERS AT THE UTTR FOR IDENTIFYING SPECIES REQUIREMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS THAT WOULD IMPROVE MANAGEMENT AND CONVERSATION EFFORTS.

21-SERVIR21_2-0007 INTEGRATED GLOBAL AND LOCAL HYDROLOGIC MODELS FOR FLOOD EARLY WARNING AND WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

PHOTO DATABASE AND AUTOMATION ALGORITHM- DPG, UT

WE PROPOSE DEVELOPMENT OF A DEVICE THAT WILL DIRECTLY MEASURE BOTH THE ELECTRICAL CHARGE AND THE MASS OF ATMOSPHERIC DUST PARTICLES ON MARS. SUCH MEASUREMENTS HAVE NEVER BEFORE BEEN MADE ON MARS BUT ARE CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF DUST ON HUMAN MARS ACTIVITIES AND IN SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION. THESE MEASUREMENTS WILL ALSO INFORM MODELS OF WEATHERING AND ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS ON MARS. THE DEVICE CONSISTS OF AN ARRAY OF IMAGE CHARGE DETECTORS MADE USING PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS. PARTICLE CHARGE IS MEASURED DIRECTLY FOR EACH GRAIN THAT ENTERS THE INSTRUMENT. MASS IS DETERMINED BY ELECTROSTATICALLY SLOWING THE PARTICLE IN A REGION BETWEEN TWO DETECTION ARRAYS. THE PROPOSED EFFORT SEEKS TO DEVELOP THIS DEVICE FROM TRL 2 TO TRL 3 INCLUDING TESTING WITH CHARGED MARS DUST SIMULANT. THE PROPOSAL INCLUDES DEVELOPMENT OF A LOW-NOISE AMPLIFIER THAT GREATLY EXCEEDS THE PERFORMANCE OF THE HERITAGE AMPTEK AMPLIFIER. SCIENCE GOALS OF THE PROPOSED DEVICE INCLUDE MEASUREMENT OF THE ELECTRICAL CHARGE AND MASS OF A LARGE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL DUST GRAINS THAT ARE BLOWN THROUGH THE INSTRUMENT. IT WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE TO INCLUDE A PUMP OR BLOWER AND FORCE PARTICLE-LADEN AIR THROUGH THE INSTRUMENT. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO MARS EXPLORATION AND SCIENCE. ELECTROSTATIC ADHESION OF DUST IS EXPECTED TO BE AN ISSUE IN HUMAN EXPLORATION OF MARS (STICKING TO ASTRONAUT SUITS AS OCCURRED DURING LUNAR SURFACE MISSIONS POSSIBLE RESPIRATORY EFFECTS ETC.) AND ALSO TO MECHANICAL OPERATIONS SUCH AS ISRU PROCESSING OF THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE TO PRODUCE OXYGEN. PRIOR MEASUREMENTS CONSTRAINED GENERAL SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS VIA OPTICAL SCATTERING BUT NEITHER CHARGE NOR MASS HAS BEEN DIRECTLY MEASURED. FURTHER NO INSTRUMENTS HAVE BEEN SELECTED ON ANY UPCOMING MARS MISSIONS (EXOMARS MARS2020 INSIGHT) THAT ARE ABLE TO MAKE THESE MEASUREMENTS. THUS THE PROPOSED WORK DIRECTLY ADVANCES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE DUST PROPERTIES AND PROCESSES ON MARS. FURTHER THE PROPOSED EFFORT FALLS BEST INTO THE PICASSO PROGRAM BECAUSE IF THE TRL LEVEL DEVELOPMENT THE FACT THAT THIS IS INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT AND THE PLANETARY-SPECIFIC TARGETS FOR THE INSTRUMENT TYPE.

WEARABLE NANOCOMPOSITE SENSOR SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSING MECHANICAL SOURCES OF LOW BACK PAIN AND GUIDING REHABILITATION

NUCLEAR ENERGY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS - NUCLEAR ENERGY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS CONSOLIDATED INNOVATIVE NUCLEAR RESEARCH - BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT MANAGEMENT OF PRIORITY SPECIES AND THEIR HABITATS IN THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE MOUNTAIN-PRAIRIE REGION.

BRITE PIVOT: TOWARDS INTELLIGENT HEALTH MONITORING, INSPECTION, AND RECONNAISSANCE OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE USING AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS

REU SITE: PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY RESEARCH AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY -THIS RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU) SITE AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY WILL PROVIDE STUDENTS FROM A DIVERSE POOL OF UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS WITH A MEMORABLE AND FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE IN PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY RESEARCH TO SOLIDIFY THEIR COMMITMENT TO FURTHER STUDY AND CAREERS IN SCIENTIFIC FIELDS. THE LEADERS WILL GUIDE PARTICIPANTS IN SHORT BUT INTENSE RESEARCH PROJECTS IN ONE OF THE MANY ACTIVE RESEARCH AREAS IN PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY. THE WHOLE COHORT IS MENTORED FROM INITIAL RESEARCH PROSPECTUS TO FINAL REPORT AND INTERMEDIATE PRESENTATIONS IN ADDITION TO THE ONE-ON-ONE FACULTY MENTORING. PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT ARE COMPLEMENTED WITH INFORMAL ACTIVITIES FOR SOCIAL COHESION AND NETWORKING. THE INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANTS' PROJECTS EXPLORE A BROAD SPECTRUM OF CURRENTLY UNSOLVED PROBLEMS THROUGH HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES UNDER A FACULTY MENTOR'S DIRECT SUPERVISION TO PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT AND LASTING EDUCATIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL BENEFITS TO THE PARTICIPANTS. AS THE PARTICIPANTS' PROJECTS ARE INTEGRATED INTO THE CURRENT RESEARCH PROGRAM OF ACTIVE RESEARCH GROUPS, THEY ARE LIKELY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ADVANCE OF KNOWLEDGE AND PRODUCE RESULTS THAT CAN BE PUBLISHED AND/OR PRESENTED AT PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS. PARTICIPANTS ARE IMMERSED IN AN INTENSE COLLABORATIVE EXPERIMENT CENTERED AROUND COLLEGIALITY AND SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE AT A SIGNIFICANT TIME IN THEIR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. BY ASSEMBLING A VAST GROUP OF DIVERSE PARTICIPANTS FROM DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE BUT WITH A COMMON PURPOSE AND INTEREST IN PHYSICS, THE PROGRAM INTENDS TO CREATE LIFELONG CONNECTIONS AND A RESOURCE NETWORK THAT WILL BENEFIT ALL PARTICIPANTS, THEIR SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTIVITY, AND PROFESSIONAL TRAJECTORY. A PARTICULAR ASPECT OF THE PROGRAM IS THE INCLUSION OF TWO RET PARTICIPANTS, TYPICALLY ONE LOCAL. THERE ARE IDENTICAL RESEARCH EXPECTATIONS FOR REU AND RET PARTICIPANTS, AND BOTH GROUPS BENEFIT FROM THE ASSOCIATION. THE PROGRAM OFFERS EXPERIMENTAL, COMPUTATIONAL, AND THEORETICAL PROJECTS IN A WIDE VARIETY OF SUB FIELDS OF PHYSICS. ALTHOUGH EACH STUDENT'S PROJECT IS UNIQUE, PARTICIPANTS INDICATE THAT THEY BENEFIT FROM THE BROADER EXPOSURE TO PHYSICS THROUGH THE REU COHORT. THE AREAS COVERED INCLUDE: QUANTUM INFORMATION AND DYNAMICS, SEMICONDUCTOR AND SOLAR ENERGY NANOMATERIALS, BROWN DWARFS AND EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES, COHERENT LENSES IMAGING AND OPTICS, ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND NANOFABRICATION, GALACTIC ASTRONOMY DEEP IMAGING, LOCAL STRUCTURE OF QUANTUM MATERIALS, MATERIALS STRUCTURE, PROPERTIES AND SYMMETRIES, MODELING COMPLEX SYSTEMS, NANOMAGNETISM, NONLINEAR ACOUSTICS, NUMERICAL RELATIVITY, OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY, PARTICLE THEORY, PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY EDUCATION, PULSATING STAR ASTRONOMY, AND UNDERWATER ACOUSTICS, MATERIAL PHYSICS FOR SPACE OBSERVATION, 3D PRINTING IN SCIENCE TEACHING, ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI, COMPUTATIONAL BIOPHYSICS, ORBITS OF EXOPLANETS AND SOLAR SYSTEM SMALL BODIES, ACOUSTICS AND VIBRATION. THIS AWARD IS SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF PHYSICS, THE DIVISION OF MATERIALS RESEARCH, AND THE DIVISION OF ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES WITHIN THE DIRECTORATE OF MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** FARMERS HAVE METHODS TO APPLY WATER AT THE SCALE OF A FEW FEET BUT DO NOT HAVE THE REQUIRED INFORMATION TO KNOW WHERE AND HOW MUCH WATER TO APPLY AT THAT SCALE. IF FARMERS KNEW WHICH AREAS OF A FIELD NEEDED MORE OR LESS WATER, THEY COULD GROW THE SAME AMOUNT OF PRODUCE WITH LESS WATER, BRINGING ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO THE FARMER.THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DESIGN AND DEPLOY MANY INEXPENSIVE BLUETOOTH DEVICES IN A FIELD THAT CAN SEND SOIL WETNESS DATA TO A FEW RECEIVERS IN THE FIELD. MAPS GENERATED DAILY FROM THE WETNESS INFORMATION WILL INDICATE WHERE AND HOW MUCH WATER TO APPLY. FARMERS CAN USE THE MAPS TO PROGRAM IRRIGATION DEVICES TO APPLY WATER WHERE AND WHEN IT IS NEEDED. BY USING THIS INFORMATION, FARMERS WILL REAP ECONOMIC BENEFITS AND BE ABLE TO RESPOND BETTER TO CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS, PRODUCTIVITY WILL INCREASE, AND LIMITED WATER RESOURCES WILL BE MORE EFFICIENTLY USED BY COMMUNITIES.

WITH DATA SPANNING NEARLY FOUR DECADES (1978-2017) THE WIND SCATTEROMETER CLIMATE RECORD (WSCR) PROVIDES ONE OF THE LONGEST SATELLITE DATA SETS AVAILABLE FOR CLIMATE STUDIES.

ADVANCED CROSS-MODALITY LOCALIZATION AND MAPPING

CAREER: DEVELOPING LANGUAGE MODELS VIA BIO-INSPIRED LEARNING ALGORITHMS -THIS PROJECT LEVERAGES RECENT FINDINGS FROM NEUROSCIENCE TO CREATE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) LANGUAGE MODELS THAT STORE KNOWLEDGE AND RESPOND TO INPUT MORE LIKE BIOLOGICAL BRAINS. THIS WILL BE DONE BY CHANGING THE FLOW OF INFORMATION THROUGH THE LANGUAGE MODEL IN WAYS THAT MAKE IT MORE RESPONSIVE TO HUMAN EMOTIONS, MORE SKILLED AT REMEMBERING AND USING INFORMATION PROVIDE BY HUMANS, AND BETTER ABLE TO MAKE FAIR AND EQUITABLE DECISIONS WHEN THE DESIRES OF MANY PEOPLE COME INTO CONFLICT. THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE MANY HARMS CAUSED BY AI SYSTEMS CAN BE TRACED TO OVER-RELIANCE ON TRAINING DATA AND AN INABILITY TO ADAPT TO THE SITUATION AND NEEDS OF SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS. THE NEW MODELS WILL BE RIGOROUSLY TESTED IN SIMULATIONS WHERE HUMANS AND AIS WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE DECISIONS AND ACCOMPLISH TASKS, AND WILL BE PROBED TO DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND/OR RISKS INTRODUCED BY THIS BIOLOGICALLY-INSPIRED COMPUTING PARADIGM. ADDITIONALLY, THIS RESEARCH WILL EXPAND PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BY INVOLVING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS INCLUDING A VISITING RESEARCH PROGRAM THAT REMOTELY HOSTS STUDENTS FROM OTHER UNIVERSITIES. RESEARCH RESULTS WILL BE SHARED VIA WORKSHOPS, ACADEMIC ARTICLES, AND PUBLIC MEDIA. THIS RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED VIA THREE RESEARCH THRUSTS, EACH ADDRESSING A SPECIFIC BIOLOGICALLY-INSPIRED PROPERTY THAT CURRENT LANGUAGE MODELS LACK, RESULTING IN NEW OPEN-SOURCE FOUNDATION MODELS IN THE 7B-20B PARAMETER RANGE. SPECIFICALLY, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL DEVELOP BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED ALGORITHMS THAT EMULATE MIRROR NEURONS, LONG-TERM POTENTIATION, AND METAPLASTICITY WITHIN TRANSFORMER-BASED LANGUAGE MODELS. THE MODELS CREATED DURING THIS PROJECT WILL BE EVALUATED IN TWO WAYS: (A) VIA AUTOMATED METRICS THAT ASSESS THE EMOTIONAL RESPONSIVENESS AND FACTUAL ACCURACY OF THE MODEL, AND (B) VIA DIRECT HUMAN-LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL (LLM) INTERACTIONS IN MULTI-PARTY SCENARIOS WHERE PARTICIPANTS HAVE CONFLICTING PRIORITIES, AND WHERE THE LLM HAS CONTROL OVER (LOW-RISK) OUTCOMES THAT AFFECT HUMANS. THESE STUDIES ARE DESIGNED TO PRESERVE PARTICIPANT WELL-BEING WHILE PROVIDING A VALUABLE LITMUS TEST OF LANGUAGE MODEL BEHAVIOR ?IN THE WILD?. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT DEVELOPED LANGUAGE MODELS WILL BE BETTER ABLE TO MANAGE CONTESTED RESOURCES, AND MORE EFFECTIVE AT RESPONDING APPROPRIATELY TO NUANCED HUMAN EMOTIONS AND EXPERIENCES. THEY MAY ALSO BE UNIQUELY SUITED TO AGENTIC SCENARIOS THAT REQUIRE THE MODEL TO ITERATIVELY FORMULATE OBJECTIVES, PLAN ACTIONS, WRITE AND EXECUTE CODE, AND DELIVER REASONABLE RESULTS BACK TO HUMANS IN REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS WITH DOMAIN-SPECIFIC CONSTRAINTS. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE FOUNDATIONS OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM, THE ROBUST INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM, AND THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM. 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.

BRITE PIVOT: HIGH-VOLUME MANUFACTURING OF ORIGAMI-INSPIRED STRUCTURES AND FORMS FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION -MODERN MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES REDUCE PRICE AND INCREASE QUALITY OF MANY OF THE PRODUCTS WE USE EVERY DAY. HOWEVER, BUILDINGS CONTINUE TO BE MANUFACTURED ON-SITE WITH HIGH LEVELS OF SKILLED MANUAL LABOR. THIS LEADS TO HIGHER COSTS AND LOWER QUALITY, WHICH ARE A KEY FACTOR IN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS ACROSS MOST OF THE COUNTRY. ADDITIONALLY, THE USE OF MANUAL METHODS REQUIRES STANDARDIZATION IN MANY DETAILS RATHER THAN OPTIMIZING FOR REDUCED MATERIAL USAGE. AUTOMATION IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION METHODS HAS BEEN LIMITED BY THE DIFFICULTY OF TRANSPORTING LARGE COMPONENTS AND THE DESIRE TO CUSTOMIZE BUILDINGS. THIS BOOSTING RESEARCH IDEAS FOR TRANSFORMATIVE AND EQUITABLE ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING (BRITE) PIVOT AWARD SEEKS TO DEVELOP A NEW MANUFACTURING APPROACH THAT WILL ENABLE FABRICATION OF CUSTOMIZED BUILDING SYSTEMS IN A COMPACT STATE. THESE COMPACT COMPONENTS AND FORMS CAN BE READILY SHIPPED AND THEN DEPLOYED ON-SITE. THIS INNOVATION IS EXPECTED TO DECREASE THE COSTS OF HOUSING TO INCREASE AFFORDABILITY. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO DEVELOP A K-12 CURRICULUM TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF STEM CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AMONG FIRST- AND SECOND-GENERATION HISPANIC CHILDREN. THE PROJECT WILL APPLY THE LITTLE-USED SHEET-LAMINATION ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (3D PRINTING) PROCESS TO FABRICATE ORIGAMI. SHEET LAMINATION APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN LIMITED WHEN USED TO CREATE MONOLITHIC STRUCTURES, BUT SHEET LAMINATION OFFERS STRONG ADVANTAGES FOR CREATING ORIGAMI SINCE IT LEVERAGES THE STRENGTHS OF THE NATIVE SHEETS. THE DIGITAL CONTROL OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING ALLOWS FOR EASY CUSTOMIZATION. BY SELECTIVELY BONDING AND CUTTING STACKED SHEETS, ORIGAMI-INSPIRED DEPLOYABLE SYSTEMS WILL BE FABRICATED. THIS APPROACH WILL ENABLE LOW-COST, HIGH-VOLUME PRODUCTION OF BUILDING COMPONENTS SUCH AS CONCRETE FORMS IN A COMPACT SHAPE FOR EASY TRANSPORT. TO ACHIEVE THESE OBJECTIVES, KINEMATIC MODELS AND FABRICATION METHODS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND METHODS OF CONVERTING TRADITIONAL SINGLE SHEET ORIGAMI DESIGNS FOR MANUFACTURING AS STACKS OF SHEETS WILL BE CREATED. THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS WILL BE EXTENDED TO FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITES BY DEVELOPING METHODS OF CREATING LOCAL HINGES IN VACUUM-INFUSED SHEETS. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING INTERLAMINAR PEEL STRENGTH WILL ALSO BE EVALUATED. KINEMATIC SOLUTIONS FOR FABRICATING OPEN STRUCTURES AND CONTAINERS THESE STACKED SHEET CONFIGURATIONS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND DEMONSTRATED AS SCALED MODELS OF BUILDING STRUCTURES AND/OR FORMWORK. 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.

ULTRACOLD NEUTRAL PLASMAS AS HIGH ENERGY DENSITY PLASMA SIMULATORS

TAS::57 3600::TAS "A NOVEL ALGORITHM FOR TRACKING MULTIPLE TARGETS WITH SIGNIFICANT BACKGROUND CLUTTER,"

THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE PERFORMED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROPOSAL ENTITLED. "EFFECTIVE USE OF PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE TO HELP ENGINEERING TEAMS MANAGE CO

THE ROLE OF LOCAL SLEEP DISTURBANCE IN OBESITY RISK: A SLEEP NEUROIMAGING STUDY - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT WITH OBESITY PREVALENCE AT NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN INCIDENCES, THERE IS AN IMPERATIVE NEED TO IDENTIFY MODIFIABLE BEHAVIORAL AND PHYSIOLOGIC TARGETS TO REDUCE OBESOGENIC RISK FACTORS. POOR SLEEP IS A MODIFIABLE THERAPEUTIC TARGET THAT RECENT NEUROIMAGING RESEARCH INDICATES PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN OBESITY. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS THAT DRIVE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POOR SLEEP AND OBESITY ARE ELUSIVE AND UNCLEAR. NEW AND ADVANCED NEUROIMAGING AND SLEEP METHODS HOLD PROMISE IN HELPING TO DETERMINE WHEN AND HOW POOR SLEEP IMPARTS RISK FOR PHYSICAL HEALTH DISORDERS GENERALLY AND OBESITY SPECIFICALLY. SLEEP NEUROIMAGING USES ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL NEUROIMAGING TECHNIQUES CONCURRENT WITH POLYSOMNOGRAPHIC METHODS TO OBTAIN A CLEARER AND MORE DETAILED PICTURE OF BRAIN ACTIVATION PATTERNS THAT OCCURS DURING SLEEP; SUCH NOVEL INFORMATION CAN HELP ELUCIDATE PREVIOUSLY UNDISCOVERED MECHANISMS LINKING SLEEP WITH OBESITY SO THAT THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS CAN BE MORE DIRECTLY TARGETED IN PREVENTION AND TREATMENT EFFORTS. THERE IS INCREASING REALIZATION THAT SLEEP, AND ITS RESTORATIVE FUNCTIONS, ARE REGIONALIZED PROCESSES LOCALIZED IN THE BRAIN AND CAN BECOME DISRUPTED REGIONALLY. IN OUR MODEL, WE PROPOSE THAT REGIONALIZED SLEEP DISTURBANCE PREVENTS RESTORATIVE BENEFIT TO THOSE REGIONS, THEREBY RESULTING IN DAYTIME IMPAIRMENTS SPECIFIC TO THOSE BRAIN REGIONS AFFECTED DURING SLEEP, A PROCESS CALLED LOCAL SLEEP DISTURBANCE. THIS COMPREHENSIVE SLEEP NEUROIMAGING STUDY INCLUDES GOLD-STANDARD MEASURES AT VARIOUS LEVELS OF ANALYSIS (E.G., DIM-LIGHT MELATONIN ONSET ASSESSMENT, POLYSOMNOGRAPHY, ACTIGRAPHY, AND SELF-REPORTED SLEEP QUESTIONNAIRES AND DIARIES) IN CONJUNCTION WITH FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE NEUROIMAGING DURING NON-RAPID EYE MOVEMENT SLEEP TO UNDERSTAND (AIM 1) HOW FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY DURING SLEEP RELATES TO OBESITY-RELATED OUTCOMES (I.E., DIETARY BEHAVIORS, SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR, NEURAL ACTIVATION IN BRAIN REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD-RELATED REWARD AND INHIBITION), (AIM 2) HOW DIFFERENCES IN NETWORK-LEVEL FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY DURING SLEEP, AS A MARKER OF LOCAL SLEEP DISTURBANCE, MAY MEDIATE THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN POOR SLEEP AND OBESITY-RELATED OUTCOMES, AND (AIM 3) EXPLORE HOW THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY DURING SLEEP AND OBESOGENIC RISK FACTORS DIFFER ACROSS INDIVIDUAL FACTORS INCLUDING DEVELOPMENTAL STATUS (ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS) AND SEX. THIS RESEARCH WILL USE INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGIES TO UNCOVER CRITICAL MECHANISMS THAT LINK POOR SLEEP WITH OBESITY, WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO INFORM PRECLINICAL MODELS SLEEP HEALTH AND GENERAL WELLBEING. FURTHERMORE, THIS RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR MERITORIOUS RESEARCH AT AN UNDERGRADUATE-FOCUSED INSTITUTION (BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY) BY PROVIDING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH ADVANCED, ACTIVE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, ALL OF WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY STRENGTHEN THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT PRESENT AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY AND FEED THE SLEEP MEDICINE PIPELINE WITH WELL TRAINED AND EXPERIENCED INDIVIDUALS.

NR4A1 AND THE EXPANSION OF FUNCTIONAL BETA-CELL MASS - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT LOSS OF FUNCTIONAL BETA CELL MASS IS A HALLMARK OF TYPE 1 AND TYPE 2 DIABETES. INCREASING BETA CELL MASS COULD BE USED AS A TREATMENT FOR DIABETES. GLP1-R MEDIATED SIGNALING AND INHIBITION OF DYRK1A ACTIVITY ARE SUFFICIENT TO INCREASE FUNCTIONAL BETA CELL MASS. NR4A1 IS ESSENTIAL FOR BETA CELL PROLIFERATION AND INSULIN SECRETION. RECENT FINDINGS FROM OUR LABORATORY DEMONSTRATE THAT GLP1-R SIGNALING RESULTS IN UPREGULATION OF NR4A1 IN THE BETA CELL. SIMILARLY, DYRK1A INHIBITION BY HARMINE, AND HARMINE DERIVED COMPOUNDS, RESULTS IN UPREGULATION OF THE NFAT FAMILY OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS. WE HAVE SHOWN THAT NFATC2 AND NFAC3 INDUCE NR4A1 EXPRESSION, AND THAT NR4A1 DELETION IMPAIRS NFATC2 MEDIATED BETA CELL PROLIFERATION. WHILE THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT NR4A1 IS ESSENTIAL FOR BOTH THE GLP-1R AND DYRK1A REGULATED BETA CELL PROLIFERATION PATHWAYS, AND SUGGEST AN ALTERNATIVE TARGET TO EXPAND FUNCTIONAL BETA CELL MASS, THERE ARE FUNDAMENTAL GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING REGARDING NR4A1 IN THESE PATHWAYS, IN TERMS OF 1) THE NECESSITY OF NR4A1 IN EXENDIN 4 AND/OR HARMINE MEDIATED BETA CELL PROLIFERATION, INSULIN SECRETION, AND CELL SURVIVAL, 2) THE EFFECTS OF EXENDIN 4 AND/OR HARMINE ON NR4A1 GENE REGULATION IN TERMS OF BINDING PARTNER INTERACTIONS, GENOMIC LOCALIZATION, AND 3) HOW ENHANCING NR4A1 EXPRESSION AND ACTIVITY AFFECTS EXENDIN 4 AND/OR HARMINE MEDIATED BETA CELL PROLIFERATION. THESE GAPS HINDER THE RATIONALE DESIGN OF TARGETED THERAPIES TO IMPROVE FUNCTIONAL BETA CELL MASS AS A TREATMENT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH TYPE 1 AND TYPE 2 DIABETES. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF OUR RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE BETA CELL FUNCTION, PROLIFERATION AND SURVIVAL TO IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DETERMINE THE ROLE OF NR4A1 IN THE GLP1-R AND DYRK1A MEDIATED PATHWAYS THAT EXPAND FUNCTIONAL BETA CELL MASS. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT NR4A1 IS A KEY DOWNSTREAM THAT PERMITS MODULATION OF THE GLP1-R AND DYRK1A PATHWAYS TO ENHANCE FUNCTIONAL BETA CELL MASS. GUIDED BY OUR PRELIMINARY DATA, THIS HYPOTHESIS WILL BE TESTED IN THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS: AIM 1: DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF NR4A1 IN GLP-1R AND DYRK1A MEDIATED FUNCTIONAL B-CELL MASS EXPANSION. AIM 2: DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF NR4A1 IN THE GLP-1R AND DYRK1A SIGNALING PATHWAY THAT LEADS TO FUNCTIONAL B-CELL MASS EXPANSION. AIM 3: DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF NR4A1 PHARMACOLOGICAL MODULATION ON GLP-1R AND DYRK1A MEDIATED B- CELL MASS EXPANSION. THE PROPOSAL IS INNOVATIVE BECAUSE IT ELUCIDATES NOVEL FUNCTIONS OF NR4A1 IN THESE TWO PROLIFERATIVE PATHWAYS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT FILLS FUNDAMENTAL GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF AN UNDERSTUDIED BETA CELL REGULATOR, NR4A1, ITS ROLE IN THESE CRITICAL PATHWAYS, AND HOW ITS MODULATION CAN ENHANCE FUNCTIONAL BETA CELL MASS.

PRECISION-GUIDED GASTROINTESTINAL THERAPY: A CHEEK-TETHERED CAPSULE APPROACH FOR TARGETED IBD DISEASE TREATMENT - INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD) AFFECTS MILLIONS OF ADULTS, SIGNIFICANTLY IMPAIRING QUALITY OF LIFE AND POSING SUBSTANTIAL CHALLENGES IN DIAGNOSIS, MONITORING, AND TREATMENT. CURRENT METHODS FOR ASSESSING AND TREATING IBD HAVE SIGNIFICANT LIMITATIONS, INCLUDING INVASIVE PROCEDURES, LACK OF LOCALIZED MONITORING, AND SUBOPTIMAL DRUG DELIVERY. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP A NOVEL TETHERED CAPSULE SYSTEM FOR PRECISE, PROLONGED LOCALIZATION WITHIN THE GASTROINTESTINAL (GI) TRACT, ENABLING SITE-SPECIFIC MONITORING AND TARGETED THERAPY DELIVERY FOR IBD. THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO REVOLUTIONIZE IBD MANAGEMENT THROUGH THIS MINIMALLY INVASIVE PLATFORM. THE PROJECT WILL PURSUE THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: (1) DESIGN AND FABRICATE A TETHERED CAPSULE SYSTEM OPTIMIZED FOR PROLONGED GI RETENTION, (2) DESIGN AND EVALUATE A CHEEK ANCHORING AND RELEASE SYSTEM, AND (3) EVALUATE THE LOCALIZATION AND RETENTION CAPABILITIES OF THE SYSTEM IN A SYNTHETIC MODEL. THE RESEARCH WILL EMPLOY INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, INCLUDING A NOVEL TETHERED ODOMETRY MECHANISM FOR PRECISE POSITIONING, AN AUTO-HALTING NAVIGATION SYSTEM, AND A BIOCOMPATIBLE, DEGRADABLE TETHER. THE PROJECT WILL USE ADVANCED MECHANICAL DESIGN, MATERIALS SCIENCE, AND GASTROENTEROLOGY TO DEVELOP AND TEST THE SYSTEM. EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE A FULLY FUNCTIONAL PROTOTYPE CAPABLE OF MAINTAINING LOCALIZATION WITHIN 2 CM OF TARGET SITES FOR 12 HOURS UNDER SIMULATED GI CONDITIONS. THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM IBD MANAGEMENT BY ENABLING CONTINUOUS, SITE-SPECIFIC MONITORING AND TARGETED DRUG DELIVERY, POTENTIALLY IMPROVING TREATMENT EFFICACY, REDUCING SYSTEMIC SIDE EFFECTS, AND DECREASING HEALTHCARE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH IBD. THIS RESEARCH ALIGNS WITH THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND BIOENGINEERING'S MISSION TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IMPROVING HUMAN HEALTH. IT SUITS THE R15 ACADEMIC RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT AWARD (AREA) MECHANISM, WHICH STIMULATES RESEARCH IN INSTITUTIONS WITHOUT MAJOR NIH SUPPORT. CONDUCTED AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, A PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING AND RELATED FIELDS. STUDENTS WILL GAIN SKILLS IN MEDICAL DEVICE DEVELOPMENT, DATA ANALYSIS, AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION THROUGH HANDS-ON INVOLVEMENT. THE PROJECT'S MULTIDISCIPLINARY NATURE WILL FOSTER CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATIONS, STRENGTHENING THE UNIVERSITY'S RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AND CAPACITY FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. ITS FOCUS ON MENTORING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ALIGNS WITH THE R15 PROGRAM'S GOAL OF PREPARING A WORKFORCE FOR NATIONAL BIOMEDICAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND CLINICAL RESEARCH NEEDS.

REPURPOSING CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS FOR STRONG TERAHERTZ GENERATION

NO CATALYST REQUIRED: NEW THERMALLY-PROMOTED TRANSFORMATIONS OF IMINYL RADICALS FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF COMPLEX MOLECULES -WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, PROFESSOR STEVEN L. CASTLE OF BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY IS DEVELOPING NEW REACTION METHODOLOGY FOR SYNTHESIZING ORGANIC MOLECULES. THESE REACTIONS ARE TRIGGERED BY THERMAL ENERGY (I.E., MICROWAVE IRRADIATION OR CONVENTIONAL HEATING) AND DO NOT REQUIRE THE ADDITION OF EXTERNAL CATALYSTS. THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS APPROACH WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER, MORE CONVENTIONAL STRATEGIES TO SIMILAR ENTITIES INCLUDE ITS SIMPLICITY, THE LACK OF EXPENSIVE OR EXTRAVAGANT REAGENTS OR CATALYSTS, THE SCOPE OF THE MOLECULES THAT CAN BE SUBJECTED TO AND GENERATED FROM THIS CHEMISTRY, AND THE RELATIVELY SHORT REACTION TIMES THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR INITIATION AND PRODUCT FORMATION. AS A RESULT, THESE NEW METHODS PROVIDE EFFICIENT SYNTHETIC ROUTES TO IMPORTANT CLASSES OF COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING SOME WITH POTENTIAL AS PHARMACEUTICALS. IN ADDITION TO DEVELOPING THE CHEMISTRY, PROFESSOR CASTLE AND HIS STUDENTS PLAN TO ADVANCE STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS) EDUCATION BY CREATING LESSON PLANS THAT WILL HELP HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY TEACHERS TO INCORPORATE ORGANIC CHEMISTRY INTO THEIR COURSES. BY EXPOSING STUDENTS TO ORGANIC AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY FAR SOONER THAN THEY NORMALLY WOULD BE, IT IS HOPED THAT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP A DEEPER APPRECIATION FOR CHEMISTRY AND THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO CONSIDER PURSUING STEM PATHWAYS IN THEIR EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONALLY. THE STUDENTS THAT ARE DIRECTLY PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROJECT ARE RECEIVING TRAINING IN EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, TROUBLESHOOTING CHEMICAL REACTOINS, COMMUNICATION, AND CRITICAL THINKING THAT WILL PROVIDE THEM WITH VALUABLE TOOLS TO PURSUE CAREERS IN STEM FIELDS. UNDER THIS AWARD, PROFESSOR STEVEN CASTLE AND HIS RESEARCH GROUP WILL GENERATE IMINYL RADICALS UNDER THERMAL CONDITIONS BY INDUCING THE HOMOLYTIC CLEAVAGE OF RELATIVELY WEAK N-O BONDS THAT ARE PRESENT IN READILY AVAILABLE O-ARYL OXIME ETHERS. THIS PROCESS AFFORDS HIGH ENERGY IMINYL RADICALS THAT ARE CAPABLE OF UNDERGOING A VARIETY OF CHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS INCLUDING INTRAMOLECULAR PROCESSES. THESE INCLUDE CYCLIZATION REACTIONS WITH PENDANT ALKENES AND HYDROGEN ATOM ABSTRACTION REACTIONS WITH HYDROGENS THAT ARE A PRESCRIBED DISTANCE FROM THE IMINYL NITROGEN ATOM. THE RADICALS ARE ALSO CAPABLE OF BEING TRAPPED INTERMOLECULARLY TO FORGE NEW C-C, C-N, C-O, C-S, OR C-X (X = HALOGEN) BONDS. IN ADDITION TO STUDYING THE FUNDAMENTAL GENERATION AND REACTIVITY OF IMINYL RADICALS, THE UTILITY OF THIS METHODOLOGY IS TO BE DEMONSTRATED THROUGH THE PLANNED CONVERGENT SYNTHESIS OF FORTUNEICYCLIDIN, WITH IMINYL RADICAL CYCLIZATION BEING THE KEY STEP. THIS ARCHITECTURALLY NOVEL ALKALOID NATURAL PRODUCT HAS YET TO BE SYNTHESIZED IN THE LABORATORY AND THE PROPOSED ROUTE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DEMONSTRATE REAL UTILITY OF THE PROPOSED IMINYL RADICAL-BASED TANDEM CYCLIZATION CHEMISTRY. 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.

CROSS-MODALITY LOCALIZATION AND MAPPING

CAREER: BREAKTHROUGH DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY AS A NEW MEDIUM FOR SPATIAL THINKING IN STEM

PFI-TT: SCALE UP OF NEW MATERIALS THAT GENERATE TERAHERTZ-FREQUENCY LIGHT FOR ADVANCED SCANNING APPLICATIONS -THE BROADER IMPACT/COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL OF THIS PARTNERSHIPS FOR INNOVATION - TECHNOLOGY TRANSLATION (PFI-TT) PROJECT IS TO INTRODUCE NEW MATERIALS TO THE MARKET THAT GENERATE HIGH INTENSITY THZ-FREQUENCY LIGHT. THESE MATERIALS WILL MEET THE GROWING NEEDS OF MANY CURRENT AND EMERGING SCANNING AND SENSING APPLICATIONS THAT ARE LIMITED BY THE STRENGTH OF THZ-FREQUENCY LIGHT SOURCES. THE INTRODUCTION OF BRIGHTER THZ LIGHT SOURCES INTO CURRENT AND DEVELOPING SCANNERS WILL PROVIDE ENHANCED RESOLUTION AND SENSITIVITY IN A BROAD RANGE OF IMAGING AND SENSING APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING IN AIRPORT SCANNERS, MEDICAL IMAGING DEVICES, AND QUALITY CONTROL SCANNERS IN MANUFACTURING. THESE RESULTS WILL EXPAND THE IMPACT OF THZ-FREQUENCY SCANNERS, WHICH ARE SAFE (NON-IONIZING RADIATION) AND CAN PROVIDE UNIQUE INFORMATION IN MANY SCANNING, MEDICAL IMAGING, AND SENSING APPLICATIONS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO TRAIN A DIVERSE GROUP OF UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE, AND POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD OF MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP. THE PROPOSED PROJECT INVOLVES THE SCALE UP OF NEWLY DISCOVERED ORGANIC MATERIALS CAPABLE OF GENERATING HIGH INTENSITY TERAHERTZ-FREQUENCY LIGHT. SCANNING AND IMAGING INSTRUMENTS THAT EMPLOY TERAHERTZ-FREQUENCY LIGHT ARE SAFER THAN MANY COMMON X-RAY BASED SCANNERS YET ARE OFTEN LIMITED BY THE LACK OF BRIGHT TERAHERTZ-LIGHT SOURCES. THE ORGANIC NEW MATERIALS BEING PRODUCED FOR COMMERCIALIZATION IN THIS PROPOSAL PROVIDE NEARLY DOUBLE THE THZ LIGHT OUTPUT FROM CURRENT COMMERCIAL SOURCES. THE SCALE UP AND GROWTH OF LARGER TERAHERTZ-GENERATING CRYSTALS WILL MEET THE GROWING DEMANDS OF COMPANIES AND RESEARCHERS WHO ARE DEVELOPING NEW TERAHERTZ-BASED TECHNOLOGIES AND WHO REQUIRE BRIGHTER TERAHERTZ SOURCES. ORGANIC MATERIALS GENERALLY HAVE LIMITED LIFETIMES DUE TO DECOMPOSITION UNDER AMBIENT CONDITIONS. ON THIS PROJECT, COMMERCIALIZATION OF OUR PROTOTYPE LAYERED CRYSTAL STRUCTURES WILL BOTH ENHANCE THZ OUTPUT AND MINIMIZE CRYSTAL DAMAGE DURING TERAHERTZ LIGHT GENERATION. THESE MORE ROBUST SOURCES OF TERAHERTZ LIGHT WILL ENABLE THE USE OF ORGANIC TERAHERTZ LIGHT SOURCES IN SCANNERS AND IMAGERS THAT PREVIOUSLY COULD NOT EMPLOY THIS TECHNOLOGY DUE TO THE SHORT LIFETIME OF ORGANIC CRYSTALS. IN COMBINATION, THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES WILL FACILITATE RAPID GROWTH IN THE TERAHERTZ SCANNER SECTOR, ENABLING SAFER AND MORE SENSITIVE SCANNING AND IMAGING TECHNOLOGIES. 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: ARCTIC STREAM NETWORKS AS NUTRIENT SENSORS IN PERMAFROST ECOSYSTEMS

THEORY OF MAIN-GROUP, P-BLOCK HYDROCARBON FUNCTIONALIZATION REACTIONS

AWARD AS A RESULT OF FOA NUMBER DE-FOA-0002265, INTEGRATED UNIVERSITY PROGRAM - SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP SUPPORT.

CONNECTING ANALYSES OF INSTALLED TACTICAL JET ENGINE NOISE WITH SIMULATED AND LABORATORY-SCALE DATA

IN-DEPTH AND LABEL-FREE PROTEOME PROFILING OF HUNDREDS OF SINGLE CELLS PER DAY - PROJECT SUMMARY CANCER TISSUES EXHIBIT A HIGH DEGREE OF PHENOTYPIC HETEROGENEITY AND PLASTICITY, WITH CANCEROUS TISSUES COMPRISING MANY DIFFERENT SUBPOPULATIONS OF CELLS IN VARIOUS STATES. QUANTIFYING THIS HETEROGENEITY AT THE SINGLE- CELL LEVEL AND WITH MOLECULAR DEPTH ACROSS LARGE NUMBERS OF CELLS PROVIDES INFORMATION THAT CANNOT BE OBTAINED FROM BULK STUDIES AND THAT WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO IMPROVED DIAGNOSTICS AND MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS. WHILE SINGLE-CELL SEQUENCING APPROACHES ARE HAVING A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON CANCER RESEARCH, PROTEINS MEDIATE THE BULK OF CELLULAR FUNCTION AND ARE THE TARGETS OF MOST THERAPEUTICS. GIVEN THAT A COMPELLING BODY OF LITERATURE HAS SHOWN THAT THE CORRELATION BETWEEN RNA AND PROTEIN ABUNDANCE IS AT BEST POOR TO MODERATE, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR LARGE-SCALE UNBIASED DIRECT PROTEOME PROFILING AT THE SINGLE-CELL LEVEL. TO FILL THIS GAP, MASS SPECTROMETRY (MS)-BASED PROFILING OF PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN SINGLE CELLS HAS VERY RECENTLY BECOME A REALITY DUE TO MORE EFFICIENT SAMPLE PROCESSING WORKFLOWS, NOVEL EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS AND IMPROVED INSTRUMENT SENSITIVITY. LABEL-FREE MS-BASED PROTEOMICS CAN CURRENTLY QUANTIFY UP TO 1500 PROTEIN GROUPS PER CELL ACROSS >4 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE OF DYNAMIC RANGE, BUT THROUGHPUT HAS BEEN LIMITED TO ~24 SAMPLES PER DAY. THIS LOW THROUGHPUT IS INADEQUATE TO PERFORM THE LARGE-SCALE STATISTICALLY POWERED STUDIES REQUIRED TO CHARACTERIZE HETEROGENEITY IN CANCER CELL POPULATIONS. TO INCREASE MEASUREMENT THROUGHPUT, MULTIPLEXED WORKFLOWS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED BASED ON ISOBARIC TANDEM MASS TAGS (TMTS) THAT ENABLE >10 SINGLE CELLS TO BE MEASURED IN AN LC-MS ANALYSIS, BUT THESE SUFFER FROM A NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT DRAWBACKS INCLUDING ISOTOPIC CONTAMINATION, DEGRADED QUANTITATIVE ACCURACY WHEN EMPLOYING A CARRIER CHANNEL, PRECURSOR COISOLATION WITH CONCOMITANT RATIO COMPRESSION, CHEMICAL NOISE RESULTING FROM CROSS-REACTIVITIES OF TMT REAGENTS WITH CONTAMINANTS, ETC. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP A PLATFORM THAT EXCEEDS THE THROUGHPUT OF CURRENT TMT-BASED WORKFLOWS WHILE PRESERVING THE DEPTH OF COVERAGE AND DYNAMIC RANGE OF LABEL-FREE WORKFLOWS. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT A ROBUST MULTICOLUMN ULTRA-HIGH-PERFORMANCE NANOLC SYSTEM WITH A 5-MINUTE PEPTIDE ELUTION WINDOW AND A 100% DUTY CYCLE, COMBINED WITH NOVEL MS1-LEVEL PROTEIN IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION, WILL ENABLE LABEL-FREE PROFILING OF >2000 PROTEIN GROUPS PER CELL AT A THROUGHPUT OF UP TO 288 SAMPLES PER DAY, THUS PROVIDING A PROVIDING A CAPABILITY FOR DIRECT, IN-DEPTH AND LARGE-SCALE PROTEIN QUANTIFICATION THAT IS ANALOGOUS TO SINGLE-CELL RNA-SEQ. STUDIES IN AIM 1 WILL FOCUS ON DEVELOPING HIGH-PEAK-CAPACITY FAST NANOLC SEPARATIONS, AS WELL AS A NOVEL SORBENT-COATED SAMPLE-LOOP PROVIDING DESALTING AND DEBRIS REMOVAL FOR ROBUST LONG-TERM OPERATION. IN AIM 2 WE WILL DEVELOP A 4-COLUMN LC PLATFORM BASED ON THESE RAPID SEPARATIONS AND A PRIMARILY MS1-BASED ACQUISITION WORKFLOW TO INCREATE DUTY CYCLE TO 100% AND MAXIMIZE COVERAGE IN THESE RAPID ANALYSES. WE WILL APPLY THIS TECHNOLOGY TO CD138+ SINGLE CELLS ISOLATED FROM MULTIPLE MYELOMA PATIENTS TO PREDICT RESPONSE TO IMMUNOMODULATORY IMIDE DRUGS (IMIDS). THIS PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH AN INNOVATIVE MEASUREMENT CAPABILITY FOR INDIVIDUALIZING CANCER THERAPY.

MODELS FOR MATERIAL DAMPING OF POWDERS IN ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED METAL PARTS -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS RESEARCH THAT LOOKS TO DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE 3D PRINTED PARTS THAT ABSORB CONSIDERABLY MORE VIBRATION THAN EXISTING METALS, THEREBY PROMOTING THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE, AND ADVANCING PROSPERITY AND WELFARE. ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING HAS RECENTLY GAINED POPULARITY FOR PRODUCING METAL PARTS. USING THIS PROCESS, PARTS ARE CREATED ONE LAYER AT A TIME FROM A BED OF METAL POWDER BY USING A LASER TO MELT AND FUSE THE METAL AT CERTAIN LOCATIONS. ANY POWDER THAT IS NOT FUSED IS TYPICALLY WASHED FROM THE FINISHED PARTS. HOWEVER, METAL MATERIALS THAT CAN BE USED FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING HAVE VERY LOW VIBRATION DAMPING. THIS LIMITS THE PERFORMANCE THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED WHEN DYNAMIC LOADS OR ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE IS IMPORTANT. THIS PROJECT WILL SOLVE THIS CHALLENGE BY DESIGNING PARTS SUCH THAT THEY RETAIN POCKETS OF TRAPPED METAL POWDER, WHICH CAN BE DESIGNED TO INCREASE THE PARTS ABILITY TO ABSORB VIBRATION, REDUCING STRESSES AND THE NOISE THAT THEY GENERATE. THIS CAN DRAMATICALLY INCREASE THE LIFE OF PARTS USED IN AUTOMOTIVE, AEROSPACE OR CONSUMER APPLICATIONS, IMPROVING SAFETY FOR PASSENGERS AND END USERS. THE ABILITY TO TAILOR DAMPING ON DEMAND COULD ALSO ENABLE ENGINEERS TO DESIGN SYSTEMS WITH UNPRECEDENTED ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE, IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF DOMESTIC PRODUCTS. BEYOND TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT, THIS METHOD IS EXPECTED TO BE READILY ADOPTED BY INDUSTRY THROUGH THE OFFERING OF SHORT COURSES TO PRACTICING ENGINEERS. PLANS ARE ALSO PRESENTED FOR INCLUDING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS IN THE RESEARCH. THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO MAKE FUNDAMENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO EXPAND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ABILITY OF TRAPPED POWDERS TO DISSIPATE ENERGY WITHIN ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED PARTS. THE WORK INCLUDES BOTH AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPONENT AND A MODELING COMPONENT. IN THE EXPERIMENTAL COMPONENT, VARIOUS PARTS WILL BE CREATED AND TESTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SHAPES PRODUCE THE MOST VIBRATION ABSORPTION AND THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY ABSORB VIBRATION. BOTH LINEAR AND NONLINEAR DYNAMIC TESTING METHODS WILL BE USED TO CHARACTERIZE THE LINEAR MODAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARTS AS WELL AS NONLINEAR BEHAVIORS THAT CHANGE THE APPARENT STIFFNESS AND DAMPING OF THE VARIOUS MODES. IN THE MODELING COMPONENT, A MULTI-FACETED CAMPAIGN WILL BE CONDUCTED TO IDENTIFY A MODELING FRAMEWORK FOR METAL POWDERS AND METHODS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVE MATERIAL PROPERTIES. THE POWDERS OF INTEREST CONTAIN BILLIONS OF PARTICLES THAT ARE GOVERNED BY COMPLICATED AND UNKNOWN INTERACTION LAWS, AND HENCE MODELING THEM USING FIRST PRINCIPLES IS NOT CURRENTLY FEASIBLE. THIS WORK PLANS TO DERIVE AN EQUIVALENT, HOMOGENIZED MODEL FOR METAL POWDERS, SO THEY CAN BE TREATED AS ELASTIC OR PLASTIC SOLIDS WITHIN A FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF THE PART OF INTEREST, WITH A FOCUS ON CAPTURING THE EFFECTIVE STIFFNESS AND DAMPING OF THE POWDERS. THIS SIMPLIFIES THE MATERIAL MODEL AND MAKES IT FEASIBLE TO DEDUCE THE PROPERTIES OF THE POWDER FROM SIMPLE TEST COUPONS THAT EXERCISE POWDER POCKETS IN ELONGATION AND SHEAR IN MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS. MEASUREMENTS OF THE VIBRATION AMPLITUDE-DEPENDENT STIFFNESS AND DAMPING OF THE TEST COUPONS WILL BE CORRELATED WITH FINITE ELEMENT MODELS THAT INCLUDE EITHER LINEAR VISCOELASTIC OR NONLINEAR PLASTIC POWDER MATERIAL BEHAVIOR. COMPUTATIONS WILL BE DRAMATICALLY ACCELERATED BY USING QUASI-STATIC MODAL ANALYSIS, WHICH ALLOWS FOR DYNAMIC PROPERTIES TO BE INFERRED FROM A FEW CAREFULLY CHOSEN NONLINEAR STATIC LOAD-DISPLACEMENT CURVES. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE DYNAMICS, CONTROL AND SYSTEMS DIAGNOSTICS (DCSD) PROGRAM, AND THE ADVANCED MANUFACTURING (AM) PROGRAM. 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.

GEOGLOWS SEEKS TO ENABLE EARTH SCIENTISTS TO SOLVE THE CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH ACHIEVING GLOBAL WATER SUSTAINABILITY. PROVIDING AMPLE CLEAN WATER IS ALSO AN ELEMENT OF THE UN S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND IS CROSS-CUTTING WITH OTHER ELEMENTS INCLUDING FOOD SECURITY CLIMATE HEALTH ENERGY AND LIFE BELOW WATER AND ON LAND. EARTH OBSERVATIONS PROVIDE A CRITICAL AND EXPANDING RESOURCE TO THE GROUP ON EARTH OBSERVATIONS (GEO) COMMUNITY AND ARE VITAL TO THE SUCCESS OF ACHIEVING IMPORTANT GEO OBJECTIVES. AS EARTH SCIENCE DATA INCREASE IN AVAILABILITY FREQUENCY AND RESOLUTION THERE IS A GROWING NEED FOR FLEXIBLE DATA ANALYSIS ENVIRONMENTS THAT EMPOWER USERS TO EXPLORE ANALYZE AND MODEL EARTH OBSERVATION DATA IN A SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE WEB-BASED ENVIRONMENT. HERE WE PROPOSE A CRITICAL PIECE OF EARTH SCIENCE CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE (CI) FOR THE GEOGLOWS AND LARGER GEO SOFTWARE ECOSYSTEM TO OVERCOME THE LIMITATIONS OF STORAGE PROCESSING SPEED TRANSMISSION BANDWIDTH AND PLATFORM DEPENDENCY ASSOCIATED WITH DESKTOP COMPUTING. HIGHLY INTERACTIVE USER-FRIENDLY WEB APPLICATIONS OR WEB APPS SERVE A KEY ROLE ACTING AS A MEDIUM FOR VISUALIZING AND CONVEYING SCIENTIFIC DATA TO STAKEHOLDERS AND DECISION-MAKERS. SUCH WEB APPS CAN PROVIDE ACCESS TO COMPLEX COMPUTATIONAL BACK-END SERVICES DISTRIBUTED DATA REPOSITORIES AND THEIR CONNECTED MODELING SYSTEMS. DESPITE THIS POTENTIAL THE TECHNICAL EXPERTISE REQUIRED TO DEVELOP WEB APPS REPRESENTS A FORMIDABLE BARRIER FOR MOST RESEARCHERS FROM THE GEO COMMUNITY. WE HAVE DEVELOPED THE OPEN SOURCE TETHYS PLATFORM WHICH IN TURN HAS BEEN USED TO DEVELOP DECISION SUPPORT WEB APPS FOR THE NASA-SERVIR AND NASA-ACCESS PROGRAMS NOAA S NEW NATIONAL WATER MODEL AND IN AMERIGEOSS CAPACITY-BUILDING WORKSHOPS. WE WILL BUILD ON THE EXISTING TETHYS CI TO CREATE AN AMERIGEOSS APP WAREHOUSE FOR RAPID DEPLOYMENT OF OPEN SOURCE HYDROINFORMATICS APPS FOR MANAGING AND USING ESSENTIAL WATER RESOURCES VARIABLES IN SUPPORT OF THE GEOGLOWS INITIATIVE. OUR SPONSORS AND COLLABORATORS AT THE USGS FEDERAL GEOGRAPHIC DATA COMMISSION (FGDC) HAVE ALREADY IDENTIFIED TETHYS PLATFORM AS A RESOURCE FOR THE AMERIGEOSS PORTAL CURRENTLY UNDER THEIR DEVELOPMENT. WE WILL WORK TOGETHER WITH THE FGDC TO SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATE OUR SOLUTION INTO THEIR EXISTING AMERIGEOSS AND/OR GEOPLATFORM PORTALS. AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THE AMERIGEOSS APP WAREHOUSE WILL BE THE ABILITY TO NOT ONLY DISCOVER AND INSTALL EXISTING APPS BUT ALSO TO CONTRIBUTE APPS THAT ARE DEVELOPED BY AN EVERGROWING COMMUNITY OF EARTH SCIENTISTS. TO DEMONSTRATE THE UTILITY OF OUR SOLUTION AND PROVIDE A CASE STUDY FOR CAPACITY-BUILDING WE WILL WORK WITH COLLABORATORS ON AN EXISTING NASA ROSES PROJECT FOCUSED ON USING EARTH OBSERVATIONS FOR IMPROVED AGRICULTURAL AND WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT. THIS COLLABORATION WILL ENHANCE THE OUTCOMES OF THEIR PROJECT BY PROVIDING VISUALIZATION AND DECISION MAKING TOOLS IN SUPPORT OF VITAL SDGS RELATED TO WATER AND FOOD SECURITY AT BOTH REGIONAL AND LOCAL SCALES. THE TETHYS-POWERED AMERIGEOSS APP WAREHOUSE PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE OUTCOMES: 1. WHILE TARGETING THE GEOGLOWS ESSENTIAL WATER VARIABLES GEO PROGRAM ELEMENT IT IS CROSS-CUTTING AND ACHIEVES DEMONSTRABLE PROGRESS AND RESULTS FOR AMERIGEOSS GLOBAL FLOOD RISK MONITORING AND OTHER GEO WORK PROGRAM ELEMENTS. 2. ADVANCES THE USE OF EARTH OBSERVATIONS IN DECISION MAKING WITH IMPACTS ON MULTIPLE PREVIOUSLY AND ONGOING FUNDED PROJECTS OF NASA AND OTHER USGEO PARTNERS. 3. SIGNIFICANT LIKELIHOOD OF ACHIEVING A HIGH APPLICATION READINESS LEVEL THROUGH PARTNERING WITH THE FGDC TO INTEGRATE WITHIN THE AMERIGEOSS PORTAL. 4. INCREASE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION AND BROADEN USGEO INVOLVEMENT. 5. BRING TOOLS PREVIOUSLY CREATED AND DEVELOP OTHERS THAT ENHANCE THE ABILITY OF US AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND ANALYZE AND ADDRESS NEEDS RELATIVE TO MULTIPLE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS.

TELSAM POLYMERS ARE POWERFUL CRYSTALLIZATION CHAPERONES MERITING CONTINUED INVESTIGATION - THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED FOR NEW PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION METHODS THAT REQUIRE LESS LABOR, TIME, AND RESOURCES. PRE- VIOUSLY, CRYSTALS OF 10 OUT OF 11 TARGET PROTEINS WERE READILY GENERATED BY FUSING THEM TO TELSAM, A POLYMER- FORMING CRYSTALLIZATION CHAPERONE. THERE IS GREAT NEED FOR CONTINUED INVESTIGATION OF TELSAM DUE TO ITS POTENTIAL AS A GENERAL-USE PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION CHAPERONE. LACK OF STRAIGHTFORWARD METHODS TO SUCCESSFULLY CRYSTALLIZE ANY PROTEIN OF INTEREST SIGNIFICANTLY HINDERS STUDY OF MOLECULAR DISEASE MECHANISMS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS. THE LACK OF EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR MANY DISEASES FORCES THEM TO BE ADDRESSED INSTEAD WITH COSTLY SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZA- TION METHODS THAT CAN RESULT IN WELL-ORDERED PROTEIN CRYSTALS ON A TIME SCALE OF LESS THAN A MONTH, COST AS LITTLE AS $1000 PER STRUCTURE, AND ARE SUCCESSFUL FOR GREATER THAN 70% OF PROTEINS OF INTEREST. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO CONVINCINGLY DEMONSTRATE THE BENEFITS OF USING TELSAM AS A PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION CHAPERONE AND TO CLEARLY DEFINE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR DOING SO. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT TELSAM WILL ACCELERATE THE SPEED AND SUCCESS RATE OF CRYSTALLIZATION ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF PROTEINS OF INTEREST AND THAT FLEXIBLE FUSION OF TARGET PROTEINS TO THE 1TEL VARIANT WILL BE OPTIMAL. THE RATIONALE IS THAT TELSAM HAS SHOWN GREAT PROMISE IN PRELIMINARY STUDIES AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO 1) DECREASE THE COST OF DETERMINING AN ATOMIC-SCALE PROTEIN STRUCTURE, 2) ACCEL- ERATE THE RATE THAT PROTEIN STRUCTURES CAN BE DETERMINED, AND 3) INCREASE THE SUCCESS RATE OF CRYSTALLIZATION, EXPANDING THE RANGE OF PROTEINS THAT CAN BE STRUCTURALLY CHARACTERIZED IN THIS WAY. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS WILL BE TESTED, AND THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED BY EXECUTING 2 SPECIFIC AIMS: 1) COMPARE THE EASE OF OBTAINING WELL- ORDERED CRYSTALS ACROSS A RANGE OF PROTEINS OF INTEREST WITH AND WITHOUT FUSION TO TELSAM. 2) ESTABLISH BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESSFULLY USING TELSAM. IN AIM 1, A PANEL OF TARGET PROTEINS OR PROTEIN COMPLEXES OF VARYING SIZES WILL BE CRYSTALLIZED ALONE OR AS FLEXIBLE FUSIONS TO TELSAM. IN AIM 2, SELECTED TARGET PROTEINS WILL BE FLEXIBLY OR RIGIDLY FUSED TO TELSAM WITH VARYING DEGREES OF TARGET PROTEIN LOADING ALONG THE POLYMER. LONGER LINKER LENGTHS AND UNUSUALLY LOW PROTEIN CONCENTRATIONS IN CRYSTALLIZATION EXPERIMENTS WILL ALSO BE INVESTIGATED. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS INNOVATIVE, IN THE APPLICANT’S OPINION, BECAUSE IT PROPOSES: 1) SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION OF THE FACTORS REQUIRED BY TELSAM-TARGET FUSIONS TO RELIABLY FORM WELL-ORDERED CRYSTALS, 2) INVESTIGATION OF 1TEL, WHICH PRE- SENTS 6 COPIES OF THE TARGET PROTEIN PER TURN OF THE TELSAM POLYMER AND PRECLUDES ANY DIRECT INTER-TELSAM CONTACTS, 3) INVESTIGATION OF SEMI-RIGID FUSIONS OF TARGET PROTEINS TO TELSAM, 4) TESTING THE LIMITS OF TELSAM- MEDIATED PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION WITH TARGET PROTEIN COMPLEXES AND LIGAND-BOUND TARGETS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL ENABLE THE SUCCESSFUL CRYSTALLIZATION AND STRUCTURE DETERMINATION OF A GREATER NUMBER AND VARIETY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AND DISEASE-RELEVANT PROTEINS, ULTIMATELY LEADING TO NEW BIOTECHNOLOGY TOOLS, MORE EFFECTIVE DISEASE TREATMENTS, AND REDUCED HEALTHCARE COSTS.

SIMULATION OF DYNAMIC COASTAL SCENES FOR SEMANTIC AUTONOMY

THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED WORK ARE: 1. CAREFULLY CHARACTERIZE THE TOOL/PART INTERFACE FOR FRICTION STIR WELDING OF HIGH STRENGTH ALUMINUM ALLOYS USING A SIMPLE EXPERIMENT. 2. DEVELOP A MODEL OF LOCAL FLOW STRESSES AT THE TOOL/PART INTERFACE USING THE DATA FROM OBJECTIVE #1. 3. INTEGRATE THE INTERFACE MODEL INTO A PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF THE FSW PROCESS. 4. VALIDATE THE FSW MODEL RESULTS FOR TORQUE REACTIVE LOAD AND TEMPERATURES FOR STANDARD FSW TOOLS AND FOR A SELF-REACTING FSW TOOL. IN PRIOR EFFORTS THE FRICTION LEVEL HAS BEEN AN ADJUSTABLE PARAMETER USED TO "TUNE" A FINITE ELEMENT MODEL FOR FSW. HOWEVER THIS SIMPLE TUNING APPROACH NEGLECTS THE UNDERLYING PHYSICS AT THE INTERFACE AND DOES NOT PROVIDE ACCURATE PREDICTIONS FOR ALL OF THE CRITICAL PHENOMENA THAT WOULD RENDER THE MODEL TRULY PREDICTIVE AND USEFUL FOR DEVELOPMENT. FOR EXAMPLE IF THE MODEL IS "TUNED" FOR AN ACCURATE PREDICTION OF TEMPERATURES THEN THE REACTIVE LOAD IS OFTEN OVERESTIMATED. THIS RESULTS IN INACCURATE STRESS PREDICTIONS WITHIN THE PART. THE PHYSICS AND MECHANICS OF HEAT GENERATION AND MATERIAL DEFORMATION AT THE SCALES AND TEMPERATURES AT WHICH THEY OCCUR IN FSW HAS NOT BEEN ADEQUATELY STUDIED AND UNDERSTOOD. WHILE THE FLOW STRESS IN THE BULK MATERIAL CAN BE CHARACTERIZED BY TENSION TESTING COMPRESSION TESTING OR TORSION TESTING THE INTERFACE MATERIAL FLOW STRESS UNDERGOES LARGE AMOUNTS OF SHEAR AND THEREFORE RECRYSTALLIZATION WHICH CAN DRAMATICALLY INFLUENCE THE LOCAL FLOW STRESS. RATHER THAN TRYING TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE MICROSTRUCTURE EVOLUTION AT THE INTERFACE OUR APPROACH WILL BE TO DEVELOP A SIMPLE EXPERIMENT THAT WILL ALLOW FOR CHARACTERIZING THE LOCAL FLOW STRESSES AT THE INTERFACE WHICH ARE THE PRIMARY DATA NEEDED FOR ACCURATE MODELING WITHOUT THE NEED FOR "TUNING" BY FREQUENT ADJUSTMENT OF A FRICTION COEFFICIENT. DATA FROM THE EXPERIMENT WILL BE USED AS INPUT TO AN INVERSE PARAMETER IDENTIFICATION SCHEME THAT WILL PROVIDE LOCAL FLOW STRESSES IN WHAT WE ARE CALLING THE "HEAT GENERATION ZONE" (HGZ). IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH THE FOLLOWING TASKS WILL BE CARRIED OUT: 1. FLAT PINLESS FSW TOOLS WILL BE ROTATED AT DIFFERENT RPM AND REACTIVE LOADS IN AA 2219. TWO DIFFERENT TOOLING MATERIALS WILL BE EMPLOYED IN ORDER TO INTRODUCE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FRICTION AT THE INTERFACE. THERMOCOUPLES WILL BE EMBEDDED IN THE AL PLATE TO MEASURE TEMPERATURES NEAR THE INTERFACE. THEY WILL ALSO BE EMBEDDED IN THE TOOL. DATA COMING OUT OF THE EXPERIMENT WILL BE TORQUE REACTIVE LOAD AND TEMPERATURES IN THE PLATE AND THE TOOL. 2. A FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF THE FLAT PINLESS TOOL EXPERIMENT WILL BE DEVELOPED AND COUPLED WITH AN INVERSE PARAMETER ANALYSIS ALGORITHM TO MODEL THE LOCAL FLOW STRESSES IN THE HGZ. 3. THE LOCAL FLOW STRESS RELATIONSHIP FROM TASK #2 WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO AN EULERIAN FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF FSW DEVELOPED IN PRIOR EFFORTS BY THE PIS. 4. THE FSW MODEL WILL BE VALIDATED BY EXPERIMENTS SUCH THAT TEMPERATURES REACTIVE WELDING LOAD AND WELDING TORQUE ARE ALL PREDICTED SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH REASONABLE ACCURACY (5%). INITIAL VALIDATION WILL BE WITH A SMOOTH TOOL. AFTER APPROPRIATE AGREEMENT ON A SMOOTH TOOL A TOOL WITH A THREADED PIN WILL BE EMPLOYED IN THE MODEL AND VALIDATED BY EXPERIMENT. FINALLY A SELF-REACTING FSW TOOL WILL BE MODELED AND VALIDATED BY EXPERIMENT. MODEL RESULTS WILL BE USED TO PREDICT MECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN THE HEAT AFFECTED ZONE OF THE WELD. THE PROPOSED APPROACH WOULD PROVIDE NASA WITH A METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZING INTERFACE BEHAVIOR FOR A GIVEN ALLOY AND TOOL MATERIAL. THIS INTERFACE BEHAVIOR IS ESSENTIAL TO ACCURATE MODELING. FSW MODELS USING ACCURATE INTERFACE BEHAVIOR WILL BE MORE PREDICTIVE AND USEFUL FOR THE RAPID OPTIMIZATION OF PROCESS PARAMETERS AND TOOL DESIGNS.

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** QUINOA IS A NUTRITIOUS ANDEAN GRAIN THAT HAS DRAMATICALLY INCREASED IN INTERNATIONAL POPULARITY OVER THE PAST DECADE. UNFORTUNATELY, QUINOA WAS DOMESTICATED AT HIGH ELEVATIONS IN THE TITICACA BASIN OF THE ANDEAN ALTIPLANO AND THEREFORE DOESN&#39;T GROW WELL IN LOWLAND TROPICAL, SUBTROPICAL, AND WARM-SEASON TEMPERATE PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTS, INCLUDING THOSE FOUND IN THE U.S. IN ORDER TO IMPROVE QUINOA PRODUCTION IN THE U.S. AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, NEW VARIETIES ARE NEEDED THAT ARE ABLE TO TOLERATE THE NEW STRESSES THAT QUINOA WILL UNDOUBTEDLY ENCOUNTER AS ITS CULTIVATION SPREADS. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO INTRODUCE NEW GENETIC DIVERSITY INTO QUINOA FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL QUINOA BREEDING PROGRAMS. TO DO THIS, WE WILL TAKE TWO GENERAL APPROACHES: FIRST, CROSS QUINOA WITH WILD RELATIVES THAT ALREADY GROW WELL THROUGHOUT THE U.S. IN REGIONS IN WHICH QUINOA DOES NOT GROW WELL; AND SECOND, INDUCE MUTATIONS IN QUINOA THAT CAN HELP CREATE NEW VARIATION IN TRAITS OF INTEREST. THESE NEW QUINOA MATERIALS WITH INCREASED GENETIC DIVERSITY WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO BREEDERS AND GROWERS WHO CAN USE THEM TO DEVELOP NEW QUINOA VARIETIES THAT ARE ADAPTED TO ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH QUINOA DOES NOT CURRENTLY GROW WELL.

GOALI: COMPUTATIONAL, DATA SCIENCE, AND SYNTHETIC APPROACH TO THE DESIGN OF RETRO-HYDROFORMYLATION CATALYSTS -WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CHEMICAL CATALYSIS PROGRAM OF THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, DR. DANIEL ESS AND DR. DAVID MICHAELIS AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL COMPANY WILL USE COMPUTATIONAL METHODS AND MACHINE LEARNING/DATA SCIENCE TECHNIQUES TO DESIGN, SYNTHESIZE, AND TEST NEW HOMOGENEOUS RETRO-HYDROFORMYLATION CATALYSTS THAT SELECTIVELY GENERATE ALPHA-OLEFINS. DEVELOPING NEW CATALYSTS IS CRITICAL TO DISCOVERING NEW AND SELECTIVE CHEMICAL REACTIONS THAT CAN IMPACT THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY. AN IMPORTANT CHEMICAL REACTION FOR HOMOGENEOUS CATALYST DEVELOPMENT IS RETRO-HYDROFORMYLATION THAT CONVERTS ALDEHYDES TO TERMINAL 1-ALKENES (CALLED ALPHA-OLEFINS) BECAUSE THESE PRODUCTS ARE KEY PRECURSORS FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF MANY COMMODITY CHEMICALS, SUCH AS PLASTICS, LUBRICANTS, AND SURFACTANTS. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE NO KNOWN INDUSTRIALLY VIABLE HOMOGENEOUS RETRO-HYDROFORMYLATION CATALYSTS AND RESEARCH SCIENTISTS ARE ONLY USING TRIAL-AND-ERROR CATALYST DEVELOPMENT TACTICS. THIS WORK HOLDS SIGNIFICANT PROMISE FOR TRANSLATING NEW CATALYST DESIGNS TO THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY. ALSO, THIS WORK PROVIDES UNIQUE TRAINING FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, GRADUATE STUDENTS, AND POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS AT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, MACHINE LEARNING, AND EXPERIMENTAL TRAINING FOR PREPARATION TO ENTER THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY WORKFORCE. HOMOGENEOUS CATALYSTS BEING INVESTIGATED ARE SECOND AND THIRD ROW TRANSITION METAL COMPLEXES WITH BESPOKE DESIGNED PHOSPHINE LIGANDS. THE PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND APPLY APPROACHES TO COMBINE MOLECULAR COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY WITH DATA SCIENCE TO PREDICT CATALYSTS THAT HAVE HIGH REACTIVITY AND SELECTIVITY. THE PROJECT WILL TEST COMPUTATIONAL PREDICTIONS AND DEVELOP FUNDAMENTAL CATALYSIS UNDERSTANDING THROUGH EXPERIMENTALLY SYNTHESIZING AND TESTING CATALYSTS THAT WORK THROUGH BOTH ACCEPTOR/TRANSFER AND ACCEPTOR-LESS CONDITIONS. THESE EFFORTS SUPPORT TRAINING OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, GRADUATE STUDENTS, AND POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS IN STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY AND MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES AS WELL AS ADVANCED EXPERIMENTAL REACTION TECHNIQUES. STUDENTS WILL ALSO INTERFACE WITH AND LEARN FROM INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTS AND ENGINEERS AT CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL. 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.

CAS: OPTIMIZATION OF CO2 TO METHANOL PRODUCTION THROUGH RAPID NANOPARTICLE SYNTHESIS UTILIZING MOF THIN FILMS AND MECHANISTIC STUDIES. -WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CHEMICAL CATALYSIS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, KARA STOWERS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY IS STUDYING HOW TO IMPROVE THE SYNTHESIS AND COMPOSITION OF COPPER CATALYSTS FOR REDUCING CARBON DIOXIDE, AN IMPORTANT SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY GOAL. METHANOL PRODUCED FROM CARBON DIOXIDE COULD BE USED AS A FUEL AND MATERIAL FEEDSTOCK, RENDERING THIS CHEMISTRY USEFUL FOR REBALANCING THE CARBON CYCLE (I.E. CYCLING THE GREENHOUSE GAS CO2 TO THIS REDUCED BUILDING BLOCK FORM). CURRENTLY COPPER-BASED CATALYSTS ARE SLUGGISH WHEN REACTING WITH CARBON DIOXIDE AND UNSTABLE WHEN CONVERTING IT TO METHANOL. TO IMPROVE THESE COPPER-BASED CATALYSTS, AN TEMPLATING METHOD WILL BE USED TO RAPIDLY CREATE AND TEST NEW NANOPARTICLE COMPOSITIONS AND STRUCTURES FOR CATALYSIS. THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO ESTABLISH A FLEXIBLE AND TUNABLE METHOD FOR CATALYST DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING UNDERSTANDING THE FUNDAMENTAL MOLECULAR INTERACTIONS OF THE CATALYST WITH INDUSTRIALLY RELEVANT MATERIALS, WITH THE GOAL OF INCREASING CATALYST STABILITY AND ACTIVITY. MORE EFFICIENT CATALYSTS WOULD FACILITATE THE TRANSITION TO A SUSTAINABLE CLOSED-LOOP FUEL ECONOMY AND REDUCE OUR RELIANCE ON NON-RENEWABLE FOSSIL FUELS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS RESEARCH WILL INCLUDE STUDENT TRAINING AT BOTH THE GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL TO HELP PREPARE THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS DEDICATED TO ADDRESSING PRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES. THE PROJECT ALSO PROVIDES TARGETED OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEMALE FRESHMAN UNDERGRADUATES TO BEGIN EARLY ENGAGEMENT IN RESEARCH AND TO BE PROVIDED WITH MENTORS. UNDER THIS AWARD, KARA STOWERS AND HER RESEARCH TEAM AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY ARE STUDYING THE TEMPLATE-MEDIATED SYNTHESIS OF COPPER-BASED NANOPARTICLE CATALYSTS FOR THE CONVERSION OF CARBON DIOXIDE TO METHANOL. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES EXISTING CATALYST WEAKNESSES IN ORDER TO IMPROVE CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION AND FURTHER FACILITATE METHANOL AS A RENEWABLE ENERGY CARRIER. THE SCIENTIFIC GOALS ARE TO (I) OPTIMIZE THE INTERFACE ACTIVE SITES OF CU-BASED NANOPARTICLES TO INCREASE CATALYTIC ACTIVITY, (II) IDENTIFY SYNTHESIS CONDITIONS THAT PROVIDE STABILITY AGAINST NANOPARTICLE AGGREGATION, AND (III) OPTIMIZE BIMETALLIC COMPOSITIONS OF CU-BASED NANOPARTICLES TO INCREASE REACTION SELECTIVITY. THE EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH USES SPIN-COATING TO SYNTHESIZE A METAL ORGANIC FRAMEWORK (MOF) AS A THIN FILM TEMPLATE AT AMBIENT PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE, WHICH SHOULD ALLOWS FOR THE RAPID AND REPRODUCIBLE GENERATION OF ARRAYS OF NANOPARTICLES ONTO INDUSTRIALLY RELEVANT SUPPORTS AFTER TEMPLATE REMOVAL. USING MOFS AS A TEMPLATE AFFORDS EXTREME FLEXIBILITY IN TUNING OF METAL CLUSTER CENTERS AND BIMETALLIC COMBINATIONS, AND IS EXPECTED TO ALLOW FOR THE REPRODUCIBLE MODIFICATION OF CU-OXIDE NANOPARTICLE COMPOSITION. THE TEAM ALSO AIMS TO CONTROL SPATIAL AND SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS AND OXIDATION STATES WITHIN THESE NANOPARTICULATE FRAMEWORKS. THE PROJECTED OUTCOMES OF THE WORK ARE TO FACILITATE RATIONAL DESIGN OF CU-BASED NANOPARTICLE CATALYSTS WITH IMPROVED CATALYTIC ACTIVITY, AND WITH IMPROVED CATALYTIC STABILITY FROM REDUCED AGGREGATION AND BIMETALLIC COMPOSITIONS OPTIMIZED FOR IMPROVED CATALYTIC EFFICIENCY. SYNTHESIS OF COPPER METAL NANOPARTICLES VIA THIN FILMS ON INDUSTRIALLY RELEVANT SUPPORTS SHOULD OFFER AN EXPEDITIOUS AND SCALABLE STRATEGY FOR CATALYST SYNTHESIS AND TESTING. THE IMPACT OF THIS RESEARCH ON THE FIELD IS EXPECTED TO BE IN IMPROVED TECHNOLOGIES FOR CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION AS WELL AS IN A NEW STRATEGY TO CARRY OUT NANOPARTICLE ASSAYS FOR RAPID, SCALABLE CATALYST DEVELOPMENT. 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: RELIABLE MATERIALS SIMULATION BASED ON THE KNOWLEDGEBASE OF INTERATOMIC MODELS (KIM)

CAREER: THE TRUE MASS-RADIUS-PERIOD DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL EXOPLANETS -ONE OF THE CHIEF GOALS IN EXOPLANET RESEARCH TODAY IS TO UNDERSTAND THE MASS DISTRIBUTION OF PLANETS IN THE UNIVERSE. HAVING ACCURATE MASSES WILL HELP ESTABLISH MASS/DENSITY VS. ORBITAL RADIUS RELATIONSHIPS, AND TO IDENTIFY ROCKY EARTH-LIKE PLANETS IN THE HABITABLE ZONE. THESE ADVANCES REPRESENT AN IMPORTANT NEW AVENUE TO UNDERSTANDING PLANETARY FORMATION PROCESSES. THE WORK PROPOSED HERE WILL MINE THE KEPLER DATA AND USE NEW TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY MASSES OF PLANETS IN ALL 706 MULTI-TRANSIT (MULTI-PLANET) SYSTEMS OBSERVED BY THE KEPLER SPACECRAFT. RIGHT NOW, MASSES CAN BE ESTIMATED FOR ABOUT 10% OF THIS SAMPLE: THE SYSTEMS IN WHICH TRANSIT-TIME VARIATIONS (TTVS) ARE OBSERVED. THE RESULTS OF THIS WORK WILL GUIDE FUTURE OBSERVATIONS AND SEARCHES DONE FOR EARTH-LIKE PLANETS, BE THEY DONE WITH SPACE-BASED TELESCOPES, SUCH AS JWST, OR GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES, SUCH AS THE FUTURE US-ELTS. OUTREACH AND EDUCATION EFFORTS INCLUDE THE MENTORING OF AT LEAST FIVE STUDENTS FROM UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH-BASED EDUCATION RESOURCES, THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LIBRARY OF ANIMATED GIFS RELATED TO ASTRONOMY, AND SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENT OF A CHAPTER ON EXOPLANETS IN AN OPENSTAX ASTRONOMY TEXTBOOK. THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT AN ANALYSIS OF ALL 706 KEPLER MULTI-TRANSITING SYSTEMS (MTSS) USING THEIR PUBLICLY-AVAILABLE PHOTODYNAMICAL MULTI-PLANET MODEL (PHODYMM). A PHOTODYNAMICAL MODEL INCLUDES THE FULL N-BODY DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION OF A PLANETARY SYSTEM, BUT FITS DIRECTLY TO THE KEPLER PHOTOMETRIC LIGHTCURVE ITSELF. UNTIL NOW, MOST ANALYSES OF MTSS HAVE RELIED UPON TRANSIT TIMING VARIATIONS (TTVS) AS THE MULTIPLE PLANETS TUG EACH OTHER AROUND, SLIGHTLY DELAYING OR ACCELERATING EXPECTED TRANSITS. FULL PHOTODYNAMICAL ANALYSIS HAS BEEN APPLIED TO ONLY 20 OF THE 706 KNOWN KEPLER MTSS. THIS TECHNIQUE ALSO MAKES USE OF THE KEPLER SHORT CADENCE DATA, WHICH TRADITIONAL TTV ANALYSIS TYPICALLY IGNORES. IN ADDITION TO FINDING MASSES FOR MANY SUPER-EARTHS AND OTHER LARGER PLANETS, THE TEAM EXPECTS TO MAKE AT LEAST 50 NEW MASS DETERMINATIONS OF THE SMALLEST EXOPLANETS, UNTIL NOW INACCESSIBLE TO CURRENT METHODS. THIS METHOD HAS THE PROMISE TO DETECT NEW PLANETS AT THE LOWER END OF THE MASS DISTRIBUTION. 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.

DETERMINING HOW REDOX CHANGES AFFECT OPTIC TECTUM CIRCUITRY DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR. - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE SUPERIOR COLLICULUS (SC) IS A SENSORIMOTOR MAMMALIAN MIDBRAIN STRUCTURE THAT INTEGRATES MULTIMODAL SENSORY INPUT AND GUIDES OUR EVERYDAY RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CUES AND DETERMINES WHAT EVENTS ARE MOST RELEVANT AND DESERVE OUR ATTENTION. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE HAS IMPLICATED THE SC IN NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS, SUCH AS AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD), AND IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS, SUCH AS LEWY BODY DEMENTIA, PARKINSON DISEASE, PROGRESSIVE SUPRANUCLEAR PALSY ETC. ESTABLISHING A FUNCTIONAL NEUROCIRCUITRY THAT LEADS TO PROPER BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES REQUIRES CORRECT NEURONAL DIFFERENTIATION AND SPECIFICATION DURING DEVELOPMENT. ONE MECHANISM THOUGHT TO REGULATE NEURONAL DIFFERENTIATION IS THE REDUCTION-OXIDATION (REDOX) STATE OF THE CELL. REGULATION OF THE REDOX STATE OF A CELL CAN BE CRUCIAL IN INDUCING PROTEIN MODIFICATIONS, THEREFORE REGULATING THEIR FUNCTION IN CELLS AND TISSUES. IN A RECENT PAPER, OUR LABS SHOWED THAT TREATMENT OF THE DEVELOPING ZEBRAFISH EMBRYOS/LARVAE WITH THE DRUG VALPROIC ACID (VPA) LED TO 1) DELAY IN THE SPECIFICATION OF NEURONS IN THE HOMOLOGOUS, NON-MAMMALIAN STRUCTURE OF THE SC, NAMED THE OPTIC TECTUM (OT) AND 2) LACK OF FORMATION OF AT LEAST ONE SUBTYPE OF NEURONS IN THE OT. SINCE VPA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO PERTURB THE REDOX STATE IN OTHER NEURONS (AND HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH A HIGHER INCIDENCE OF ASD IN CHILDREN WITH FETAL EXPOSURE TO VPA), THIS STUDY SUGGESTS THAT REDOX STATE MIGHT IN FACT BE IMPORTANT DURING NEURONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE OT. OUR PROPOSAL IS DESIGNED TO FOLLOW UP ON THESE INITIAL STUDIES AND FILL THE GAP IN UNDERSTANDING HOW OT NEUROCIRCUITRY AND ASSOCIATED BEHAVIORS ARE REGULATED BY CHANGES IN REDOX STATE DURING OT DEVELOPMENT. IN THE FIRST AIM, WE PLAN TO FOLLOW IN VIVO HOW THE REDOX STATE OF DIFFERENT CELL-COMPARTMENTS IN OT NEURONS CHANGES DURING NORMAL DEVELOPMENT AND AFTER THE REDOX STATE IS PERTURBED BY VPA-TREATMENT. IN THE SECOND AIM, WE WOULD LIKE TO DETERMINE WHEN ARE THE DIFFERENT NEURONAL CELL-SUBTYPES GENERATED IN THE OT, AND IF THEIR FORMATION IS AFFECTED UPON REDOX STATE CHANGES BY VPA-TREATMENT. FINALLY, IN THE THIRD AIM, WE WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE HOW THE CHANGES OF REDOX STATE, SPECIFICALLY IN THE OT, AFFECT BEHAVIOR. VERY FEW STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF REDOX STATE IN OT CIRCUITRY, THEREFORE, OUR STUDY WOULD FILL AN IMPORTANT GAP IN THE CURRENT UNDERSTANDING. ADDITIONALLY, SINCE THE SC IS ASSOCIATED WITH ASD, AND VPA EXPOSURE IS ALSO CORRELATED WITH HIGHER ASD INCIDENCE, THIS STUDY MIGHT SHED LIGHT INTO THE MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR UNDERPINNINGS OF ASD.

RECEPTOR FOR ADVANCED GLYCATION END-PRODUCTS SIGNALING INDUCTION IN THE LUNG AND PLACENTA DUE TO SECONDHAND SMOKE AND E-CIGARETTE VAPOR - PROJECT SUMMARY PLACENTAL COMPLICATIONS AFFECT UP TO 15% OF ALL PREGNANCIES AND IS A NOTABLE CAUSE OF PRETERM MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. IN ADDITION TO PERINATAL COMPROMISES INCLUDING PERINATAL HYPOXIA AND ASPHYXIA, CEREBRAL PALSY, AND PERSISTENT PULMONARY HYPERTENSION OF THE NEWBORN, LONG-TERM SEQUELAE OF GESTATIONAL COMPLICATIONS INCLUDE ADULT HYPERTENSION, PULMONARY COMPLICATIONS, HEART DISEASE, STROKE AND DIABETES. INVOLUNTARY EXPOSURE TO TOBACCO SMOKE OR ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES IS ASSUMED TO BE A NOTABLE CAUSATIVE FACTOR OF PLACENTAL ANOMALIES. PAST STUDIES IDENTIFIED THE RECEPTOR FOR ADVANCED GLYCATION END-PRODUCTS (RAGE) AS A SMOKE-INDUCED PATTERN RECOGNITION RECEPTOR WITH POTENT PRO- INFLAMMATORY CHARACTERISTICS. FURTHER RESEARCH DEMONSTRATED THAT RAGE IS INCREASED IN THE LUNG AND PLACENTA FOLLOWING SECONDHAND SMOKE OR ECIG EXPOSURE AND THAT TRANSGENIC MICE THAT CONDITIONALLY UP-REGULATE RAGE MANIFEST ASPECTS OF A SMOKER’S LUNG AND HALLMARKS OF PLACENTAL INSUFFICIENCY IN THE ABSENCE OF SMOKE. SAGES ARE SEMI-SYNTHETIC GLYCOSAMINOGLYCAN ETHERS THAT ARE POTENT MODULATORS OF INFLAMMATION IN NUMEROUS ANIMAL MODELS OF HUMAN DISEASE, AND ARE IN PRECLINICAL DEVELOPMENT FOR PERIODONTITIS, ORAL MUCOSITIS, AND BLADDER INFLAMMATION. IMPORTANTLY, SAGES SIGNIFICANTLY INHIBIT INTERACTIONS BETWEEN RAGE AND ITS MANY LIGANDS NECESSARY FOR SIGNALING. THE PRESENT PROPOSAL AIMS TO THOROUGHLY ASSESS THE BIOLOGY OF RAGE AS A MOLECULAR TARGET IN EXPOSED PLACENTA AND TO CONSIDER MATERNAL PULMONARY AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION DURING THE ORCHESTRATION OF COMPLICATIONS. A KEY INNOVATION OF THIS PROPOSAL IS A COLLECTION OF ANIMAL MODELS THAT CONTROL RAGE EXPRESSION INCLUDING RAGE NULL MICE. THIS PROPOSAL ALSO HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPACT DUE TO ITS CLINICAL TRANSLATIONAL POTENTIAL TO AMELIORATE SMOKEOR ECIG VAPOR-INDUCED INFLAMMATION AND PLACENTAL DYSFUNCTION. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT INHIBITION OF RAGE SIGNALING IMPROVES LUNG AND PLACENTAL GROWTH/FUNCTION AND PROTECTS THE OFFSPRING FROM THE EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE. TWO SPECIFIC AIMS ARE PROPOSED, AND EACH USES ADVANCED MOLECULAR METHODOLOGIES EMPLOYED BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO TEST OUR HYPOTHESES. THE STUDIES OUTLINED IN THIS PROPOSAL WILL VALIDATE RAGE SIGNALING AS A TARGET PATHWAY FOR THE TRANSLATIONAL PREVENTION OR ATTENUATION OF PLACENTAL DEFECTS IN INDIVIDUALS UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO REMOVE TOBACCO EXPOSURE BUT MAY ALSO HELP TO CLARIFY RAGE-MEDIATED PATHOGENESIS IN A NUMBER OF PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES.

SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

IDENTIFYING AND CHARACTERIZING AUDITORY-VISUAL MULTISENSORY NEURONS IN THE OPTIC TECTUM OF ZEBRAFISH LARVAE

VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA GABA NEURONS: A NOVEL TARGET OF MARIJUANA DRUG ABUSE.

PRECISION MEASUREMENTS USING NONLINEAR THOMSON SCATTERING -HIGH INTENSITY LASERS HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF USES IN BASIC SCIENCE, INDUSTRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE APPLICATIONS. TO ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST INTENSITIES, A LASER MUST BE FOCUSED TO THE SMALLEST SPOT SIZE POSSIBLE. TO ACHIEVE A SMALL FOCUS, THE STRUCTURE OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS WITHIN A LASER FOCUS MUST BE MEASURED AND OPTIMIZED. IN THIS PROJECT, THE RESEARCHERS PLACE ELECTRONS WITHIN A VERY HIGH INTENSITY LASER FOCUS, AND THEN STUDY THE LIGHT THESE ELECTRONS EMIT (NONLINEAR THOMSON SCATTERING) TO UNDERSTAND THE FIELD STRUCTURE WITHIN THE FOCUS. THE PATTERNS IN THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE AND POLARIZATION OF THIS NONLINEAR THOMSON SCATTERING CONTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE FIELDS IN A LASER FOCUS THAT IS HARD TO MEASURE IN OTHER WAYS. THE RESEARCHERS WILL STUDY LIGHT EMISSION PATTERNS WHILE VARYING FOCAL PROPERTIES OF THE LASER AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRONS WITHIN THE FOCUS, WITH A GOAL OF LEARNING HOW TO MEASURE, UNDERSTAND, AND IMPROVE THE LASER FOCUS. THESE ARE VERY CHALLENGING MEASUREMENTS TO MAKE, AND MOST PREVIOUS WORK HAS BEEN RESTRICTED TO THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL PREDICTIONS. THE RESEARCH PROJECT WILL INVOLVE AND TRAIN APPROXIMATELY A DOZEN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND THREE GRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE CHALLENGING BLEND OF HIGH-INTENSITY LASER METHODS USED TO DRIVE THE ELECTRONS AND THE SINGLE-PHOTON DETECTION METHODS USED TO MEASURE THE SCATTERED LIGHT. THE RESEARCHERS WILL INCORPORATE RESULTS FROM THIS PROJECT INTO A FREE ONLINE OPTICS TEXTBOOK THAT IS WIDELY USED AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL. THIS PROJECT STUDIES NONLINEAR THOMSON SCATTERING FROM VERY DIFFUSE (NEAR-VACUUM DENSITY) FREE ELECTRONS IN A LASER FOCUS AND ENABLES THE STUDY OF THIS FUNDAMENTAL RELATIVISTIC PHENOMENON WITHOUT THE CONFOUNDING INFLUENCE OF PLASMA DYNAMICS. THESE MEASUREMENTS WILL BE CARRIED OUT FOR SEVERAL LOWER-ORDER HARMONICS IN A REFERENCE FRAME THAT ALLOWS THE ANGULAR STRUCTURE OF THE PHOTOEMISSION TO BE MEASURED. THE RESEARCHERS WILL: (1) CHARACTERIZE FOR THE FIRST TIME THE POLARIZATION-RESOLVED ANGULAR EMISSION PATTERNS OF INDIVIDUAL HARMONIC ORDERS OVER VIRTUALLY THE ENTIRE EMISSION SPHERE, (2) INVESTIGATE THE SIGNATURE OF THE PONDEROMOTIVE EJECTION OF ELECTRONS FROM THE FOCUS IN THE ANGULAR PHOTOEMISSION PATTERNS AND HOW THIS IS INFLUENCED BY FOCAL PARAMETERS AND PULSE DURATION, AND (3) STUDY HOW COHERENCE BETWEEN ELECTRONS EMITTED FROM THE SAME ATOM MODIFIES NONLINEAR THOMSON SCATTERING, BOTH THE ANGULAR PATTERN AND THE STRENGTH. EACH OF THESE EFFECTS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CONTRIBUTES MEASURABLE AMOUNTS TO THE OVERALL NONLINEAR THOMSON SCATTERING SIGNAL. SIMULATIONS OF RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON TRAJECTORIES WITHIN A TIGHT LASER FOCUS SHOW THAT ELECTRON TRAJECTORIES ARE SENSITIVE TO THE DETAILS OF THE FIELD VECTORS. AN OVERARCHING GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO BETTER CORRELATE THE VECTOR FIELDS OF THE LASER FOCUS WITH OBSERVED NONLINEAR THOMSON SCATTERING. 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.

ACTIVE COOPERATIVE TERRAIN AIDED NAVIGATION USING INVERTED-USBL

ENGINEERING ENZYMES FOR IMPROVED STABILITY AND RETAINED FUNCTION VIA RAPID DESIGN-BUILD-TEST-LEARN CYCLES INTEGRATING AI/PHYSICS BASED PREDICTIONS WITH CELL-FREE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS EXPERIMENTAL TESTING - ABSTRACT THE TRANSFORMATIVE BREAKTHROUGH OF GOOGLE DEEPMIND’S ALPHAFOLD2 ON THE RELIABILITY OF SEQUENCE TO PROTEIN STRUCTURE PREDICTION, DEMONSTRATED THE POWER OF MACHINE LEARNING APPROACHES IN ADVANCING THE STUDY AND ENGINEERING OF PROTEINS. CURRENTLY A NUMBER OF INVERSE PROTEIN FOLDING NEURAL NETWORK MODELS EMPLOY DIFFERENT OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONS IN THE DESIGN OF PROTEINS WHICH COME WITH TRADE-OFFS AND CAN LEAD TO ADVERSARIAL SEQUENCE PREDICTIONS. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO APPLY A DIFFERENT OBJECTIVE FUNCTION TO OVERCOME LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT INVERSE PROTEIN FOLDING MODELS WITH THE SPECIFIC GOAL OF PREDICTING MUTATIONS THAT WILL INCREASE THE STABILITY OF THERAPEUTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC PROTEINS. ADDITIONALLY, AI- AND PHYSICS-BASED SIMULATION FILTERS ARE INTEGRATED TO ENABLE THE PREDICTION OF SEQUENCES THAT INCREASE STABILITY AND RETAIN FUNCTION. IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT BY COMBINING THESE AI TOOLS WITH THE EXPERIMENTAL CELL-FREE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS AND STABILITY/ACTIVITY ASSAYS, RAPID DESIGN-BUILD-TEST-LEARN CYCLES CAN BE PERFORMED TO CREATE AI MODELS TUNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE TARGET PROTEIN. THIS TECHNOLOGY IS DIRECTLY APPLIED TO THE HIGHLY SENSITIVE DIAGNOSTIC REPORTER PROTEIN NANOLUC AND THE PROMISING CANCER THERAPEUTIC ONCONASE TO EXPAND THEIR UTILITY THROUGH ENHANCED STABILITY.

MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF FOLDING OF NSP12 AND ASSEMBLY OF THE SARS-COV-2 RNA POLYMERASE COMPLEX BY THE CYTOSOLIC CHAPERONIN CCT - PROJECT SUMMARY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CREATED THE GREATEST INFECTIOUS THREAT TO GLOBAL HEALTH IN 100 YEARS, AND MONUMENTAL EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY TO COMBAT THE SARS-COV- 2 VIRUS. THIS PROPOSAL SEEKS TO EXTEND THIS EFFORT BY INVESTIGATING A MECHANISM BY WHICH SARS- COV-2 HIJACKS THE HOST CELL CHAPERONE SYSTEM TO REPLICATE ITSELF. WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THE SARS-COV-2 RNA POLYMERASE (RDRP) CO-OPTS THE CYTOSOLIC CHAPERONIN CONTAINING TCP-1 (CCT, ALSO CALLED TRIC) TO ASSEMBLE THE ACTIVE POLYMERASE COMPLEX. CCT IS A LARGE (1 MDA) PROTEIN-FOLDING MACHINE THAT PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN THE CELLULAR CHAPERONE NETWORK RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE PROTEOME IN GOOD WORKING CONDITION. IT USES ATP HYDROLYSIS-DRIVEN CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES TO ASSIST CYTOSOLIC PROTEINS WITH MULTIPLE DOMAINS, COMPLEX FOLDING TRAJECTORIES, OR OBLIGATE BINDING PARTNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR NATIVE STATE AND ASSEMBLE INTO COMPLEXES. IN ADDITION TO FOLDING CELLULAR PROTEINS, CCT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BIND SEVERAL VIRAL PROTEINS AND CONTRIBUTE TO VIRAL REPLICATION OF HIV, HEPATITIS C, INFLUENZA A, RABIES, ZIKA AND REOVIRUS. THESE OBSERVATIONS SHOW THAT CCT IS A COMMON HOST CHAPERONE USED BY DIVERSE VIRUSES TO FOLD VIRAL PROTEINS, ASSEMBLE VIRAL COMPLEXES, AND SUPPORT VIRAL REPLICATION. BASED ON THESE FINDINGS, WE INITIATED AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ROLE OF CCT IN SARS-COV-2 REPLICATION. HERE, WE PRESENT ROBUST PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE INDICATING THAT THE SARS-COV-2 NON-STRUCTURAL PROTEIN 12 (NSP12), THE CATALYTIC SUBUNIT OF THE RNA POLYMERASE, IS FOLDED BY CCT AND THAT CCT CONTRIBUTES TO RDRP COMPLEX FORMATION AND SARS-COV-2 REPLICATION. IN AIM 1, WE PROPOSE TO THOROUGHLY TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS USING MULTIPLE EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES. IN AIM 2, WE PROPOSE TO DETERMINE HIGH-RESOLUTION STRUCTURES OF THE COMPLEX BETWEEN NSP12 AND CCT. WE HAVE ISOLATED AN NSP12 FOLDING INTERMEDIATE BOUND TO CCT AND HAVE DETERMINED PRELIMINARY STRUCTURES OF THE COMPLEX BY CRYOGENIC ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (CRYO-EM). FURTHER CRYO-EM ANALYSIS WILL YIELD A HIGH- RESOLUTION STRUCTURE OF THE NSP12-CCT COMPLEX, WHICH WILL BE INVALUABLE IN GUIDING THE DESIGN OF THERAPEUTICS TO BLOCK NSP12 FOLDING BY CCT, INHIBIT FORMATION OF THE RDRP COMPLEX, AND DISRUPT VIRAL REPLICATION.

GRAVITATIONAL WAVES ARE UNIQUE MESSENGERS THAT CARRY DETAILED INFORMATION FROM DEEP WITHIN SOME OF THE MOST EXTREME ASTROPHYSICAL SOURCES VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED ACROSS THE COSMOS. THE FIELD OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVE ASTRONOMY BEGAN WITH THE SPECTACULAR OB

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR A NUCLEAR SPECIALTY IN THE BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY CHEMICAL

REU SITE: ROBOTIC PIONEERS--EMPOWERING UNDERGRADUATES TO CONQUER EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS -THIS THREE-YEAR REU SITE: ROBOTIC PIONEERS AND EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS OFFERS A TRANSFORMATIVE 10-WEEK RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN ADVANCE ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGIES FOR EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS, INCLUDING GPS-DENIED AREAS, UNDERWATER SETTINGS, AND SPACE EXPLORATION. EACH YEAR, TEN REU STUDENTS WILL ENGAGE IN RESEARCH THAT ADDRESSES THE CRITICAL CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED BY ROBOTS OPERATING IN HARSH CONDITIONS. PARTICIPANTS WILL ENGAGE IN RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT FOCUS ON DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR AUTONOMY AND CONTROL, REMOVING THE NEED FOR HUMANS TO ENTER HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS. STUDENTS WILL UNDERTAKE INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROJECTS UNDER THE MENTORSHIP OF EXPERT FACULTY AND GRADUATE MENTORS, COMPLEMENTED BY HANDS-ON TEAM ACTIVITIES SUCH AS DESIGNING AND COMPETING WITH ROBOTS. BEYOND TECHNICAL RESEARCH, PARTICIPANTS WILL BUILD LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS THROUGH STEM OUTREACH INITIATIVES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS. PARTICIPANTS WILL NOT ONLY EXPAND THEIR TECHNICAL EXPERTISE BUT ALSO GAIN THE CONFIDENCE AND SKILLS TO MAKE MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE RAPIDLY EVOLVING FIELD OF ROBOTICS. THE PROGRAM WILL EXPAND PARTICIPATION IN ROBOTICS BY ACTIVELY RECRUITING STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE US. BY CULTIVATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENGINEERS AND EQUIPPING THEM FOR PURSUING GRADUATE PROGRAMS AND POTENTIAL CAREERS IN ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS, THE ENGINEERING WORKFORCE WILL BE ABLE TO BETTER ADDRESS CURRENT AND FUTURE SOCIETAL CHALLENGES. ONE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP ACCOMPLISHED ENGINEERS WHO ARE CONFIDENT INNOVATORS IN THE ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMY COMMUNITIES. BY PROVIDING IN-DEPTH EDUCATION AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCES TO UNDERGRADUATES, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPANTS TO DEEPEN THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ABOUT ROBOTICS SYSTEMS AND TO CONSIDER PURSUING GRADUATE STUDIES AND POTENTIAL CAREERS IN ROBOTICS RELATED FIELDS. STUDENTS WILL ENGAGE IN FOUR KEY ACTIVITIES: CONDUCTING INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROJECTS TO GAIN A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF A SPECIFIC ROBOTICS AREA, PARTICIPATING IN A HANDS-ON TEAM PROJECT TO BUILD AND COMPETE WITH MAZE-RUNNING ROBOTS, TEACHING ROBOTICS TO YOUNGER STUDENTS AT A STEM CAMP, AND ATTENDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES, SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS, TO PREPARE FOR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURSUITS. 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.

SEX DEPENDENT FUNCTION OF THE ORPHAN NUCLEAR RECEPTOR NR4A1 IN THE PANCREATIC BETA CELL DURING TYPE 2 DIABETES DISEASE PROGRESSION - A CENTRAL ASPECT OF TYPE 2 DIABETES DISEASE PROGRESSION IS IMPAIRED FUNCTIONAL BETA CELL MASS. THE HYPERGLYCEMIC AND HYPERLIPIDEMIC ENVIRONMENT PRESENT IN TYPE 2 DIABETES CORRESPONDS WITH IMPAIRED BETA CELL FUNCTION. THE ORPHAN NUCLEAR RECEPTOR NR4A1 IS CRITICAL FOR FUEL UTILIZATION IN VARIOUS TISSUES, HOWEVER LITTLE IS KNOWN REGARDING ITS FUNCTION IN THE BETA CELL. NR4A1 EXPRESSION IS DECREASED IN THE BETA CELL OF RODENT MODELS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES, AS WELL AS IN PRIMARY HUMAN ISLETS FROM TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS. OUR PRELIMINARY DATA DEMONSTRATE THAT BETA CELL SPECIFIC NR4A1 DELETION IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGH FAT FEEDING RESULTS IN IMPAIRED GLUCOSE TOLERANCE IN FEMALE MICE. WHILE THERE IS A CLEAR CONNECTION BETWEEN NR4A1 AND TYPE 2 DIABETES DISEASE PROGRESSION IN FEMALE MICE, THERE IS A FUNDAMENTAL GAP IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF NR4A1 IN THE BETA CELL IN TERMS OF 1) THE EFFECT OF ESTROGEN SIGNALING ON NR4A1 IN FEMALE BETA CELLS, 2) THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL CHANGES DEPENDENT ON NR4A1 LOSS IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGH FAT FEEDING THAT LEAD TO GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE, AND 3) HOW THESE OBSERVED PHENOTYPES APPLY TO BETA CELL FUNCTION IN GESTATIONAL DIABETES. THESE GAPS HINDER THE RATIONALE DESIGN OF TARGETED THERAPIES TO IMPROVE FUNCTIONAL BETA CELL MASS AS A TREATMENT FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES IN WOMEN. THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE BETA CELL FUNCTION, PROLIFERATION AND SURVIVAL TO IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DETERMINE THE MECHANISM BY WHICH BETA CELL NR4A1 LOSS RESULTS IN HIGH FAT DIET MEDIATED IMPAIRED GLUCOSE TOLERANCE IN FEMALES. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT NR4A1 IS A KEY DOWNSTREAM TARGET OF ESTROGEN SIGNALING IN THE BETA CELL, AND THAT NR4A1 LOSS UNDER HIGH FAT FEEDING PREDISPOSES THE ANIMAL TO BETA CELL FAILURE AND ULTIMATELY IMPAIRED GLUCOSE TOLERANCE AND DIABETES. GUIDED BY OUR PRELIMINARY DATA, THIS HYPOTHESIS WILL BE TESTED IN THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS: AIM 1: DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF ESTROGEN SIGNALING ON NR4A1 EXPRESSION IN THE BETA CELL. AIM 2: DETERMINE THE NR4A1 MEDIATED TRANSCRIPTIONAL CHANGES IN THE BETA CELL THAT IMPAIR GLUCOSE TOLERANCE IN HIGH FAT FED FEMALES. AIM 3: DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF NR4A1 BETA CELL DELETION IN A MOUSE MODEL OF GESTATIONAL DIABETES. THE PROPOSAL IS INNOVATIVE BECAUSE IT ELUCIDATES NOVEL FUNCTIONS OF NR4A1 REGULATION BY ESTROGEN IN THE FEMALE BETA CELL. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT FILLS FUNDAMENTAL GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF AN UNDERSTUDIED BETA CELL REGULATOR, NR4A1, ITS REGULATION BY THE ESTROGEN SIGNALING PATHWAY, AND THE LINK TO INCREASED TYPE 2 DIABETES IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN AND GESTATIONAL DIABETES IN PREGNANT WOMEN.

CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL CHIMERIC AUTOANTIGEN RECEPTOR (CAAR) TREATMENT FOR GRAVES' DISEASE - PROGRAM DIRECTOR/PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (LAST, FIRST, MIDDLE): WEBER, K. SCOTT PROJECT SUMMARY GRAVES’ DISEASE (GD) IS THE FOURTH MOST COMMON AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE IN THE UNITED STATES, AFFECTING ~6.5 MILLION PEOPLE, THAT PRIMARILY RESULTS IN HYPERTHYROIDISM. THE IMMUNOPATHOGENESIS OF THE DISEASE IS INITIATED BY AUTOREACTIVE B CELLS WHICH SECRETE ANTIBODIES THAT BIND TO THE THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE RECEPTOR (TSHR). THESE ANTI-TSHR AUTOANTIBODIES (TRABS) ARE THE CRITICAL CAUSE OF DISEASE. THEY BIND TO TSHR ON THYROID CELLS, CAUSING CHRONIC STIMULATION AND OVERPRODUCTION OF THYROID HORMONES. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE NO TREATMENTS AVAILABLE TO ADDRESS THE DISEASE CAUSING MECHANISM OF GD, THE TRAB PRODUCING B CELLS. THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO APPLY THE CONCEPT OF CHIMERIC ANTIGEN RECEPTOR (CAR) T CELL THERAPY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL AND POTENTIALLY CURATIVE TREATMENT FOR GD. THIS WILL BE DONE BY GENERATING A CHIMERIC AUTOANTIGEN RECEPTOR (CAAR), WHICH REPLACES THE BINDING DOMAIN OF A STANDARD CAR WITH A FRAGMENT OF THE TSHR. THE TSHR FRAGMENT ACTS AS BAIT FOR AUTOREACTIVE B CELLS, BECAUSE THE B CELL RECEPTORS (BCR) ON THEIR SURFACE BIND TO TSHR JUST AS SOLUBLE TRABS DO. WE HAVE ENGINEERED TSHR CAAR T CELLS, AND OUR PRELIMINARY DATA SHOW THAT THE CAAR T CELLS BIND TO ANTI-TSHR ABS AND B CELL RECEPTORS, ACTIVATE SIGNIFICANTLY, AND CAN SPECIFICALLY ELIMINATE ANTI-TSHR B CELLS, BUT NOT OTHER B CELLS. WE WILL FURTHER CHARACTERIZE THESE GD CAAR T CELLS BY PERFORMING THE FOLLOWING AIMS. 1) WE WILL PERFORM SEVERAL CYTOTOXICITY ASSAYS TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF OUR CAAR T CELLS AT ELIMINATING ANTI-TSHR B CELLS WHILE NOT HARMING OTHER B CELLS. FLOW CYTOMETRY BASED CYTOTOXICITY, PROLIFERATION, CYTOKINE SECRETION ASSAYS, AND A DIRECT CYTOTOXICITY ASSAY WILL BE PERFORMED. 2) WE WILL EVALUATE THE INFLUENCE OF SOLUBLE TRABS IN GD PATIENTS THAT WILL LIKELY BIND TO OUR CAAR T CELLS, WHICH COULD HAVE AN INHIBITORY OR ACTIVATING EFFECT. WE WILL PERFORM CYTOTOXICITY EXPERIMENTS IN THE PRESENCE OF PHYSIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT LEVELS OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE TRABS AND GD PATIENT SERUM. WE WILL ALSO EVALUATE CYTOTOXICITY IN THE PRESENCE OF THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE TO DETERMINE ITS POSSIBLE EFFECT ON THE CAAR T CELLS. 3) WE WILL DEVELOP A BISPECIFIC LINK CAAR TO FURTHER INCREASE THE SAFETY AND SPECIFICITY OF THE TREATMENT, BY REQUIRING BINDING TO ANTI-TSHR BCR/AB AND A B CELL MARKER, CD19, TO INITIATE THE CAAR T CELL CYTOTOXICITY. THESE LINK CAAR T CELLS WILL BE COMPARED TO OUR ORIGINAL CAAR T CELLS FOR THEIR EFFICIENCY, SPECIFICITY, AND ABILITY TO ACTIVATE ONLY ON TARGET. THUS, THIS PROJECT APPLIES CONCEPTS OF CAR T CELL THERAPY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL AND POTENTIALLY CURATIVE IMMUNOTHERAPY TREATMENT FOR GRAVES’ DISEASE. PROJECT SUMMARY

USING CATALYST SPECIATION TO CONTROL REACTIVITY AND ADDRESS LONGSTANDING CHALLENGES IN CROSS COUPLING REACTIONS - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE ADVENT OF CROSS COUPLING TECHNOLOGIES HAS EXPANDED ACCESS TO THE TYPES OF MOLECULES AVAILABLE FOR DRUG SCREENING AND ACCELERATED THE SYNTHESIS OF SUCH COMPOUNDS. KEY TO THESE ADVANCES IN CROSS COUPLINGS IS THE DISCOVERY AND APPLICATION OF PRIVILEGED LIGAND SCAFFOLDS THAT ENABLE HIGH REACTIVITY AND BROAD SUBSTRATE SCOPE ACROSS DIFFERENT REACTION TYPES. IN THIS PROPOSAL, WE DEMONSTRATE THAT 2-PHSOPHINOIMIDAZOLE (2-PI) LIGANDS REPRESENT A NEW PRIVILEGED LIGAND CLASS FOR ADDRESSING KEY CHALLENGES IN CROSS COUPLING CHEMISTRY. OUR PRELIMINARY DATA DEMONSTRATES THAT 2-PI LIGANDS CAN ACCESS UNIQUE CATALYTIC SPECIES BY TRANSFORMING INTO BIDENTATE P–N COORDINATION COMPLEXES, MIXED N-H N-HETEROCYCLIC CARBENE/PHOSPHINITE COMPLEXES, OR BIMETALLIC COMPLEXES. EACH OF THESE TYPES OF CATALYSTS ACHIEVES HIGH REACTIVITY IN SPECIFIC CROSS COUPLING REACTIONS, AND OUR EFFORTS TO ACCESS AND FAVOR SPECIFIC CATALYST STRUCTURES IN CATALYSIS ARE PROVIDING PRODUCTIVE SOLUTIONS TO DIFFICULT SUBSTRATE CLASSES IN CROSS COUPLING REACTIONS. IN PARTICULAR, THE 2- PI LIGANDS ENABLE EFFICIENT CATALYSIS IN BOTH SUZUKI AND BUCHWALD-HARTWIG (BH) AMINATIONS WITH ARYL CHLORIDE SUBSTRATES, INCLUDING FOR HETEROCYCLIC CHLORIDES COMMON IN FDA APPROVED PHARMACEUTICALS. IN AIM 1, WE WILL CONDUCT STRUCTURE ACTIVITY STUDIES TO DETERMINE HOW LIGAND STRUCTURE CAN INFLUENCE AND FAVOR SPECIFIC CATALYST FORMS, WHETHER IT BE THE P–N COORDINATION COMPLEX, N-H NHC/PHOSPHINITE FORMATION, OR BIMETALLIC COMPLEX FORMATION. WE WILL THEN TEST AND OPTIMIZE THESE LIGANDS AND CATALYST STRUCTURES IN SUZUKI AND BH AMINATION REACTIONS THAT EMPLOY CHALLENGING STERICALLY HINDERED AND HETEROARYL CHLORIDES, SENSITIVE HETEROARYL BORONIC ACID NUCLEOPHILES, AND STERICALLY HINDERED AMINE NUCLEOPHILES. IN AIM 2, WE WILL OPTIMIZE CATALYST STRUCTURE WITH OUR 2-PI LIGANDS TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENT CATALYSIS WITH A BROAD RANGE OF HETEROARYL CHLORIDE SUBSTRATES UNDER MILD REACTION CONDITIONS. WE WILL ALSO EXPAND OUR EFFORTS TO OPTIMIZE ULLMAN-TYPE COUPLINGS FOR C-O AND C–S BOND FORMATION. IN AIM 3, WE WILL CAPITALIZE ON THE ABILITY OF OUR MONOSUBSTITUTED N-H NHC PD COMPLEXES TO PERFORM H-BONDING ACCELERATED CATALYSIS IN HECK REACTIONS WITH ALKENYL ALCOHOL SUBSTRATES. WE WILL ALSO OPTIMIZE REACTION CONDITIONS FOR A TANDEM HECK/HYDROALKOXYLATION REACTION THAT GENERATES TETRAHYDROFURAN PRODUCTS IN A SINGLE STEP. THE STUDIES PRESENTED HEREIN ARE HIGHLY AMENABLE TO PARTICIPATION BY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS AND MANY OF THE OPTIMIZATION STUDIES PROPOSED WILL BE LED BY SENIOR UNDERGRADUATES. THE RESULT OF THESE STUDIES WILL BE NEW TOOLS FOR SYNTHETIC AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY THAT CAPITALIZE ON THE POTENTIAL OF 2-PI LIGANDS TO TRANSFORM INTO DIFFERENT METAL COMPLEXES DURING CATALYSIS.

MULTIFUNCTIONAL ENZYME-LIKE CATALYSTS FOR ORGANIC SYNTHESIS

THRIVING IN A DIGITAL WORLD: EXAMINING TRAJECTORIES OF HEALTHY AND PROBLEMATIC MEDIA USE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

GENETIC PREDISPOSITION AND MISDIAGNOSIS OF CANCER IN ALL OF US PARTICIPANTS - SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE ESTIMATES ~40% OF PERSONS IN THE UNITED STATES WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIVES (HTTPS://WWW.CANCER.GOV). WHILE 5-YEAR SURVIVAL RATES CONTINUE TO INCREASE DUE TO IMPROVEMENTS IN CLINICAL CARE, THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION REPORTS CANCER IS STILL THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE UNITED STATES (WWW.CDC.GOV). INNOVATIVE MEASURES AND LARGER DATASETS ARE REQUIRED TO CONTINUE THESE IMPROVING TRENDS IN CLINICAL CARE(RAHIB ET AL. 2021). THE LAST 15 YEARS OF CANCER RESEARCH HAS BENEFITED TREMENDOUSLY FROM THE ADVENT OF NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCE TECHNOLOGIES. EVER PRESENT IN THIS GENOMICS REVOLUTION IS THE CANCER GENOME ATLAS (TCGA). FOR OVER A DECADE, TCGA LED THE WAY TO MOLECULARLY CHARACTERIZE OVER 10,000 TUMORS FROM 33 DIFFERENT CANCER TYPES(ELLROTT ET AL. 2018; DING ET AL. 2018; BAILEY ET AL. 2018). FROM THESE EFFORTS AROSE A COMMON THEME THAT ALL TUMORS ARE UNIQUE, BUT MANY SHARE PROGNOSTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC DRIVERS OF DISEASE. AMONG THESE BIOMARKERS ARE CANCER PREDISPOSITION OR GERMLINE MUTATIONS CONTRIBUTING TO CANCER DEVELOPMENT(K.-L. HUANG ET AL. 2018). DESPITE THIS LARGE EFFORT, TCGA IS A CASE SET HEAVILY BIASED TOWARD CANCER TYPE SELECTION AND POST-CANCER DATA COLLECTION, THUS MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY PREDICTIVE OR PREVENTIVE DISEASE MODELS. TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, AND MANY OTHERS CONCERNING HUMAN HEALTH, THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH HAS UNITED TO PRODUCE THE ALL OF US RESEARCH PROGRAM(RAMIREZ ET AL. 2022). THIS PHENOMENAL PROGRAM CURRENTLY HAS OVER 400,000 PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE AGREED TO SHARE THEIR ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS (EHR) AND GENETIC INFORMATION(DOERR ET AL. 2021). THIS NUMBER IS EXPECTED TO GROW TO ONE MILLION BY ITS CONCLUSION. PARTICIPANT SELECTION IS DISEASE AGNOSTIC, AND RECRUITMENT HAS FOCUSED ON UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, WITH ALMOST 50% OF PARTICIPANTS REPORTING NON-WHITE. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE INSURANCE BILLING CODES SUGGESTS THE ALL OF US COLLECTION WILL BE A FRUITFUL DATASET TO STUDY CANCER. WE FOUND 35% (34,849 OF 98,553, VERSION 6 RELEASE) HAVE (OR HAD) REPORTED NEOPLASMS. FURTHERMORE, THIS 35% MAKES UP ~80% OF ALL BILLING CODE OCCURRENCES SHARED IN THE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD, AGAIN HIGHLIGHTING THE ALL OF US DATASET WILL BE A REWARDING ENVIRONMENT TO STUDY CANCER. HERE, WE PROPOSE TWO AMBITIOUS AIMS RUN BY TWO TEAMS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS THAT WILL ACHIEVE OUR OVERALL OBJECTIVE TO CHARACTERIZE AND QUANTIFY THE IMPACT OF KNOWN PREDISPOSITION CANCER MUTATIONS AND DEVELOP MODELS FOR CANCER MISDIAGNOSIS IN THE ALL OF US RESEARCH PROGRAM. SEPARATED BY GENOTYPE AND ENVIRONMENT, THESE AIMS SEEK TO I) IDENTIFY AND ASSESS THE GENETIC INTERSECTION OF CANCER PREDISPOSITION DATABASES WITH THE ALL OF US GENOMICS COHORT AND II) DISCOVER COMPUTATIONAL ALGORITHMS AND FEATURES THAT CAN PREDICT CANCER MISDIAGNOSIS. COLLECTIVELY, THESE AIMS ENCOMPASS DOABLE TASKS FOR WELL-TRAINED UNDERGRADUATES IN BIOINFORMATICS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO ADVANCING THE CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNITY BEYOND TUMOR-SPECIFIC PHENOTYPES BY EXPLORING THE WHOLE INDIVIDUAL TO FIND NOVEL LINKS TO COMORBIDITIES AND CANCER TRIGGERS TO HELP ELUCIDATE THE MISSING HERITABILITY IN CANCER.

PROJECT TITLE '' TWO-STEP CHLORIDE VOLATILITY PROCESS FOR REPROCESSING USED NUCLEAR FUEL FROM ADVANCED REACTORS.'' TWO-STEP CHLORIDE VOLATILITY (TSCV) PROVIDES A SOLVENTLESS SEPARATION SCHEME WHICH REDUCES WASTE BY CO-EXTRACTING URANIUM AND TRANSURANIC ELEMENTS (TRU) FROM UNF, ELIMINATING HIGH-LEVEL LIQUID WASTE FROM REPROCESSING USED NUCLEAR FUEL (UNF) IN SOLVENTS, AND RECYCLING HCL AND CL2 GAS WITHIN THE PROCESS.

TYPE 1 DIABETES: DYADIC HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND COMMUNAL COPING AS PREDICTORS OF GLYCEMIC CONTROL AMONG EMERGING ADULT COUPLES - ABSTRACT EMERGING ADULTHOOD IS A TIME WHEN PERSONS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES (PWD) MAKE MAJOR TRANSITIONS INTO COMMITTED RELATIONSHIPS. T1D PARTNERS (T1DP) PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN DIABETES MANAGEMENT DURING EMERGING ADULTHOOD IN PROVIDING (OR NOT) SUPPORT. ALTHOUGH STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANT DISTRESS IN PWD AND T1DP, RESEARCH HAS NOT EXAMINED THE DYADIC ENVIRONMENT OF DIABETES MANAGEMENT IN RELATION TO BLOOD GLUCOSE. THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED TO IDENTIFY HOW (A) DYADIC HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND (B) THE DYADIC COMMUNAL COPING OF COUPLES WITH T1D BENEFIT DIABETES MANAGEMENT DURING EMERGING ADULTHOOD. ESTABLISHING PATTERNS OF HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND DYADIC T1D MANAGEMENT ROUTINES THAT IMPROVE GLYCEMIC CONTROL DURING EMERGING ADULTHOOD ARE CRUCIAL AS THESE PATTERNS ARE LIKELY TO CARRY INTO ADULTHOOD. OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO DEVELOP DYADIC BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS THAT FACILITATE HEALTHY T1D MANAGEMENT AND DECREASE COMPLICATIONS AMONG EMERGING ADULTS WITH T1D. OUR OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO IDENTIFY HOW DAILY T1DP HEALTH BEHAVIORS (SLEEP HEALTH, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, NUTRITION) AND COMMUNAL COPING RELATE TO GLUCOSE OUTCOMES. WE WILL TEST OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESES THAT HEALTHY PARTNER BEHAVIORS AND SUPPORTIVE COMMUNAL COPING WILL PREDICT BETTER GLYCEMIC CONTROL. WE USE DAILY DIARY AND EMA METHODS TO EXPLORE HOW PARTNER HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND COMMUNAL COPING RELATE TO AVERAGE GLUCOSE, TIME- IN-RANGE, AND RETURN TO EUGLYCEMIA FOLLOWING HYPO/HYPERGLYCEMIC EXCURSIONS. THE PROPOSED STUDY TARGETS NOVEL AVENUES OF IMPROVING BLOOD GLUCOSE OUTCOMES IN A CRITICAL PERIOD OF LIFE FOR THOSE WITH T1D. TO ACHIEVE THIS OBJECTIVE, WE WILL (1) IDENTIFY HOW DAILY PARTNER HEALTH BEHAVIORS RELATE TO PWD GLYCEMIC CONTROL AMONG 200 COUPLES, ACROSS 14 DAYS AND (2) IDENTIFY PARTNER COMMUNAL COPING BEHAVIORS DURING ACUTE HYPO/HYPERGLYCEMIC EVENTS THAT FACILITATE TIMELY RETURN TO EUGLYCEMIA. THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES WILL DEMONSTRATE HOW PARTNER COMMUNAL COPING DURING HYPO/HYPERGLYCEMIC EVENTS SUPPORT A HEALTHY RETURN TO EUGLYCEMIA. IT IS URGENT TO EXAMINE THE DYADIC STRATEGIES OF COUPLES FACING T1D AT THE CRITICAL DEVELOPMENTAL PERIOD OF EMERGING ADULTHOOD WHEN LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIPS AND LIFELONG HEALTH HABITS ARE FIRST FORMED. THE PROPOSED STUDY IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL PROVIDE THE FIRST DYADIC EVIDENCE ABOUT THIS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT PERIOD WHEN PWD FORM LASTING DIABETES CARE HABITS IN COMMITTED RELATIONSHIPS. ULTIMATELY, SUCH KNOWLEDGE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO HELP SET THE STAGE FOR BETTER PWD HEALTH OUTCOMES IN MID AND LATER LIFE.

NATURAL RESOURCES SUPPORT FOR UTAH TEST AND TRAINING RANGE (UTTR), LOCATED IN UTAH AND NEVADA.

IMPROVEMENT OF MODELING PREDICTIONS IN FRICTION STIR WELDING BY MORE ACCURATE MEASUREMENT OF HEAT TRANSFER BETWEEN TOOLING AND WORKPIECE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: LIFE: LEVERAGING AGRICULTURAL WEEDS TO UNDERSTAND EVOLUTIONARY CONVERGENCE. -MODERN AGRICULTURE IS ESSENTIAL FOR FEEDING THE WORLD'S GROWING POPULATION, BUT WEEDY PLANTS THAT INVADE CROP FIELDS CAUSE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN LOSSES ANNUALLY AND THREATEN FOOD SECURITY. WHILE MOST NON-CROP PLANTS STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE IN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS, SOME SPECIES HAVE RAPIDLY EVOLVED TO THRIVE IN THESE HUMAN-MANAGED LANDSCAPES, BECOMING PERSISTENT PROBLEMS FOR FARMERS. THIS RESEARCH INVESTIGATES HOW THESE WEEDY PLANTS EVOLVED SO SUCCESSFULLY, USING A PLANT GENUS CALLED AMARANTHUS THAT INCLUDES SOME OF THE MOST TROUBLESOME AGRICULTURAL WEEDS IN NORTH AMERICA. UNDERSTANDING THE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS THAT ALLOW CERTAIN PLANTS TO QUICKLY ADAPT TO NEW ENVIRONMENTS LIKE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS IS CRUCIAL FOR DEVELOPING MORE EFFECTIVE, SUSTAINABLE WEED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND FOR PREDICTING WHICH SPECIES MIGHT BECOME FUTURE PROBLEMS. THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL HELP FARMERS AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENTISTS STAY AHEAD OF EVOLVING CHALLENGES WHILE ALSO ADVANCING OUR BROADER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ORGANISMS ADAPT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS. THE PROJECT WILL ADVANCE EDUCATION BY TRAINING STUDENTS SPANNING URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES, THROUGH A NEW PLANT EVOLUTION CURRICULUM, CREATING INTERNATIONAL GENOMICS WORKSHOPS, AND ENGAGING LOCAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS THAT HELP TRACK WEED DISTRIBUTIONS WHILE BUILDING SCIENTIFIC LITERACY. THIS RESEARCH WILL GENERATE HIGH-QUALITY GENOME-WIDE DATA FOR NEARLY ALL SPECIES IN THE GENUS AMARANTHUS, WHICH CONTAINS 11 GLOBALLY IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL WEEDS ALONGSIDE NON-WEEDY RELATIVES, PROVIDING AN UNPRECEDENTED DATASET FOR STUDYING CONVERGENT EVOLUTION IN RESPONSE TO AGRICULTURE. THE PROJECT COMBINES PHYLOGENOMIC ANALYSES ACROSS THE GENUS WITH DETAILED POPULATION GENOMIC STUDIES OF THREE FOCAL WEED SPECIES (A. PALMERI, A. RETROFLEXUS, AND A. ALBUS) COLLECTED FROM AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL HABITATS. COMMON GARDEN EXPERIMENTS WILL TEST HYPOTHESES ABOUT KEY TRAITS THAT FACILITATE WEEDINESS, INCLUDING GERMINATION UNDER STRESS CONDITIONS, COMPETITIVE ABILITY, AND PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY. ADVANCED COMPARATIVE GENOMIC METHODS WILL IDENTIFY REGIONS OF ACCELERATED EVOLUTION IN WEEDY LINEAGES AND DISTINGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT SOURCES OF ADAPTIVE GENETIC VARIATION, INCLUDING ANCESTRAL POLYMORPHISMS, INTROGRESSION BETWEEN SPECIES, AND PARALLEL MUTATIONS. THE RESEARCHERS WILL INTEGRATE GENOMIC AND PHENOTYPIC DATA THROUGH PHYLOGENETIC GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES TO MAP THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN GENOTYPE, PHENOTYPE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SELECTION PRESSURES. THIS MULTI-SCALE APPROACH WILL REVEAL THE GENETIC ARCHITECTURE UNDERLYING CONVERGENT ADAPTATION TO AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS AND PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO THE REPEATABILITY OF EVOLUTIONARY RESPONSES TO HUMAN-MEDIATED ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. 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.

AMBIENT LEVEL HYDROXYL RADICAL (OH) DETECTION USING BROADBAND CAVITY ENHANCED ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY (BBCEAS) IN AN OPEN-PATH CONFIGURATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CPS: MEDIUM: DATA DRIVEN MODELING AND ANALYSIS OF ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEMS -- MANIFOLD LEARNING AND APPROXIMATION -THIS NSF CPS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP NEW TECHNIQUES FOR MODELING CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS THAT WILL ADDRESS FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH SCALE AND COMPLEXITY IN MODERN ENGINEERING. THE PROJECT WILL TRANSFORM HUMAN INTERACTION WITH COMPLEX CYBER-PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERED SYSTEMS, INCLUDING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SUCH AS INTERCONNECTED ENERGY NETWORKS. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH A NOVEL COMBINATION OF DATA-DRIVEN TECHNIQUES AND PHYSICS-BASED APPROACHES TO GIVE MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELS THAT ARE AT ONCE ABSTRACT ENOUGH TO BE UNDERSTOOD BY HUMANS MAKING KEY ENGINEERING DECISIONS AND PRECISE ENOUGH TO MAKE QUANTITATIVE PREDICTIONS. THE INTELLECTUAL MERITS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE A NOVEL CONFLUENCE OF EMERGING DATA SCIENCE AND MODEL-ANALYSIS METHODS, INCLUDING MANIFOLD LEARNING AND INFORMATION GEOMETRY. THE BROADER IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE THE TRAINING OF UNDERGRADUATES, INCLUDING THOSE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES, SEVERAL OUTREACH ACTIVITIES, AND PUBLICLY AVAILABLE OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE. ENGINEERING REQUIREMENTS OFTEN MAKE INCOMPATIBLE DEMANDS ON MODELS. DETAILED MODELS MAKE HIGHLY ACCURATE PREDICTIONS, BUT COARSE MODELS ARE EASIER TO INTERPRET. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP TECHNIQUES TO OVERCOME THIS INHERENT CONTRADICTION. ON THE ONE HAND, DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES ALLOW US TO EFFICIENTLY CONSTRUCT BLACK BOX PREDICTIVE MODELS WITH LIMITED GENERALIZABILITY. AT THE SAME TIME, RECENT ADVANCES IN INFORMATION GEOMETRY HAVE PRODUCED MODEL REDUCTION METHODS THAT SYSTEMATICALLY DERIVE SIMPLE, INTERPRETABLE MODELS FROM PHYSICAL FIRST PRINCIPLES THAT SUMMARIZE RELEVANT MECHANISMS NEEDED FOR MODEL TRANSFERABILITY. COMBINING THESE TECHNOLOGIES WILL ENABLE USEFUL MAPPINGS BETWEEN ?PHYSICALLY EXPLAINABLE? REDUCED MODELS AND QUANTITATIVE DATA. THESE DATA-DRIVEN TOOLS WILL ENABLE ?THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS? ? PHYSICALLY INTERPRETABLE MODELS THAT MAKE QUANTITATIVE PREDICTIONS. WE WILL COMBINE A MEANINGFUL, QUALITATIVELY CORRECT BUT QUANTITATIVELY INACCURATE REDUCED MODEL WITH A DATA-DRIVEN TRANSFORMATION. THE PROJECT TEAM BRINGS TOGETHER DOMAIN-SPECIFIC EXPERTISE IN PHYSICAL MODELING, ENERGY SYSTEMS, AND DATA-DRIVEN LEARNING. WE WILL APPLY THIS APPROACH TO ADDRESS KEY OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES IN INTERCONNECTED ENERGY NETWORKS. THE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY WILL APPLY TO MODELING ANY COMPLEX CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEM. 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.

ENHANCING STORAGE CAPACITY, ORGANIZATION, AND ONLINE DATA AVAILABILITY FOR THE BYU HERBARIUM -AN AWARD IS MADE TO BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY (BYU) TO ENABLE MODERNIZED LONG-TERM PRESERVATION OF OVER 530,000 HERBARIUM SPECIMENS, INCLUDING DIGITAL IMAGING AND BASELINE RECORDING OF SPECIMEN DATA FOR 225,000 SPECIMENS NOT YET DATABASED. DIGITIZED SPECIMEN DATA PRODUCED THROUGH THIS PROJECT WILL BE SEARCHABLE AND AVAILABLE VIA THE INTERNET TO LAND MANAGERS AND AGENCY PERSONNEL, WHICH WILL ENHANCE SOUND MANAGEMENT POLICIES BASED ON SPECIES DISTRIBUTION DATA. THESE DATA WILL ALSO BE SEARCHABLE BY THE PUBLIC, ENABLING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPLORING NATURE AND SPECIES DIVERSITY OF THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST BY ANYONE. THIS PROJECT WILL INVOLVE TRAINING AND LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR ONE GRADUATE STUDENT AND MANY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN A MENTORED-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT EMPHASIZES CURATORIAL PRACTICES AND VARIOUS USES OF SPECIMEN-BASED DATA. STUDENT EXPERTISE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO AN EXPANSIVE PUBLIC TREE OF LIFE EXHIBIT BEING DEVELOPED BY THE MUSEUM THAT HIGHLIGHTS CRITICAL BUT OFTEN OVERLOOKED ASPECTS AND IMPACTS OF SPECIES DIVERSITY ON EVERYDAY LIFE. THE BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY HERBARIUM IS THE LARGEST HERBARIUM IN THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST IN SIZE, SPECIES REPRESENTATION, AND GEOGRAPHIC BREADTH. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE CABINETRY AND INSTALLATION ONTO A COMPACT STORAGE SYSTEM ALREADY INSTALLED BY THE UNIVERSITY. THE NEW STORAGE SYSTEM WILL PRESERVE THE VALUE OF EXISTING SPECIMENS, BY ELIMINATING OVERCROWDING THAT CAN LEAD TO SPECIMEN DAMAGE, AND WILL ALSO PROVIDE SPACE FOR FUTURE GROWTH. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT PURCHASE OF NEW CAMERAS FOR HIGHER-RESOLUTION IMAGING OF SPECIMENS. THEN, AS SPECIMENS ARE MOVED INTO THE NEW CABINETRY, THE IMAGES WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO A MODERNIZED ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES ESSENTIAL DIGITAL SPECIMEN INFORMATION TO IMPROVE THE USE OF THE COLLECTION BY CLIENTELE. AT THE COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT, THE ENTIRE BYU HERBARIUM WILL BE SEARCHABLE ONLINE. 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: MODULATING POWDER BED COHESION TO REDUCE DEFECTS IN BINDER JETTING

NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL CORRELATES OF SENSORY AND COMMUNICATION DYSFUNCTION IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

INVESTIGATING VIRULENCE FUNCTIONS OF MASTITIS-ASSOCIATED EXTRAINTESTINAL PATHOGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI RELEVANT TO HUMAN DISEASE - ABSTRACT/PROJECT SUMMARY EXTRAINTESTINAL ESCHERICHIA COLI (EXPEC) ARE BACTERIA THAT LIVE IN THE INTESTINES OF MAMMALS AND CAUSE LIFE- THREATENING ILLNESSES WHEN THEY INFECT OTHER TISSUES. THE SOCIETAL BURDEN DUE TO THIS GROUP OF PATHOGENS IS VAST AND GROWING, IN PART BECAUSE OF INCREASING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE AND A LACK OF VACCINATION OPTIONS. UROSEPSIS, PNEUMONIA AND NEONATAL MENINGITIS ARE HUMAN DISEASES CAUSED BY THESE STRAINS. OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF PATHOGENESIS OF EXPEC THAT CIRCULATE IN ANIMALS AND HUMANS. MANY ANIMALS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THESE PATHOGENS AND REPRESENT RESERVOIRS FOR HUMAN INFECTION. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS OF THIS APPLICATION, BASED ON SUBSTANTIAL PRELIMINARY DATA, IS THAT SOME MASTITIS STRAINS OF BOVINE ORIGIN ALSO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE DISEASE IN MULTIPLE HOSTS INCLUDING HUMANS. THIS IS A NOVEL FINDING, BASED ON EVIDENCE THAT INCLUDES GENETIC SIMILARITIES WITH HUMAN EXPEC LINEAGES, VIRULENCE IN GALLERIA MELLONELLA INFECTIONS, RESISTANCE TO HUMAN SERUM, AND THE ABILITY TO CAUSE SEPSIS AND URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS IN MICE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS WORK IS TO CHARACTERIZE VIRULENCE FACTORS THAT ALLOW SOME MASTITIS-ASSOCIATED STRAINS TO INFECT MULTIPLE HOSTS AND CAUSE EXTRAINTESTINAL DISEASE. A GENOME-WIDE SCREEN FOR MASTITIS STRAIN M12 VIRULENCE FACTORS LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF A CLUSTER OF CAPSULE BIOSYNTHESIS GENES ENCODING A GROUP 3 CAPSULE. GROUP 3 CAPSULES ARE PRESENT IN MANY EXPEC STRAINS, BUT THEIR ROLES ARE NOT WELL DEFINED. AN UNENCAPSULATED MUTANT STRAIN WAS UNABLE TO INFECT SPLEENS OR KIDNEYS OF MICE. ADDITIONAL MASTITIS-ASSOCIATED STRAINS IN OUR COLLECTION ALSO ENCODE GROUP 3 CAPSULES, WHICH MAY PROMOTE VIRULENCE BY HELPING THESE BACTERIA AVOID NEUTROPHIL PHAGOCYTOSIS. NEUTROPHILS ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR DEFENSE AGAINST MANY BACTERIAL PATHOGENS INCLUDING EXPEC, BUT WE DO NOT FULLY COMPREHEND THE MECHANISMS WHEREBY EXPEC RESIST BEING ENGULFED OR KILLED BY THESE CELLS. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSAL WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: (1) ESTIMATE THE FRACTION OF MASTITIS-ASSOCIATED E. COLI THAT CAN CAUSE DISEASE IN ESTABLISHED MODELS OF HUMAN EXPEC INFECTION. WE WILL UTILIZE NOVEL DNA BARCODING STRATEGIES TO MEASURE COMPETITIVE FITNESS OF MULTIPLE STRAINS IN THESE EXPERIMENTS. (2) CHARACTERIZE THE ROLE OF GROUP 3 CAPSULES FOUND IN MASTITIS-ASSOCIATED STRAINS IN CONDITIONS RELEVANT TO HUMAN DISEASE. WE WILL TEST WHETHER THESE CAPSULES PROMOTE RESISTANCE TO KILLING BY NEUTROPHILS OR SERUM AND DURING EXPERIMENTAL INFECTIONS. (3) IDENTIFY ALL OF THE GENES THAT ARE NEEDED FOR PRODUCTION OF THE M12 GROUP 3 CAPSULE, INCLUDING THOSE BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CAPSULE LOCUS. SINCE BUILDING THE CAPSULE IS A CRITICAL VIRULENCE FUNCTION, THIS COULD IDENTIFY TARGETS FOR NEW THERAPIES. THIS PROPOSAL IS INNOVATIVE BECAUSE IT IS BASED ON THE NOVEL CONCEPT THAT MASTITIS-ASSOCIATED STRAINS ARE POTENTIAL HUMAN PATHOGENS. IT IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WILL PROVIDE GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR EXPEC VIRULENCE IN MULTIPLE HOSTS, AND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EXPEC FOUND IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS. THESE FINDINGS MAY INFORM NEW WAYS TO PREVENT DISEASE CAUSED BY THESE BACTERIA AND IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH.

EQUIPMENT: MRI: TRACK 1 ACQUISITION OF A MULTIPURPOSE X-RAY DIFFRACTOMETER FOR MATERIALS RESEARCH -THIS MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION (MRI) AWARD IS FOR A MULTIPURPOSE X-RAY DIFFRACTOMETER THAT MEETS THE GROWING NEED FOR X-RAY SCATTERING AND DIFFRACTION TECHNIQUES AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY (BYU) AND THE SURROUNDING UNIVERSITIES. IT PROVIDES SEVERAL CAPABILITIES THAT ARE NOVEL AND UNIQUE IN THE REGION. USING THE NEW INSTRUMENT, RESEARCHERS ACROSS CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, GEOLOGY, AND ENGINEERING CAN STUDY THE ATOMIC STRUCTURE OF ADVANCED MATERIALS AT NEW DEPTHS, LEADING TO MORE LIGHTWEIGHT VEHICLES, IMPROVED MAGNETIC MEMORY SYSTEMS, NEW IMAGING METHODS, AND MORE EFFICIENT SYNTHESIS OF MEDICAL AND INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS. THE SYSTEM IS ALSO A CENTRAL COMPONENT OF STUDENT EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AT BYU, WHERE HALF OF STUDENT RESEARCHERS USING THE FACILITIES ARE UNDERGRADUATES. BECAUSE BYU CONSISTENTLY RANKS IN THE TOP UNIVERSITIES WHOSE UNDERGRADUATES GO ON TO RECEIVE DOCTORAL DEGREES, THE INSTRUMENT IS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS. THE INSTRUMENT IS ALSO A VITAL RESEARCH TOOL FOR HALF OF THE WOMEN FACULTY IN CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS AT BYU AND IS USED IN OUTREACH EFFORTS SUCH AS SUMMER CAMPS DESIGNED TO INCREASE THE PARTICIPATION OF FEMALE AND HISPANIC STUDENTS IN SCIENCE IN UTAH. THE INSTRUMENT FEATURES HIGH RESOLUTION POWDER DIFFRACTION, GRAZING INCIDENCE DIFFRACTION, X-RAY REFLECTIVITY, TEXTURE ANALYSIS, MICRODIFFRACTION, AND CAPILLARY DIFFRACTION. NEARLY ALL ARE NEW CAPABILITIES FOR ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS IN UTAH. THESE FEATURES ARE ESSENTIAL IN A WIDE RANGE OF RESEARCH PROJECTS AIMED AT UNDERSTANDING AND OPTIMIZING CURRENT MATERIALS, DESIGNING NEW MATERIALS, AND IMPROVING SYNTHETIC METHODS. A FEW SPECIFIC EXAMPLES INCLUDE: (A) STUDYING THE MICROSTRUCTURE IN STRAINED METALS TO FACILITATE LIGHTWEIGHTING, (B) UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MAGNETIC, ELECTRONIC, AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF EMERGING QUANTUM MATERIALS (C) DESIGNING, OPTIMIZING, AND ORIENTING NEW MATERIALS THAT CAN GENERATE TERAHERTZ FREQUENCIES OF LIGHT FOR USE IN IMAGING, CHEMICAL MONITORING, AND COMMUNICATION, AND (D) CREATING NEW METHODS OF SYNTHESIZING BIMETALLIC THIN FILMS FOR USE IN CATALYSIS. 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.

'RESEARCH IN 'THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DESIGN METHODOLOGIES IN THE CLASSROOM, INDUSTRY, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE' (RECIPIENT'S TECHNICAL AND BUDGET

PROBING MOLECULAR FOLDING AND UNFOLDING RATES THROUGH TIME-RESOLVED MEASUREMENT OF ION-NEUTRAL COLLISION CROSS SECTIONS -WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CHEMICAL MEASUREMENT AND IMAGING PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, PROFESSOR DAVID DEARDEN AND HIS RESEARCH GROUP AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY ARE DEVELOPING NEW TOOLS TO MEASURE THE FOLDING AND UNFOLDING OF SIMPLE, ISOLATED MOLECULES UPON HEATING OR COOLING. THESE FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO DISCOVER HOW MOLECULAR STRUCTURE CORRELATES WITH THE ENERGY IS ASSOCIATED WITH ITS FOLDING/UNFOLDING AND HOW QUICKLY THIS TAKES PLACE, IN THE ABSENCE OF THE COMPLICATING EFFECTS OF OTHER NEARBY MOLECULES. THIS IS KEY INFORMATION, FOR EXAMPLE, IN ADDRESSING PROBLEMS THAT INVOLVE BASIC COMPONENTS OF MOLECULAR DEVICES SUCH AS WHEEL AND AXLE STRUCTURES THAT COULD BE USED IN SWITCHES AND MEMORY STORAGE DEVICES BUILT FROM THE SMALLEST POSSIBLE PARTS, INDIVIDUAL MOLECULES. THESE NEW CHARACTERIZATION METHODS ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO APPLICATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT MANUFACTURING, COMPUTING, AND MEDICINE. THIS WORK WILL BE CARRIED OUT BY GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO WILL BE TRAINED IN ADVANCED ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES THAT ARE VITAL FOR THE U.S. BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY, AND BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO WILL GAIN EXPERIENCE IN CHEMICAL RESEARCH THAT PREPARES THEM TO ENTER THE FUTURE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE. PRIOR STUDIES OF CHANGES IN COLLISION CROSS SECTIONS OF GAS PHASE IONS HAVE FOCUSED ON LARGE PROTEIN MOLECULES AND ARE BASED ON ION MOBILITY OR TRAVELING WAVE TECHNIQUES. SUCH LARGE MOLECULES USUALLY HAVE COMPLEX STRUCTURES, MAKING OBSERVED CHANGES IN COLLISION CROSS SECTIONS DIFFICULT TO INTERPRET, DIFFICULT TO MODEL, AND DIFFICULT TO CORRELATE WITH STRUCTURE. THE WORK TO BE CARRIED OUT HERE USES POWERFUL BUT NON-SPECIALIZED FOURIER TRANSFORM ION CYCLOTRON RESONANCE MASS SPECTROMETRIC (FT-ICR MS) INSTRUMENTATION TO STUDY SMALLER MOLECULES THAT HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF WELL-DEFINED CONFORMATIONAL POSSIBILITIES AND ARE STRAIGHTFORWARD TO MODEL COMPUTATIONALLY, FACILITATING DISCOVERY OF CORRELATIONS BETWEEN STRUCTURE AND FOLDING ENERGETICS AND KINETICS IN A SIMPLE, SOLVENT-FREE ENVIRONMENT. THE OVERALL GOAL IS TO CHARACTERIZE THE CHANGE IN SIZE OF MOLECULES FOLLOWING ACTIVATION THROUGH DESOLVATION, COLLISIONS, OR PHOTON ABSORPTION, FOLLOWED BY SUBSEQUENT COLLISIONAL OR RADIATIVE COOLING. THESE FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE MUCH OF CHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL REACTIVITY AND KINETICS DEPENDS ON MOLECULAR SHAPE, AND THE ABILITY TO CHANGE SHAPE AS WELL AS THE RATE OF CHANGE CAN BE AN IMPORTANT MODULATOR OF CHEMICAL BEHAVIOR. BECAUSE THE CROSS SECTION MEASUREMENT METHODS DEVELOPED HERE HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE TRANSFERABLE TO ORBITRAP MASS SPECTROMETERS AND TO THE EMERGING FIELD OF ELECTROSTATIC LINEAR ION TRAPS, THE TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED HERE ARE EXPECTED TO BE IMMEDIATELY USEFUL FOR INTERPRETATION OF BIOMOLECULAR STUDIES SUCH AS THOSE OF THE COLLISION-INDUCED UNFOLDING OF PEPTIDES. 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.

LIQUID IMPINGEMENT DYNAMICS ON SUPERHEATED SUPERHYDROPHOBIC SURFACES

GOALI/COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING MULTISCALE MECHANICS OF CYCLIC BENDING UNDER TENSION TO IMPROVE ELONGATION-TO-FRACTURE OF HEXAGONAL METALS -AT THE CORE OF VARIOUS STRATEGIES TO REDUCE CONSUMPTION OF FOSSIL FUELS IN THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY IS THE GOAL TO REDUCE STRUCTURAL WEIGHT, GENERALLY TERMED ?LIGHTWEIGHTING?. CERTAIN METALS, SUCH AS TITANIUM AND MAGNESIUM, HAVE CRYSTAL STRUCTURES KNOWN AS HEXAGONAL CLOSED-PACKED (HCP), WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO SUPERIOR STRENGTH-TO-WEIGHT RATIOS. HOWEVER, HCP METALS OFTEN DO NOT HAVE THE REQUIRED DUCTILITY TO FORM THEM INTO THE DESIRED SHAPES AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. INSTEAD OF HEATING THE MATERIAL, WITH THE ACCOMPANYING EXPENSE, THIS GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACADEMIC LIAISON WITH INDUSTRY (GOALI) RESEARCH PROJECT WILL IMPLEMENT, CHARACTERIZE, AND MODEL A NOVEL INCREMENTAL FORMING PROCESS CALLED ?CONTINUOUS BENDING UNDER TENSION? (CBT). THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO DOUBLE THE FORMABILITY OF HCP METALS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. BY WORKING WITH GOALI PARTNER BOEING, THE TEAM WILL SOLVE FORMING PROBLEMS THAT ARE OF IMMEDIATE VALUE TO INDUSTRY WHILE ENABLING THE LIGHTWEIGHTING OF AEROSPACE STRUCTURES. FURTHERMORE, THE MODELING AND MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION TOOLS WILL BE ENCAPSULATED IN OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR FREE ACCESS TO THE ENTIRE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. THE STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THE RESEARCH WILL GAIN KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF INDUSTRIAL CHALLENGES THROUGH INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE PROJECT WILL BE THE INSTIGATION OF AN OUTREACH PROGRAM CALLED CAPSTONE CONNECT. AN ONLINE FORUM WILL BE CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIOR HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS TO CONNECT WITH ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRIAL SPECIALISTS AS THEY TACKLE THEIR FINAL YEAR CAPSTONE PROJECTS. NOT ONLY WILL STUDENTS GAIN DEEPER INSIGHTS INTO ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECTS, BUT THE INTERACTIONS WILL ENLIGHTEN THEM CONCERNING FUTURE STEM CAREERS. WHILE THE ABILITY TO INCREASE ELONGATION-TO-FAILURE (ETF) IN STEELS, FOR EXAMPLE, VIA CBT HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED, APPLICATION TO HCP METALS HAS BEEN LIMITED. FURTHERMORE, A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANICS BEHIND THE IMPROVED DUCTILITY IS REQUIRED TO BOTH OPTIMIZE CBT PROCESS CONDITIONS AND TO TRANSFER THE UNDERLYING IDEAS INTO PRACTICAL FORMING OPERATIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL UTILIZE HIGH RESOLUTION DIGITAL IMAGE CORRELATION (HRDIC) AND HIGH-RESOLUTION ELECTRON BACKSCATTER DIFFRACTION (HREBSD) TO OBSERVE LOCAL SLIP ACTIVITY, STRAIN GRADIENTS, DISLOCATION REARRANGEMENT, SUBSTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSOCIATED BACK STRESSES THAT PLAY A ROLE IN THE REMARKABLE INCREASE IN ETF DURING CBT. THE EXPERIMENTAL CAMPAIGN WILL SERVE TO INFORM AND VALIDATE A NOVEL NON-LOCAL CRYSTAL PLASTICITY FINITE ELEMENT (CPFE) MODEL AT THE CRITICAL MECHANISM LENGTH-SCALE, ENABLING UNDERSTANDING OF MECHANICS IN CBT TO IMPROVE ETF OF HCP METALS. THIS COMBINED EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING EFFORT WILL PROVIDE UNPRECEDENTED INSIGHTS INTO CBT, AND THE PRACTICAL SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT WILL BE DEMONSTRATED VIA THE FORMING OF A LEADING-EDGE TITANIUM COMPONENT WITH BOEING. 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.

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP) -THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP) IS A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, FEDERAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. GRFP HELPS ENSURE THE VITALITY AND DIVERSITY OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING WORKFORCE OF THE UNITED STATES. THE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES AND SUPPORTS OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO ARE PURSUING RESEARCH-BASED MASTER'S AND DOCTORAL DEGREES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) AND IN STEM EDUCATION. THE GRFP PROVIDES THREE YEARS OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE GRADUATE EDUCATION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE DEMONSTRATED THEIR POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS IN STEM AND STEM EDUCATION. THIS AWARD SUPPORTS THE NSF GRADUATE FELLOWS PURSUING GRADUATE EDUCATION AT THIS GRFP INSTITUTION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ACCELERATING THE PACE OF DISCOVERY IN NUMERICAL RELATIVITY BY IMPROVING COMPUTATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND SCALABILITY -THE DAWN OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVE ASTRONOMY IS JUST BEGINNING, AND THE LIGO AND VIRGO GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS HAVE ALREADY MADE SOME STUNNING DISCOVERIES. FUTURE UPGRADES TO THESE DETECTORS, AS WELL AS THE ADVENT OF NEW DETECTORS, SUCH AS KAGRA, WILL SIGNIFICANTLY EXPAND THE RANGE OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVE SCIENCE. AS THE SENSITIVITY OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS IMPROVES OVER THE NEXT DECADE, THE ACCURACY OF NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS OF THESE EVENTS MUST CORRESPONDINGLY INCREASE BY AT LEAST AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE IN THE SAME TIME FRAME. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT COMPUTATIONAL CHALLENGE THAT MUST BE MET TO ENABLE THE FULL SCIENTIFIC POTENTIAL OF THE NEW DETECTORS. THIS PROJECT WILL STUDY MERGERS OF BINARY NEUTRON STARS AND BLACK HOLES USING COMPUTER SIMULATIONS CREATED BY DENDRO-GR, A NEW COMPUTER CODE THAT RUNS VERY EFFICIENTLY ON THE LARGEST SUPERCOMPUTERS. TESTS OF GENERAL RELATIVITY WILL ALSO BE PERFORMED BY EXAMINING ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF GRAVITY. NEW ALGORITHMS FOR SOLVING DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS WILL BE EXPLORED TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF LONG SIMULATIONS OF BINARY MERGERS. WORK DONE FOR THIS PROJECT WILL PROMOTE THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND CONTRIBUTE TO UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE TRAINING IN MULTIPLE STEM FIELDS INCLUDING COMPUTER SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND PHYSICS. FINALLY, DENDRO-GR IS AN OPEN SOURCE PROJECT. THIS PROJECT WILL STUDY THE DYNAMICS OF MERGING BINARY COMPACT OBJECTS AT THE FRONTIER OF CURRENT COMPUTATIONAL CAPABILITIES. THE ABILITY TO MODEL A WIDE VARIETY OF POSSIBLE MERGERS WILL CORRESPONDINGLY INCREASE THE ABILITY OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVE SCIENTISTS TO FIND AND UNDERSTAND THESE HIGH-ENERGY EVENTS, AND TO SEARCH FOR POSSIBLE NEW PHYSICS THAT LIES BEYOND OUR CURRENT GRAVITATIONAL MODELS. THIS PROJECT WILL BE DIRECTED AT THE FOLLOWING GOALS: (1) THE DENDRO-GR COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK WILL BE EXPANDED TO CALCULATE GRAVITATIONAL WAVEFORMS FOR BINARY NEUTRON STAR INSPIRALS OF SUFFICIENT ACCURACY TO BE USED IN WAVEFORM CATALOGS. (2) BINARY BLACK HOLE INSPIRALS WITH LARGE MASS RATIOS WILL BE STUDIED TO EXPAND THE RANGE OF CURRENT WAVEFORM CATALOGS. (3) GRAVITATIONAL WAVEFORMS FOR MERGING BLACK HOLE BINARIES WILL BE CALCULATED WITHIN ALTERNATIVE GRAVITATIONAL THEORIES TO PROBE POSSIBLE DEVIATIONS FROM THE PREDICTIONS OF GENERAL RELATIVITY AND TO SEARCH FOR NEW PHYSICS BEYOND OUR CURRENT MODEL FOR GRAVITY. (4) THE COMPUTATIONAL CHALLENGE OF IMPROVING ACCURACY IN NUMERICAL RELATIVITY WILL BE STUDIED BY FOCUSING ON REDUCING THE TIME-TO-SOLUTION. THIS COMPLICATED PROBLEM REQUIRES A BROAD APPROACH THAT USES GPUS, INNOVATIVE FINITE DIFFERENCING, IMPROVED SPATIAL DISCRETIZATIONS, AND EXPOSING THE TEMPORAL DISCRETIZATION TO MORE PARALLELISM. 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.

INFORMATIONAL GEOMETRY FOR OPTIMAL DESIGN OF GEOACOUSTIC INVERSIONS

ADVANCING MANAGED BIO-INSPIRED COLLECTIVES: USING AN ANALYTICAL MODEL TO DESIGN AND EVALUATE INTERFACES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: NETWORK CLUSTER: USING BIG DATA APPROACHES TO ASSESS ECOHYDROLOGICAL RESILIENCE ACROSS SCALES

THEORY AND DESIGN OF DINUCLEAR CATALYTIC REACTIONS -WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CHEMICAL CATALYSIS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, DANIEL ESS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY IS FOCUSED UPON ADVANCING THE THEORY AND DESIGN OF DI-NUCLEAR CATALYTIC REACTIONS IN CHEMISTRY. DEVELOPING NEW CATALYSTS IS CRITICAL TO DISCOVERING NEW, EFFICIENT CHEMICAL REACTIONS. HISTORICALLY, HOMOGENEOUS CATALYSTS USE JUST ONE METAL ATOM AT THE CORE OF THE CATALYST. IN CONTRAST, DINUCLEAR CATALYSTS HAVE TWO METAL ATOMS AT THE CORE OF THE CATALYST AND HAVE SIGNIFICANT PROMISE FOR NEW DESIGNS AND MODES OF OPERATION. DINUCLEAR CATALYSTS ALSO HOLD PROMISE FOR SPEEDING UP HISTORICALLY SLOW/DIFFICULT CHEMICAL REACTIONS WHERE CURRENT SINGLE METAL CATALYSTS DO NOT PERFORM WELL. CURRENTLY, RESEARCH SCIENTISTS DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW DINUCLEAR CATALYSTS FACILITATE RAPID REACTIONS, OR WHICH DINUCLEAR CATALYSTS SHOULD BE THE TARGET OF SYNTHESIS FOR SPECIFIC CHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS. IN THIS PROJECT DR. DANIEL ESS WILL BE USING COMPUTATIONAL METHODS AND THEORETICAL ANALYSIS TO UNDERSTAND MECHANISMS AND SELECTIVITY OF REACTIONS CATALYZED BY SUCH DINUCLEAR METAL SYSTEMS. THIS WORK, INTERFACED TIGHTLY WITH EXPERIMENTAL COLLABORATION, WILL LEAD TO THE PREDICTION AND EXPERIMENTAL DISCOVERY OF NEW DINUCLEAR CATALYSTS AND CHEMICAL REACTIONS. THIS WORK WILL ALSO PROVIDE TRAINING FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AS WELL AS POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS AT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN CHEMISTRY AND COMPUTER SCIENCE. DANIEL ESS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY IS USING QUANTUM-CHEMICAL METHODS AND THEORETICAL ANALYSES TO MODEL AND UNDERSTAND TRANSITION-METAL HETERODINUCLEAR AND HOMODINUCLEAR CATALYSTS FOR ORGANIC TRANSFORMATIONS. THE DINUCLEAR CATALYSTS BEING INVESTIGATED HAVE DIRECT BONDING BETWEEN TWO TRANSITION METALS AS THE CORE OF THE CATALYST. REACTION MECHANISMS WILL BE INVESTIGATED FOR C-H BOND FUNCTIONALIZATION, C-O BOND REDUCTION, AND DEHYDROGENATION. SELECTIVITY FOR HYDROCARBON SEMI-HYDROGENATION, FOR CYCLIZATION REACTIONS, AND FOR STEREOSELECTIVE ADDITION REACTIONS WILL BE THE FOCI OF THESE INVESTIGATIONS. THIS WORK WILL BE COMBINING QUANTUM-CHEMICAL METHODS AND MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES TO DESIGN NEW HETERODINUCLEAR CATALYSTS. UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS WILL BE TRAINED IN ADVANCED COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES. STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS WILL INTERACT DIRECTLY WITH SEVERAL EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS AND LEARN HOW TO APPLY COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY TECHNIQUES IN AN EXPERIMENTAL ENVIRONMENT. 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 STEM FACULTY INSTITUTE TO PROMOTE FACULTY CHANGE

COULD SLOWER BE BETTER? ASSESSING SINTERING TIME, TEMPERATURE, AND AREA TRADEOFFS IN 3D PRINTING BY POLYMER SINTERING

CAREER: USING PROTOCOL BLIND SPOTS TO DEVELOP OPPORTUNISTIC WIRELESS SUBPROTOCOLS FOR ADVANCED ADAPTABILITY -WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES ARE CONTINUALLY ADVANCING, YET ALREADY DEPLOYED LEGACY DEVICES REMAIN IN USE FOR YEARS, MAKING IT CHALLENGING TO LEVERAGE THE LATEST INNOVATIONS. UPGRADING WIRELESS HARDWARE IS COSTLY, PARTICULARLY FOR LONG-TERM DEPLOYMENTS. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THIS PROBLEM BY ENHANCING THE ADAPTABILITY OF EXISTING WIRELESS DEVICES WITHOUT NEEDING HARDWARE MODIFICATIONS. BY UTILIZING OVERLOOKED ASPECTS OF WIRELESS PROTOCOLS, CALLED PROTOCOL BLIND SPOTS, THIS PROJECT PLANS TO INCREASE THE CAPABILITIES OF CURRENT HARDWARE. TO ACHIEVE THIS, THE PROJECT WILL INTRODUCE SUBPROTOCOLS, WHICH ARE SOFTWARE-BASED EXTENSIONS THAT OPERATE WITHIN AN EXISTING PROTOCOL. IT IS EXPECTED THAT WIRELESS SUBPROTOCOLS WILL LEAD TO ENABLING DEVICES TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE, IMPROVE RESILIENCE AND ADAPTABILITY, AND COMMUNICATE MORE EFFECTIVELY IN DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS. THE INNOVATION OF THIS PROJECT LIES IN THE DESIGN OF WIRELESS SUBPROTOCOLS, A NOVEL APPROACH TO PROTOCOL CREATION BY INCORPORATING A FULLY FUNCTIONAL SUBPROTOCOL WITHIN A BASE PROTOCOL, COMPLETE WITH ITS OWN MODULATION, CODING, AND FRAMING. UNLIKE TRADITIONAL METHODS THAT DEPEND ON HARDWARE UPGRADES, THIS APPROACH LEVERAGES SOFTWARE TO OPPORTUNISTICALLY EXPLOIT PROTOCOL BLIND SPOTS, ENABLING ENHANCEMENTS SUCH AS EXTENDING THE RANGE OF COMMUNICATION, IMPROVING SPECTRUM COORDINATION, AND INCREASING ADAPTABILITY. THE PROJECT CONSISTS OF THREE OBJECTIVES: TO ESTABLISH A TESTBED FOR SUBPROTOCOL DEVELOPMENT, TO CREATE INNOVATIVE SUBPROTOCOLS, AND TO INTEGRATE THESE SUBPROTOCOLS INTO A SOFTWARE PACKAGE THAT ALLOWS SIMULTANEOUS OPERATION OF SUBPROTOCOLS ON A DEVICE. BY PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF SOFTWARE-DEFINED WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS, THIS RESEARCH IS EXPECTED TO INFLUENCE FUTURE PROTOCOL DESIGNS AND ADVANCE THE FIELD OF WIRELESS NETWORKING. THE BROADER IMPACT OF THIS PROJECT EXTENDS TO INDUSTRY, ACADEMIA, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. SINCE SUBPROTOCOLS ARE SOFTWARE-BASED, THEY ARE EXPECTED TO BE EASILY DEPLOYABLE, FACILITATING INDUSTRY ADOPTION AND FOSTERING TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO ESTABLISH A NEW RESEARCH AREA IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS, INFLUENCING THE DESIGN OF FUTURE WIRELESS DEVICES AND IMPROVING THE ADAPTABILITY OF PREVIOUSLY DEPLOYED DEVICES. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT'S SOFTWARE-BASED NATURE LOWERS THE BARRIER TO ENTRY, MAKING WIRELESS RESEARCH MORE ACCESSIBLE TO NEW STUDENTS. HANDS-ON INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS WILL BE DEVELOPED TO ENGAGE STUDENTS AND THE COMMUNITY IN WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY EXPLORATION. 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.

INFORMATIONAL GEOMETRY TO QUANTIFY INFORMATION CONTENT OF SEABED PARAMETERIZATIONS

CAREER: EVALUATING THEORIES OF POLYMER CRYSTALLIZATION BY DIRECTLY CALCULATING THE NUCLEATION BARRIER IN A POLYMER MELT -NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY POLYMERS ARE LONG-CHAIN MOLECULES FOUND IN A WIDE ARRAY OF NATURAL AND MAN-MADE MATERIALS, RANGING FROM DNA, WOOD, AND RUBBER TO PIPING, CLOTHING, AND GROCERY BAGS. MANY ESSENTIAL POLYMER MATERIALS HAVE A STRUCTURE THAT IS AT LEAST PARTIALLY CRYSTALLINE, MEANING THE ATOMS WITHIN THE MOLECULE ARRANGE THEMSELVES REGULARLY IN SPACE. CRYSTALLINITY PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN DETERMINING THE PROPERTIES OF POLYMER MATERIALS, AND THUS IT IS CRITICAL THAT SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND MANIPULATE HOW AND WHEN POLYMERS CRYSTALLIZE. DESPITE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH, THE EXACT MECHANISM BEHIND POLYMERS CRYSTALLIZATION REMAINS UNKNOWN. THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPETING THEORIES, BUT EVIDENCE FROM EXPERIMENTS AND COMPUTER SIMULATIONS HAS BEEN INCONCLUSIVE. THIS PROJECT WILL APPLY A SIMULATION METHOD THAT WAS SUCCESSFULLY USED TO STUDY THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF NON-POLYMERS SUCH AS WATER TO STUDY POLYMERS. THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES WILL FOCUS ON STUDYING HOW THE LENGTH OF THE MOLECULES AND THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POLYMERS AFFECT THE MECHANISM OF CRYSTALLIZATION. SUCCESS WITH THIS NEW APPROACH COULD REVOLUTIONIZE OUR BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW POLYMERS FORM CRYSTALS, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE NEW MATERIALS AND REDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS FROM EXISTING ONES. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO INCLUDE EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES THAT ARE INTEGRATED WITH RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT WILL CREATE MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN UNDERGRADUATES AND K-12 STUDENTS, BETWEEN THE PI AND UNDERGRADUATES, BETWEEN MORE AND LESS EXPERIENCED GRADUATE STUDENTS, AND BETWEEN THE PI AND FUTURE SCIENTISTS THROUGH THE CREATION OF A PODCAST THAT FOCUSES ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN THE SCIENCES. TECHNICAL SUMMARY DESPITE DECADES OF RESEARCH, POLYMER SCIENCE LACKS A WIDELY ACCEPTED THEORY FOR CRYSTALLIZATION FROM THE MELT STATE. THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACCURATE THEORY OF POLYMER CRYSTALLIZATION WOULD NOT ONLY CHANGE TEXTBOOKS, BUT IT WOULD ALSO ENABLE THE CREATION OF NEW POLYMERS WITH BETTER PROPERTIES AND PROCESSES FOR MAKING POLYMERS WITH LESS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. NUCLEATION PROCESSES ARE FOUNDATIONAL TO POLYMER CRYSTALLIZATION, BUT ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT CLASSICAL NUCLEATION THEORY INADEQUATELY EXPLAINS HOMOGENEOUS NUCLEATION, LEADING RESEARCHERS TO PROPOSE CONTROVERSIAL ALTERNATIVE THEORIES. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS OF THIS PROJECT IS THAT EQUILIBRIUM ADVANCED SAMPLING METHODS CAN BE USED TO DIRECTLY CALCULATE THE NUCLEATION BARRIER TO TEST THESE NEW THEORIES. WHILE NEW TO POLYMER CRYSTALLIZATION, ADVANCED SAMPLING METHODS HAVE BEEN USED STUDY NUCLEATION IN OTHER FIELDS, AND THEY HAVE DISTINCT ADVANTAGES OVER OTHER METHODS. ACCORDINGLY, THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON A STUDY OF THE NUCLEATION BARRIER FOR FOLDED-CHAIN CRYSTALS AS A FUNCTION OF POLYMER MOLECULAR WEIGHT AND AS A FUNCTION OF POLYMER CHEMISTRY. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF SIMULATION SOFTWARE FOR COMPUTING FREE ENERGY LANDSCAPES IN LOW-TEMPERATURE POLYMER MELTS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO INVOLVE INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND TEACHING AIMS SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON EFFECTIVE AND SCALABLE MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS SPANNING FROM K-12 THROUGH GRADUATE EDUCATION LEVELS. MENTORING NEW SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS, ESPECIALLY UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, IS A KEY EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT OF CULTIVATING A GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE AND DIVERSE WORKFORCE. SPECIFIC MENTORING ACTIVITIES INCLUDE NEAR-PEER MENTORING AND OUTREACH TO K-12 STUDENTS, PI-MENTORED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH, SCALABLE MENTORING EXPERIENCES THROUGH THE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE PODCAST ``HOW SCIENCE HAPPENS,'' AND NEAR-PEER MENTORING OF GRADUATE STUDENTS THROUGH A CHEMICAL ENGINEERING STUDENT COUNCIL. 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.

BASE YEAR: UNDERSTANDING RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION SOURCES AND ECONOMICS IN THE KANSAS RIVER BASIN FOR US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS KANSAS CITY DISTRICT

PFI-TT: KITS FOR DEVELOPING AERIAL 3D DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY -THE BROADER IMPACT OF THIS PARTNERSHIPS FOR INNOVATION - TECHNOLOGY TRANSLATION (PFI-TT) PROJECT IS TO CREATE A COMMERCIALIZED VERSION OF AN OPTICAL TRAP DISPLAY (OTD) KIT. THE OTD IS AN EMERGING DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY WITH THE ABILITY TO CREATE FULL-COLOR IMAGES IN AIR. THIS PFI PROJECT WILL PRODUCE AERIAL 3D DISPLAYS FROM SCRATCH. THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL ALSO CREATE AN OPEN DATABASE ALLOWING STUDENTS AND ENTREPRENEURS TO COLLABORATE GLOBALLY TO ACCESS A FREE FLOW OF IDEAS, PRACTICES, AND DATA RELATED TO BUILDING AERIAL 3D DISPLAYS. THIS RESEARCH WILL INFORM THE SECOND- AND THIRD-GENERATION PROTOTYPES, PROVIDE CUSTOMER VALIDATION, AND DRIVE THE DEMONSTRATION TO POTENTIAL INVESTORS AND LICENSING PARTNERS; ALL CRITICAL STEPS TOWARD A FUTURE IN WHICH THE SCI-FI DISPLAYS ARE COMMONLY AVAILABLE. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL RESULT IN A SET OF NOVEL, SCALABLE, MARKET-READY OPTICAL TRAP DISPLAY (OTD) KIT PROTOTYPES. RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES OF OPTIMIZING THE TRAPPING PROCESS FOR INTRODUCTORY PARTICLE COLLECTION TO ACHIEVE A KNUDSEN NUMBER CLOSE TO 1 AND A TRAP RATE GREATER THAN 99% AT THE LOWEST ACHIEVABLE LASER POWER. SCALABLE MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES WILL BE INCORPORATED FOR LAB-TO-KIT TRANSLATION AND AN ASSOCIATED STUDENT CURRICULUM WILL BE DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UTAH STEM ACTION CENTER. THE PROTOTYPES WILL EXPAND THE UNDERSTANDING OF THREE OTD PARAMETERS: OPTICAL POWER, PARTICLE DIMENSION (AND ITS RELATION TO THE KNUDSEN NUMBER), AND CRITICAL LENS ALIGNMENT BY BACK-REFLECTION. THE KITS WILL ENABLE AN AUTOMATED, NETWORKED EXPLORATION OF THESE PARAMETERS BY NEW CITIZEN-SCIENTISTS AS THEY SHARE THEIR EXPERIMENTAL DATA. 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.

JFSP PROJECT 17-1-3-10

CURATION AND ANALYSIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, MOLECULAR PROFILES FROM PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME - PROJECT SUMMARY DUE TO MANDATES FROM FUNDING AGENCIES AND PUBLISHERS, HIGH-THROUGHPUT, MOLECULAR DATA FROM DOWN SYNDROME INDIVIDUALS AND CONTROLS (MOSTLY HUMANS AND MICE) ARE AVAILABLE IN PUBLIC REPOSITORIES. RESEARCHERS CAN USE SUCH DATA TO CORROBORATE THEIR OWN FINDINGS AND POSE NEW RESEARCH QUESTIONS. DOING SO WOULD HELP TO LEVERAGE PRIOR INVESTMENTS AND COMPLEMENT EFFORTS BY THE INCLUDE DATA COORDINATING CENTER (DCC) TO GENERATE DATA FOR NEW COHORTS. OUR PROPOSAL FOCUSES SPECIFICALLY ON MRNA EXPRESSION AND DNA METHYLATION DATA. THESE DATA TYPES SHED LIGHT ON HOW GENES ARE REGULATED, HOW MOLECULAR ABERRATIONS LEAD TO MEDICAL CONDITIONS, AND HOW MEDICAL OUTCOMES CAN BE PREDICTED, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO IMPROVED DIAGNOSTICS, TREATMENTS, AND INSIGHTS INTO HUMAN HEALTH AND DISEASE. HOWEVER, MANY DATA-GENERATION PLATFORMS ARE USED FOR THESE DATA TYPES, AND RESEARCHERS USE A WIDE RANGE OF TECHNIQUES FOR NORMALIZING THE DATA, CHECKING DATA QUALITY (IF THEY CHECK AT ALL), AND MAPPING TO GENE ANNOTATIONS. TO REUSE THE DATA MOST EFFECTIVELY, THE DATA MUST BE REPROCESSED FROM ITS ORIGINAL FORM; NORMALIZED AND QUALITY CHECKED CONSISTENTLY; AND MAPPED TO CURRENT ANNOTATIONS. AGENCIES WHO MANAGE PUBLIC REPOSITORIES LACK RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE TO PERFORM THESE STEPS. IN OUR FIRST AIM, WE WILL ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM USING A DATA-CURATION APPROACH. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED 148 DATASETS SPECIFIC TO DOWN SYNDROME THAT WE BELIEVE SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED FOR REUSE. USING OUR EXPERTISE IN MOLECULAR-DATA PROCESSING AND BIOINFORMATICS, WE WILL RE-NORMALIZE, QUALITY-CHECK, SUMMARIZE, AND ANNOTATE THE DATA USING AN APPROACH THAT MAXIMIZES CONSISTENCY FOR ALL OF THE DATASETS. ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL MAP THE METADATA TO BIOMEDICAL-ONTOLOGY TERMS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE INCLUDE DCC. WE EXPECT THAT THESE EFFORTS WILL REDUCE BARRIERS FOR RESEARCHERS IN THE DOWN SYNDROME COMMUNITY TO REUSE THE DATA AND ACCELERATE PROGRESS IN THE FIELD. OUR SECOND AIM FOCUSES ON INTEROPERABILITY. FOR MANY RESEARCH QUESTIONS, A SINGLE DATASET IS INSUFFICIENT. SAMPLE SIZES MAY BE SMALL AND/OR A SINGLE DATASET MAY NOT REPRESENT THE RANGE OF PHENOTYPES OR OTHER FACTORS NECESSARY TO ANSWER A GIVEN QUESTION. THEREFORE, IT IS OFTEN CRUCIAL TO INTEGRATE DATASETS FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES. HOWEVER, SYSTEMATIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DATASETS ARE INEVITABLE DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN POPULATIONS, LABORATORY CONDITIONS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. FAILING TO ADJUST FOR THESE DIFFERENCES WILL LIKELY LEAD TO BIASED CONCLUSIONS. WE WILL EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF USING GENERATIVE NEURAL NETWORKS, A TYPE OF ALGORITHM THAT IS HIGHLY CONFIGURABLE AND IS BEHIND MANY OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE ADVANCES OF THE PAST DECADE. WE WILL APPLY THESE ALGORITHMS IN THE CONTEXT OF STUDYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS THAT CO-OCCUR WITH DS, SUCH AS AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS, DEMENTIA-RELATED DISEASE, CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS, AND LEUKEMIAS. OUR ALGORITHMS WILL SEARCH FOR SYSTEMATIC PATTERNS THAT DIFFER BETWEEN DATASETS AND GENERATE A MODIFIED VERSION OF THE DATA IN WHICH THOSE DIFFERENCES HAVE BEEN MINIMIZED YET THE BIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT PATTERNS HAVE BEEN RETAINED.

THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS A COMPLETE HOMOGENEOUS INVESTIGATION OF KEPLER MTSS TO PROVIDE DETAILED MEASUREMENTS (OR CONSTRAINTS) ON EXOPLANETARY PHYSICAL AND ORBITAL PROPERTIES. CURRENT INVESTIGATIONS DO NOT EXPLOIT THE FULL POWER OF THE KEPLER DATA; HERE WE PROPOSE TO USE BETTER DATA (SHORT CADENCE OBSERVATIONS) BETTER METHODS (PHOTODYNAMICAL MODELING) AND A BETTER STATISTICAL METHOD (BAYESIAN DIFFERENTIAL EVOLUTION MARKOV CHAIN MONTE CARLO) IN A HOMOGENOUS ANALYSIS OF ALL ~700 KEPLER MTSS. THESE TECHNIQUES ARE PARTICULARLY VALUABLE FOR UNDERSTANDING SMALL TERRESTRIAL PLANETS. WE PROPOSE TO EXTRACT THE NEAR-MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF INFORMATION FROM THESE SYSTEMS THROUGH A SERIES OF THREE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SWIFT: LARGE: SPECTRUM SHARING VIA INTERFERENCE-RESILIENT PASSIVE RECEIVERS AND PASSIVE-AWARE ACTIVE SERVICES

THE VALUE OF L-BAND MEASUREMENTS FROM THE SOIL MOISTURE ACTIVE PASSIVE (SMAP) AND SOIL MOISTURE OCEAN SALINITY (SMOS) MISSIONS HAVE SHOWN THE IMPORTANCE OF L-BAND DATA RECORD IN EARTH SCIENCES.

EO14042 METALENS ORIGAMI DEPLOYABLE LIDAR (MODEL) TELESCOPE

2009 SECOND CHANCE ACT MENTORING PROJECT

DYNAMICS OF ORGANOMETALLIC REACTION MECHANISMS -WITH SUPPORT OF THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE, DYNAMICS & MECHANISMS B PROGRAM OF THE CHEMISTRY DIVISION, PROFESSOR DANIEL ESS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY IS DEVELOPING NEW FOUNDATIONAL THEORIES ABOUT HOW THE MOTION OF ATOMS WITHIN MOLECULES DETERMINES THE MECHANISMS AND SELECTIVITY DURING COMPLEX ORGANOMETALLIC REACTIONS. THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO COMBINE QUANTUM MECHANICAL METHODS FOR ENERGY AND FORCES, CLASSICAL MECHANICAL EQUATIONS OF MOTION, AND SOPHISTICATED TREATMENT OF SOLVENT TO DISCOVER NEW REACTION PATHWAYS AND MECHANISMS FOR ORGANOMETALLIC REACTIONS. THIS RESEARCH COULD SIGNIFICANTLY ALTER THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING, INTERPRETATION, AND DESIGN OF ORGANOMETALLIC REACTIONS, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CLASSES OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS. THIS PROJECT COMBINES COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, AND COMPUTER SCIENCE, AND IS A DIVERSE TRAINING GROUND TO PREPARE UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS FOR THE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE. THIS PROJECT USES QUASICLASSICAL DIRECT DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY, MOLECULAR DYNAMICS TRAJECTORIES TO DISCOVER NEW FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF MECHANISMS AND SELECTIVITY FOR ORGANOMETALLIC REACTIONS, WHICH ARE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT REACTION CLASSES IN CHEMISTRY. THIS WORK FOCUSES ON ORGANOMETALLIC REACTIONS WITH CLOSE ELECTRONIC SPIN STATES AND POSSIBLE SPIN CROSSOVER DURING TRAJECTORIES. ADDITIONALLY, THIS WORK FOCUSES ON DEVELOPING AND APPLYING SOPHISTICATED PROTOCOLS FOR MODELING EXPLICIT SOLVENT DURING ORGANOMETALLIC REACTION TRAJECTORIES. ORGANOMETALLIC REACTIONS THAT ARE BEING EXAMINED INCLUDE RADICAL CYCLIZATION REACTIONS, BOND ACTIVATION REACTIONS, AND METAL OXO REACTIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MARTENSITIC TRANSFORMATIONS IN PARAELECTRIC SHAPE MEMORY CERAMICS ACTIVATED BY AN ELECTRIC FIELD -NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY A MARTENSITIC TRANSFORMATION IS A STRUCTURE CHANGE THAT TAKES PLACE IN SOME CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS, IN WHICH THE ATOMS SPONTANEOUSLY AND RAPIDLY RESHUFFLE INTO A NEW CRYSTAL STRUCTURE IN A COORDINATED WAY. IN SOME MATERIALS THIS TRANSFORMATION IS REVERSIBLE, SO THAT THE MATERIAL CAN REPEATEDLY TRANSFORM BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN TWO SHAPES, GIVING RISE TO THE PROPERTY OF ?SHAPE MEMORY?. IN A MARTENSITIC CERAMIC LIKE ZIRCONIA, THE SHAPE CHANGE IS VERY LARGE (ELONGATING AND CONTRACTING A SHAPE BY ~10%) AND IT ALSO EXERTS VERY LARGE FORCES. FOR THIS REASON, SHAPE MEMORY MATERIALS ARE LIKE ?SOLID-STATE ENGINES?, ABLE TO DO WORK ON THEIR SURROUNDINGS AS ACTUATORS. WHAT IS MORE, IT HAS BEEN RECENTLY DISCOVERED THAT SHAPE MEMORY ZIRCONIA CAN BE TRANSFORMED BY APPLYING ELECTRIC FIELDS TO IT, WHICH OPENS THE DOOR TO ELECTRONIC CONTROL OVER SHAPE MEMORY. WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CERAMICS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF MATERIALS RESEARCH, THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES THE NEW PROPERTY OF ELECTRICAL SHAPE MEMORY IN CERAMICS AND DEVELOPS TOOLS TO DISCOVER AND DESIGN NEW CERAMIC MATERIALS THAT EXHIBIT THIS PROPERTY. THE PROJECT CONSISTS OF COMPUTATIONAL AND THEORETICAL EFFORTS TO UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFERENT PARAMETERS AFFECT THE MARTENSITIC TRANSFORMATION, LED BY PROF. HOMER AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, AND AN EXPERIMENTAL EFFORT TO VALIDATE THE PHASE TRANSFORMATION THEORY FOR DIFFERENT ORIENTATIONS OF THE CRYSTALS, TEMPERATURES, AND APPLIED ELECTRIC FIELDS. THIS RESEARCH TO SYNTHESIZE AND TEST NEW PROSPECTIVE SHAPE MEMORY CERAMICS IS CARRIED OUT IN PROF. SCHUH?S RESEARCH GROUP AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. THIS RESEARCH HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR ACTUATOR DEVICE TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN AS EASILY MINIATURIZED AS OTHER ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE SCIENTIFIC TRAINING FOR TWO PHD STUDENTS, ONE AT EACH INSTITUTION, AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WILL INVOLVE A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT TO STRENGTHEN THE ROLL OUT OF A MATERIALS SCIENCE MINOR PROGRAM AT BYU TO UNIFY MATERIALS-ORIENTED STUDENTS THAT ARE SPREAD ACROSS DIFFERENT MAJORS ON CAMPUS. TECHNICAL SUMMARY SUPPORTED BY THE CERAMICS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF MATERIALS RESEARCH, THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES A NEW CLASS OF SHAPE MEMORY CERAMICS IN WHICH THE CLASSICAL ADVANTAGES OF SHAPE MEMORY (THE ABILITY TO DO LARGE AMOUNTS OF MECHANICAL WORK THROUGH A SOLID STATE PHASE TRANSFORMATION) ARE PAIRED WITH A NEW MECHANISM FOR ACTIVATING THAT PROPERTY (AN ELECTRIC FIELD-DRIVEN PARAELECTRIC-TO-PARAELECTRIC PHASE TRANSFORMATION). BESIDES DEVELOPING AN ENTIRELY NEW CLASS OF ?PARAELECTROACTIVE? CERAMICS THAT CAN PERFORM MEANINGFUL MECHANICAL WORK AND EXPANDING THE PORTFOLIO OF ELECTROACTIVE CERAMICS, THE RESEARCH ALSO HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE THEORY OF PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS MORE BROADLY. THE RESEARCH INVOLVES FOUR INTERRELATED TASKS: (1) DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING THERMODYNAMIC MODELS THAT INCORPORATE THE COUPLED INFLUENCE OF ELECTRICAL-THERMAL-MECHANICAL ENERGY ON A PARAELECTRIC-TO-PARAELECTRIC MARTENSITIC TRANSFORMATION; (2) EXAMINING THE ROLE OF CRYSTAL ORIENTATION AND ANISOTROPIC MATERIAL PROPERTIES ON THE PREDICTED AND OBSERVED PHASE TRANSFORMATION CONDITIONS; (3) EXPLORING THE ROLE OF DOPANTS TO CONTROL THE TRANSFORMATION CONDITIONS AND ENABLE ROOM TEMPERATURE OPERATION OF THIS PHENOMENON; (4) EXPANDING THE MATERIALS-SCOPE OF THE PHENOMENON BY DISCOVERING ALTERNATIVE (NON-ZIRCONIA) SHAPE MEMORY CERAMICS THAT EXHIBIT PARAELECTRIC-PARAELECTRIC MARTENSITIC TRANSFORMATIONS. THESE TASKS ARE COLLABORATIVELY INVESTIGATED WITH A PRIMARILY EXPERIMENTAL EFFORT IN PROF. SCHUH?S RESEARCH GROUP AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND PROF. HOMER?S RESEARCH GROUP MOSTLY CARRYING OUT THEORETICAL EFFORT AT BRIGHAM YOUNG 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.

HYBRID APPROACH TO SEABED CHARACTERIZATION USING SHIPPING NOISE

NONLINEAR INTERNAL WAVE GENERATION BY TIDAL FLOW OVER COMPLEX TOPOGRAPHY -THIS PROJECT WILL USE LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AND COMPUTER SIMULATIONS TO STUDY THE GENERATION OF WAVES IN THE INTERIOR OF THE OCEAN CAUSED BY DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUBMARINE RIDGES. RESULTS WILL BE COMPARED TO SIMPLIFIED THEORETICAL CONCEPTS AND WILL BE USED TO PROPOSE APPROXIMATIONS TO THIS PHENOMENON IN GLOBAL-SCALE COMPUTER MODELS. TO TEST THE VALIDITY OF THE RESULTS, THEY WILL ALSO BE COMPARED TO MEASUREMENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN OBTAINED AT TWO SITES: OFF HAWAII AND IN THE LUZON STRAIT. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT ONE GRADUATE STUDENT AND UNDERGRADUATE INTERNS. LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS WILL BE USED TO SPARK THE INTEREST OF A WIDE RANGE OF STUDENTS IN TOPICS RELATED TO FLUID MOTIONS. THIS STUDY SEEKS TO FILL A GAP IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENERATION OF INTERNAL WAVES IN THE OCEAN OVER IDEALIZED TOPOGRAPHY. LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AND NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS WOULD TRY TO DECIPHER SUCH GENERATION MECHANISMS. THE STUDY WOULD EXPLORE THREE SPECIFIC EFFECTS CAUSED BY: (1) RIDGE COMPLEXITY (NUMBER AND AMPLITUDE OF RIDGES SUPERIMPOSED ON A LARGER TOPOGRAPHY); (2) SLOPE ASYMMETRY OF THE RIDGES (ALLOWING SUPERCRITICAL AND SUBCRITICAL WAVE GENERATION); AND (3) VARYING TOPOGRAPHY SHAPE. NONLINEAR WAVE GENERATION WOULD BE DETERMINED BY COMPARING EXPERIMENT RESULTS WITH LINEAR THEORY. THE STUDY WOULD ALSO EXPLORE (4) ALTERATIONS TO RIDGE COMPLEXITY, SLOPE ASYMMETRY AND RIDGE SHAPE AND COMPARE ALL RESULTS TO MORE COMPLEX TOPOGRAPHIES AND TO MEASUREMENTS OVER KAENA RIDGE AND LUZON STRAIT. FOR BROADER IMPACTS, THE STUDY IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE BETTER PARAMETERIZATIONS OF INTERNAL WAVE GENERATION FOR GLOBAL SCALE MODELS. THE PROJECT WOULD ALSO INVOLVE ONE GRADUATE STUDENT AND SEVERAL UNDERGRADUATE INTERNS. IN ADDITION, LABORATORY METHODS AND RESULTS WOULD HELP DEVELOP OUTREACH ACTIVITIES FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

FIELD TRIP TO THE NAMIB SAND SEA AS AN ANALOG EXPERIENCE FOR THE DRAGONFLY MISSION LANDING SITE ON TITAN

FPGA BITSTREAM-LEVEL EQUIVALENCE CHECKING: SECURING THE FPGA "DIGITAL FAB''

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ANT LIA INTEGRATING GENOMIC AND PHENOTYPIC ANALYSES TO UNDERSTAND MICROBIAL LIFE IN ANTARCTIC SOILS -NOT ALL OF ANTARCTICA IS COVERED IN ICE. IN FACT, SOILS ARE COMMON TO MANY PARTS OF ANTARCTICA, AND THESE SOILS ARE OFTEN UNLIKE ANY OTHERS FOUND ON EARTH. ANTARCTIC SOILS HARBOR UNIQUE MICROORGANISMS ABLE TO COPE WITH THE EXTREMELY COLD AND DRY CONDITIONS COMMON TO MUCH OF THE CONTINENT. FOR DECADES, MICROBIOLOGISTS HAVE BEEN DRAWN TO THE UNIQUE SOILS IN ANTARCTICA, YET CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS REMAIN. MOST NOTABLY, IT IS UNCLEAR WHAT PROPERTIES ALLOW CERTAIN MICROBES TO THRIVE IN ANTARCTIC SOILS. BY USING A RANGE OF METHODS, THIS PROJECT IS DEVELOPING COMPREHENSIVE MODEL THAT DISCOVERS THE UNIQUE GENOMIC FEATURES OF SOILS DIVERSITY, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND ADAPTATIONS THAT ALLOW ANTARCTIC SOIL MICROBES TO THRIVE IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL BE RELEVANT TO RESEARCHERS IN MANY FIELDS, INCLUDING ENGINEERS SEEKING TO DEVELOP NEW BIOTECHNOLOGIES, ECOLOGISTS STUDYING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THESE MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES TO THE FUNCTIONING OF ANTARCTIC ECOSYSTEMS, MICROBIOLOGISTS STUDYING NOVEL MICROBIAL ADAPTATIONS TO EXTREME ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, AND EVEN ASTROBIOLOGISTS STUDYING THE POTENTIAL FOR LIFE ON MARS. MORE GENERALLY, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE MICROBIAL LIFE FOUND IN ONE OF THE MORE DISTINCTIVE MICROBIAL HABITATS ON EARTH, A HABITAT THAT IS INACCESSIBLE TO MANY SCIENTISTS AND A HABITAT THAT IS INCREASINGLY UNDER THREAT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE. THE RESEARCH PROJECT EXPLORES THE MICROBIAL DIVERSITY IN ANTARCTIC SOILS AND LINKS SPECIFIC FEATURES TO DIFFERENT SOIL TYPES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. THE OVERARCHING QUESTIONS INCLUDE: WHAT MICROBIAL TAXA ARE FOUND IN A VARIETY OF ANTARCTIC ENVIRONMENTS? WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL PREFERENCES OF SPECIFIC TAXA OR LINEAGES? WHAT ARE THE GENOMIC AND PHENOTYPIC TRAITS OF MICROORGANISMS THAT ALLOW THEM TO PERSIST IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS AND DETERMINE BIOGEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERNECES? THIS PROJECT WILL ANALYZE ARCHIVED SOILS COLLECTED FROM ACROSS ANTARCTICA BY A NETWORK OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATORS, WITH SAMPLES SELECTED TO SPAN BROAD GRADIENTS IN SOIL AND SITE CONDITIONS. THE PROJECT USES CULTIVATION-INDEPENDENT, HIGH-THROUGHPUT GENOMIC ANALYSIS METHODS AND CULTIVATION-DEPENDENT APPROACHES TO ANALYZE BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL COMMUNITIES IN SOIL SAMPLES. THE RESULTS WILL BE USED TO PREDICT THE DISTRIBUTIONS OF SPECIFIC TAXA AND LINEAGES, OBTAIN GENOMIC INFORMATION FOR THE MORE UBIQUITOUS AND ABUNDANT TAXA, AND QUANTIFY GROWTH RESPONSES IN VITRO ACROSS GRADIENTS IN TEMPERATURE, MOISTURE, AND SALINITY. THIS INTEGRATION OF ECOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, GENOMIC, AND TRAIT-BASED INFORMATION WILL PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF MICROBIAL LIFE IN ANTARCTIC SOILS. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO HELP FACILITATE NEW COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN SCIENTISTS ACROSS THE GLOBE WHILE PROVIDING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH 'HANDS-ON' RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THAT INTRODUCE THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS TO THE FIELD OF ANTARCTIC BIOLOGY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INTEGRATING OPTIMAL FUNCTION AND COMPLIANT MECHANISMS FOR UBIQUITOUS LOWER-LIMB POWERED PROSTHESES -THE MAJORITY OF LOWER-LIMB PROSTHESES ARE PASSIVE. THEY CAN DISSIPATE AND STORE MECHANICAL POWER BUT CANNOT GENERATE POSITIVE NET POWER. THE LACK OF POWER GENERATION LIMITS MOVEMENTS THAT REQUIRE THE USER TO MOVE AGAINST GRAVITY, SUCH AS GOING UPSTAIRS OR TRANSITIONING FROM SITTING TO STANDING. THIS LACK OF POWER MAY INDUCE UNEVEN LOADS IN THE BODY, WHICH CAN INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF CHRONIC BACK PAIN AND INCREASE THE EFFORT TO WALK. ACTIVE PROSTHESES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO OVERCOME THESE FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGES. HOWEVER, COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE POWERED PROSTHESES ARE HEAVIER, NOISIER, MORE EXPENSIVE, AND GENERALLY LESS ACCESSIBLE THAN UNPOWERED VERSIONS. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO REIMAGINE EXISTING RIGID PROSTHETIC COMPONENTS AS COMPLIANT MECHANISMS THAT REDUCE MASS, ENERGY CONSUMPTION, AUDIBLE NOISE, AND PART COUNT OF POWERED PROSTHESES. MUSCLES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ELASTICITY OF TENDONS (IN SERIES WITH THE MUSCLE) AND LIGAMENTS (IN PARALLEL WITH THE MUSCLE) TO EFFICIENTLY TRANSFER POWER FROM THE MUSCLE TO THE JOINTS. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO ENGINEER ELASTIC COMPONENTS IN PARALLEL WITH ELECTRIC MOTORS AS ENGINEERED LIGAMENTS TO MAKE POWERED PROSTHESES MORE ATTRACTIVE AND ACCESSIBLE. THE PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIOR OF COMPLIANT MECHANISMS DEPEND ON THREE FUNDAMENTAL FACTORS: 1) MATERIAL PROPERTIES, 2) GEOMETRY, AND 3) LOAD-DEFLECTION RESPONSE. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP NEW KNOWLEDGE TO DESIGN THE LOAD-DEFLECTION RESPONSE AND GEOMETRY OF COMPLIANT MECHANISMS THAT CONNECT IN PARALLEL WITH ELECTRIC MOTORS TO REDUCE MOTOR TORQUE. THIS REDUCTION IMPLIES LIGHTER, MORE ENERGY-EFFICIENT, AND QUIETER PROSTHESES, AS IT REQUIRES LOWER REDUCTION RATIOS, FEWER GEARS MESHING, LIGHTER MOTORS, AND LESS HEAT DISSIPATION. THIS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME AND BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY WILL ESTABLISH TWO SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS: 1) A ROBUST CONVEX OPTIMIZATION FRAMEWORK TO DESIGN THE LOAD-DEFLECTION RESPONSE OF A PARALLEL SPRING THAT GUARANTEES MOTOR TORQUE REDUCTION IN MULTIPLE LOCOMOTION ACTIVITIES DESPITE PARAMETRIC UNCERTAINTY (E.G., USER MASS, WALKING SPEED); AND 2) A DESIGN FRAMEWORK FOR COMPLIANT MECHANISMS WITH OPTIMAL LOAD-DEFLECTION PROFILES TO REIMAGINE EXISTING RIGID COMPONENTS AND IMPLEMENT THE BENEFITS OF PARALLEL COMPLIANCE WITHOUT A TRADEOFF IN TERMS OF MECHANICAL COMPLEXITY OR EXTRA COMPONENTS. THE APPLICATION OF THESE INNOVATIONS WILL RESULT IN AN OPEN-SOURCE COMPLIANT ANKLE, WITH OPEN-SOURCE DESIGNS AVAILABLE ONLINE THAT COMPLEMENT THE EXISTING NSF-FUNDED OPEN-SOURCE LEG. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL COLLABORATE WITH NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION 2FT PROSTHETICS AND LOCAL AMPUTEE SUPPORT GROUPS TO INCORPORATE THE FEEDBACK FROM PROSTHETIC USERS, MANUFACTURERS, AND CLINICIANS INTO NEW DESIGNS. THE OUTCOMES OF THIS RESEARCH WILL INCLUDE THE ORGANIZATION OF A CONFERENCE WORKSHOP, NEW CONTENT IN A GRADUATE-LEVEL CLASS ON WEARABLE ROBOTICS, AND A 3-WEEK SUMMER PROGRAM FOR LOCAL MIDDLE SCHOOLERS INTERESTED IN STEM EDUCATION. 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.

FPGA - BASED ARRAY SIGNAL PROCESSING FOR SPECTRUM SENSING AND DISTRIBUTED ACTIVE / PASSIVE RADAR

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INTEGRATED FIELD AND LABORATORY BASED ASSESSMENT OF LIQUEFACTION TRIGGERING AND RESIDUAL STRENGTH OF GRAVELLY SOIL

THE STRUCTURAL BASIS OF SPATIALLY CONSTRAINED ENZYMATIC PROMISCUITY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MICROFLUIDIC MM-WAVE RF DEVICES WITH INTEGRATED ACTUATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE: DI-ODE: DIGITAL INTEGRATION OF ODONATES -THIS AWARD WILL ENABLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE TO DIGITIZE AND INTEGRATE OVER ONE MILLION DRAGONFLY AND DAMSELFLY (ODONATA) SPECIMENS FROM MAJOR NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. THE PROJECT, CALLED DI-ODE (DIGITAL INTEGRATION OF ODONATA), WILL CREATE A UNIFIED, PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE DIGITAL PLATFORM THROUGH ODONATA CENTRAL, LINKING HIGH-RESOLUTION SPECIMEN IMAGES WITH CRITICAL DATA SUCH AS COLLECTION LOCALITIES AND SPECIES IDENTIFICATIONS. THIS INITIATIVE WILL EXPAND ACCESS TO THESE IMPORTANT BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES FOR SCIENTISTS, EDUCATORS, STUDENTS, AND THE PUBLIC. DI-ODE INCLUDES ROBUST TRAINING PROGRAMS TO BUILD SKILLS IN BIODIVERSITY DATA SCIENCE AND COLLECTIONS DIGITIZATION. THE PROJECT WILL ENHANCE STEM EDUCATION, PROMOTE DATA LITERACY, AND ENGAGE COMMUNITY SCIENTISTS, CONTRIBUTING TO ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS AND SCIENTIFIC LITERACY. THROUGH OUTREACH AND DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY, DI-ODE WILL STRENGTHEN EFFORTS TO MONITOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND INFORM FRESHWATER CONSERVATION ACROSS THE GLOBE. THE PROJECT WILL TRANSFORM HOW ODONATA BIODIVERSITY DATA ARE ACCESSED AND ANALYZED BY THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY. DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES ARE ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE INDICATORS OF FRESHWATER HEALTH AND HAVE BEEN THE FOCUS OF MAJOR STUDIES IN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, SYSTEMATICS, AND BIOGEOGRAPHY. HOWEVER, MUCH OF THE VALUABLE SPECIMEN DATA REMAINS LOCKED IN POORLY ACCESSIBLE PHYSICAL COLLECTIONS. DI-ODE ADDRESSES THIS GAP BY CREATING EFFICIENT, SCALABLE DIGITIZATION WORKFLOWS, USING CUSTOMIZED OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION (OCR), ADVANCED GEOREFERENCING, AND DATA MANAGEMENT TOOLS. THE RESULTING INFRASTRUCTURE WILL ENABLE NOVEL RESEARCH IN GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, COMPARATIVE ECOLOGY, AND PHYLOGENETICS. BY IMPROVING DATA QUALITY AND ACCESS, DI-ODE WILL FOSTER CROSS-DISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION AND PROVIDE A MODEL FOR DIGITIZING AND MOBILIZING DATA FROM OTHER INVERTEBRATE GROUPS. 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.

ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT

VARIABILITY OF SHAPED SONIC BOOMS DUE TO ATMOSPHERIC TURBULENCE

TESTBED FOR QUANTIFYING UNCERTAINTY IN OCEAN ACOUSTICS MACHINE LEARNING

A SCALABLE ACOUSTIC VECTOR MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR CHARACTERIZING JET AEROACOUSTICS

ION TRANSPORT IN STRONGLY COUPLED PLASMAS -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF ENERGY TRANSPORT IN COLLISION-DOMINATED ULTRACOLD PLASMAS. ULTRACOLD PLASMA CAN SERVE AS A MODEL SYSTEM FOR EXTREMELY DENSE AND HOT PLASMAS GENERATED IN LASER-DRIVEN NUCLEAR FUSION EXPERIMENTS, WHICH CREATE MATTER THAT IS HOTTER THAN THE SUN AND MORE DENSE THAN SOLID METAL. IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF SUCH PLASMAS WOULD ENABLE FASTER PROGRESS TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR FUSION ENERGY SOURCES, AS WELL AS ADDRESS NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY PRIORITIES. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL TEST PORTIONS OF THE DETAILED COMPUTER MODELS USED TO PREDICT TRANSPORT PROCESSES IN HOT, DENSE PLASMAS BY CONDUCTING PRECISION LASER MEASUREMENTS TO CREATE SMALL-SCALE ULTRACOLD PLASMAS AND MEASURE EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM ? HOW THE IONS COLLIDE, HOW ENERGY IS TRANSFERRED, AND HOW THE PLASMA APPROACHES EQUILIBRIUM. THESE SMALL-SCALE PLASMAS ARE PREPARED WITH ADJUSTABLE SHAPES AND WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF ATOMS, SOMETIMES IN COMBINATION WITH STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS, SO THAT TRANSPORT PROCESSES IN THEM WILL MIMIC THE TRANSPORT PROCESSES THAT OCCUR IN HOT, DENSE PLASMAS. TESTING THE COMPUTER MODELS AND HIGHLIGHTING WAYS THEY CAN REACH HIGHER FIDELITY WILL HELP ADVANCE PLASMA SCIENCE IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST. RADIATION-HYDRODYNAMIC CODES SUCCESSFULLY CAPTURE THE TEMPERATURE, DENSITY, AND NEUTRON YIELD OF HIGH ENERGY LASER EXPERIMENTS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO PRODUCE PLASMAS CLOSE TO THE HYDRODYNAMIC LIMIT. HOWEVER, MANY CURRENT AND PLANNED EXPERIMENTS ARE FAR FROM THIS LIMIT. CODES TO MODEL THESE HIGH ENERGY DENSITY PLASMAS (HEDPS) MUST INCLUDE KINETIC EFFECTS, WHICH ARE CHALLENGING TO VALIDATE BECAUSE MANY DIAGNOSTICS YIELD INTEGRATED QUANTITIES SUCH AS EFFECTIVE TEMPERATURES AND AVERAGE OR LINE-INTEGRATED DENSITIES. EXPERIMENTAL ACCESS TO THE UNDERLYING DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS IN HEDPS IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. INSTEAD, A NEW METHOD FOR MEASURING THE ION DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS IN MODEL SYSTEMS, CALLED ULTRACOLD NEUTRAL PLASMAS (UNPS), HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY. WITH PROPER ENERGY SCALING, UNPS ARE THERMODYNAMICALLY EQUIVALENT TO HEDPS. THE NEW EXPERIMENTS SUPPORTED UNDER THIS PROJECT WILL PROBE GAPS IN EXISTING THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING AND COMPUTER MODELS OF ION JETTING, INTERFACIAL MIXING, ELECTRON-ION THERMALIZATION, AND ION STOPPING POWER. THESE ARE ALL CRITICAL KINETIC PROCESSES THAT OCCUR IN TECHNOLOGICALLY-RELEVANT HEDP PLASMAS. USING PRECISION LASER SPECTROSCOPY AND ADVANCED ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES, THE PROJECT TEAM WILL MEASURE HOW THE ION DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS EVOLVE. BY MAKING PRECISION MEASUREMENTS IN THE UNP ENVIRONMENT AND THEN COMPARING THEM TO PREDICTIONS FROM KINETIC CODES, THE CODES WILL BE TESTED WHILE AVOIDING THE COMPLICATIONS OF QUANTUM POTENTIALS, ELECTRON DEGENERACY, HIGH OPTICAL OPACITY, AND IMPOSSIBLY SHORT TIME SCALES. 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.

LEAPS-MPS: CONTROLLABLE DISORDER AS A PATH TO MANY-BODY ENTANGLEMENT IN QUANTUM MAGNETS -NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: QUANTUM INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES RELY ON QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT, OR THE INTRINSIC LINKING OF ONE QUANTUM OBJECT TO ANOTHER. AN IMPORTANT RESEARCH OBJECTIVE IS TO GAIN A FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF MANY-BODY QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT INVOLVING LARGE NUMBERS OF QUANTUM OBJECTS. CERTAIN MAGNETIC MATERIALS KNOWN AS GEOMETRICALLY FRUSTRATED MAGNETS PROVIDE A VALUABLE PLATFORM FOR THIS TOPIC OF STUDY BECAUSE THEY MAY EXHIBIT MANY-BODY ENTANGLEMENT AT LOW TEMPERATURE. THIS PROJECT ADVANCES THE SEARCH FOR PROMISING QUANTUM-ENTANGLED FRUSTRATED MAGNETS THROUGH A SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION OF THE ROLE OF ATOMIC-SCALE DISORDER IN PROMOTING OR HINDERING MANY-BODY ENTANGLEMENT. THE RESULTS ILLUMINATE STRATEGIES FOR UTILIZING DISORDER TO PROMOTE QUANTUM-ENTANGLED GROUND STATES AND CONTRIBUTE TO A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF MANY-BODY QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT IN GENERAL. THESE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ARE INTEGRATED INTO EDUCATION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS INCLUDING INTENSIVE UNDERGRADUATE MENTORING, SUMMER RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS FOR DIVERSE STUDENTS, AND A NEW ORGANIZATION CALLED THE PHYSICS BREAKFAST CLUB THAT SUPPORTS REGIONAL HIGH-SCHOOL PHYSICS TEACHERS BY BUILDING COMMUNITY AND PROVIDING TEACHING RESOURCES. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: RECENT WORK SUGGESTS THAT DISORDER IN CERTAIN TYPES OF FRUSTRATED MAGNETS CAN STABILIZE ENTANGLED MAGNETIC STATES SUCH AS A QUANTUM SPIN LIQUID. THIS PROJECT EXPLORES THAT IDEA IN THE CONTEXT OF RARE-EARTH PYROCHLORE COMPOUNDS WITH MIXED ATOMIC SPECIES ON THE NONMAGNETIC METAL/METALLOID SITE. THE LEVEL OF RANDOM DISORDER CAN BE CONTROLLED BY THE SIZE MISMATCH OF THE DIFFERENT ATOMIC SPECIES, ALLOWING A SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF DISORDER ON THE FORMATION OF A QUANTUM SPIN LIQUID OR A RELATED PHASE IN DISORDERED PYROCHLORE COMPOUNDS. THE GOALS ARE TO DEVELOP GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR UTILIZING DISORDER AS A TOOL FOR STABILIZING ENTANGLED MAGNETIC STATES AND EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL OF DISORDERED PYROCHLORES FOR ACHIEVING THESE STATES. THE MAGNETIC AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIALS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNIQUES INCLUDING X-RAY AND NEUTRON TOTAL SCATTERING, MUON SPIN SPECTROSCOPY, AND INELASTIC NEUTRON SCATTERING. THIS MULTI-MODAL METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH IS IDEALLY SUITED TO GAINING A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOCAL DISORDER AND ITS EFFECT ON THE MAGNETISM IN PYROCHLORE COMPOUNDS, WHILE ALSO PROVIDING A TEMPLATE FOR SIMILAR STUDIES ON OTHER MATERIALS IN THE FUTURE. 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.

LEAPS-MPS: DEEP LEARNING THE KNOT LANDSCAPE -THIS AWARD IS FUNDED IN WHOLE UNDER THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021 (PUBLIC LAW 117-2). THE FIELD OF KNOT THEORY BEGAN IN THE MID 1800S, MOTIVATED HEAVILY BY IDEAS FROM PHYSICS. TODAY, KNOTS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PHYSICS THROUGH GAUGE THEORY AND QUANTUM FIELD THEORIES, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY VIA PROTEIN AND DNA KNOTTING, AND LOW-DIMENSIONAL TOPOLOGY IN THE FORM OF HANDLEBODY DIAGRAMS OF 4-MANIFOLDS AND DEHN SURGERY DESCRIPTIONS OF 3-MANIFOLDS. IN 2016 THE PI INITIATED A NOVEL APPROACH TO STUDYING PROBLEMS IN KNOT THEORY BY APPLYING TECHNIQUES OF MACHINE LEARNING AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. WHILE THERE IS NOW A SMALL BUT GROWING BODY OF RESEARCH IN THIS DIRECTION, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MATHEMATICIANS, PHYSICISTS, AND COMPUTER SCIENTISTS, MOST OF THE EXISTING WORK FOCUSES ON TECHNIQUES OF SUPERVISED LEARNING AND APPLICATIONS OF REINFORCEMENT LEARNING TO UNKNOTTING BRAIDS. THE PI WILL ADAPT NEW TECHNIQUES FROM GENERATIVE MACHINE LEARNING AND REINFORCEMENT LEARNING TO STUDY TOPOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF KNOTS AND LEARN LATENT DISTRIBUTIONS OF KNOTS AND THEIR INVARIANTS. THE PI WILL ALSO EXTEND EARLIER WORK WITH COLLABORATORS, BY ESTABLISHING THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF NEW OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS. AS PART OF THIS PROJECT THE PI WILL DEVELOP A MENTORED DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, IN WHICH STUDENTS WILL BE MENTORED BY BOTH THE PI AND A DATA SCIENTIST FROM INDUSTRY OR ACADEMIA. STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN A SEMESTER-LONG MENTORED LEARNING GROUP WITH THE PI, BEFORE COMPLETING AN INTENSIVE WORKSHOP WHERE THEY WORK TOGETHER TO SOLVE DATA SCIENCE PROBLEMS FROM INDUSTRY WITH THEIR EXTERNAL MENTOR. AT EACH STEP OF THIS PROGRAM, SPECIAL ATTENTION WILL BE GIVEN TO INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS THAT SPECIALIZE IN OUTREACH TO THESE COMMUNITIES. BY PARTICIPATING IN MENTORED RESEARCH THESE STUDENTS WILL GAIN EXPERIENCE THAT WILL HELP THEM PREPARE FOR GRADUATE DEGREES AND CAREERS IN ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY, THEREBY PREPARING TO BE FUTURE ROLE MODELS FOR STUDENTS FROM THESE UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES. THE PI WILL ADAPT TEXT-TO-IMAGE GENERATIVE ADVERSARIAL NETWORKS TO CONSTRUCT INVARIANT-TO-KNOT GANS, ALLOWING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOTS WITH PRESCRIBED TOPOLOGICAL PROPERTIES. THE PI WILL ALSO USE VARIATIONAL AUTOENCODERS TO LEARN NEW LATENT DISTRIBUTIONS OF KNOTS WHICH ARE NATURAL WITH RESPECT TO VARIOUS TOPOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND INVARIANTS. THESE LATENT REPRESENTATIONS OF KNOTS WILL PROVIDE A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF KNOT DISTRIBUTIONS AND PRODUCE RANDOM MODELS THAT ALLOW FOR TARGETED GENERATION OF KNOTS WITH SPECIFIED PROPERTIES. ANY NEW LATENT REPRESENTATIONS OF KNOT THEORETIC DATA WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO OTHER RESEARCHERS FOR USE IN TRAINING NEW MACHINE LEARNING MODELS, IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MODELS BEING DEVELOPED. THESE TECHNIQUES WILL BE USED TO GUIDE SEARCHES FOR COUNTEREXAMPLES TO IMPORTANT OPEN CONJECTURES. IN ADDITION, THE PI WILL USE DEEP REINFORCEMENT LEARNING ALGORITHMS TO STUDY THE SLICE GENUS AND BRAID BAND RANK PROBLEMS, GENERALIZING EXISTING RESULTS ON THE USE OF REINFORCEMENT LEARNING TO THE UNKNOTTING OF BRAIDS. GIVEN THAT THE PROBLEM OF COMPUTING THE SLICE GENUS OF KNOTS IS CENTRAL TO KEY OPEN QUESTIONS IN LOW-DIMENSIONAL TOPOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTIONS IN PHYSICS, NEW TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED HERE WILL HAVE DIRECT APPLICATIONS OUTSIDE OF KNOT THEORY. SUCCESSFUL USE OF THESE TECHNIQUES WILL SERVE AS A TEMPLATE FOR FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF GENERATIVE MACHINE LEARNING AND REINFORCEMENT LEARNING TO OTHER AREAS OF MATHEMATICS. 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.

LEAPS-MPS: RATIONAL POINTS, DIOPHANTINE PROBLEMS, AND L-FUNCTIONS -NUMBER THEORY SITS AT A BUSY INTERSECTION IN MATHEMATICS. THE EFFECT OF THIS IS TWOFOLD. FIRST, IT MEANS NUMBER THEORY PROVIDES TOOLS TO SOLVE SEEMINGLY UNRELATED MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS IN OTHER AREAS. SECOND, IT MEANS PROBLEMS IN NUMBER THEORY CAN BE STUDIED USING TOOLS FROM MANY REALMS OF MATHEMATICS. THIS PROJECT CONCERNS NUMBER-THEORETIC PROBLEMS IN TWO GENERAL CATEGORIES: RATIONAL POINTS ON CURVES AND RELATED DIOPHANTINE PROBLEMS, AND THE STUDY OF SPECIAL FUNCTIONS KNOWN AS L-FUNCTIONS. PROBLEMS IN THE FIRST CATEGORY, THOUGH USUALLY SIMPLE TO STATE, FREQUENTLY REQUIRE SOPHISTICATED MATHEMATICAL TECHNOLOGY IN THEIR RESOLUTION. THE SECOND CATEGORY OF PROBLEMS CONCERNS L-FUNCTIONS, SPECIAL MATHEMATICAL FUNCTIONS THAT COMBINE LARGE AMOUNTS OF ARITHMETIC DATA IN A SINGLE PACKAGE. L-FUNCTIONS ARE IMPORTANT, STILL POORLY UNDERSTOOD, AND THE SUBJECT OF FAR-REACHING CONJECTURES. IN BOTH CATEGORIES, THE INVESTIGATOR DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM BRANCHES OF MATHEMATICS OUTSIDE OF NUMBER THEORY. IN ADDITION TO BREAKING NEW THEORETICAL GROUND, THE INVESTIGATOR WILL MENTOR STUDENTS IN RESEARCH PROJECTS. THE PROJECT IS STRUCTURED TO PROVIDE THE STUDENTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES AND MEANS FOR COLLABORATION. THERE IS A FOCUS ON RECRUITING STUDENTS FROM HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED OR UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. ON A TECHNICAL LEVEL, THE INVESTIGATOR WILL STUDY A DEEP CONJECTURE OF SANDER, WHICH PREDICTS THE RATIONAL POINTS ON A CERTAIN INFINITE FAMILY OF CURVES, KNOWN AS ERDOS-SELFRIDGE CURVES. IN GENERAL, IT IS A DIFFICULT PROBLEM TO FIND ALL THE RATIONAL POINTS ON A CURVE OF LARGE GENUS. THE INVESTIGATOR WILL DEVELOP A NOVEL MASS INCREMENT ARGUMENT TO STUDY RATIONAL POINTS ON THESE CURVES. THIS ARGUMENT IS LOOSELY INSPIRED BY VARIOUS INCREMENT ARGUMENTS IN ADDITIVE COMBINATORICS, SUCH AS THOSE USED TO PROVE ROTH?S OR SZEMEREDI?S THEOREMS ON ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS IN SETS. THIS REQUIRES INTRICATE COMBINATORICS AND A QUANTITATIVE VERSION OF FALTINGS'S CELEBRATED THEOREM ON RATIONAL POINTS ON CURVES OF GENUS AT LEAST TWO. IN RELATED PROBLEMS, CHABAUTY-TYPE ARGUMENTS MAKE AN APPEARANCE. ADDITIVE COMBINATORICS ALSO HAS CONNECTIONS TO THE INVESTIGATOR'S RECENT COLLABORATIVE WORK ON NEW METHODS OF DETECTING ZEROS OF THE RIEMANN ZETA FUNCTION. THE PROJECT WILL EXPLORE FURTHER THE POTENTIAL OF THESE METHODS. FURTHERMORE, TO FACILITATE WORK ON THE RIEMANN ZETA FUNCTION REQUIRING EXPLICIT RESULTS, THE INVESTIGATOR WILL OBTAIN SHARPER BOUNDS ON THE ZETA FUNCTION IN IMPORTANT REGIONS AND DERIVE NEW ZERO-DENSITY ESTIMATES. 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 ROLES OF GENETICALLY DISTINCT CORTICAL NEURON TYPES IN GENERAL-ANESTHESIA- AND SLEEP-INDUCED SLOW WAVES - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT. REVERSIBLE LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS A CRUCIAL PART OF TWO MAJOR MEDICAL FIELDS: GENERAL ANESTHESIA AND SLEEP. GENERAL ANESTHETICS AND NON-RAPID-EYE-MOVEMENT (NREM) SLEEP BOTH INDUCE SLOW WAVES (0.1-4 HZ) IN THE CORTICAL ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG). IT IS UNKNOWN WHETHER SLOW WAVES GENERATED WITH DIFFERENT ANESTHETIC AGENTS AND DURING NREM SLEEP ARE GENERATED WITH THE SAME NEURAL CIRCUIT ACTIVITY. DR. MELONAKOS’ PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGESTS THAT ANESTHETIC AGENTS WITH DIFFERENT MOLECULAR TARGETS HAVE DISTINCT SLOW WAVE MECHANISMS (AIM 1 HYPOTHESIS). IN ADDITION, ALTHOUGH DEXMEDETOMIDINE ANESTHESIA SHARES NEURAL CIRCUITS WITH NREM SLEEP, IT MAY ALSO HAVE DISTINCT DIRECT CORTICAL EFFECTS, POSSIBLY LEADING TO DIFFERENT SLOW WAVE ACTIVITY (AIM 2 HYPOTHESIS). THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO TEST THESE HYPOTHESES BY MAPPING CORTICAL NEURAL ACTIVITY WITH RESPECT TO THE EEG SLOW WAVES OF BOTH ANESTHESIA AND NREM SLEEP. IN ORDER TO DO THIS, DR. MELONAKOS WILL LEARN HOW TO PERFORM CALCIUM IMAGING EXPERIMENTS IN FREELY BEHAVING RODENTS. HE WILL THEN RECORD CALCIUM IMAGES FROM CA2+/CALMODULIN-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE IIA-POSITIVE (CAMKIIA+), PARVALBUMIN-POSITIVE (PV+), SOMATOSTATIN-POSITIVE (SST+), AND VASOACTIVE INTESTINAL PEPTIDE-POSITIVE (VIP+) CORTICAL NEURONS DURING ANESTHESIA- AND SLEEP-INDUCED SLOW WAVES. PROPOFOL, KETAMINE, AND DEXMEDETOMIDINE ANESTHESIA WILL BE TESTED. DR. MELONAKOS WILL THEN COMPARE THE NEURAL ACTIVITY BETWEEN THE ANESTHETICS AND BETWEEN GENERAL ANESTHESIA AND SLEEP. FINALLY, HE WILL IDENTIFY THE ROLE OF SST+ NEURONS IN SLOW WAVES (AIM 3 HYPOTHESIS) BY (1) LOOKING AT THE ACTIVITY OF CORTICAL NEURONS FOLLOWING DISRUPTION OF SLOW WAVES BY STIMULATION OF THE PARABRACHIAL NUCLEUS, AN AROUSAL AREA IN THE BRAINSTEM, AND (2) INHIBITING SST+ NEURONS DURING ANESTHESIA- AND SLEEP-INDUCED SLOW WAVES. DURING THE K99 PHASE OF THIS PROJECT, DR. MELONAKOS WILL BE MENTORED BY DRS. CHRISTA NEHS AND EMERY BROWN, EXPERTS IN ANESTHESIA AND SLEEP NEUROCIRCUITRY AND FACULTY AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL (MGH), AND MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (MIT). DR. MELONAKOS WILL ALSO COLLABORATE WITH DRS. MICHAEL HASSELMO (BOSTON UNIVERSITY), NANCY KOPELL (BOSTON UNIVERSITY), AND DANIEL AHARONI (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES). HE WILL BE TRAINED IN CALCIUM IMAGING BY DRS. HASSELMO AND AHARONI, AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS BY DR. BROWN. DR. KOPELL WILL GUIDE DR. MELONAKOS AS HE ORIENTS HIS FINDINGS WITHIN HYPOTHESIZED SLOW WAVE MECHANISMS FROM THE FIELD OF COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE. DR. MELONAKOS WILL ALSO LEARN OPTOGENETICS STIMULATION TECHNIQUES FROM DR. NEHS AND IN A COURSE AT MIT. THE MENTORS, COLLABORATORS, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE MGH COMMUNITY WILL ALSO PROVIDE HIM WITH PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE AS HE NEARS INDEPENDENCE, INCLUDING TRAINING IN GRANT WRITING, PEER REVIEW, TEACHING, AND THE FACULTY JOB SEARCH. THE SCIENTIFIC AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING DR. MELONAKOS RECEIVES WILL ENABLE HIM TO DEVELOP AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROGRAM TO STUDY ANESTHETICS’ DIRECT VS. INDIRECT EFFECTS. THE RESULTING UNDERSTANDING OF SLOW WAVE MECHANISMS HAS POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE THE PROTOCOLS USED TO MONITOR GENERAL ANESTHESIA AND TREAT SLEEP DISORDERS, THUS BENEFITING PATIENT SAFETY AND HEALTH.

HOMELESS ASSISTANCE

HOMELESS ASSISTANCE

NOVEL METHODS OF ACUPUNCTURE DELIVERY IN THE TREATMENT OF DRUG-ABUSE DISORDERS

NUCLEAR ENERGY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS - FELLOWSHIP AND SCHOLARSHIP

UNCOVERING PHYSICS BEYOND THE STANDARD MODEL -THIS AWARD FUNDS THE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES OF PROFESSOR CHRISTOPHER B. VERHAAREN AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY. OUR UNDERSTANDING OF NATURE?S SMALLEST SCALES IS TRULY REMARKABLE. THE STANDARD MODEL OF PARTICLE PHYSICS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY A WIDE VARIETY OF IMPRESSIVE EXPERIMENTAL TESTS. NEVERTHELESS, THE STANDARD MODEL MUST BE EXTENDED TO ADDRESS THE BIG QUESTIONS OF PARTICLE PHYSICS. THESE INCLUDE UNDERSTANDING DARK MATTER AND WHY THERE IS MORE MATTER THAN ANTI-MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE. THIS RESEARCH ADVANCES THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY ENGAGING IN A PRIMARY SCIENTIFIC GOAL: THE DISCOVERY AND UNDERSTANDING OF PHYSICAL LAWS. THIS UNDERSTANDING MAY RELATE TO NEW PARTICLES WITH ONLY SMALL CONNECTIONS TO THE STANDARD MODEL. SUCH PARTICLES ARE OFTEN SAID TO BELONG TO A DARK SECTOR BECAUSE THEY ARE CHALLENGING TO DETECT. PROFESSOR VERHAAREN BUILDS MODELS OF DARK SECTORS THAT CAN ANSWER THE BIG QUESTIONS OF PARTICLE PHYSICS AND DETERMINES HOW TO TEST THESE IDEAS EXPERIMENTALLY. THIS WORK WILL ALSO LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT BROADER IMPACTS. PROFESSOR VERHAAREN WILL INCLUDE GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THIS RESEARCH, PROVIDING ESSENTIAL TRAINING FOR BEGINNING PHYSICISTS SEEKING TO ENTER AND IMPACT THIS FIELD. HE IS ALSO DEVELOPING NEW COURSE CURRICULA INTENDED TO BOTH AID NEW STUDENTS AS THEY LEARN ABOUT THESE TOPICS AND PREPARE INTERESTED UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS TO ENGAGE IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. MORE TECHNICALLY, PROFESSOR VERHAAREN WILL DEVELOP THE THEORY AND PHENOMENOLOGY OF RICHLY VARIED DARK SECTORS. THIS INCLUDES MODELS THAT SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THE ELECTROWEAK SCALE, AND ATTRIBUTES OF THE HIGGS BOSON, THROUGH NEW SYMMETRIES. THE SYMMETRY PARTNERS TO STANDARD MODEL PARTICLES MAY RESIDE IN A DARK SECTOR AND CAN PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION OF DARK MATTER. SOLITONS OF DARK SECTOR FIELDS MAY ALSO MAKE UP SOME OR ALL OF THE COSMOLOGICAL DARK MATTER. THESE LESS-STUDIED POSSIBILITIES HAVE NOVEL ASPECTS AND PHYSICAL EFFECTS. OFTEN, THEIR STUDY REQUIRES ORIGINAL THEORETICAL AND NUMERICAL METHODS TO DETERMINE AND DESCRIBE THEIR CHARACTERISTICS. DEVELOPING THESE THEORETICAL METHODS SERVES THE DUAL ROLES OF ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF QUANTUM FIELD THEORY AS WELL AS MAKING CONCRETE PREDICTIONS OF HOW THESE DARK SECTOR OBJECTS CAN BE DISCOVERED EXPERIMENTALLY. 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.

PROJECT TITLE:USING MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND TARGETED SAMPLING TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE BARCODE DATABASE FOR THE FRESHWATER MACROINVERTEBRATES OF THE UPPER COLORADO RIVERPROJECT PERIOD: 7/1/2022-6/30/2023USING MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND TARGETED SAMPLING TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE BARCODE DATABASE FOR FRESHWATER MACROINVERTEBRATES OF THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASINPROJECT ABSTRACT SUMMARYTHIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE A SPECIES-LEVEL DNA BARCODING DATABASE FOR THE FRESHWATER INSECTS OF THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN. NEW METHODS IN DNA MONITORING, SUCH AS ENVIRONMENTAL DNA (EDNA) METABARCODING, RELY ON WELL-CURATED REFERENCE DATABASES THAT CAN BE QUERIED DURING THE DATA ANALYSIS PROCESS. AQUATIC INSECTS ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN GENETIC DATABASES MAKING THEIR DEVELOPMENT A PRIORITY. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO FILL HOLES IN EXISTING DATABASES BY: (1) EVALUATING EXISTING MOLECULAR DATABASES TO DETERMINE WHICH GROUPS OF FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATES FROM THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN ARE UNDERREPRESENTED AND GENERATE A LIST OF PRIORITY TAXA FOR SEQUENCING, AND (2) USING TISSUE SAMPLES FROM REFERENCE COLLECTIONS AND TARGETED SAMPLING TO FILL IN THE GAPS IN REFERENCE DNA BARCODING DATABASES TO FACILITATE EDNA METABARCODING EFFORTS IN THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN. THESE OBJECTIVES WILL PRIMARILY BE FULFILLED BY THE PIS AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TRAINED IN DNA DATABASE CREATION AND CURATION, INSECT COLLECTION AND SAMPLING, DNA EXTRACTION, AMPLIFICATION, AND SEQUENCING. WILL TARGET SPECIES THAT ARE KNOWN FROM THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN BUT NOT WELL-REPRESENTED IN EXISTING DATABASES. WILL THEN PROCURE TISSUES FROM EXISTING MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND TARGETED FIELD SAMPLING TO GENERATE NEW DNA BARCODE SEQUENCES FOR THESE SPECIES.DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMESTHIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE A DNA BARCODING REFERENCE DATABASE FOR THE FRESHWATER INSECTS OF THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN. WE WILL TARGET ~600 SAMPLES REPRESENTING 100 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF INSECT. THIS DATABASE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC TO FACILITATE ONGOING BIODIVERSITY MONITORING RESEARCH IN THE AREA. IN ADDITION TO THE NEWLY CURATED DNA BARCODING DATABASE, THE RESULTS FROM THIS WORK WILL BE FORMALLY DESCRIBED IN SCIENTIFIC PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS.INTENDED BENEFICIARIESTHIS PROJECT WILL BE UNDERTAKEN BY DRS. PAUL FRANDSEN AND RILEY NELSON FROM BYU. TWO COLLABORATORS WILL ACT AS EXPERT CONSULTANTS: DR. RALPH HOLZENTHAL FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND DR. SCOTT HOTALING FROM UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY. THE DNA BARCODING DATABASE GENERATED AS PART OF THIS PROJECT WILL BENEFIT RESEARCHERS IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST, INCLUDING NASCENT EFFORTS IN BIOMONITORING BY USGS PROFESSIONALS.

ERI: FRICTION STIR PROCESSING FOR DURABILITY OF COBALT-CHROMIUM-MOLYBDENUM BIOMATERIALS -THIS ENGINEERING RESEARCH INITIATION (ERI) GRANT SUPPORTS RESEARCH GENERATING NEW KNOWLEDGE OF ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS, WITH SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL BENEFITS, AS WELL AS IMPROVED PATIENT OUTCOMES. COBALT-CHROMIUM-MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS ARE USED AS THE BEARING SURFACES OF PROSTHETIC JOINT REPLACEMENTS BECAUSE OF THEIR HARDNESS, TOUGHNESS, AND BIOCOMPATIBILITY. HOWEVER, WEAR AND CORROSION OF PROSTHETIC IMPLANT MATERIALS IN THE HUMAN BODY REMAIN SERIOUS PROBLEMS FOR MANY PATIENTS. FRICTION STIR PROCESSING IS AN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUE THAT USES FRICTION FROM A ROTATING TOOL TO ALTER THE METAL SURFACE, RESULTING IN MECHANICAL AND CORROSION PROPERTIES THAT ARE HIGHLY DESIRABLE FOR BEARING SURFACES. IMPROVED KNOWLEDGE OF THE FRICTION STIR PROCESSING ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUE BENEFITS THE U.S. ECONOMY AND MEDICAL DEVICE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY. IT ALSO BENEFITS MILLIONS OF PATIENTS WHO UNDERGO TOTAL JOINT REPLACEMENT SURGERIES EACH YEAR. EXTENDING THE DURABILITY OF A PROSTHETIC JOINT IMPLANT HAS AN ENORMOUS IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THESE PATIENTS AND COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN IMPLANT THAT LASTS A LIFETIME AND COMPLICATED REVISION SURGERIES TO REPLACE FAILED IMPLANTS. THIS RESEARCH IS MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND PROVIDES EDUCATION AND OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES TO ENCOURAGE INCREASED PARTICIPATION OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN ENGINEERING RESEARCH. FRICTION STIR PROCESSING CAN INCREASE THE WEAR AND CORROSION RESISTANCE OF MATERIALS BY CONTROLLING THE MICROSTRUCTURE THROUGH EXTREME DEFORMATION AND PRECISE CONTROL OVER THE THERMAL HISTORY OF THE MATERIAL. THIS RESEARCH ELUCIDATES HOW THE COBALT-CHROMIUM-MOLYBDENUM ALLOY MICROSTRUCTURE SUCH AS GRAIN SIZE, CARBIDE PRECIPITATION, AND PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS CAN BE CONTROLLED, AND HOW THEY AFFECT BOTH WEAR AND CORROSION RESISTANCE. EXTREME DEFORMATION CAUSES DYNAMIC RECRYSTALLIZATION AND MARTENSITIC PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS, RESULTING IN FINE GRAINS WITH HIGH HARDNESS AND WEAR RESISTANCE. MECHANICAL STIRRING AND CONTROLLED TEMPERATURE CAUSE MICRON-SIZED, UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED CARBIDES THAT STRENGTHEN PASSIVE OXIDE SURFACE LAYERS TO BOLSTER CORROSION RESISTANCE. THE RESEARCH TEAM PERFORMS FRICTION STIR PROCESSING EXPERIMENTS ON THE COBALT-BASED BIOMATERIALS WITH A POLYCRYSTALLINE CUBIC BORON NITRIDE/TUNGSTEN-RHENIUM ALLOY TOOL, AND DETERMINES OPTIMUM PROCESSING CONDITIONS SUCH AS ROTATION SPEED, TRAVERSE SPEED, AND APPLIED LOAD. PIN-ON-DISK WEAR TESTS AND POTENTIODYNAMIC POLARIZATION/ELECTROCHEMICAL IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY CORROSION TESTS QUANTIFY THE WEAR AND CORROSION RESISTANCE OF THE DIFFERENT PROCESSED SURFACES USING DIFFERENT LOADS, SLIDING SPEEDS, AND BIOLOGICAL LUBRICANTS SELECTED TO MIMIC AN IN-VIVO PROSTHETIC HIP IMPLANT. NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS CAPTURE THE GAINED KNOWLEDGE OF THE BASIC SCIENCE AND PHYSICAL MECHANISMS IN PLAY DURING FRICTION STIR PROCESSING OF COBALT-BASED BIOMATERIALS AND ENABLE PROCESSING PLANS FOR MEDICAL DEVICES MADE FROM THIS IMPORTANT BIOMEDICAL ALLOY. 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.

IMPROVING SOIL CLASSIFICATION ANALOGS (I-SCAN)

ADVANCED AL MIRRORS WITH PASSIVATED LIF FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY STABLE 1-METER CLASS UV SPACE TELESCOPES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IDEAS LAB: ETAUS MESHED OBSERVATIONS OF THE REMOTE SUBSURFACE WITH HETEROGENEOUS INTELLIGENT PLATFORMS (MOTHERSHIP) -MELTING OF ICE SHELVES BY WARM OCEAN WATERS DESTABILIZES GLACIERS, ENHANCING ICE FLOW INTO THE OCEAN AND CONTRIBUTING TO GLOBAL SEA LEVEL RISE. MEASUREMENTS OF OCEAN PROPERTIES UNDER ICE SHELVES ARE NEEDED TO IMPROVE GLOBAL PREDICTIONS OF SEA LEVEL RISE AND TO ANTICIPATE ITS SOCIETAL CONSEQUENCES. SUCH MEASUREMENTS, HOWEVER, ARE CHALLENGING TO OBTAIN. IN THIS IDEAS LAB: ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES TO ADVANCE UNDERWATER SCIENCES (ETAUS) PROJECT, A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT MOTHERSHIP-AND-PASSENGER SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED TO PERMIT THE FUTURE DEPLOYMENT OF A HIGHLY CAPABLE, AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLE (THE MOTHERSHIP), PROGRAMMED TO TRAVEL AS FAR AS SAFELY POSSIBLE UNDER ICE SHELVES TO RELEASE A SWARM OF NOVEL, LOW-COST PASSENGER ROBOTS THAT WILL COORDINATE TO EXPLORE FURTHER INTO THE ICE CAVITY. THE HARDWARE PROTOTYPES, NETWORKED COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AND PROTOCOLS, AND COORDINATION ALGORITHMS DEVELOPED AS PART OF THIS PROJECT?S MOTHERSHIP-AND-PASSENGER SYSTEM WILL HELP ADVANCE THE FIELD OF UNDERWATER EXPLORATION IN CONFINED AND HARD-TO-REACH ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO FOSTER THE TRAINING OF FUTURE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS BY ENGAGING YOUTHS FROM SMALL FISHING COMMUNITIES IN OREGON THROUGH PRESENTATIONS AT OREGON?S MATE ROV REGIONAL COMPETITION, BY EMPLOYING HIGH-SCHOOL INTERNS THROUGH THE APPRENTICESHIPS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (ASE) SUMMER ACADEMY PROGRAM, AND BY TRAINING MULTIPLE UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AT PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A MOTHERSHIP-AND-PASSENGER SAMPLING SYSTEM TO REACH DIFFICULT-TO-ACCESS GLACIER GROUNDING ZONES VIA THE OPEN OCEAN TO MEASURE THE EXTENT OF ICE CAVITIES AND SURROUNDING WATER PROPERTIES. THE PROJECT WILL INNOVATE ALONG THREE MAIN AREAS OF INQUIRY: 1) PASSENGER ROBOT DESIGN, 2) ACOUSTIC COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS AND HARDWARE, AND 3) MOTHERSHIP-AND-PASSENGER COORDINATION ALGORITHMS. NOVEL, LOW-COST PASSENGER ROBOTS WILL BE CONCEIVED THAT CAN SWITCH THROUGH DIFFERENT OPERATION MODES TO OPTIMIZE MANEUVERABILITY, POWER CONSUMPTION, OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH, AS NEEDED FOR VARIOUS TASKS THROUGHOUT A DEPLOYMENT. ACOUSTIC COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS AND HARDWARE WILL BE DEVELOPED TO PRIORITIZE ROBUST COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PASSENGER ROBOTS OVER THROUGHPUT AND PERMIT SWARM SELF-LOCALIZATION BY UTILIZING TIME-OF-FLIGHT AND ANGLE-OF-ARRIVAL BETWEEN PASSENGERS TO ESTIMATE RELATIVE POSITIONS. SWARM COORDINATION ALGORITHMS WILL BE DESIGNED TO ESTIMATE FLOW DIRECTION AND STRENGTH FROM THE PASSENGER ROBOTS? RELATIVE POSITIONS TO OPTIMIZE NAVIGATION AND POWER CONSUMPTION. THE PERFORMANCE OF THE NETWORK WILL BE TESTED IN INCREASINGLY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS, I.E., TESTS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN A POOL, AN UNFROZEN LAKE, AND FINALLY IN A FROZEN LAKE, WHILE NETWORK CAPABILITIES WITH A LARGER SWARM WILL BE MODELED TO ENSURE THE SCALABILITY OF THE SYSTEM TO OCEAN DEPLOYMENTS. FINALLY, THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPED FOR THE MOTHERSHIP-AND-PASSENGER COMMUNICATION AND SELF-LOCALIZATION PROTOCOLS WILL BE GENERALIZABLE AND MADE AVAILABLE OPEN-SOURCE TO ALLOW OTHER RESEARCH TEAMS TO ADAPT THE SYSTEM TO THEIR OWN NEEDS. THE MOTHERSHIP-AND-PASSENGER SAMPLING SYSTEM WILL NOT ONLY ADVANCE UNDER-ICE-OBSERVATION CAPABILITIES BUT ALSO HAVE WIDER OCEANOGRAPHIC APPLICATIONS SUCH AS DETECTION AND MONITORING OF UNDERWATER HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS OR ANOXIC EVENTS THREATENING FISHERIES. 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.

SPACECRAFT OR SATELLITE EXTERIOR INSPECTION IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING MECHANICAL AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY AND REVEALING UNFORESEEN DEFICIENCIES, B

ERI: A ROBOT MADE FROM A NETWORK OF BALLOONS -THIS ENGINEERING RESEARCH INITIATION (ERI) PROJECT WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH THAT LOOKS TO ADVANCE THE FIELD OF ROBOTICS BY DEVELOPING A NEW CLASS OF ROBOTS THAT CAN CHANGE THEIR OVERALL SHAPE, SAFELY INTERACT WITH HUMANS, MANIPULATE LOADS MANY TIMES GREATER THAN THEIR OWN WEIGHT, AND BE ROBUST TO INDIVIDUAL COMPONENT FAILURE. THESE ROBOTS CONSIST OF AN INTERCONNECTED NETWORK OF ROBOTIC BALLOONS THAT INFLATE AND DEFLATE TO PRODUCE COORDINATED MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COLLECTIVE. THESE NETWORKED BALLOON ROBOTS HAVE POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS INCLUDING HEALTHCARE, ELDERCARE, AND DISASTER RESPONSE. IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS THE SOFT, CONFORMING NATURE OF THE BALLOONS WILL SAFELY AND COMFORTABLY ALLOW ASSISTANCE WITH EVERYDAY TASKS SUCH AS SWITCHING BETWEEN SITTING, STANDING AND RECLINING POSTURES. IN DISASTER RESPONSE, NETWORKED BALLOON ROBOTS COULD AID IN SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS BY MOVING THROUGH NARROW SPACES WHILE PARTIALLY DEFLATED, THEN FULLY INFLATING COMPONENTS IN ORDER TO LIFT DEBRIS OR PREVENT FURTHER COLLAPSE OF A STRUCTURE. PLANNED ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDE THE INITIATION OF AN ANNUAL ONE-DAY SYMPOSIUM BRINGING TOGETHER ROBOTICS RESEARCHERS FROM THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF UTAH. THE PROJECT WILL EXPLORE CO-DESIGN OF MECHANICAL STRUCTURE AND CONTROL ALGORITHMS FOR AN INFLATABLE, SHAPE-CHANGING ROBOT CAPABLE OF EXERTING LARGE FORCES THROUGH DISTRIBUTED, SOFT ACTUATION. THESE ROBOTS COMPRISE A LATTICE OF INFLATABLE ACTUATORS WHOSE INDIVIDUAL VOLUMETRIC CHANGES ARE COORDINATED TO PRODUCE USEFUL MOTION AND SHAPE CHANGE. THE OUTPUT FORCE OF THE ROBOT, ARISING FROM THE CONTRIBUTION OF MULTIPLE ACTUATORS WORKING TOGETHER, WILL ENABLE THE ROBOT TO LIFT OVER 100X ITS OWN WEIGHT. DESPITE THESE HIGH FORCES, THE LOADS ARE DISTRIBUTED OVER A LARGE SURFACE AREA, ALLOWING SAFE AND COMFORTABLE INTERACTION WITH DELICATE OBJECTS, SUCH AS PEOPLE. A CORE CONTRIBUTION OF THIS WORK IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SCALABLE KINEMATIC MODEL TO ENABLE PRECISE ACTUATOR COORDINATION AND INFORM HARDWARE DESIGN. GUIDED BY MODELING EFFORTS, A VARIETY OF ROBOT CONFIGURATIONS LOOK TO BE CONSTRUCTED AND TESTED, AND THEIR PERFORMANCE COMPARED FOR MOTION ACCURACY, PAYLOAD CAPACITY, AND ROBUSTNESS TO COMPONENT FAILURE OR UNEXPECTED OPERATIONAL EVENTS. THIS RESEARCH SEEKS TO DEVELOP SOFT AND STRONG ROBOTS THAT CAN ADAPT THEIR SHAPE TO DIVERSE TASKS AND ENVIRONMENTS TO PERFORM NOVEL AND IMPORTANT TASKS. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE CROSS-DIRECTORATE FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH IN ROBOTICS PROGRAM, JOINTLY MANAGED AND FUNDED BY THE DIRECTORATES FOR ENGINEERING (ENG) AND COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (CISE). 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.

ERI: CAVITATION BUBBLE DYNAMICS NEAR MIXED SOLID-GASEOUS SURFACES -VAPOROUS CAVITATION IS A RAPID AND TEMPORARY PHASE CHANGE THAT OCCURS WHEN A LIQUID MOVES AT HIGH VELOCITY. HIGH FLOW VELOCITIES OCCUR IN, VALVES, PUMPS, HYDRAULIC TOOLS, HYDRO-TURBINES, AND SHIP PROPELLERS. THE HIGH FLOW VELOCITY DECREASES THE LOCAL PRESSURE SUFFICIENTLY TO CAUSE THE LIQUID TO VAPORIZE AND FORM SMALL BUBBLES THAT COLLAPSE AFTER THE PRESSURE RISES AGAIN. WHEN A CAVITATION BUBBLE COLLAPSES NEAR A SOLID SURFACE IT FORMS A LIQUID JET DIRECTED TOWARD THE SURFACE WHICH CAUSES THE BUBBLE TO MIGRATE IN THAT DIRECTION. IF THE JET IMPINGES ON THE SURFACE OR THE BUBBLE COLLAPSES DIRECTLY ONTO IT, THEN UNDESIRABLE CONSEQUENCES OCCUR. THESE CONSEQUENCES INCLUDE SURFACE DAMAGE THAT INCREASES OPERATIONAL COSTS AND REDUCES EFFICIENCY, UNDESIRABLE STRUCTURAL VIBRATIONS, AND HIGH LEVELS OF NOISE, WHICH CAN HARM NEARBY PEOPLE OR ANIMALS. WHILE RIGID SOLID SURFACES ATTRACT CAVITATION BUBBLES, GASEOUS SURFACES REPEL THEM. A FEW SCIENTIFIC STUDIES SHOW THAT SOLID SURFACES WITH GAS-FILLED HOLES CAN REPEL A COLLAPSING CAVITATION BUBBLE, BUT THE PARAMETER SPACE EXPLORED IN THESE WORKS IS MINIMAL AND INSUFFICIENT TO DEVELOP BUBBLE REPELLENT SURFACES. THEREFORE, THE PRINCIPAL AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO STUDY A WIDE PARAMETER SPACE OF SOLID SURFACES WITH GAS-FILLED HOLES TO FIND OPTIMAL SURFACE GEOMETRIES THAT REPEL CAVITATION BUBBLES AND PREVENT CAVITATION DAMAGE, UNDESIRABLE NOISE, AND UNDESIRABLE STRUCTURAL VIBRATIONS. THE HIGH-SPEED VIDEOS RESULTING FROM THIS WORK WILL ALSO BE USED TO DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS THAT DESCRIBE CAVITATION BUBBLE DYNAMICS TO THE PUBLIC ON YOUTUBE. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND WHEN MIXED SOLID-GASEOUS SURFACES REPEL CAVITATION BUBBLES. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, CAVITATION BUBBLES WILL BE FORMED WITH A PULSED LASER NEXT TO A SURFACE THAT CONSISTS OF A RIGID SOLID MATERIAL WITH AIR-FILLED HOLES. BUBBLE JETTING AND MIGRATION BEHAVIORS WILL BE STUDIED USING HIGH-SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY WITH THE OBJECTIVE TO MEASURE AND MODEL THE CAVITATION BUBBLE COLLAPSE AND MIGRATION DYNAMICS NEAR A SOLID SURFACE WITH A SINGLE GAS-FILLED HOLE, OR AN ARRAY OF GAS-FILLED HOLES. BUBBLE BEHAVIORS WILL BE MAPPED TO FIND REGIONS OF BUBBLE REPULSION, AND THEORETICAL MODELS WILL BE CREATED TO PREDICT THE BUBBLE BEHAVIOR TRANSITIONS. THESE MODELS CAN THEN BE USED TO DESIGN NOVEL CAVITATION BUBBLE REPELLING SURFACES THAT PREVENT DAMAGE, NOISE, AND UNDESIRABLE VIBRATIONS. 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: AIMING: SYNERGISTIC ADVANCEMENT OF AI AND MATHEMATICS -THIS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO SYNERGIZE ADVANCEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND MATHEMATICS TO ENHANCE COMPUTATIONAL METHODS FOR MATHEMATICAL REASONING AND EXPEDITE MATHEMATICAL DISCOVERY. THE PROJECT BRINGS TOGETHER A TEAM OF EXPERTS FROM THE MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES, COMPUTER SCIENCE, AND AI, LEVERAGING THEIR COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS TO TACKLE COMPLEX PROBLEMS IN THESE INTERSECTING FIELDS. THE RESEARCH WILL FOCUS ON DEVELOPING AI MODELS THAT CAN REASON CONSTRUCTIVELY ABOUT COMPLEX MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS, IMPROVING FORMAL PROOF SYSTEMS, AND CREATING NEW AI TOOLS THAT INTEGRATE MATHEMATICAL INTUITION AND CREATIVITY. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT SEEKS TO ADVANCE AI WITH MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS, AIMING FOR MORE INTERPRETABLE, CONTROLLABLE, AND TRUSTWORTHY AI MODELS. BY ADDRESSING BOTH THE ADVANCEMENT OF MATHEMATICAL RESEARCH THROUGH AI AND THE ENHANCEMENT OF AI WITH MATHEMATICAL INSIGHTS, THE PROJECT AIMS TO CREATE SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGHS IN BOTH AREAS, ULTIMATELY CONTRIBUTING TO BROADER SOCIETAL IMPACTS AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES HOW TO ENDOW AI SYSTEMS WITH THE ABILITY TO REASON CONSTRUCTIVELY AND INTUITIVELY ABOUT COMPLEX MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS, USING TECHNIQUES FROM REINFORCEMENT LEARNING, GENERATIVE MODELING, AND FORMAL PROOF VERIFICATION. CENTRAL TO THE RESEARCH IS THE MODELING OF THEOREM PROVING AS A SEQUENTIAL DECISION-MAKING PROCESS, WHERE FORMAL PROOFS ARE FRAMED AS TRAJECTORIES THROUGH COMBINATORIALLY STRUCTURED STATE AND ACTION SPACES. THE TEAM WILL DEVELOP SCALABLE TASK EMBEDDINGS TO QUANTIFY THE COMPLEXITY AND DIVERSITY OF REASONING TASKS, ENABLING CURRICULUM LEARNING STRATEGIES AND IMPROVED TRAINING DATA GENERATION. IDEAS FROM INTRINSIC MOTIVATION SUCH AS NOVELTY AND SURPRISE WILL GUIDE PROOF-SPACE EXPLORATION IN SETTINGS WHERE REWARD SIGNALS ARE SPARSE OR DELAYED. THE PROJECT ALSO AIMS TO CONSTRUCT INTERPRETABLE AND ELEGANT PROOFS BY IDENTIFYING EFFICIENT TRAJECTORIES THROUGH THE REASONING SPACE, ALIGNED WITH HUMAN-INTERPRETABLE LANDMARKS, AND TO DEVELOP ALIGNMENT METRICS FOR SELECTING MODELS SUITED TO SPECIFIC PROBLEM TYPES. IN PARALLEL, THE TEAM WILL INVESTIGATE THE MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS OF NEURAL ARCHITECTURES, ANALYZING THE REPRESENTATIONAL POWER AND OPTIMIZATION OF TRANSFORMER-BASED MODELS IN FORMAL REASONING CONTEXTS. GENERATIVE MODELS WILL BE APPLIED TO CONSTRUCT COUNTEREXAMPLES AND STRUCTURED MATHEMATICAL OBJECTS, PROVIDING TOOLS FOR DISCOVERY IN MATHEMATICAL DOMAINS SUCH AS KNOT THEORY, GROUP THEORY, AND ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY. THROUGH THESE INTEGRATED EFFORTS, THE PROJECT SEEKS TO ADVANCE BOTH THE DEVELOPMENT OF MATHEMATICALLY GROUNDED AI SYSTEMS AND THE USE OF AI AS A TOOL FOR MATHEMATICAL RESEARCH. 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.

XTRIPODS: ADVANCES AND NOVEL APPLICATIONS OF CLOSED-LOOP DATA ASSIMILATION, AND EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS TO DATA SCIENCE COURSES -TO ADEQUATELY WARN CITIZENS OF IMPENDING NATURAL DISASTERS AND OTHER EVENTS, ONE NEEDS ACCURATE PREDICTIONS OF WEATHER, BUT ALSO OF WILDFIRE SPREAD, THE MELTING OF ICE SHEETS, AND EVEN ECONOMIC GROWTH. INCORPORATING OBSERVABLE DATA INTO A MODEL THAT IS BASED ON PHYSICAL (OR ECONOMICAL) PRINCIPLES IS REFERRED TO AS DATA ASSIMILATION. UNLIKE SOME ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ALGORITHMS POPULARIZED TODAY THAT ARE BUILT EXCLUSIVELY FROM DATA, DATA ASSIMILATION USES DATA AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HOW THE UNDERLYING PHENOMENA BEHAVES, RESULTING IN PREDICTIONS THAT ARE INTERPRETABLE. THIS GRANT WILL SUPPORT STUDENTS AND FACULTY RESEARCHING TWO DATA ASSIMILATION METHODS TO GENERATE COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE TWO APPROACHES, AND TO SEE WHAT PHYSICAL CIRCUMSTANCES ARE BEST MODELED BY EACH. SPECIFICALLY, THE INVESTIGATORS ARE INTERESTED IN TESTING THESE DATA ASSIMILATION METHODS IN THE MODELING OF WILDFIRES. CLIMATE CHANGE, PAST FOREST MANAGEMENT DECISIONS, AND CONSTRUCTION OF HOMES IN WILDFIRE PRONE ZONES HAVE ALL INCREASED THE NEED FOR ACCURATE AND EFFICIENT WILDFIRE MODELING AND RISK ASSESSMENT. IN CARRYING OUT THIS RESEARCH, THE TEAM WILL INVOLVE STUDENTS, WHICH WILL HELP PREPARE THEM FOR CAREERS INVOLVING HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING AND SCIENTIFIC MODELING. THIS FUNDING WILL ALSO SUPPORT THE CREATION OF TWO GRADUATE LEVEL COURSES IN DATA ASSIMILATION AND THE MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS OF DEEP LEARNING. THESE COURSES WILL HELP STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF DATA SCIENCE AND TO PREPARE FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY CAREERS IN WHICH THEY HARNESS THE DATA REVOLUTION. THE INVESTIGATORS ARE DEVELOPING THESE COURSES IN COLLABORATION WITH FACULTY AT THE INSTITUTE FOR FOUNDATIONS OF DATA SCIENCE (IDFS), AN NSF-TRIPODS INSTITUTE WHICH WILL GREATLY ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE OF THE STUDENTS AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY. THE PRIMARY CONTRIBUTION OF THE PROJECT IS AN IN-DEPTH COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CONTINUOUS DATA ASSIMILATION (CDA) METHOD DEVELOPED FOR PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS, AND THE CONDITIONALLY GAUSSIAN KALMAN FILTERING (CGKF) APPROACH. ANECDOTALLY THESE TWO METHODS ARE APPLICABLE ON EXACTLY THE SAME PHYSICAL PHENOMENA, BUT AT THE SAME TIME FAIL FOR THE SAME SET OF MODELS AS WELL. USING RECENTLY DEVELOPED INSIGHTS INTO CDA WHICH TIE CDA INTO AN OPTIMIZATION FRAMEWORK REMINISCENT OF A MACHINE LEARNING CONTEXT, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL PROVIDE A RIGOROUS COMPARISON BETWEEN THESE TWO METHODS AND IDENTIFY HOW THE CGKF APPROACH MAKES USE OF NOISE IN THE SYSTEM AND THE OBSERVATIONS. THESE SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS WILL DIRECTLY COMPLEMENT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COURSES MENTIONED ABOVE, WHICH WILL FOCUS ON A SURVEY OF DATA ASSIMILATION METHODS, AND THE OPTIMIZATION ROUTINES THAT DETERMINE THE IDENTIFICATION OF DEEP NEURAL NETWORKS THAT GENERALIZE WELL. THE FUNDS WILL SUPPORT GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO WILL BOTH WORK ON THE ACTIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS IN OPTIMIZATION AND DATA ASSIMILATION, AND WHO WILL ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CURRICULUM FOR BOTH COURSES. 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.

ERI: MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF ACOUSTIC FIELDS FOR ULTRASOUND-BASED CNS REGENERATION -APPROXIMATELY 41 MILLION PEOPLE WITHIN THE UNITED STATES SUFFER DISABILITY. THESE DISABILITIES PLACE A LARGE BURDEN ON INDIVIDUALS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND SOCIETY AS A WHOLE. TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN INDUCE NEURON RESTORATION AND REHABILITATION ARE A CRITICAL NATIONAL HEALTH PRIORITY. HOWEVER, RESTORATION OR REHABILITATION IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM IS PARTICULARLY HARD TO ACCOMPLISH BECAUSE HUMAN NEURONS REGENERATE SLOWLY OR NOT AT ALL AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO DELIVER HELPFUL DRUGS THROUGH THE BLOOD BRAIN BARRIER. MEANWHILE, RECENTLY DEVELOPING BRAIN SURGICAL TECHNOLOGIES, CALLED FOCUSED ULTRASOUND, POSSESS MANY CHARACTERISTICS OF AN IDEAL NEURAL REHABILITATION TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE FOCUSED ULTRASOUND CAN INDUCE CHANGES IN BRAIN TISSUE AT SPECIFIC PLACES AND TIMES WITHOUT HARMING SURROUNDING TISSUES AND ARE THOUGHT TO SAFELY OPEN THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER. DEVELOPMENT OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES IS SLOWED BY THE INABILITY TO NON-DESTRUCTIVELY MEASURE THE ULTRASOUND PRESSURE FIELD INSIDE A LIVING SUBJECT. THIS MAKES IT HARD TO CONTROL WHICH ULTRASOUND-BRAIN TISSUE EFFECT ONE MIGHT INDUCE DURING THERAPY. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF ULTRASOUND-BASED NEURAL REHABILITATION TECHNOLOGY BY BUILDING DEVICES THAT CAN NON-DESTRUCTIVELY MEASURE ULTRASOUND PRESSURE FIELDS IN LIVING SUBJECTS. WHEN COMPLETED, THE DEVICE WILL ALLOW DOCTORS AND RESEARCHERS TO MEASURE AND CONTROL THE ULTRASOUND FIELD AND, THEREBY, THE SPECIFIC ULTRASOUND-BRAIN INTERACTION INDUCED DURING THERAPY. THIS PROPOSAL WILL DESIGN, PROTOTYPE, AND VALIDATE A NOVEL ULTRASOUND-ENCODING ELECTROMAGNET THAT CAN BE INSERTED INTO A MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) SCANNER AND ENCODE ACOUSTIC LONGITUDINAL DISPLACEMENT FIELDS INTO MR IMAGES OF LIVING SUBJECTS. THE DISPLACEMENT DATA CAN THEN BE USED TO ESTIMATE ACOUSTIC PARAMETERS SUCH AS PRESSURE AND SOUND SPEED INSIDE THE SUBJECT. IF SUCCESSFUL, THE NEW INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THIS ELECTROMAGNET INSERT WILL ENHANCE THE SCIENTIFIC RIGOR OF ONGOING AND FUTURE ULTRASOUND NEUROMODULATION THERAPY STUDIES. THE PROJECT WILL BE CONDUCTED IN THE FOLLOWING THREE PHASES: 1) DESIGN, 2) PROTOTYPE, AND 3) VALIDATION. THE DESIGN PHASE WILL USE SIMULATION SOFTWARE TO EVALUATE TWO ELECTROMAGNET DESIGNS AGAINST DESIGN CRITERIA SUCH AS THE ENCODING CAPABILITY OF THE ELECTROMAGNET AT 2 CM DISTANCE, LORENTZ FORCES EXERTED ON THE DEVICE, AND HEATING DURING OPERATION. DURING THE PROTOTYPING PHASE, THE DEVICE WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AND EVALUATED AGAINST THE PERFORMANCE CRITERIA PREDICTED DURING THE DESIGN PHASE. THE EFFECTS OF THE DEVICE ON MRI IMAGE QUALITY WILL ALSO BE ASSESSED. IF THE DEVICE MEETS ESTABLISHED PERFORMANCE CRITERIA, THEN, DURING THE VALIDATION PHASE OF THE PROJECT, THE ELECTROMAGNET WILL BE USED TO ESTIMATE ACOUSTIC PRESSURE FIELDS INDUCED IN A TISSUE-MIMICKING GEL OBJECT. UPON COMPLETION OF THESE THREE PHASES, THIS PROJECT WILL PRODUCE A NOVEL DEVICE THAT CAN NON-DESTRUCTIVELY MEASURE ACOUSTIC PRESSURE FIELDS IN WATER-BASED OBJECTS AND CAN BE READILY APPLIED TO ULTRASOUND-BASED NERVE REHABILITATION STUDIES. 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.

LEARNING USING THINNED NETWORKS: A CROWD SOURCING PHENOMENON IN RESERVOIR COMPUTING -THE WORLD OF MACHINE LEARNING HAS QUICKLY COME TO THE FOREFRONT AS A TOOL TO AID NUMEROUS DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES IN AREAS OF BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT, RESEARCH, ETC. A FUNDAMENTAL FEATURE COMMON TO MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS, AND OTHER REAL-WORLD SYSTEMS THAT PROCESS INFORMATION, IS AN INTERNAL NETWORK STRUCTURE. THE CHALLENGE IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS NETWORK STRUCTURE AFFECTS AN ALGORITHM?S ABILITY TO PROCESS AND LEARN FROM INCOMING DATA. THE SPECIFIC MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS CONSIDERED IN THIS PROJECT ARE RESERVOIR COMPUTERS, WHICH ARE USED TO LEARN AND MAKE PREDICTIONS REGARDING DYNAMIC PROCESSES. RECENT DISCOVERIES INDICATE THAT IMPROVING RESERVOIR PERFORMANCE CAN BE ACHIEVED BY USING A NETWORK WITH FEW INTERNAL CONNECTIONS, I.E., A THINNED NETWORK, WHICH RESULTS IN RESERVOIR RESPONSES THAT ARE HIGHLY DIVERSE. THIS IS SIMILAR TO PHENOMENA OBSERVED IN CROWDSOURCING WHERE THE DECISIONS MADE BY A GROUP IMPROVE WHEN GROUP MEMBERS RESPOND INDEPENDENTLY AND WHERE DECISIONS WORSEN WHEN GROUP PRESSURE HOMOGENIZES INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A MATHEMATICAL FRAMEWORK DESCRIBING HOW EXTREMELY SPARSE NETWORKS CAN BE IDEAL FOR PROCESSING INFORMATION AND HOW THE AGGREGATION OF THIS PROCESSED INFORMATION RESULTS IN STRUCTURES THAT ARE UBIQUITOUS IN REAL-WORLD NETWORKS. HAVING AN EXPLANATION THAT UNTANGLES THE IMPACT OF STRUCTURE ON LEARNING IN RESERVOIRS WILL GIVE THE MUCH BROADER AREA OF MACHINE LEARNING A MATHEMATICAL FOOTHOLD FOR DOING THE SAME, CONTRIBUTING TO BASIC SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND ADVANCING THE GOALS OF MACHINE LEARNING. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS TO HELP FOSTER A NEW GENERATION OF APPLIED MATHEMATICIANS WORKING AT THE INTERSECTION OF DYNAMICS, MACHINE LEARNING, AND NETWORK SCIENCE. THIS WILL BE DONE IN A STRATIFIED RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT WHERE MATHEMATICAL SCIENTISTS AND DOMAIN EXPERTS WILL MENTOR BOTH GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS WILL HELP MENTOR UNDERGRADUATES. MORE CONCRETELY, THE PROJECT WILL LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR BUILDING A RIGOROUS FRAMEWORK DESCRIBING THE EFFECT OF NETWORK STRUCTURE ON RESERVOIR ACCURACY WITH THE GOAL OF REMOVING AS MUCH OF THE BLACK-BOX NATURE OF RESERVOIRS AS POSSIBLE. TAKING INSPIRATION FROM THE SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF CROWDSOURCING, ONE OF THE NEW PERSPECTIVES THE PROJECT HOPES TO INFUSE INTO THIS AREA OF RESEARCH IS THAT COLLECTIONS OF INDEPENDENTLY OR NEARLY INDEPENDENTLY ACTING ENTITIES CAN BE HIGHLY ACCURATE IN RECREATING THE DYNAMICS OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS. TOWARDS THIS END THE PROJECT AIMS TO UNDERSTAND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN PROCESSING DATA AND AGGREGATING DATA TO TRAIN SYSTEMS, WHICH ARE OFTEN CONFLATED IN THE ANALYSIS OF MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS BUT ARE EASILY SEPARATED IN RESERVOIR COMPUTERS. A SPECIFIC GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW RESPONSE DIVERSITY IS RELATED TO PREDICTION ACCURACY AND HOW TO TUNE THIS DIVERSITY TO IMPROVE LEARNING IN RESERVOIR COMPUTERS. THE EXPECTED SCIENTIFIC BENEFIT OF THE PROJECT IS TO PROVIDE NEW METHODS TO ANALYZE AND SPECIFICALLY BUILD RESERVOIRS WITH DECREASED COST AND INCREASED PREDICTIVE POWER USING EXTREMELY SPARSE NETWORKS AND TO EXTEND THESE PRINCIPLES TO A LARGER CLASS OF MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS. 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.