Providence College

TESTING THE IMPACT OF SELF-REGULATED STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT (SRSD)

CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND- INSTITUTIONAL AID PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND- STUDENT AID PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

VIRTUOUS CITIZENS: INTEGRATING VIRTUE AND LEADERSHIP THROUGH THE SAINT DOMINIC FELLOWS PROGRAM AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE [THE SAINT DOMINIC FELLOWS PROGRAM AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL LEADERS IN THE UNITED STATES. DIVIDED INTO CLASS YEAR COHORTS OF 8 STUDENTS AND DRAWN FROM STUDENTS IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS ACROSS CAMPUS, THESE FELLOWS WILL BE FORMED INTELLECTUALLY, THROUGH INTEGRATIVE STUDY FOCUSED ON WESTERN CIVILIZATION, THE CATHOLIC AND DOMINICAN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION, AND THE RENEWAL OF CONTEMPORARY DEMOCRATIC CULTURE, MORALLY, THROUGH OPPORTUNITIES TO CULTIVATE CIVIC AND CARDINAL VIRTUES, AND VOCATIONALLY, THROUGH OFF-CAMPUS EXPERIENCES AND ON-CAMPUS MENTORING DESIGNED TO FOSTER LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL. BY OFFERING SELECT STUDENTS AN INTEGRATED EDUCATION IN THE RICHES OF THE WESTERN TRADITION, CHARACTER AND CIVIC VIRTUE, MENTORING AND LEADERSHIP, THE SAINT DOMINIC FELLOWS PROGRAM AIMS NOT ONLY TO TRANSFORM PC?S CAMPUS CULTURE BUT TO MAKE A DURABLE AND SUBSTANTIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE RENEWAL OF AMERICAN CIVIC CULTURE.]

DEVELOPING A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING (BSN) PROGRAM WITHIN A NEW SCHOOL OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

ELUCIDATING THE IMPACT OF THE NPC1NMF164 MUTATION IN THE POSTNATAL CEREBELLAR DEVELOPMENT OF A MOUSE MODEL OF NIEMANN-PICK TYPE C DISEASE

ESTIMATED TOTAL FUNDS REFER TO THE FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR CASH GRANTS WHILE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF GRANTS EQUALS TOTAL OF ALL AMERICORPS VISTA PROJECTS, TH

RHODE ISLAND MENTAL HEALTH NURSING EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE COLLABORATIVE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: REVISIONING RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION IN RHODE ISLAND FOR EMERGING RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS (ERIS) -THIS COLLABORATION OF FIVE EMERGING RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS (ERIS) IN THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION?S EPSCOR (ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH) JURISDICTION OF RHODE ISLAND (PROVIDENCE COLLEGE, RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE, ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY, RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY) ADDRESSES COLLECTIVE CHALLENGES IN THE RHODE ISLAND RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION LANDSCAPE. OVER RECENT DECADES, RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION AS A PROFESSION HAS BEEN IMPACTED BY INCREASED FEDERAL FUNDING, INSTITUTIONAL CLOSURES AND DRAMATIC WORK SHIFTS IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION MARKETPLACE. NOW, AS THE DEMAND FOR, AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE CONTINUE TO EVOLVE AND SPECIALIZE, THE NEED FOR A TALENTED PIPELINE OF FUTURE RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION LEADERS GROWS TO DEVELOP A ROBUST INFRASTRUCTURE OF PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT NECESSARY TO PROMOTE THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. FURTHER EXACERBATING THIS ISSUE IS THAT ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING A ROBUST RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION INFRASTRUCTURE IS AN OFTEN OVERLOOKED YET ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT TO REACH FULL RESEARCH CAPACITY. THESE TRENDS LIMIT THE STATEWIDE CAPACITY OF THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE AND NSF?S GOAL TO ADVANCE THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. CONSEQUENTLY, THERE ARE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES FOR LARGER PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH GRANTS ACROSS ERIS THAT ADDRESS BOTH STATEWIDE PRIORITIES AS WELL AS NATIONAL INITIATIVES. THERE IS CURRENTLY NO STATEWIDE PROJECT SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED BY ERIS FOR ERIS TO BUILD RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION CAPACITY IN RHODE ISLAND. THIS NEW ERI-DRIVEN VISION FOR RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION WILL BE A MODEL FOR OTHER ERI NETWORKS CONNECTED EITHER BY NSF JURISDICTION, GEOGRAPHY AND/OR COMMON PURPOSE AND MISSION. THIS PROJECT BUILDS A POWERFUL, COORDINATED EFFORT AMONG 5 ERIS TO DEVELOP RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION CAPACITY WITHIN RHODE ISLAND. RHODE ISLAND PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS (PUIS)/ERIS HAVE BEEN COLLABORATING INFORMALLY OVER THE LAST DECADE AND MEETING REGULARLY TO DISCUSS BEST PRACTICES, PARTNERSHIP/SHARED RESOURCES OPPORTUNITIES, MUTUAL CHALLENGES, AND THE POTENTIAL OF BUILDING A NETWORK OF PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES TO GROW STATEWIDE AND NATIONAL IMPACT. BUILDING ON MORE THAN A DECADE OF TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS, THE COLLABORATORS PROPOSE TO EXPAND, ENHANCE AND FORMALIZE AN EXISTING COLLABORATION OF ERIS UNITED BY SHARED CHALLENGES AND GOALS. THE COLLABORATORS PROPOSE AN AMBITIOUS BUT FEASIBLE PLAN TO RE-ENVISION RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION IN RI BY APPLYING EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES TO: 1. DEVELOP SHARED RESOURCES AND A RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION LEARNING COMMUNITY; 2. BUILD AND DIVERSIFY THE RI RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION PIPELINE 3. DEVELOP USER INSPIRED PROJECTS AT ERIS CONNECTED TO STATEWIDE NEEDS; 4. DEVELOP COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND SPONSORED PROJECTS PROPOSALS AMONG RI ERIS, AND 5. ENSURE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY AND BROADER IMPACT. THE STRATEGIES EMPLOYED TO MEET THESE GOALS INVOLVE INNOVATIVE NEW PROGRAMS SUCH AS A MICRO-CREDENTIAL PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATES, AND A GRANT ADMINISTRATION CERTIFICATE PROGRAM, BALANCED WITH EVIDENCED BASED BEST PRACTICES SUCH AS LEARNING COMMUNITIES, COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE, AND INTER-INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION. THE TEAM WILL GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE, EVALUATE THE RESULTS OF THE INITIATIVES, DOCUMENT THE MODEL OF COLLABORATION AND SHARE THE RESULTS WIDELY THROUGH NATIONAL MEETINGS, NETWORKS AND PUBLICATIONS. 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.

HARNESSING ATROPISOMERISM IN BETA-CARBOLINES FOR THE DISCOVERY OF NEW REACTIONS AND SMALL MOLECULE PROBES - PROJECT SUMMARY NEW THERAPEUTICS THAT HAVE POTENTIAL FOR TREATING DISEASE ARE AMONG THE PUBLIC HEALTH GOALS THAT ARE CENTRAL TO THE MISSION OF THE NIH. WHILE TRADITIONAL STRATEGIES HAVE HAD REMARKABLE SUCCESS, MOLECULES WITH NOVEL STRUCTURES AND NEW MODES OF ACTION ARE STILL NEEDED TO SERVE AS DRUG LEADS. IN THIS WORK, WE WISH TO STUDY THE UNIQUE STEREOCHEMICAL PROPERTY OF SMALL MOLECULES KNOWN AS ATROPISOMERISM. CHIRAL MOLECULES WITH AN ATROPISOMERIC AXIS, ONCE SEEN BY THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AS TOO RISKY FOR DEVELOPMENT, ARE NOW BECOMING INCREASINGLY COMMON IN DRUG DISCOVERY AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY BECAUSE OF IMPROVEMENTS MADE TO COMPOUND POTENCY, SELECTIVITY, STABILITY, AND PHARMACOKINETICS. IN THIS PROPOSAL, OUR TEAM OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHERS AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE WILL CONTINUE TO SHIFT THE PARADIGM BY EXPLOITING STABLE ATROPISOMERISM IN THE NITROGEN-CONTAINING HETEROCYCLE KNOWN AS THE SS-CARBOLINE. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED 1-ARYL-SUBSTITUTED-SS-CARBOLINES WITH ANTIBACTERIAL, NEUROPHARMACOLOGICAL, AND DNA-BINDING ACTIVITY, WHICH MAKE THEM APPROPRIATE FOR STUDY THROUGH THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES. OUR MAIN FOCUS IS ON THE ATROPISOMERIC BEHAVIOR OF 1-ARYL-SUBSTITUTED-SS-CARBOLINES, IN WHICH WE HAVE OBSERVED BARRIERS TO ROTATION GREATER THAN 30 KCAL/MOL. GIVEN THE REMARKABLE CONFIGURATIONAL STABILITY OF THESE MOLECULES, WE WILL ESTABLISH THREE NEW STRATEGIES FOR HARNESSING THEIR POTENTIAL AS CHIRAL MOLECULES FOR IMPROVING HUMAN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. OUR FIRST GOAL WILL BE TO DEVELOP A KINETIC RESOLUTION STRATEGY FOR RAPIDLY ACCESSING THE INDIVIDUAL ENANTIOMERS OF 1-ARYL-SUBSTITUTED-SS-CARBOLINES. WE WILL USE SS-TURN PEPTIDES TO PERFORM AN ASYMMETRIC N-OXIDATION OF THESE MOLECULES, WORK WHICH WILL BE AIDED BY A CONTINUING COLLABORATION WITH COLLEAGUES AT YALE UNIVERSITY IN THE LABORATORY OF PROFESSOR SCOTT MILLER. THE SECOND GOAL OF THE PROJECT WILL BE THE SYNTHESIS OF THE NATURAL PRODUCT CHAETOGLINE F, A SS-CARBOLINE NATURAL PRODUCT WITH KNOWN INHIBITORY ACTIVITY OF ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE. WE WILL PREPARE THE NATURAL PRODUCT, RESOLVE THE ENANTIOMERS, AND PERFORM A STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIP STUDY OF THIS MOLECULE WHICH WILL SHED LIGHT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ATROPISOMERISM IN TARGET BINDING. THE THIRD GOAL IS TO DEVELOP A NEW ASYMMETRIC N,P-LIGAND BASED ON THE SS- CARBOLINE SCAFFOLD. WE WILL SYNTHESIZE THE NEW LIGAND VIA A CROSS-COUPLING STRATEGY AND THEN ASSESS ITS ABILITY TO INDUCE ASYMMETRY IN THE SYNTHESIS OF NEUROACTIVE ALKALOIDS VIA ALKYNE ADDITIONS TO IMINIUM IONS. FINALLY, THIS PROPOSAL WILL EXPOSE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE TO IMPACTFUL RESEARCH, WHICH WILL BOTH IMPROVE THE CULTURE OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY IN A LIBERAL ARTS SETTING AND INSPIRE STUDENTS TO CONTINUE IN A STEM OR HEALTH-RELATED FIELD UPON GRADUATION.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: QUANTIFYING THE TROPHIC ROLES OF EPIPELAGIC CTENOPHORES

CAREER: METABOLIC CONTROL OF PURKINJE CELL DENDRITIC DEVELOPMENT AND MOUSE BEHAVIOR -AN IMPORTANT PART OF NEURAL DEVELOPMENT INVOLVES SETTING UP AND REFINING THE ARCHITECTURE AND FUNCTION OF DENDRITES, THE ?RECEIVING ENDS? OF NERVE CELLS THAT COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR PARTNERS IN CIRCUITS. THE BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES INVOLVED IN BUILDING AND MAINTAINING DENDRITES REQUIRE HIGH LEVELS OF METABOLIC ACTIVITY THAT NEEDS TO BE TURNED ON AND OFF REPEATEDLY IN A SPATIALLY AND TEMPORALLY RESTRICTED WAY. THE METABOLIC PROCESSES THAT SYNTHESIZE (ANABOLISM) AND BREAK DOWN (CATABOLISM) COMPLEX MOLECULES INVOLVED IN DENDRITE BUILDING AND REMODELING ARE NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD. THIS PROJECT EXAMINES THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN ANABOLIC AND CATABOLIC PATHWAYS DURING THE FORMATION OF PURKINJE CELL DENDRITES (WHICH HAVE SOME OF THE LARGEST DENDRITIC TREES IN THE BRAIN) WITHIN THE MOUSE CEREBELLUM. EXPERIMENTS WILL DETERMINE THE DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT THAT ANABOLIC AND CATABOLIC PATHWAYS HAVE ON DENDRITIC GROWTH, PATTERNING AND SYNAPTIC CONNECTIVITY OF PURKINJE CELLS, INCLUDING HOW THESE CHANGES AFFECT MOUSE BEHAVIOR. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL LEAD TO A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW METABOLIC PROCESSES AFFECT DENDRITIC DEVELOPMENT AND HOW FUNCTIONAL DISRUPTION OF THESE PROCESSES LEAD TO BEHAVIORAL DEFICITS OBSERVED IN NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL INVOLVE THE DIRECT PARTICIPATION OF UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS; TWO PROJECT-BASED LABORATORY NEUROSCIENCE COURSES FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS WILL EXPAND THE IMPACT OF THIS PROJECT TO A LARGER NUMBER OF STUDENTS. IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE TRAINING AND PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED AND DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS IN NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, THIS PROJECT INCLUDES A SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM INVOLVING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM PUERTO RICO WHO WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE RESEARCH PROJECT IN THE PI?S LABORATORY. NUTRIENT-RICH CONDITIONS (WHICH PROMOTE ANABOLISM) AND STARVATION (WHICH INDUCES CATABOLISM) HAVE SIGNIFICANT AND OPPOSING EFFECTS ON DENDRITIC ARBOR SIZE AND PATTERNING OF DROSOPHILA SENSORY NEURONS DURING DEVELOPMENT, SUGGESTING THAT NUTRIENT AND ENERGY AVAILABILITY IMPORTANTLY REGULATE DENDRITIC DIFFERENTIATION. IN THE MOUSE CEREBELLUM, THE POSTNATAL GROWTH OF PURKINJE CELL DENDRITES IS INCREASED BY GENETIC OVERACTIVATION OF NUTRIENT-SENSING ANABOLIC PATHWAYS. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT CURRENTLY KNOWN HOW THE METABOLIC BALANCE BETWEEN ANABOLISM AND CATABOLISM REGULATES THE DIFFERENTIATION, PATTERNING AND SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY OF DENDRITES DURING POSTNATAL BRAIN DEVELOPMENT. THIS PROJECT USES CONDITIONAL KNOCKOUT MICE, DRUG INTERVENTIONS, HISTOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR APPROACHES, AND SOPHISTICATED TISSUE IMAGING AND ANALYSIS TO MORE PRECISELY DEFINE THE CONTRIBUTION OF ANABOLIC AND CATABOLIC PATHWAYS TO PURKINJE CELL DENDRITIC DIFFERENTIATION, CEREBELLAR SYNAPTOGENESIS AND MOUSE BEHAVIOR DURING POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY EXPAND OUR SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE ROLE THAT METABOLIC BALANCE PLAYS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PLASTICITY OF SYNAPTIC CONNECTIONS IN THE BRAIN. 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: RUI: BEYOND COLLOBLASTS: FAST-ACTING PREDATION FOR TROPHIC SUCCESS IN CTENOPHORES -CTENOPHORES, COMMONLY CALLED COMB JELLIES, ARE GELATINOUS ANIMALS THAT ARE SIGNIFICANT PREDATORS IN THE WORLD?S OCEANS. BECAUSE OF THEIR KEY PREDATORY ROLE IN OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAPTURE PREY IN ORDER TO FULLY COMPREHEND HOW THEY IMPACT OCEAN FOOD WEBS. CTENOPHORES ARE COMMONLY THOUGHT TO USE STICKY CELLS, CALLED COLLOBLASTS, TO CAPTURE PREY. HOWEVER, PREVIOUS OBSERVATIONS PROVIDE STRONG EVIDENCE SUGGESTING THAT CTENOPHORES USE NEUROTOXIC CHEMICALS TO ANESTHETIZE THEIR PREY AND THAT THIS IS THE PRIMARY MECHANISM THEY USE TO CAPTURE AND INGEST PREY. THIS STUDY WILL INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF THESE NEUROTOXIC CHEMICALS FOR PREY CAPTURE BY CTENOPHORES BY QUANTIFYING (A) HOW THESE CHEMICALS INCAPACITATE PREY, (B) HOW COMMON THESE CHEMICALS ARE AMONG DIFFERENT TYPES OF CTENOPHORES, AND (C) HOW EFFECTIVE THESE CHEMICALS ARE ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF PREY. THE PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO YIELD A TRANSFORMATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS BEHIND THE REMARKABLE SUCCESS OF A GROUP OF SEEMIN 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.

SPINNING DISK CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE SYSTEM - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT OUR NIH USER GROUP FROM AN EMERGING RESEARCH INSTITUTION REQUESTS FUNDS FROM THE NIH BIG PROGRAM TO PURCHASE A NIKON CSU-W1 SPINNING DISK CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE SYSTEM TO BE HOUSED AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (PC) IN PROVIDENCE, RI. THIS ACQUISITION IS ESSENTIAL TO OUR NIH-FUNDED INVESTIGATORS WHO REQUIRE HIGH- RESOLUTION 3D FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY FOR THEIR PROJECTS. CURRENTLY, MOST OF OUR INVESTIGATORS RELY ON A 14-YEAR- OLD ZEISS LSM 700 CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE SYSTEM THAT IS EXPERIENCING HARDWARE BREAKAGES AND SOFTWARE CRASHES RELATED TO ITS AGE, AND THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED FROM SERVICE BY ZEISS. THIS SYSTEM HAS MAJOR IMAGING ISSUES INCLUDING WEAK LASER POWER, LOW SENSITIVITY, SLOW SCAN SPEED, PHOTOBLEACHING, AND PHOTOTOXICITY. THESE ISSUES ARE DAMAGING TO OUR RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND LIMIT OUR ABILITY TO PERFORM OUR NIH-FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS. PC HAS RECENTLY COMPLETED MASSIVE RENOVATIONS COSTING OVER $55 MILLION DOLLARS TO CREATE A STATE-OF-THE-ART SCIENCE COMPLEX. PART OF THIS RENOVATION INCLUDED BUILDING A BRAND-NEW MICROSCOPE AND IMAGING FACILITY. THE EXPANSION OF THE SCIENCE COMPLEX HAS BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY THE RECRUITMENT OF NEW FACULTY WITH DIVERSE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH PROJECTS WITH DISTINCT CONFOCAL IMAGING NEEDS. WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NEED FOR AN UPGRADED CONFOCAL IMAGING SYSTEM LIKE THE CSU-W1 THAT ALLOWS FOR DIVERSE IMAGING APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING 3D IMAGING OF LIVE OR/AND FIXED CELLS AND TISSUES. THE NIKON CSU-W1 SPINNING DISK CONFOCAL IS A HIGH-SPEED, HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING SYSTEM FEATURING AN ULTRA-WIDE FIELD OF VIEW AND ENHANCED SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO. THE CSU-W1 HAS A WIDER INTER-PINHOLE SPACING IN THE SPINNING DISK THAT REDUCES PINHOLE CROSSTALK ALLOWING DEEP IMAGING APPLICATIONS FROM 50 TO 100UM. OUR CSU-W1 WILL BE EQUIPPED WITH FIVE CFI PLAN APO OBJECTIVES (4X, 20X, 40X, 60X OIL, AND 100X OIL) AND FOUR LASER LINES (405, 488, 561, AND 640NM) THAT WILL MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL USERS. THE TI2-E INVERTED MICROSCOPE BASE IS FULLY MOTORIZED, WITH A STABLE, DRIFT-FREE PLATFORM. THE PRIME BSI EXPRESS CMOS CAMERA (2048X2048) HAS A NEAR PERFECT 95% QUANTUM EFFICIENCY TO MAXIMIZE SIGNAL DETECTION. THE CSU-W1 ALSO INCLUDES A WORKSTATION EQUIPPED WITH NIS-ELEMENTS AR SOFTWARE THAT ALLOWS CONTROL OF THE CSU-W1 IMAGING SYSTEM AND HAS BUILT-IN MULTI-X, Y, Z, TIME, MULTICHANNEL EXPERIMENT CAPABILITIES. THIS INSTRUMENT ALLOWS TIME-LAPSE IMAGING OF LIVE CELLS WITHOUT COMPLICATIONS OF PHOTOTOXICITY, IMAGE STITCHING OF LARGE TISSUE SECTIONS, FAST ACQUISITION OF 3D VOLUMETRIC MULTI- CHANNEL IMAGES, AND HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING TO VIEW FINE STRUCTURES IN CELLS. THESE FEATURES WILL BE USED FOR DIVERSE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH PROJECTS TO IDENTIFY STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN NEURONS ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE AND BEHAVIOR, CELL SIZE AND CELL DIVISION MECHANICS, HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS, TRANSPORT PROCESSES IN SQUID PHOTORECEPTORS, CELLULAR EFFECTS INDUCED BY NOVEL SMALL MOLECULE PROBES, AND SIGNALING PATHWAYS INDUCED BY MICRONEEDLES IN HUMAN SKIN. THIS USER GROUP HAS AN IMMEDIATE NEED FOR THE CSU-W1 SPINNING DISK CONFOCAL TO SUPPORT CURRENT PROJECTS AND TO EXPAND AND INNOVATE THEIR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS.

GENETIC IDENTIFICATION OF SULFORAPHANE'S MECHANISM OF ACTION IN YEAST CELL DEATH

MULTIPLICITY: ABSTRACTION, PATTERN & IDENTITY IN LIMITED-EDITION ART? INTEGRATING FINE ART MULTIPLES INTO PCG?S PERMANENT COLLECTION [PROVIDENCE COLLEGE GALLERIES [PCG] WILL INTEGRATE RECENT ART ACQUISITIONS INTO ITS PERMANENT COLLECTION VIA PHYSICAL DISPLAYS IN PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE SPACES, AN ONLINE CATALOG, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPER STORAGE AND PRESERVATION METHODS. THE 75 NEWLY ACQUIRED ARTWORKS SHOWCASE AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS? EXPLORATIONS OF PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE IDENTITY, HERITAGE, AND CROSS-CULTURAL NARRATIVES. THEY ARE ALL LIMITED-EDITION ARTWORKS, INCLUDING FINE ART PRINTS, SMALL SCULPTURE, ARTIST BOOKS AND MORE. AS PART OF THE INTEGRATION PROCESS, A PROJECT TEAM WILL FIRST DIGITIZE, INTERPRET, AND PRESERVE THE ARTWORKS AND THEN ORGANIZE THEM INTO PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE PHYSICAL DISPLAYS COMPRISED OF THEMATICALLY CURATED SECTIONS. TO FURTHER EXPAND PUBLIC ACCESS TO THESE RECENT ACQUISITIONS, AS WELL OTHER ASPECTS OF PCG?S PERMANENT COLLECTION, THE ARTWORKS WILL BE ACCESSIBLE VIA THE WEBSITE IN AN ONLINE CATALOG AND COLLECTION DATABASE AND BY APPOINTMENT IN A NEW FINE ART PRINT STUDY HUB.] [PURPOSE:?THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS THE HIRING OF THREE PART-TIME STAFF MEMBERS AND VARIOUS CONTRACTORS TO INTEGRATE?75?RECENT?CONTEMPORARY?ART ACQUISITIONS INTO THE PERMANENT COLLECTION AND TO MOUNT SEMI-PERMANENT?THEMATIC?EXHIBITS?IN THE GALLERIES, AT THE PHILIPS MEMORIAL LIBRARY, AND AT THE RUANE CENTER FOR THE HUMANITIES,?AND?TO?PRODUCE AN ONLINE CATALOG?RELATED TO THE?PROJECT?S CENTRAL CONCEPT, "MULTIPLICITY: ABSTRACTION, PATTERN & IDENTITY IN LIMITED- EDITION ART? AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE GALLERIES (PCG).  ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: AN ACADEMIC CURATOR,?A?REGISTRAR, AND A COLLECTION FELLOW WOULD BE HIRED ALONG WITH THE FOLLOWING CONTRACTORS: A GRAPHIC DESIGNER, FABRICATOR, WEB DEVELOPER, ART HANDLER, AND?EDITOR, TO PROCESS AND DEVELOP EXHIBITIONS AROUND 75 CONTEMPORARY LIMITED-EDITION FINE-ART ACQUISITIONS?BY DIVERSE ARTISTS,?INCLUDING?PRINTS, SMALL SCULPTURE, AND ARTIST BOOKS. THE ACQUISITIONS WOULD BE STORED, PRESERVED, DIGITIZED, INTERPRETED, AND EXHIBITED IN THE MAIN GALLERY?AT?PCG?AND OTHER SITES ON CAMPUS?FOR FIVE YEARS AND ONLINE. AN ONLINE CATALOG THAT CONSOLIDATES IMAGES OF THE "MULTIPLICITY" EXHIBIT, INDIVIDUAL ARTWORKS, AND INTERPRETIVE TEXTS WILL BE PUBLISHED. EXHIBITS?WOULD?EXAMINE HOW THESE ARTISTS USE COLOR, REPETITION, AND DECORATION TO COMMENT ON SUBJECTS LIKE RACE, RELIGION, GENDER, AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION.?  EXPECTED OUTCOMES:?THE EXHIBITIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES SHOULD PROVIDE THE PUBLIC WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT PORTALS TO ACCESS THE ARTWORKS AND TO ACCESS INTERPRETATIONS OF THEM.  INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: AUDIENCES FOR THESE EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE STUDENTS AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE AND OTHER REGIONAL AND BROAD AUDIENCES WHO VISIT THE GALLERIES. GENERAL AUDIENCES COULD ACCESS THE DIGITAL CONTENT SUCH AS THE EXHIBITION CATALOG.   SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES:?THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS. ]

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A 400 MHZ NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR) SPECTROMETER FOR A CLUSTER OF PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS IN RHODE ISLAND

MRI-R2: ACQUISITION OF A LASER SCANNING CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE FOR RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN BIOLOGY AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

GENETIC DISSECTION OF YEAST BAX INHIBITOR FUNCTION IN UPR AND CALCIUM SIGNALING

LEAPS-MPS: SPECIFICITY AND MECHANISM OF AZOREDUCTASES VERSUS NONENZYMATIC HYDROGEN SULFIDE REDUCTION OF AZO COMPOUNDS DUE TO THE HUMAN GUT MICROBIOME -IN THIS PROJECT, FUNDED BY THE MPS-LEAPS (LAUNCHING EARLY-CAREER ACADEMIC PATHWAYS) PROGRAM AND THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE PROCESSES (CLP) PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY (CHE) AND MANAGED BY THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY (CHE), PROFESSOR STACK AND HIS STUDENTS AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE WILL STUDY THE CHEMICAL BREAKDOWN OF AZO-CONTAINING SMALL MOLECULES IN THE HUMAN GUT. THE TRILLIONS OF MICROBES IN THE HUMAN GUT CAN METABOLIZE THESE COMPOUNDS AFFECTING THEIR ACTIVITY. HOWEVER, THE ONGOING CHALLENGE IS IDENTIFYING WHICH ORGANISMS AND PROTEINS ARE RESPONSIBLE AND HOW QUICKLY THESE TRANSFORMATIONS OCCUR. PROFESSOR STACK AND HIS STUDENTS WILL EXAMINE THE CHEMICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BACTERIAL ENZYMES AND THE HYDROGEN SULFIDE PRODUCED BY BACTERIA TO BREAK THE NITROGEN-NITROGEN DOUBLE BOND FOUND IN SOME DRUGS (SUCH AS SULFASALAZINE AND PHENAZOPYRIDINE) AND FOOD DYES (LIKE RED 40 AND YELLOW 4). THIS FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH COULD HAVE POTENTIAL BROADER IMPACTS IN FUTURE DESIGN OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS WITH CONSIDERATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE GUT MICROBIOME. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT PROVIDES UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE WORK DESCRIBED ABOVE AND BY DEVELOPING A COURSE-BASED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL CHEMISTRY AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE. THESE EXPERIENCES HAVE POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE STUDENT RETENTION IN STEM FIELDS AND PARTICIPATION IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. PROFESSOR STACK AND HIS STUDENTS WILL SYNTHESIZE VARIOUS AZOBENZENE DERIVATIVES AND EVALUATE THEIR REDUCTION RATES BY AZOREDUCTASE ENZYMES (AZORS) AND HYDROGEN SULFIDE, ASSESSING SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ENZYMATIC AND NONENZYMATIC REDUCTION. AZORS ARE PROPOSED TO REDUCE QUINONE-LIKE TAUTOMERS OF AZOBENZENES. THESE STUDIES EXAMINE HOW ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES INFLUENCE REDUCTION RATES AND TEST THE PROPOSED AZOR MECHANISM. USING CYCLIC VOLTAMMETRY, UV-VISIBLE SPECTROSCOPY, 1H AND 13C NMR SPECTROMETRY, AND MASS SPECTROMETRY, THE RESEARCH WILL MEASURE REDUCTION POTENTIALS AND KINETICS, WITH A FOCUS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF QUINONE-LIKE INTERMEDIATES AND ELECTRONIC EFFECTS AT SPECIFIC SITES OF AZO-BONDED MOLECULES. THE GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY COMPOUNDS REDUCIBLE BY HYDROGEN SULFIDE, COMPARE REDUCTION RATES WITH ENZYMATIC PROCESSES, AND RELATE REDUCTION POTENTIALS TO LIMITATIONS IN HYDROGEN SULFIDE ACTIVITY. THESE INSIGHTS HAVE POTENTIAL TO CLARIFY WHICH REDUCTION SOURCES OPERATE IN THE HUMAN GUT, TO SUPPORT AN UNDERSTANDING OF BACTERIAL METABOLISM OF DRUGS AND FOOD DYES THROUGH METAGENOMIC AND METATRANSCRIPTOMIC DATA. THIS FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH WILL HAVE BROADER IMPACTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS AND FOSTER FUTURE INVESTIGATIONS INTO ENZYME SPECIFICITY, DRUG METABOLISM, AND METAGENOMICS. 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: BIODESIGN: A DEEP DIVE INTO DYNAMIC DAMPING IN EXTREME UNDERWATER MANEUVERING -WE SEEK TO REVEAL HOW FISH ACHIEVE RAPID MANEUVERS, A CAPABILITY THAT SURPASSES EVEN THE MOST ADVANCED ROBOTIC SYSTEMS. OUR RESEARCH FOCUSES ON A CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS: THAT FISH USE THEIR MUSCLES TO DYNAMICALLY CONTROL THEIR BODY STIFFNESS, THE RESISTANCE TO BENDING, AND, MORE CRUCIALLY, DAMPING, THE RESISTANCE TO THE SPEED OF BENDING, A PHENOMENON THAT ENABLES THEM TO NAVIGATE COMPLEX AND UNPREDICTABLE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, WE WILL CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS ON SWIMMING FISHES AND MEASURE THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THEIR BODIES AND ISOLATED MUSCLES, ALONGSIDE PARALLEL TESTS USING A CUSTOM BIOROBOT PLATFORM. THIS SYNERGY BETWEEN BIOLOGICAL AND ENGINEERING APPROACHES WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND WHETHER FISH EXECUTE FAST ACCELERATIONS AND RAPID TURNING MANEUVERS BY DYNAMICALLY MODULATING BODY DAMPING AND STIFFNESS. THIS RESEARCH WILL ALSO DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW FISH MANEUVER, INCLUDING THEIR BEHAVIOR, THE BIOMECHANICS OF THEIR BODIES, AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH THE WATER AROUND THEM. OUR FINDINGS WILL ALSO HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFERENT FISH SPECIES ARE SPECIALIZED FOR DIFFERENT SWIMMING AND ADAPTED TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS. BEYOND FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING, OUR RESEARCH WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR DEVELOPING EXTREMELY AGILE BIOROBOTS, UNLOCKING COMPLEX MISSIONS PREVIOUSLY INACCESSIBLE, SUCH AS NEARSHORE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING, DETAILED INSPECTION OF UNDERWATER OFFSHORE INFRASTRUCTURES, AND NON-INTRUSIVE STUDIES OF OCEAN BIODIVERSITY. BY INTEGRATING BIOLOGICAL INSIGHTS WITH ROBOTIC DESIGN, OUR RESEARCH WILL ENGAGE THE PUBLIC AND EDUCATE FUTURE SCHOLARS FROM K-12, HIGHLIGHTING THE SHARED PHYSICS UNDERLYING FISH MOVEMENT AND BIOROBOT DESIGN. FISH CAN TURN AND ACCELERATE FASTER THAN EVEN THE MOST ADVANCED BIOMIMETIC ROBOTS. PRIOR WORK HAS ATTRIBUTED THIS EXTREME AGILITY TO THE ABILITY OF FISH TO MODULATE THEIR BODY STIFFNESS (THE RESISTANCE TO BENDING), BUT THIS HAS PRODUCED LIMITED RESULTS IN BIOROBOTICS. WE ARGUE THAT THE MODULATION OF DAMPING (THE RESISTANCE TO THE RATE OF BENDING) IS CRUCIAL FOR PERFORMING EXTREME MANEUVERS. PRELIMINARY DATA FROM MATHEMATICAL MODELS AND SWIMMING EXPERIMENTS SUGGEST THAT FISH CANNOT ACHIEVE AGILE MANEUVERS WITHOUT MUSCLE-INDUCED DAMPING MODULATION. WE PLAN TO EXAMINE THIS MODULATION BY CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS ON SWIMMING FISH AND PARALLEL TESTS USING AN ADVANCED BIOROBOT. IN VIVO SWIMMING EXPERIMENTS WILL MEASURE SWIMMING PERFORMANCE AND MUSCLE BEHAVIOR, WHICH WILL BE USED TO PERFORM IN VITRO TESTS FOR MEASURING MUSCLE POWER AND BODY FLEXIBILITY. BIOROBOTIC EXPERIMENTS WILL MEASURE THE EFFECTS OF DYNAMIC TUNING OF BODY DAMPING ON MANEUVERING PERFORMANCE, ENERGY DYNAMICS, AND FLUID FLOW PATTERNS. BY INTEGRATING OUR ROBOTIC AND BIOLOGICAL FINDINGS, WE AIM TO DEMONSTRATE THAT DYNAMIC DAMPING IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE EXTREME MANEUVERABILITY CRUCIAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF FISH. THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH NOT ONLY PAVES THE WAY FOR DEVELOPING HIGHLY MANEUVERABLE BIOROBOTS BUT ALSO INSPIRES FUTURE BIODESIGN INNOVATORS TO MOVE FROM SIMPLE BIOMIMICRY TO INNOVATIONS GROUNDED IN BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES. 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.

RUI: ASYMMETRIC SYNTHESIS OF ATROPISOMERIC BETA-CARBOLINES

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: WHAT'S THEIR IMPACT?: QUANTIFICATION OF MEDUSAN FEEDING MECHANICS AS A TOOL FOR PREDICTING MEDUSAN PREDATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: FUNCTIONAL DESIGN OF SIPHONOPHORE PROPULSION AND BEHAVIOR

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TURBULENCE AND SUSPENSION FEEDING - A NEW APPROACH USING THE LOBATE CTENOPHORE MNEMIOPSIS LEIDYI

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF BIOHYBRID JELLYFISH FOR OCEAN MEASUREMENT -VAST MIDWATER REGIONS AWAY FROM THE SURFACE AND COASTS REMAIN LARGELY UNEXPLORED AND SPARSELY SAMPLED, BOTH TEMPORALLY AND SPATIALLY. THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS BIOHYBRID JELLYFISH INSTRUMENTED WITH PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE SENSORS AS A NOVEL, LOW-COST PLATFORM FOR OCEANOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENT, ADDRESSING LIMITATIONS OF TRADITIONAL METHODS SUCH AS SHIPS, BUOYS, AND AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES. BIOHYBRID JELLYFISH LEVERAGE NATURAL PROPULSION AND PRESSURE TOLERANCE TO ENABLE LOW-ENERGY, SCALABLE OCEAN MONITORING. BY ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLING THEIR SWIMMING, JELLYFISH CAN BE DIRECTED FOR TARGETED ENVIRONMENTAL MEASUREMENTS. THIS RESEARCH FOCUSES ON FOUR SPECIES: AURELIA AURITA (MOON JELLY), CASSIOPEIA SP. (UPSIDE-DOWN JELLYFISH), CHRYSAORA SP. (SEA NETTLE), AND MASTIGIAS SP. (LAGOON JELLYFISH) THAT ENCOMPASS A SPECTRUM OF DISTINCT JELLYFISH MORPHOLOGIES AND ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS. FIELD STUDIES WILL OCCUR IN THE FLORIDA KEYS, CAPE COD, AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN ORDER TO TEST THE EFFICACY OF BIOHYBRIDS ACROSS DIFFERENT OCEANIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGIMES. ACTIVITIES ARE PLANNED FOR ENGAGING A BROAD AUDIENCE INCLUDING K-12 SCHOOLS, UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THE BIOINSPIRED ROBOTS WOULD PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR K-12 STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION AND HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE ON NEURAL CONTROL. THE PROJECT OFFERS INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING FOR EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS IN BIOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SENSING. THIS MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT WILL PURSUE THREE KEY OBJECTIVES. STUDIES OF JELLYFISH NEUROPHYSIOLOGY WILL INVESTIGATE MICROELECTRONIC PACEMAKER CONTROL AND DEVELOP BIOELECTRONIC INTERFACES FOR PRECISE MOVEMENT REGULATION IN EACH SPECIES. MEASUREMENTS OF METABOLISM DURING ROBOTIC CONTROL WILL QUANTIFY ENERGY COSTS OF BIOHYBRID LOCOMOTION AND COMPARE THE MEASURED EFFICIENCY WITH PURELY MECHANICAL, ROBOTIC ALTERNATIVES. ASSESSMENTS OF SWIMMING PERFORMANCE WILL EVALUATE SPEED, MANEUVERABILITY, AND STATION-KEEPING ABILITY IN CONTROLLED LABORATORY TESTING FACILITIES AND IN DYNAMIC OCEAN ENVIRONMENTS. 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.

RUI: HFQ AND SRNA FUNCTION IN SHEWANELLA ONEIDENSIS GROWTH AND ADAPTATION TO STRESS

PC LIFELINES: PROMOTING HUMAN FLOURISHING AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: ETHICS OF CARE AND COMPOUNDED DISASTER

RUI: SYNTHESIS OF ISOMERIC CARBOLINES BY TANDEM PALLADIUM CATALYSIS

VOLUMETRIC VELOCIMETRY SYSTEM FOR AQUATIC PROPULSION ANALYSIS

20-SSW20-0111 COUPLING EUROPA'S TIDES FAULT MOTIONS AND NEAR-SURFACE MELT DYNAMICS

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: OPTIMIZED DESIGN PRINCIPLES INSPIRED BY COMPLIANT NATURAL PROPULSORS.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: BRAIN SIZE, METABOLISM AND SOCIALITY IN ANTS

LEAPS-MPS: QUANTUM FIELD THEORIES AND ELLIPTIC COHOMOLOGY -THE DIALOG BETWEEN MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS HAS A LONG HISTORY OF YIELDING INSIGHTS IN BOTH DISCIPLINES, OFTEN REVEALING DEEP, UNIFYING STRUCTURE, SUCH AS IN GENERAL RELATIVITY AND RIEMANNIAN GEOMETRY. TOPOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF SHAPES; IN PARTICULAR, TOPOLOGY ASKS ABOUT PROPERTIES OF SHAPES THAT REMAIN UNCHANGED AS THE SHAPE IS SMOOTHLY TRANSFORMED. OVER THE PAST CENTURY, ADVANCES IN QUANTUM PHYSICS, ESPECIALLY CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS AND SUPERSTRING THEORY, DEPENDED ON INNOVATIONS IN TOPOLOGY. ONE SUCH INNOVATION IS FACTORIZATION ALGEBRAS, A MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR THE OBSERVABLES OF A (CLASSICAL OR QUANTUM) FIELD THEORY. THIS PROJECT USES FACTORIZATION ALGEBRAS TO EXPLORE A CONJECTURED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A CERTAIN TYPE OF QUANTUM FIELD THEORY AND AN OBJECT IN TOPOLOGY CALLED ELLIPTIC COHOMOLOGY. THE PRECISE STRUCTURE OF THIS RELATIONSHIP HAS REMAINED ELUSIVE FOR DECADES; A RESOLUTION TO THIS CONJECTURE WOULD PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO BOTH A GEOMETRIC INTERPRETATION OF ELLIPTIC COHOMOLOGY AND FOUNDATIONAL QUESTIONS IN QUANTUM PHYSICS RELATED TO STRING THEORY. THIS AWARD ALSO SUPPORTS A REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON TOPOLOGY AND MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS, A DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES, AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATES AT THE PI?S INSTITUTION, BOTH INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN MATHEMATICS AND ENHANCING THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT OF THE PI?S INSTITUTION. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THIS PROJECT EXPLORES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EQUIVARIANT FACTORIZATION ALGEBRAS, SUPERSYMMETRIC TWISTED FIELD THEORIES, AND ELLIPTIC COHOMOLOGY, WITH THE GOAL OF GIVING INSIGHT INTO A GEOMETRIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE LATTER. THE FIRST COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT INVOLVES ANALYZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SMOOTHLY EQUIVARIANT FACTORIZATION ALGEBRAS AND SUPERSYMMETRIC TWISTED FUNCTORIAL FIELD THEORIES, USING TOOLS OF HIGHER OPERADS. SUPERSYMMETRIC TWISTED FIELD THEORIES HAVE BEEN USED TO BRIDGE MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS AND COHOMOLOGY THEORIES; IN LOW DIMENSIONS THERE ARE KNOWN DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRIC DESCRIPTIONS OF THESE FIELD THEORIES USING DERHAM COHOMOLOGY AND K-THEORY. IN THE NEXT SUPERSYMMETRIC DIMENSION, TWISTED FIELD THEORIES ARE CONJECTURALLY RELATED TO A GENERALIZED ELLIPTIC COHOMOLOGY THEORY, TOPOLOGICAL MODULAR FORMS (TMF). THE CONJECTURED RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN INVESTIGATED FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS BUT REMAINS UNRESOLVED. HAVING A DESCRIPTION OF THESE SUPERSYMMETRIC FIELD THEORIES AS EQUIVARIANT FACTORIZATION ALGEBRAS WOULD REFRAME THE CONJECTURE, ALLOWING MORE DIRECT USE OF EXAMPLES OF FIELD THEORIES FROM PHYSICS. THE SECOND COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT INVOLVES LOOKING AT A CATEGORIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL BUNDLES, WHERE THE SYMMETRIES ARE GIVEN BY A SMOOTH 2-GROUP. PRINCIPAL BUNDLES FOR SMOOTH 2-GROUPS ARE ALSO RELATED TO QUESTIONS IN ELLIPTIC COHOMOLOGY, SINCE THE STRING GROUP (AN EXAMPLE OF A SMOOTH 2-GROUP ARISING AS A CATEGORICAL CENTRAL EXTENSION) GIVES ORIENTATION DATA FOR TMF. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE LEAPS-MPS PROGRAM AND THE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCOR). 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: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES IN EXTRAGALACTIC RADIO ASTRONOMY

RII TRACK-4: COMPARATIVE CITYSCAPE GENOMICS OF RATS IN FOUR MAJOR CITIES

UNS: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FLUID MECHANICAL BASIS OF UNIVERSAL NATURAL PROPULSOR BENDING PATTERNS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PHASE TWO DEVELOPMENT OF A SELF-CONTAINED UNDERWATER VELOCIMETRY APPARATUS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ABI DEVELOPMENT: INTEGRATED X-RAY MOTION ANALYSIS SOFTWARE AND VIDEO DATA MANAGEMENT FOR THE COMPARATIVE BIOMECHANICS COM

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IDBR: TYPE A: DIVER-OPERATED IMAGING PLATFORM WITH COMPLEMENTARY SYSTEMS FOR QUANTIFYING AQUATIC ORGANISM INTERACTIONS

PC LIFELINES: PROMOTING HUMAN FLOURISHING AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

RUI: THE CIRCUMGALACTIC MEDIUM IN THE LOCAL UNIVERSE

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE GALLERIES WILL IMPLEMENT AN ART COLLECTION DOCUMENTATION, INTERPRETATION, AND DIGITIZATION PROJECT TO MAKE PART OF ITS ART COLLECTION ACCESSIBLE ONLINE. THROUGH THE PROJECT, THEY WILL DIGITALLY PHOTOGRAPH 600 MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY WORKS?INCLUDING SEVERAL BY PROMINENT WOMEN FROM PROVIDENCE AND NEW ENGLAND?AND CRAFT INTERPRETIVE TEXTS AND FURTHER-RESEARCH READING LISTS FOR 400 OF THOSE PIECES. ALL OF THE NEWLY GENERATED IMAGES AND TEXTS WILL GO INTO A COLLECTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. TO MAKE THE COLLECTION MORE ACCESSIBLE TO BROAD AUDIENCES, THEY WILL CREATE AND LAUNCH AN ONLINE CATALOG.

AN INTEGRATED FUTURE: BUSINESS, MEDICINE, AND THE HUMANITIES

VIRTUOUS CITIZENS: BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR VIRTUE AND LEADERSHIP AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE [THE HUMANITIES PROGRAM AT PROVIDENCE COLLEGE REQUESTS A CHAIRMAN?S AWARD FROM THE NEH IN THE 2025-26 ACADEMIC YEAR TO SUPPORT ACTIVITIES CELEBRATING AMERICAN PRINCIPLES AND EXCEPTIONALISM ON THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE THREE RELATED AREAS OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT. FIRST, IN THE CLASSROOM: WEEKLY READING SEMINARS?ONE FOR STUDENTS AND ONE FOR FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION?ON A PRIMARY OR CONTEMPORARY WORK ADDRESSING AMERICAN IDEALS AND INSTITUTIONS. SECOND, ACROSS CAMPUS: TWO HUMANITIES FORUM LECTURES BRINGING IN NOTEWORTHY SCHOLARS TO SPEAK ON ASPECTS OF OUR NATION?S FOUNDING, POLITICAL LIBERTY, AND CIVIC VIRTUE. THIRD, AROUND THE COUNTRY: A NEW LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR SOPHOMORES IN THE MOAB DESERT IN UTAH INTEGRATING WORKS AND IDEAS FROM THE AMERICAN FOUNDING.]

BUILDING UPON A PREVIOUS IMLS PROJECT, PROVIDENCE COLLEGE GALLERIES WILL UNDERTAKE ACTIVITIES TO EXPAND DIGITAL ACCESS TO ITS COLLECTION AND DEEPEN ENGAGEMENT WITH MEMBERS OF ITS COMMUNITY WHO IDENTIFY AS DISABLED. PROJECT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE TRAINING STAFF IN UNIVERSAL DESIGN LEARNING PRINCIPLES AND ALT-TEXT CAPTIONING AND ADDING ALT-TEXT TO 874 IMAGES ON THE GALLERIES’ WEBSITE AND ART COLLECTION DATABASE. MUSEUM STAFF WILL HIRE STUDENTS AND CONTRACT WITH A WRITER/EDITOR TO CREATE CAPTIONING AND AN ALT-TEXT GUIDE. AN ACCESS FOCUS GROUP WILL BE FORMED TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MUSEUM AND THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY ON AND OFF CAMPUS. THE PROJECT WILL RESULT IN IMPROVED ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY AND WILL SERVE DIVERSE POPULATIONS, CULTIVATE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, AND SUPPORT LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS.

ENGAGES INDIVIDUALS IN SERVICE TO ELIMINATE POVERTY AND POVERTY-RELATED PROBLEMS IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

PURPOSE: TO CONDUCT AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF ARTS AND CULTURAL RESPONSES DURING DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

PRESERVATION ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROVIDENCE COLLEGE GALLERIES ART COLLECTIONS [PROVIDENCE COLLEGE GALLERIES (PCG) SEEKS TO COMPREHENSIVELY EVALUATE COLLECTION PRESERVATION PRACTICES, ADDRESSING ARTWORKS STORED IN AGING BUILDINGS AND THOSE EXHIBITED ON CAMPUS. THE ASSESSMENT, CONDUCTED BY THE NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER (NEDCC), INCLUDES AN IN-PERSON SITE VISIT RESULTING IN A DETAILED REPORT OUTLINING CURRENT CONDITIONS, BEST PRACTICES, AND RECOMMENDATIONS. THIS FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENT WILL GUIDE PCG IN PRIORITIZING SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM PRESERVATION INITIATIVES. A PCG COLLECTIONS TASK FORCE, INVOLVING KEY STAKEHOLDERS, WILL COLLABORATE WITH PCG STAFF AND NEDCC THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS TO LAUNCH THE PROJECT, REVIEW FINDINGS, AND FURTHER DISSEMINATE THE ASSESSMENT. ADDITIONALLY, PCG STAFF WILL UNDERGO TRAINING TO CREATE ITS FIRST DISASTER PLAN TO ENHANCE CAPACITY IN IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING PRESERVATION RISKS. THE GOAL IS TO FORTIFY PCG'S STEWARDSHIP, ENSURING THE LONGEVITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE COLLECTION FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE AUDIENCES.]

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT THE COMMISSION OF A MURAL BY HOUSTON-BASED ARTIST TRENTON DOYLE HANCOCK (B. 1974).