Wesleyan University

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY GRANT FOR INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE CARES ACT.

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS UNDER THE CARES ACT.

EMERGENCY FUNDS TO DISTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY - HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND-INSTITUTIONAL PORTION

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY -- CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - INSTITUTIONAL AID

EMERGENCY FUNDS TO DISTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - STUDENT AID

NWU CARES ACT HEERF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDING

A COMMUNITY ASSETS PROGRAM THAT FOSTERS THE NEXT GENERATION OF STEM LEADERS

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY -- CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

EMERGENCY GRANTS TO INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE CORONA VIRUS AID, RELIEF AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT

FOR THE INSTITUTIONAL PORTION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND FORMULA GRANTS AUTHORIZED BY SECTION 18004(A)(1) OF THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT

ROBERTS EDUCATION STABILIZATION INSTITUTIONAL

NWU CARES ACT HEERF FUNDING FOR STUDENTS

CARES ACT INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

TO ADDRESS PRESSING FINANCIAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS DUE TO THE DISRUPTION OF CAMPUS OPERATIONS UNDER THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT.

EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS UNDER THE CORONA VIRUS AID, RELIEF AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT

ROBERTS HIGHER ED CARES EMERGENCY FUNDING

CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONAL PORTION

CARES ACT SUPPORT OF HIGHER EDUCATION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC - STUDENT SUPPORT (PART 1)

CARES ACT EMERGENCY AID FOR INSTITUTIONS

A DATA-DRIVEN, MULTIDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM PROVIDING ACCESS TO THE DATA ANALYTICS ECONOMY THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

CARES ACT EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS04/

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - INSTITUTIONAL PORTION

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - INSTITUTION RELIEF

EMERGENCY RELIEF AID FOR STUDENTS

SUCCESS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY WITH ACADEMIC RIGOR AND TRAINING (START 2.0)

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM

ONGOING INSTITUTIONAL OPERATING COSTS OF IOWA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM (SIP)

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

INCREASING RETENTION OF FIRST-YEAR FRESHMEN BY IMPROVING ADVISING AND STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

PHEROMONE RECEPTOR GENOMIC EVOLUTION AND GENE REGULATION

HOW DO SYNAPTONEMAL COMPLEX PROTEINS MEDIATE CLASS I CROSSOVER FORMATION

CARES HIGHER EDUCATION RELIEF FUNDS

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - CARES ACT

CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - STUDENT RELIEF

IMPACTING STUDENT SUCCESS IN STEM THROUGH THE INTEGRATION OF MENTORING, PROGRAMMING, AND COHORT TRAINING AT A LIBERAL ARTS INSTITUTION -THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE NATIONAL NEED FOR WELL-EDUCATED SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, ENGINEERS, AND TECHNICIANS BY SUPPORTING THE RETENTION AND GRADUATION OF HIGH-ACHIEVING, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED AT VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. THIS INSTITUTION IS A PRIVATE, PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE ONE IN SOUTHEAST, COASTAL VIRGINIA, COMPRISING 34% UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS. OVER ITS FIVE-YEAR DURATION, THIS PROJECT WILL FUND SCHOLARSHIPS TO 30 UNIQUE FULL-TIME STUDENTS WHO ARE PURSUING BACHELOR?S DEGREES IN BIOLOGY, BIOCHEMISTRY, CHEMISTRY, COMPUTER SCIENCE, CYBERSECURITY, EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, AND MATHEMATICS. FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT THROUGH GRADUATION. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT AND ENGAGE SCHOLARS IN MULTIPLE WAYS, INCLUDING FACULTY AND PEER MENTORING, RESEARCH AND INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES, CAREER PLANNING SERVICES, AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES. ADDITIONAL PROJECT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE A SUMMER STEM BRIDGE, A REVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY'S GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM TO INCREASE ITS RELEVANCE TO STEM MAJORS, AND A SUMMER EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITY. THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A BROAD UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO ENGAGE, SUPPORT, AND RETAIN LOW-INCOME, ACADEMICALLY TALENTED STUDENTS, INCLUDING REPRESENTATIVES OF HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, AT A SMALL, PRIVATE LIBERAL ARTS UNIVERSITY. THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT ACTIVITIES WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BROADER STEM STUDENT POPULATION AT VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO INCREASE STEM DEGREE COMPLETION OF LOW-INCOME, HIGH-ACHIEVING UNDERGRADUATES WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED. MAJOR GOALS INCLUDE TO: 1) RECRUIT 30 SCHOLARS THAT WILL RECEIVE THE MAXIMUM IN SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT; 2) PROVIDE COHORT-BASED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT WITH INTENSE FACULTY MENTORING FOR EACH SCHOLARS; 3) SUPPORT STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING, CAREER PLANNING AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES; AND 4) INCREASE FIRST-TO-SECOND-YEAR RETENTION AMONG LOW-INCOME STEM STUDENTS AND INCREASE RATES OF PERSISTENCE RESULTING IN STEM DEGREE ATTAINMENT. THIS PROJECT WILL EXPLORE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUCCESSFUL RETENTION AND DEGREE OF TALENTED, LOW-INCOME STEM STUDENTS. PROJECT EVALUATION WILL SPECIFICALLY ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF HOLISTICALLY SUPPORTING STUDENT ACADEMIC AND CAREER PATHWAYS IN STEM ON STUDENT ATTITUDES, BEHAVIOR, PERFORMANCE, RETENTION, AND POST-GRADUATION PLACEMENT OF STUDENTS. SCHOLAR OUTCOMES WILL BE COMPARED TO A SAMPLE OF SIMILAR STUDENTS FROM OUTSIDE OF THE PROJECT. PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL BE DISSEMINATED TO PEER INSTITUTIONS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH PUBLICATIONS, CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS, AND A QUARTERLY WEB CONFERENCE FOR OTHER SIMILAR-SIZED INSTITUTIONS. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY NSF?S SCHOLARSHIPS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF LOW-INCOME ACADEMICALLY TALENTED STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED WHO EARN DEGREES IN STEM FIELDS. IT ALSO AIMS TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION OF FUTURE STEM WORKERS, AND TO GENERATE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ACADEMIC SUCCESS, RETENTION, TRANSFER, GRADUATION, AND ACADEMIC/CAREER PATHWAYS OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS

TWU SEEKS TO ADDRESS THE SHORTAGE OF TRAINED AND CERTIFIED BILINGUAL AND ESL TEACHERS WHO CAN BETTER MEET THE NEEDS OF THE GROWING EL STUDENT POPULATION WITHIN THE 6 PARTNER DISTRICTS AND THE REGION.

IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFICACY STUDY OF PRESCHOOL MATH ACTIVITIES FOR NUMERACY

MECHANISMS OF CU-BINDING FACTORS TO PROMOTE MYOGENIC GENE EXPRESSION - PROJECT SUMMARY CELL DEVELOPMENT AND DIFFERENTIATION REQUIRE LINEAGE SPECIFIC MECHANISMS BY WHICH CELLS INITIATE PROGRAMS OF GENE EXPRESSION. IN NORMAL CONDITIONS, LINEAGE DETERMINATION INVOLVES ACTIVATION OF GENES THAT ARE TRANSCRIPTIONALLY SILENT BY SPECIFIC TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, CHROMATIN REMODELERS, COACTIVATORS, AND OTHER LINEAGE SPECIFIC MOLECULES. SKELETAL MUSCLE DIFFERENTIATION IS AN EXCELLENT MODEL FOR STUDYING FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF TISSUE-SPECIFIC GENE EXPRESSION AND DIFFERENTIATION AS THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT UNDERSTANDING OF MECHANISMS CONTROLLING MYOGENIC-SPECIFIC GENE EXPRESSION. HOWEVER, EMERGING EVIDENCE SHOWS A NOVEL CATEGORY OF COPPER (CU)-BINDING FACTORS THAT MAY HAVE A PREVIOUSLY UNAPPRECIATED DIRECT IMPACT IN THE REGULATION OF MYOBLAST PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION. CU IS AN ESSENTIAL TRACE METAL THAT SERVES AS A CATALYTIC CO-FACTOR FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF ENZYMATIC REACTIONS THAT PLAY CRITICAL ROLES IN LIFE. CU DEFICIENCY AND OVERLOAD LEADS TO PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS INCLUDING MENKES AND WILSON’S DISEASES, NEUTROPENIA, IMPAIRED IRON ABSORPTION, PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY, MITOCHONDRIAL DEFICIENCIES AND HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY. THEREFORE, THE MECHANISMS FOR CU DISTRIBUTION AND USAGE IN DIFFERENT TISSUES AND ORGANS, AS WELL AS THE CONSEQUENCES DUE TO DYSREGULATED CU ACQUISITION, ARE IMPORTANT TO HUMAN HEALTH. LIMITED INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE REGARDING CU AND CU-BINDING FACTORS AND THEIR MECHANISMS OF ACTION IN MYOGENESIS AND MOST DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES. WE PROPOSE TO ELUCIDATE NOVEL MECHANISMS OF GENE REGULATION THAT DRIVE MUSCLE DIFFERENTIATION AND DEVELOPMENT AND THAT ARE DEPENDENT ON COPPER AND CU-BINDING TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS. WE PROPOSE INTEGRATIVE STUDIES THAT COMBINE DIVERSE MOLECULAR, BIOCHEMICAL AND SPECTROSCOPIC TECHNIQUES TO CHARACTERIZE NOVEL MOLECULAR MECHANISMS BY WHICH CU-BINDING FACTORS REGULATE MYOGENIC DIFFERENTIATION. WE PROPOSE A NOVEL MODEL WHERE CU CONTROLS MYOGENESIS BY ACTIVATING CU-TFS THAT MAY ACT SYNCHRONOUSLY, EITHER BY ACTING ON DIFFERENT PROMOTERS AT THE SAME TIME OR BY ACTING SEQUENTIALLY AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF DIFFERENTIATION, OR BOTH. OUR EXPERIMENTS WILL IDENTIFY NEW COMPONENTS AND MECHANISMS FOR MAMMALIAN CU-BINDING FACTORS IN THE REGULATION OF LINEAGE-SPECIFIC GENE EXPRESSION. OUR STUDIES ALSO WILL ESTABLISH A BASIS FOR UNDERSTANDING MUSCULAR DISEASES RELATED TO ABERRANT CU BIOLOGY USING WELL-CHARACTERIZED MOUSE MODELS FOR MENKES AND WILSON’S DISEASES. UNDERSTANDING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT DRIVE LINEAGE SPECIFIC GENE EXPRESSION DEPENDENT ON CU WILL GREATLY ADVANCE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF SEVERAL CU-RELATED DISEASES.

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM

IOWA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS UNDER THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT

INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES TRIO PROGRAM- MARION, IN.

CARES ACT EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS

EXPLOITING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE PATIENT-DERIVED STEM CELLS TO BIOCHEMICALLY DEFINE TAU AND AMYLOID-BETA OLIGOMER TOXIC FEATURES AND THEIR DOWNSTREAM CELLULAR EFFECTS - PROJECT SUMMARY: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS AN EVER-GROWING SOCIO-ECONOMIC BURDEN ACROSS THE GLOBE. OLIGOMERIZED AMYLOID-B PEPTIDE (AB) AND HYPER-PHOSPHORYLATED TAU ARE THE PATHOLOGICAL HALLMARKS OF THE DISEASE AND A KEY PIECE OF THE NEURODEGENERATIVE CASCADE THAT LEADS TO SYMPTOMS. TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE OLIGOMER TARGETING THERAPIES, WE MUST FULLY DESCRIBE THE BIOCHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE TARGET. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS GRANT IS TO LINK OLIGOMER STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS TO TOXIC BIOACTIVITY AND DELINEATE THE STEPS IN THE AD NEURODEGENERATIVE CASCADE. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT BY USING AD PATIENT DERIVED INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS (IPSC) CULTURED AS CEREBROCORTICAL ORGANOIDS, WE CAN RECREATE THE AD NICHE CLOSELY ENOUGH TO PRODUCE BRAIN-LIKE AB AND TAU OLIGOMERS AND TO UNDERSTAND CELL TYPE SPECIFIC RESPONSES TO OLIGOMER EXPOSURE. OUR RATIONALE IS THAT THE CELL TYPE IN WHICH A PROTEIN IS MADE HEAVILY IMPACTS ITS FUNCTION AND SO TO FULLY RECAPITULATE AD IN VITRO, YOU MUST MODEL THE HUMAN BRAIN. OUR AD PATIENT DERIVED IPSC MODEL WILL CAPTURE THE IMPORTANT GENETIC AND TISSUE SPECIFIC ELEMENTS TO SUPPORT AB/TAU OLIGOMERIZATION AND INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION NETWORKS. OUR SPECIFIC AIMS WILL TEST THE FOLLOWING HYPOTHESES: (AIM 1) AD PATIENT IPSC GROWN AS CEREBROCORTICAL ORGANOIDS RECREATE THE AD NICHE AND PRODUCE BIOACTIVE AB AND TAU OLIGOMERS; (AIM 2) THROUGH TOXICITY SCREENING ON IPSC DERIVED NEURONS AND GLIA INDEPENDENTLY, WE WILL DISCOVER THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CELLULAR RESPONDERS TO AB AND TAU OLIGOMER EXPOSURE; (AIM 3) NOT EVERY CELL IS EXPOSED TO AB AND TAU OLIGOMERS DIRECTLY AND YET THERE IS WIDE SPREAD DEGENERATION. SUBPOPULATION OLIGOMER EXPOSURE IN AN AD-ORGANOID WILL UNCOVER THE INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION NETWORKS THAT CAUSES THIS PHENOMENON. UPON CONCLUSION, WE WILL UNDERSTAND THE STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS THAT MAKE AB AND TAU OLIGOMERS BIOACTIVE, WHAT THE MAIN OLIGOMER RESPONDING CELL TYPES ARE, AND HOW INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION UPON OLIGOMER EXPOSURE OF SOME CELLS, EFFECTS ALL THE CELLS IN THE NICHE. THIS CONTRIBUTION IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE A NEW, RELIABLE, AND RELEVANT SOURCE OF AB AND TAU OLIGOMERS IS NEEDED BY THE COMMUNITY FOR LARGE SCALE STUDIES. CURRENTLY USED POST-MORTEM BRAIN TISSUE IS SCARCE AND DUE TO THE HIGH LIPID CONTENT, DIFFICULT TO USE AS A SOURCE MATERIAL. FURTHER, BY BIOCHEMICALLY DEFINING A BIOACTIVE AB AND TAU OLIGOMER, THERAPEUTICS CAN BE DESIGNED TO SPECIFICALLY TARGET IT. THIS RESEARCH WILL ALSO ESTABLISH WHICH CELL TYPES IN THE DISEASE NICHE ARE THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RESPONDERS TO AB AND TAU OLIGOMERS. BY EXAMINING OLIGOMER RESPONSE IN BOTH STEM CELL DERIVED BRAIN CELL TYPES IN ISOLATION AND IN THE ORGANOID NICHE, WE WILL ESTABLISH THE STEPS IN THE NEUROTOXIC AD CASCADE. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS INNOVATIVE BECAUSE WE WILL ILLUSTRATE A NEW USE FOR PATIENT DERIVED STEM CELLS AS A RELIABLE SOURCE FOR BIOACTIVE OLIGOMERS. THIS FINDING CAN BE EXTRAPOLATED TO OTHER DISEASES SUCH AS PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND ITS RELATED A-SYNUCLEIN PROTEIN AGGREGATES. ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE DESIGNED A NEW USE FOR RNA DROP SEQUENCING TO MULTIPLEX OLIGOMER UPTAKE TRACKING AND SINGLE CELL TRANSCRIPTOMICS THROUGH A NUCLEOTIDE BARCODING STRATEGY.

TRIO STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY UPWARD BOUND 2017-2022

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

ENGAGING SPACES: EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE STUDENT SUCCESS

THE WESLEYAN EXPERIENCE

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

VWU: BRIDGING, CONNECTING, AND BUILDING STUDENT SUCCESS (BCB)

ADVANCING ADULT UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH DATA, FACULTY, AND CAREER SUPPORT

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY REQUESTS FUNDING TO ADMINISTER AN UPWARD BOUND MATH & SCIENCE PROJECT FOR A FIVE YEAR PERIOD SERVING 60 STUDENTS IN TWO HIGH SCHOOLS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY REQUESTS FUNDING TO ADMINISTER AN UPWARD BOUND MATH & SCIENCE PROJECT FOR A FIVE YEAR PERIOD SERVING 60 STUDENTS IN THREE HIGH SCHOOLS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY REQUESTS FUNDING TO ADMINISTER AN UPWARD BOUND PROJECT FOR A FIVE YEAR PERIOD SERVING 62 STUDENT IN THREE HIGH SCHOOLS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

UPWARD BOUND

CONNECTING SCIENCE IDENTITY TO STEM SUCCESS AT A RURAL PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION PROPELLED BY AN EVIDENCE-BASED FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY REQUESTS FUNDING TO ADMINISTER AN UPWARD BOUND PROJECT FOR A FIVE YEAR PERIOD SERVING 60 STUDENTS IN TWO HIGH SCHOOLS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

WESLEYAN UPWARD BOUND MATH SCIENCE

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY RONALD E. MCNAIR POSTBACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

UPWARD BOUND MATH & SCIENCE

UPWARD BOUND MATH & SCIENCE

UPWARD BOUND

HETEROGENEOUS DYNAMICS AND ASSEMBLY PROCESSES SOFT AND BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS

UPWARD BOUND MATH-SCIENCE - MIDDLETOWN

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY REQUESTS FUNDING TO ADMINISTER AN UPWARD BOUND MATH & SCIENCE PROJECT FOR A FIVE YEAR PERIOD SERVING 60 STUDENTS IN THREE HIGH SCHOOLS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY REQUESTS FUNDING TO ADMINISTER AN UPWARD BOUND MATH & SCIENCE PROGRAM FOR A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD SERVING 60 STUDENTS IN THREE HIGH SCHOOLS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY REQUESTS FUNDING TO ADMINISTER AN UPWARD BOUND PROJECT FOR A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD SERVING 60 STUDENTS IN THREE HIGH SCHOOLS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY REQUESTS FUNDING TO ADMINISTER AN UPWARD BOUND PROJECT FOR A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD SERVING 62 STUDENTS IN THREE URBAN HIGH SCHOOLS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

UPWARD BOUND: MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

PROVIDING RIGOR AND OPPORTUNITY: MEANINGFUL INSTRUCTION FOR SUCCESS FOR EVERY STUDENT (PROMISES)

TRANSFORMING EFFECTIVE EDUCATORS OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE IN SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA -THE PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL NEED OF DEVELOPING HIGHLY EFFECTIVE MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE TEACHERS. EDUCATING AND SUPPORTING PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS AND IMPROVING THEIR RETENTION IN THE SECONDARY STEM EDUCATION WORKFORCE ARE CENTRAL FOCI OF THE PROJECT. PARTICIPATING PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS WILL ENGAGE IN A RANGE OF ACTIVITIES FOR PREPARATION AS EFFECTIVE EDUCATORS. PROJECT ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE STEM INTERNSHIPS, FIELD WORK IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATIONS, INTERVIEW AND JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE, CONTENT AREA SUPPORT, PREPARATION FOR TEACHING AND CONTENT AREA EXAMS, AND PURPOSEFUL ADVISING AND MENTORING FROM EDUCATION AND STEM FACULTY. THE PROJECT?S INDUCTION PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE ONLINE MODULES, A SUMMER WORKSHOP, AND OBSERVATION AND COACHING FROM MASTER TEACHERS. THESE ACTIVITIES HAVE POTENTIAL TO ADDRESS TEACHER TURNOVER IN HIGH-NEED PUBLIC SCHOOLS THROUGH INCLUSION OF TARGETED SUPPORTS FOCUSED ON CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT, CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES, AND STATE CONTENT STANDARDS. PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL RESPOND TO THE CRITICAL NEED FOR WELL-QUALIFIED STEM SECONDARY EDUCATORS IN SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA AND NATIONWIDE. THIS PROJECT AT VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY (VWU) IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PORTSMOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PPS). PROJECT GOALS INCLUDE (1) RECRUITING AND GRADUATING FIFTEEN SECONDARY STEM EDUCATORS WITH TEACHING LICENSURE IN MATHEMATICS, CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY, OR EARTH SCIENCE; (2) INCREASING THE DIVERSITY OF VWU?S STEM AND EDUCATION GRADUATES; AND (3) PROVIDING PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS WITH NEEDED PREPARATION IN CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES. PARTICIPATING PROSPECTIVE EDUCATORS WILL RECEIVE UP TO THREE YEARS OF SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT, TWO YEARS AS AN UNDERGRADUATE WHILE THE STEM BACCALAUREATE DEGREE IS COMPLETED AND A THIRD YEAR OF SUPPORT AT THE GRADUATE LEVEL DURING COMPLETION OF SECONDARY TEACHER CERTIFICATION. THE PROJECT WILL MEASURE THE EFFICACY AND IMPACT OF RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES, INTERNSHIPS AT PPS, AND THE VWU KEEP PROGRAM, A 3-YEAR INDUCTION PROGRAM DESIGNED TO REDUCE TEACHER TURNOVER, AS WELL AS OTHER PROJECT COMPONENTS. RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES ARE DESIGNED TO EDUCATE STUDENTS AT PPS, LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGES, AND VWU ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF STEM TEACHING AND THE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE. RESULTS FROM THE PROJECT WILL BE DISSEMINATED LOCALLY AND TO STEM EDUCATION COMMUNITIES. THIS TRACK 1: SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (NOYCE). THE NOYCE PROGRAM SUPPORTS TALENTED STEM UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS AND PROFESSIONALS TO BECOME EFFECTIVE K-12 STEM TEACHERS AND EXPERIENCED, EXEMPLARY K-12 TEACHERS TO BECOME STEM MASTER TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IT ALSO SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTIVENESS AND RETENTION OF K-12 STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL BASIS OF BACTERIAL TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION - PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE POSES AN INCREASINGLY PREVALENT PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE, BUT ADVANCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW DRUGS HAS NOT PROGRESSED COMMENSURATELY. A SIGNIFICANT IMPEDIMENT LIES IN THAT MANY FUNDAMENTAL BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES IN BACTERIA REMAIN POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO ILLUMINATE HOW BACTERIA RESPOND AND ADAPT TO CHANGES WITHIN THEIR ENVIRONMENTS FROM A STRUCTURAL AND MECHANISTIC STANDPOINT. USING THE GENETICALLY TRACTABLE GRAM POSITIVE ORGANISM BACILLUS SUBTILIS AS OUR MODEL SYSTEM, WE WILL FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON ELUCIDATING THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR COPPER-DEPENDENT TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION AND UNCOVERING THE DRIVERS OF ENZYME SPECIFICITY DURING THE ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS RESPONSE. COPPER IS REQUIRED FOR BACTERIAL SURVIVAL, BUT EXCESS LEVELS OF THIS TRANSITION METAL CAN BE TOXIC. THEREFORE, COPPER LEVELS MUST BE CAREFULLY CONTROLLED. THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH COPPER EXPORT OCCURS HAVE BEEN EXTENSIVELY STUDIED, BUT RELATIVELY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT COPPER IMPORT. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT CU UPTAKE IS REGULATED BY CU-DEPENDENT TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSORS AND THE PROTEINS UNDER THEIR CONTROL. HERE, WE WILL FOCUS ON A SUITE OF PROTEINS IMPLICATED IN THESE PROCESSES, STUDYING THEM AT A DETAILED STRUCTURAL, MOLECULAR, AND CELLULAR LEVEL TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THEY REGULATE COPPER UPTAKE. IN PARALLEL, WE WILL INVESTIGATE WHAT CAUSES A FAMILY OF VERY CLOSELY RELATED KINASES TO SPECIFICALLY REGULATE DISTINCT FUNCTIONS. MANY BACTERIAL SPECIES, INCLUDING BACILLUS SUBTILIS AND A NUMBER OF PATHOGENIC STRAINS, ENCODE ONE OR MORE KINASES THAT CONTAIN A DOMAIN TERMED THE BERGERAT FOLD. DESPITE THEIR STRUCTURAL COMMONALITIES, ENZYMES WITH THIS DOMAIN EXHIBIT STRONG PREFERENCES FOR THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL BINDING PARTNERS. HOWEVER, THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR HOW SUCH SPECIFICITY IS CONFERRED HAS YET TO BE INVESTIGATED. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT VARIATIONS WITHIN THE BERGERAT FOLD INFLUENCE SUBSTRATE SPECIFICITY AND KINETICS AND CAN BE TARGETED BY SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS. BY INTEGRATING TOOLS FROM STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY, BIOCHEMISTRY, AND COMPUTATIONAL STUDIES, WE WILL BE POISED TO REVEAL NEW PARADIGMS IN TRANSCRIPTIONAL CONTROL. THE COMPLETION OF THE PROPOSED STUDIES WILL CATALYZE OUR FUTURE INVESTIGATIONS INTO ELUCIDATING ANALOGOUS PATHWAYS IN PATHOGENIC STRAINS, UNCOVERING NOVEL MEMBERS OF THESE FAMILIES IN BACTERIAL PHYLOGENY, AND DESIGNING SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS.

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

BETA-LACTAMASES AND DD-PEPTIDASES--ACTIVE SITE CHEMISTRY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FOUNDATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE THOUGHT: NUMBER, SPACE, TIME, AND PROBABILITY

RONALD E. MCNAIR POSTBACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT

TRIO - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

DIGIT DEPENDENCE IN NUMERICAL MAGNITUDE JUDGMENTS

RONALD E. MCNAIR POST-BACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY RONALD E. MCNAIR SCHOLARS PROGRAM

INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY UPWARD BOUND TRIO PROGRAM.

WESLEYAN UPWARD BOUND MATH SCIENCE

UNKNOWN TITLE

DEVELOPMENT OF MUSCLE FIBER TYPE IDENTITY

CAREER: DYNAMICS OF COMPUTATIONALLY DESIGNED FLUORESCENT PROTEINS

UPWARD BOUND MATH AND SCIENCE COMPETITION

TRIO - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

MECHANISM OF PROTEIN LOCALIZATION IN ESCHERICHIA COLI

INVESTIGATING MRNA-RRNA BASE PAIRING IN TRANSLATION INITIATION

THE ROLE OF CINDR AND ITS PROTEIN INTERACTORS IN EPITHELIAL MORPHOGENESIS

ENSEMBLE NETWORKS FOR ALLOSTERIC DRUG DESIGN

DOCTORAL STUDIES IN MOLECULAR BIOPHYSICS

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM

CHARACTERIZING PLANT GRAVITY PERCEPTION SYSTEMS PLANT GROWITH IS CHARACTERIZED BY PLASTICITY, ALLOWING ENVIRONMENTAL CUES LIKE LIGHT AND GRAVITY TO P

AUTHENTIC RESEARCH IN STEM EDUCATOR PREPARATION FOR ISSUES OF CULTURE, JUSTICE, AND EQUITY -THE PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL NEED OF RECRUITING AND PREPARING HIGH-QUALITY AND DIVERSE TEACHERS IN STEM DISCIPLINES TO TEACH IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS. TEACHERS THAT SHARE ATTRIBUTES WITH STUDENTS OF COLOR ARE IMPORTANT AS ROLE MODELS FOR SUCCESS IN STEM. HOWEVER, HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS OFTEN HAVE A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF TEACHERS OF COLOR. THIS PROJECT WILL INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF TEACHERS OF COLOR IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS AND IMPROVE THE OVERALL ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF STUDENTS IN THESE SCHOOLS. THE PROJECT WILL USE DIRECT RECRUITMENT AT LOCAL HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS TO IDENTIFY PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS. ONCE RECRUITED, PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS WILL ENGAGE IN A WEEK-LONG SCIENCE INTRODUCTION EXPERIENCE PRIOR TO STARTING CLASSES AT THE UNIVERSITY WITH THE GOAL OF CREATING A COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS. THEY WILL ENGAGE IN STEM EDUCATION THAT USES CURRENT TEACHING METHODS AND PARTICIPATE IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE RELATED RESEARCH TO FURTHER FOSTER THEIR INTERESTS IN STEM. TEACHING PREPARATION WILL INVOLVE EXTENDED PRACTICE IN THE CLASSROOM AND HANDS-ON LEARNING. AS A PART OF THE EDUCATION OF THESE PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS, THEY WILL ALSO LEARN ABOUT ISSUES OF CULTURE, JUSTICE, AND EQUITY. NEW, PRACTICING TEACHERS WILL BE SUPPORTED BY UNIVERSITY FACULTY MENTORING AND POST-GRADUATION WORKSHOPS. THIS PROJECT AT ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY INCLUDES PARTNERSHIPS WITH BLOOMINGTON DISTRICT 87 AND MCLEAN COUNTY UNIT DISTRICT NO. 5 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. PROJECT GOALS WILL INCLUDE ADDING UP TO TWENTY NEW STEM TEACHERS OF COLOR OVER FIVE YEARS TO TEACH IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS IN A MANNER THAT SUPPORTS THE PARTNERING SCHOOL DISTRICTS? OBJECTIVES OF RECRUITING A MORE DIVERSE STEM TEACHING FORCE. THE PROJECT WILL PREPARE BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS TEACHERS WITH A STRONG FOUNDATION IN RESEARCH, IMPROVING EXPERIENCE-INFORMED STEM TEACHING IN COMMUNITY HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS. FURTHER, THE PROJECT WILL ADD TO THE WELL-DOCUMENTED BENEFITS OF STEM UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES (URES) BY EXPLORING THE WAYS IN WHICH URES IMPACT PRESERVICE TEACHERS. THROUGH THE GUIDANCE OF FACULTY MENTORS, THE EMPHASIS ON FOOD AND FOOD PRODUCTION IN THE URES WILL OFFER THE PRESERVICE TEACHERS AN AUTHENTIC AND RELATABLE CONTEXT FOR INVESTIGATING COMPLEX STEM ISSUES. THE WAYS IN WHICH RIGOROUS STEM CONTENT ACQUIRED THROUGH LOCAL AND FAMILIAR MEANS MAY BE EFFECTIVE AT FOSTERING TEACHER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AND RETAINING STEM EDUCATORS. A SUSTAINABLE MODEL TO RECRUIT, TRAIN, AND MENTOR TEACHERS OF COLOR IN THE STEM EDUCATION FIELD WILL BE IMPLEMENTED, ASSESSED, MODIFIED WHEN NEEDED, AND DISSEMINATED TO INSTITUTIONS AND INVESTIGATORS WISHING TO ENHANCE PRESERVICE STEM TEACHER EDUCATION. THE POTENTIAL INCREASE IN STEM TEACHER RETENTION THROUGH RIGOROUS PREPARATION AND MENTORING THAT FOSTERS A SENSE OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY WILL ALSO BE ANALYZED. THIS TRACK 1: SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (NOYCE). THE NOYCE PROGRAM SUPPORTS TALENTED STEM UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS AND PROFESSIONALS TO BECOME EFFECTIVE K-12 STEM TEACHERS AND EXPERIENCED, EXEMPLARY K-12 TEACHERS TO BECOME STEM MASTER TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IT ALSO SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON THE RETENTION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF K-12 STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

UPWARD BOUND MATH AND SCIENCE COMPETITION

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF HOLLIDAY JUNCTIONS COMPLEXED WITH PROTEINS PROBED BY FLUORESCENCE AND UV RAMAN SPECTROSCOPIC METHODS

CONGRESSIONAL EARMARK VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

SIMULATION STUDIES TARGETING FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS ARISING IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROCESSING OF AMORPHOUS SOLID MATERIALS

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SMOKING EXPOSURE AND NICOTINE DEPENDENCE SENSITIVITY

KINETIC MECHANISMS OF DNA MISMATCH REPAIR PROTEINS

CAREER: MAGNITUDE BIASES IN MATHEMATICAL COGNITION LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

ENHANCED RADIATED POWER VIA ENGINEERED EIGENBASIS COLLAPSE

REGULATION OF SYNAPTONEMAL COMPLEX ASSEMBLY DURING MEIOSIS IN S. CEREVISIAE

CAREER: THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN CHILDREN'S ACQUISITION OF NUMBER CONCEPTS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND NUMBER WORK LEARNING

EMERGENCY FUNDS TO DISTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

ANALYSIS OF MINERALOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL CHANGES TO GEOLOGIC SAMPLES AFTER 60 DAYS OF WEATHERING AT VENUS SURFACE CONDITIONS IN THE NASA GLENN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS RIG (GEER)

USING SOCIAL NETWORKING TO ADVANCE PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND TEACHING

TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY -- CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION

USING VALIDATION THEORY TO ENHANCE THE RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND SUCCESS OF ACADEMICALLY TALENTED LOW-INCOME STEM STUDENTS AT A RURAL INSTITUTION.

RURAL HEALTH OUTREACH SPECIAL INITIATIVE

EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF GENE EXPRESSION IN SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

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

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR BOOSTING THE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE IN RURAL CENTRAL INDIANA

STRATEGIC MODERNIZATION OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FACILITIES IN SCIENCES

PASSION-DRIVEN STATISTICS: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT-BASED SUPPORTIVE MODEL FOR STATISTICAL REASONING AND APPLICATION

LINKER HISTONE H1 AND VARIANT HISTONE H2A.Z INTERACTIONS IN GENE SILENCING AND CHROMOSOME SEGREGATION - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT LINKER HISTONE H1 AND VARIANT HISTONE H2A.Z INTERACT TO REGULATE TRANSCRIPTIONAL SILENCING AND CHROMOSOME SEGREGATION IN BUDDING YEAST H1 AND H2A.Z ARE HIGHLY CONSERVED BUILDING BLOCKS OF EUKARYOTIC CHROMOSOMES THAT PROMOTE E=ICIENT PATTERNS OF GENE EXPRESSION AND TRANSMISSION OF CHROMOSOMES. OUR PUBLISHED AND PRELIMINARY DATA INDICATE THAT A BALANCE OF H1 AND H2A.Z FUNCTION IS REQUIRED FOR DIVERSE CHROMATIN-MEDIATED PROCESSES IN THE CELL, INCLUDING HETEROCHROMATIN- DEPENDENT TRANSCRIPTIONAL SILENCING AND KINETOCHORE FUNCTION. IN PARTICULAR, OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT H2A.Z PROTECTS THE CELL FROM A POTENTIALLY DELETERIOUS ACTION OF LINKER HISTONE H1. TO UNCOVER FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF CHROMATIN STRUCTURE AND DETERMINE SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF HISTONE H1 AND H2A.Z WE WILL CONDUCT A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF THIS RELATIONSHIP. WE WILL CONDUCT CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION EXPERIMENTS TO DETERMINE THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF H1 AND H2A.Z’S BINDING THROUGH THE GENOME, INCLUDING ACROSS HETEROCHROMATIC REGIONS AND CENTROMERE-ASSOCIATED SEQUENCES. WE WILL EXAMINE HISTONE H1’S POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION WITH SILENCING FACTORS, AND DETERMINE IF INCREASES IN CHROMOSOME PLOIDY OBSERVED IN STRAINS LACKING H2A.Z ARE DUE TO AN H1 INFLUENCE ON KINETOCHORE STRUCTURE OR FUNCTION.

INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY DIVISION OF MILITARY EXCELLENCE

ALL STUDENTS AWARE: CONFRONTING SADVDVST FOR TRADITIONAL AND ADULT STUDENTS

THE PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TO FUND RESEARCH IN SUPPORT OF DSO IN THE AMOUNT OF 247,421 ON CONTRACT HR0011-18-2-0042.

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS SCHOLARS PROGRAM AT A LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE

EXPERIMENTAL SIMULATIONS OF CHONDRULE FORMATION BY RADIATIVE HEATING OF HOT PLANETESIMALSCHONDRULES ARE MM-SIZED SPHERES OF IGNEOUS ROCK THAT ARE ABUNDANT IN PRIMITIVE METEORITES. THEY HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECT OF INNUMERABLE STUDIES OVER THE DECADES BECAUSE OF THEIR PROMISE TO REVEAL MUCH ABOUT CONDITIONS IN THE EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM THAT WILL GUIDE PLANET FORMATION THEORIES. INSTEAD OF GUIDING THEORY HOWEVER THEY HAVE TENDED TO PLAGUE IT BECAUSE THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THEIR FORMATION IN PARTICULAR THE SOURCE OF THE REQUIRED HEAT REMAINS UNKNOWN. BEFORE WE CAN CLAIM TO UNDERSTAND THE FORMATION OF PLANETS INCLUDING OUR OWN WE MUST ACCOUNT FOR THE EXISTENCE AND PROPERTIES OF CHONDRULES. UNTIL THEIR MESSAGE IS FULLY DECODED IT CANNOT BE INTEGRATED INTO A COHERENT MODEL OF HOW PLANETS EMERGED FROM THE PROTOPLANETARY DISK. OBJECTIVES: WE PROPOSE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF CHONDRULE FORMATION BY CRITICALLY TESTING A NEW HYPOTHESIS (THAT WE HAVE RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL ICARUS) THAT CAN EXPLAIN ALL THEIR KNOWN FEATURES. THE IDEA IS TO HEAT THE CHONDRULES IN A SETTLED DUST-RICH SUB-LAYER OF THE PROTOSOLAR NEBULA BY RADIATION FROM EMBEDDED HOT PLANETESIMALS. THE PRIMARY HEAT SOURCE IS 26-AL WHICH MUST BE INCUBATED FOR TIMES OF ABOUT 1 MYR IN MODERATE-SIZED PLANETESIMALS BEFORE IT IS RELEASED AS RADIANT ENERGY FROM INCANDESCENT LAVA AT THEIR SURFACES. WE HAVE SHOWN THAT A MODEL LIKE THIS NATURALLY ACCOUNTS FOR THE OBSERVED TEMPERATURE RANGE AND COOLING CURVES OF THE CHONDRULES AND FOR THE TIME DELAY FROM CAI FORMATION AND THE TIME FRAME OF THE EVENTS. IMPORTANTLY IT MAKES STRONG TESTABLE PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE HEATING AND COOLING RATES OF CHONDRULES AND PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING OTHER ASPECTS OF THEIR NATURE SUCH AS COMPLEMENTARITY MULTIPLE HEATING EVENTS IGNEOUS RIMS AND THEIR FORMATION IN RELATIVELY HIGH DENSITY BUT H-POOR ENVIRONMENTS. WE WILL HIRE A POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER TO CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS TO SEE IF WE CAN REPRODUCE CHONDRULE TEXTURES FROM REASONABLE STARTING MATERIALS UNDER THE THERMAL CONDITIONS OF OUR MODEL. WE WILL CONDUCT 1 ATM EXPERIMENTS ON CHONDRULE ANALOG COMPOSITIONS TO SIMULATE THE TEMPERATURE CURVES THAT OUR MODEL PREDICTS. WE WILL MAKE CHONDRULE ANALOG COMPOSITIONS FROM CHARACTERIZED KNOWN MINERALS FOLLOWING ESTABLISHED METHODOLOGY. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN A DELTECH 1 ATM VERTICAL TUBE FURNACE CAPABLE OF 1725 C PEAK TEMPERATURE EQUIPPED WITH A EUROTHERM 9404 TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER THAT ALLOWS 16 PROGRAMMABLE HEATING AND COOLING SEGMENTS THAT CAN GO AS LOW AS 0.1 C/MIN. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO ACCESS MUCH OF RELEVANT TEMPERATURE AND TIME SPACE TO SIMULATE BOTH FEO-RICH AND FEO-POOR CHONDRULES. CHONDRULE ANALOG MATERIALS WILL BE SIZE-SORTED WEIGHED PRECISELY AND LOADED INTO HIGH-PURITY IRON CAPSULES FOR FEO-POOR CHONDRULE EXPERIMENTS. WE WILL BE TRYING TO REPRODUCE THE DOMINANT CHONDRULE TYPES PORPHYRITIC CHONDRULES. WE WILL ALSO BE ATTEMPTING TO DETERMINE LOSS OR GAIN OF SODIUM DURING THE HEATING AND COOLING STEPS OF THE EXPERIMENTS (A SECONDARY CONSIDERATION TO THE TEXTURES). RELEVANCE TO NASA AND NASA-ROSES2016-EMERGING WORLDS: THE RESEARCH PROPOSED HERE IS HIGHLY RELEVANT TO NASA S STRATEGIC GOALS. WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO SHED LIGHT ON AND PERHAPS SOLVE ONE OF THE UNEXPLAINED MYSTERIES OF COSMOCHEMISTRY NAMELY HOW DID THE CHONDRULES FORM? THE SYMMETRICAL HIGHLY CONSTRAINED HEATING AND COOLING CURVES THAT OUR MODEL PREDICTS FOR CHONDRULE FORMATION CAN READILY BE TESTED IN THE LABORATORY. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO UNDERSTAND CHEMICAL PROCESSING OF GAS DUST AND ICE AS WELL AS THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ANCIENT MATERIALS AND IS RELEVANT TO PROTOPLANETARY DISK FORMATION AND EVOLUTION.

DUST AND GAS IN DEBRIS DISKS REVEAL THE ORIGINS OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS

CAREER: SELECTIVE THIOL-ENE AND THIOL-YNE CHEMISTRY, FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES TO ORGANIC MATERIALS

COGNITIVE CONTROL IN BORDERLINE & TRAUMA PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

COLLABORATIVE PROPOSAL: CO2PIP ? A COMMUNITY PROJECT TO ADVANCE AND STANDARDIZE APPROACHES TO PALEO-CO2 RECONSTRUCTION AND BUILD THE NEXT-GENERATION PHANEROZOIC RECORD

AN INCLUSIVE AND EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO RECRUITING AND PREPARING MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, AND COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS FOR URBAN, HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ADDRESS THE NATIONAL NEED FOR DIVERSE, HIGHLY QUALIFIED STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED URBAN SETTINGS. TOWARDS THIS END THE PROJECT EXPECTS TO PREPARE 20 TEXAS CERTIFIED MATH, SCIENCE OR COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS WHILE STRENGTHENING A REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIVE FOR FUTURE EFFORTS DESIGNED AT PREPARING AND SUPPORTING STEM EDUCATORS. THROUGH THIS EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIVE, THIS PROJECT WILL CREATE AN ECOSYSTEM OF STEM EDUCATION AWARENESS AND ENRICHED STEM OPPORTUNITIES FOR PREK-12 STUDENTS. THIS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT INTENTIONALLY CONNECTS EXISTING STEM-FOCUSED PREK-12 PROGRAMS INTO A SEAMLESS PATHWAY FOR RECRUITMENT, PREPARATION, INDUCTION, AND RETENTION OF DIVERSE STEM TEACHERS FOR HIGH-NEED URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. ULTIMATELY, THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES IN ACCESS TO STEM OPPORTUNITIES. IN THIS PROJECT TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY (TXWES), A SMALL-ENROLLMENT URBAN UNIVERSITY IN FORT WORTH, TX, IS PARTNERING WITH TARRANT COUNTY COLLEGE DISTRICT (TCCD), AN OPEN-ACCESS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT, THE FORT WORTH INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, A HIGH-NEED URBAN LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY, THE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY NETWORK, A COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON, A LARGE-ENROLLMENT PUBLIC RESEARCH UNIVERSITY. TWO PRINCIPAL GOALS GUIDE THE EXECUTION OF THE PROJECT. FIRST IS TO RECRUIT AND PREPARE 20 MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, OR COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS WHO OBTAIN A STEM BACHELOR'S DEGREE WHILE SECURING A STANDARD TEXAS TEACHER CERTIFICATION THROUGH TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY?S EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAM. SECOND IS TO STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND PARTNERSHIPS WITH FORT WORTH PREK-12 AND POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS, WITH AN INTENTIONAL FOCUS ON THE RECRUITMENT, PREPARATION, INDUCTION, AND RETENTION OF STEM TEACHERS, SO AS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED STEM EDUCATORS AND STEM MASTER TEACHERS IN THE AREA. TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS, THE PROJECT WILL INTENTIONALLY CONNECT EXISTING STEM-FOCUSED PREK-12 PROGRAMS INTO A SEAMLESS PATHWAY FOR THE RECRUITMENT, PREPARATION, AND RETENTION OF STEM TEACHERS FOR HIGH-NEED URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THE PROJECT WILL ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE SPECIFIC TO STEM EDUCATION, STEM TEACHER CERTIFICATION, INDUCTION, AND RETENTION IN HIGH-NEED, URBAN SCHOOLS. THIS PROJECT PROVIDES STRATEGIC LEVERS AND SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY, BEGINNING WITH ELEMENTARY STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES, THROUGH THE STEM TEACHER CERTIFICATION PROCESS, AND CULMINATING WITH INDUCTION SUPPORT TO FOSTER LONG-TERM RETENTION OF STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS TO POSITIVELY IMPACT THE FORT WORTH STEM EDUCATION ECOSYSTEM. THIS PROJECT WILL ADD TO THE EDUCATION RESEARCH ON EFFECTIVE STEM TEACHER DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A SYSTEMS APPROACH. ULTIMATELY, THE PROJECT WILL BUILD A POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP TO CONTINUALLY BUILD, REINFORCE, AND EXPAND STEM AWARENESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE FORT WORTH COMMUNITY. THIS TRACK 1: SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (NOYCE). THE NOYCE PROGRAM SUPPORTS TALENTED STEM UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS AND PROFESSIONALS TO BECOME EFFECTIVE K-12 STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IT ALSO SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON THE PERSISTENCE, RETENTION, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF K-12 STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COMPUTATION OF MEASURES OF PARTICLE SHAPE BY NOVEL PATH INTEGRATION METHODS

SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF IONS AND METAL-CONTAINING MOLECULES AND COMPLEXES

VENUS CRATER PARABOLAS ARE EJECTA THAT HAS BEEN LOFTED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE AND CARRIED BY HIGH LEVEL WINDS. WE REQUEST FUNDS TO USE MAGELLAN SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR (SAR) TO CREATE THE FIRST MAP OF CRATER PARABOLAS ON VENUS CLASSIFIED BY ORIGIN ON PLAINS OR TESSERA TERRAIN. THESE DATA CAN BE USED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE MATERIALS FROM PRESUMABLY ANCIENT TESSERAE OF UNKNOWN COMPOSITION DIFFER FROM THOSE OF PLAINS INFERRED UNIVERSALLY TO BE BASALTIC WE SEEK TO 1) EXAMINE THE DIFFERENCES IN RADAR PROPERTIES BETWEEN PARABOLAS DERIVED FROM TESSERAE VS THOSE DERIVED FROM THE PLAINS 2) EXAMINE THE VARIABILITY IN RADAR PROPERTIES OF PARABOLAS ABOVE THE HIGH ALTITUDE LOW RADAR EMISSIVITY REGIONS AND 3) EXAMINE POTENTIAL MINERALS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOW EMISSIVITY HIGHLANDS IN THE GLENN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS RIG. WE EXPECT THAT THIS WORK WILL SHED LIGHT ON WHETHER TESSERAE AND PLAINS DIFFER IF THAT DIFFERENCE CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO MINERALOGY AND IF SO ARE THOSE MINERALOGIES CONSISTENT WITH HIGHER SILICA COMPOSITIONS FOR TESSERA TERRAIN. THE LATTER MAY INDICATE THE TESSERA FORMED DURING AN ERA ON VENUS WITH ABUNDANT WATER AND PLATE RECYCLING.

ACCESSING ATMOSPHERIC PROPERTIES OF TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANETS: GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS OF RAYLEIGH SCATTERING AND EXTENDED ATMOSPHERES

BRC-BIO: FOOT MORPHOLOGY FOR SUBSTRATES WITH VARIED COMPLIANCE -ALMOST EVERY SURFACE THAT ANIMALS EVOLVED TO RUN ON, SUCH AS SOIL, LEAF LITTER, SAND, AND SNOW, IS SOFT OR FLOWING. HOWEVER, DESCRIBING THE PRECISE FORCE RESPONSES FROM THESE MATERIALS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE DYNAMICS OF RUNNING IS EXTREMELY CHALLENGING BECAUSE SMALL CHANGES TO THE GRAINS, HOW THE MATERIAL IS PACKED, OR HOW THE FOOT HITS THE GROUND CAN LEAD TO HUGE DIFFERENCES IN THE BEHAVIOR OF THE GROUND. FURTHERMORE, ANIMALS RARELY DO THE SAME EXACT MOTION TWICE ON EXACTLY THE SAME KIND OF GROUND, MAKING THE EMPIRICAL DATA ABOUT THESE INTERACTIONS VERY NOISY. TWO WAYS OF CONDUCTING CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTS THAT CAN PRODUCE CLEANER EMPIRICAL DATA ABOUT THE FOOT-GROUND INTERACTIONS INCLUDE USING ROBOTIC MODELS AND SIMULATING THE BEHAVIOR OF THE GROUND USING MATHEMATICAL AND NUMERICAL MODELS. SUCH EXPERIMENTS CAN INFORM OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW AND WHY ANIMALS HAVE EVOLVED THE DIVERSITY OF FEET THAT WE SEE IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. UNDERSTANDING HOW ANIMALS MIGHT HAVE EVOLVED TO HANDLE THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FLOWING AND SOFT SUBSTRATES THAT THEY ENCOUNTER IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS COULD LEAD TO BREAKTHROUGHS IN LEGGED ROBOT LOCOMOTION AND SUGGEST BETTER DESIGNS FOR SHOES AND PROSTHETICS. IN ADDITION, THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY UNDERGRADUATE COURSE IN USING ROBOTICS TO ADDRESS BIOLOGICAL QUESTIONS AND WILL ENGAGE NUMEROUS STUDENTS IN AUTHENTIC RESEARCH AT THE INTERFACE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND BIOLOGY. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND USE AN OPEN-SOURCE AND LOW-COST LEGGED ROBOT PLATFORM TO STAND IN FOR AN ANIMAL, AND SYSTEMATICALLY VARY FOOT FEATURES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF DIFFERENT FOOT STRUCTURES FOUND IN LIZARDS. THE FOCUS ON LIZARDS STEMS FROM THE DIVERSITY OF FOOT SHAPES IN THIS GROUP AND PREVIOUS RESULTS SUGGESTING THAT SAND SPECIALIST LIZARDS, WHICH OFTEN HAVE LONG, THIN TOES, MAY HAVE EVOLVED THE SEPARATION OF THESE TOES TO BE 3-5 TIMES THE WIDTH OF THE MOST COMMON PARTICLES IN THE ENVIRONMENT TO WHICH THEY ARE ADAPTED. DISCRETE ELEMENT METHOD SIMULATIONS, WHICH ARE SIMULATIONS MODELING THE FORCES ACTING ON INDIVIDUAL GRAINS IN A GRANULAR MEDIA, SUGGEST THAT THIS MAY BE BECAUSE A SPACING OF 3-5 PARTICLE DIAMETERS LEADS TO A VIRTUAL WEBBING EFFECT IN WHICH THE GRANULAR MEDIA REACTS TO A FOOT AS IF IT HAS MORE SURFACE AREA THAN IT ACTUALLY DOES. A PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF FOOT SHAPE ON THE FORCE RESPONSE FROM THE GROUND COMPARED WITH SIMPLE SURFACE AREA USING A COMBINATION OF DISCRETE ELEMENT METHOD SIMULATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS JUMPING A PHYSICAL ROBOT ON HOMOGENEOUS GRANULAR MEDIA. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO INVESTIGATE ANOTHER POTENTIAL BENEFIT OF TOES FOR LOCOMOTION ON GRANULAR MEDIA: REMOVING THE FOOT FROM THE GROUND. LONG, THIN TOES, AS ARE OFTEN SEEN IN SAND SPECIALIST SPECIES, CAN COLLAPSE DOWN QUICKLY FOR EASY EXTRACTION FROM THE GROUND. LARGER, INCLUDING MORE WEBBED FEET, MIGHT DRAG MORE GRANULAR MEDIA UP DURING EXTRACTION, SLOWING DOWN THE FOOT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

NURSE EDUCATION PRACTICE QUALITY RETENTION SIMULATION EDUCATION TRAINING

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** IWU REEU FELLOWS WILL BENEFIT FROM AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, EXTENSION, AND RESEARCH. THE FUTURE AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE MUST BE PREPARED TO UNDERSTAND THE SCIENCE THAT SUPPORTS GROWING FOOD, FURTHER THE BASE OF WHAT WE KNOW, AND SHARE WHAT THEY LEARN WITH OTHERS.IWU REEU FELLOWS WILL BE GAIN RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN SUSTAINABLE PEST AND POLLINATOR MANAGEMENT WITHIN URBAN GARDENS, AN IN-DEMAND AREA OF INTEREST AMONG THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. FELLOWS WILL ALSO BE EQUIPPED TO COMMUNICATE THESE SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS AND PRACTICES TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION AND EXTENSION OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH IS VITAL IN IMPLEMENTING CHANGE TO ADOPT THESE PRACTICES. THIS APPROACH OF INTEGRATING RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION IS AN INNOVATIVE WAY TO EXPOSE FUTURE SCIENTISTS TO REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS. IWU REEU FELLOWS WILL BOTH BE EQUIPPED AS SCIENTISTS AND EMPOWERED TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY TO THEIR PEERS AND THE COMMUNITY, A SKILL HIGH IN DEMAND BUT OFTEN NOT ADDRESSED IN MOST UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES.EVERY FOOD GROWER (PROFESSIONAL OR HOME GARDENER) WRESTLES WITH PEST AND POLLINATOR MANAGEMENT AS THEY SEEK TO FIND SAFE, SUSTAINABLE, AND USER-FRIENDLY SOLUTIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL HELP GROWERS UNDERSTAND WHAT LIVES IN THEIR GARDENS, THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECOSYSTEM, AND HOW TO APPROPRIATELY MANAGE PESTS AND ENCOURAGE POLLINATORS.THESE RESULTS WILL BE SHARED THROUGH WORKSHOPS AND TRAININGS WITH THE MARION COMMUNITY GARDEN ASSOCIATION AND PURDUE EXTENSION.THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL OUTLETS FOR SHARING THIS INFORMATION WITH HIGH SCHOOL-AGED STUDENTS AT IWU AND PURDUE UNIVERSITY.ULTIMATELY, THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS A LARGER GOAL OF INCREASED ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD. THE REEU PROGRAM GIVES STUDENTS A DEEP-DIVE INTO AGRICULTURE, BETTER PREPARING THEM FOR PROFESSIONAL INTERACTION WITH THE COMMUNITY AND ITS STAKEHOLDERS. ADDITIONALLY, THE YOUNGER STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WILL ALSO LEARN WHY AND HOW TO GROW HEALTHY FOOD IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS TO BETTER THEIR FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, AND THE ENVIRONMENT.BETWEEN THE URBAN COMMUNITY GARDENS AND THE ALLIANCE GARDENS, THERE WILL BE AN INCREASED SUPPLY OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY. EFFORTS SUCH AS THIS WILL BE ONE MORE STEP TAKEN TO ADDRESS LOCAL FOOD DESERTS AND FOOD INSECURITY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. WE CAN INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF HEALTHY FOOD IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES THROUGH OUR COLLECTIVE IMPACT.

RCN: THE MACROSYSTEMS ECOLOGY FOR ALL (MEFA) RESEARCH COORDINATION NETWORK -ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES FACING THE WORLD TODAY CAN BE GLOBAL IN SCALE, LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE, OR REGIONAL IN SCALE, LIKE DROUGHT. LARGE-SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS INTERACT WITH LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS: CLIMATE CHANGE MAY LEAD TO A DROUGHT THAT DRIES LOCAL VEGETATION, INCREASING THE RISK OF WILDFIRE. HUMAN LAND USE PATTERNS MAY ENABLE FIRE IN ONE SITE TO SPREAD QUICKLY TO OTHER SITES, LEADING TO REGIONAL FIRE HAZARDS. THIS EXAMPLE ILLUSTRATES HOW UNDERSTANDING CONNECTIONS AMONG ECOLOGICAL PHENOMENA ACROSS SCALES ALLOWS SCIENTISTS TO MAKE PREDICTIONS ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DISTURBANCES. MACROSYSTEMS ECOLOGY IS AN EMERGING SCIENTIFIC FIELD THAT EXPLORES LINKS AMONG GEOPHYSICAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL-CULTURAL PROCESSES AT DIFFERENT SCALES. THIS WORK IS INFORMED BY ANALYSIS OF INCREASINGLY LARGE ENVIRONMENTAL DATASETS, LIKE THOSE MADE AVAILABLE BY THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY NETWORK (NEON). HOWEVER, NOT ALL ECOLOGY FACULTY, PARTICULARLY THOSE FROM TEACHING-ORIENTED INSTITUTIONS, HAVE BEEN TRAINED IN MACROSYSTEMS ECOLOGY CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES, OR IN WORKING WITH LARGE SETS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DATA. INDEED, THERE IS A LARGE POOL OF ECOLOGY FACULTY WHO COULD ENGAGE WITH MACROSYSTEMS ECOLOGY BUT ARE NOT DOING SO. THE MACROSYSTEMS ECOLOGY FOR ALL (MEFA) RESEARCH COORDINATION NETWORK (RCN) WILL PROVIDE A GATEWAY FOR SUCH FACULTY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MACROSYSTEMS CONCEPTS, UPDATE THEIR DATA SCIENCE SKILLS, DESIGN INCLUSIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT RESONATE WITH THEIR SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS, AND FOSTER HANDS-ON RESEARCH WITH UNDERGRADUATES. COLLABORATION ACROSS INSTITUTIONS WILL BE EMPHASIZED TO BUILD CAMARADERIE FOR TEAM SCIENCE, SHARE EXPERTISE, AND ADDRESS LARGE-SCALE ECOLOGICAL QUESTIONS WITH EFFICIENCY. HAVING MORE RESEARCHERS FROM DIVERSE PERSONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUNDS ENGAGING WITH MACROSYSTEMS ECOLOGY WILL BRING FRESH PERSPECTIVES AND INNOVATION TO THIS IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC FIELD. THROUGH THE FACULTY TRAINING PROVIDED BY MEFA, MORE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES WILL BE EXPOSED TO EMERGING DATA SCIENCE AND MACROSYSTEMS CONCEPTS. BY PROVIDING FACULTY DEVELOPMENT IN A SUPPORTIVE FRAMEWORK, MEFA WILL ENHANCE THE SKILLS OF ITS FACULTY PARTICIPANTS AND ENABLE THEM TO BUILD A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE PREPARED TO ENGAGE WITH THE EXTRAORDINARY ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY. THE MEFA RCN WILL SPONSOR FIVE IN-PERSON MEETINGS AND A SERIES OF ONLINE WORKSHOPS THAT PROVIDE TRAINING IN DATA SCIENCE TECHNIQUES, HIGHLIGHT EXAMPLES OF MACROSYSTEMS RESEARCH, AND SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLLABORATIVE TEAMS AND MULTI-SITE PROJECTS THAT ENGAGE UNDERGRADUATES IN MACROSYSTEMS ECOLOGY RESEARCH. MEFA WILL PARTNER WITH OTHER NETWORKS INCLUDING NEON, THE BEDE (BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DATA EDUCATION) NETWORK, AND PROJECT EDDIE (ENVIRONMENTAL DATA-DRIVEN INQUIRY AND EXPLORATION) IN DEVELOPING THESE TRAINING ACTIVITIES. MEFA WILL HAVE A STRONG EMPHASIS ON PROMOTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE (DEIJ), PROVIDING TRAINING ON DIVERSITY ISSUES IN A COLLABORATIVE SCIENCE CONTEXT, AND REQUIRING THAT ALL RESEARCH PROJECTS HAVE A DEIJ PLAN. MEFA WILL RECRUIT FACULTY FROM MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS AND PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR FACULTY FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS SERVING IN PROJECT LEADERSHIP ROLES WITHIN THE NETWORK. MEFA WILL BE GOVERNED BY A NETWORK MANAGEMENT TEAM WHO WILL FACILITATE THE DAILY WORKINGS OF MEFA AND A NETWORK ADVISORY TEAM WHO WILL PROVIDE MACROSYSTEMS ECOLOGY EXPERTISE, DEIJ ADVICE, AND GUIDANCE ON VISION AND ORGANIZATIONAL PRIORITIES. ASSESSMENT OF MEFA?S PROGRESS TOWARD ITS GOALS WILL BE PROVIDED BY MEASUREMENT RESOURCES COMPANY (MRC), A NATIONAL MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION FIRM. 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.

PCNA CLAMP MECHANISMS IN DNA REPLICATION AND REPAIR

RCN-UBE: ESTABLISHING AN ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH/EDUCATION NETWORK AT PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ARE TO 1) MEASURE WATER CONTENTS OF PHOSPHATE MINERALS IN APOLLO SAMPLES 2) TO MEASURE THE D/H OF WATER IN P

INHIBITION OF HEPTOSYLTRANSFERASEI FOR THE TREATMENT OF GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIAL INFECTION

TARGETING BINGE EATING TO PREVENT WEIGHT GAIN IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

INFORMATION FLOW THROUGH REGULATORY NETWORKS

AVIAN VOCAL EXPERIENCE AND ADULT NEURON REPLACEMENT.

STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION FOR EPILEPSY

ELUCIDATING ANGULAR PROTEIN MOTION USING KINETIC ENSEMBLE REFINEMENT - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT TO ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF ATOMIC-LEVEL MECHANISMS BEHIND CRITICAL PROTEIN FUNCTIONS LIKE ENZYME CATALYSIS AND ALLOSTERIC REGULATION, IT IS IMPORTANT TO FIRST ELUCIDATE A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF THE PROTEIN IN SOLUTION. IN AN EFFORT TO ACHIEVE THIS LONG TERM GOAL, WE WILL USE THE RECENTLY DEVELOPED KINETIC ENSEMBLE APPROACH TO TRANSFORM THE WAY IN WHICH NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR) DATA IS COMPUTATIONALLY MODELED TO SOLVE PROTEIN STRUCTURES AND MEASURE PROTEIN MOTIONS. NMR IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL TECHNIQUES FOR ELUCIDATING THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF PROTEINS. IT ENABLES THEIR STUDY IN SOLUTION (UNLIKE X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHY) AND CAN CAPTURE CRITICAL STRUCTURAL REARRANGEMENTS AS THEY HAPPEN AT ROOM TEMPERATURE (UNLIKE CRYO-ELECTRON MICROSCOPY). HOWEVER, DESPITE THESE ADVANTAGES, THERE HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY FEW PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENTS TO ONE OF THE FOUNDATIONAL ASPECTS BEHIND THE WAY PROTEIN STRUCTURES ARE SOLVED, NAMELY THE CALCULATION OF INTERATOMIC DISTANCES FROM NUCLEAR OVERHAUSER EFFECT (NOE) EXPERIMENTS. SUCH METHODS HAVE REMAINED LARGELY QUALITATIVE, RESULTING IN LARGE UNCERTAINTIES IN THE ATOMIC POSITIONS FOR MOST NMR STRUCTURES. ALSO, THE FIELD HAS ALMOST COMPLETELY IGNORED HOW ANGULAR MOTION AND KINETICS AFFECT THE NOE, RESULTING IN ATOMS APPEARING MUCH FURTHER AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER THAN THEY ACTUALLY ARE. TO OVERCOME THESE SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCIES, WE WILL IMPLEMENT AND TEST NEW KINETIC ENSEMBLE-BASED REFINEMENT ALGORITHMS THAT ARE CONSIDERABLY MORE ACCURATE AND PHYSICALLY REALISTIC THAN PREVIOUS APPROACHES, ACCOUNTING FOR BOTH ANGULAR MOTION AND KINETICS. TO ELIMINATE A SIGNIFICANT FRACTION OF THE SYSTEMATIC AND RANDOM STRUCTURAL ERRORS RESULTING FROM POORLY QUANTIFIED NMR SPECTRA, WE WILL ALSO INTEGRATE ADVANCES MADE BY THE FITNMR PEAK QUANTIFICATION SOFTWARE RECENTLY DEVELOPED BY OUR LAB. THESE METHODS WILL BE USED TO CREATE BETTER EXPERIMENTAL NMR STRUCTURES, MORE EXHAUSTIVE MODELS OF SIDE CHAIN DYNAMICS, AND DETERMINE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SOLUTION AND CRYSTAL STATES WITH UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL. THIS WORK WILL ALLOW MUCH MORE ACCURATE DETERMINATION OF THE STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS IN PARTS OF THE PROTEIN EXHIBITING SIGNIFICANT FLUCTUATIONS, INCLUDING PROTEIN ACTIVE SITES, REGULATORY REGIONS, AND HIDDEN BINDING SITES. SUCH KNOWLEDGE WILL ADVANCE OUR FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF PROTEIN BIOPHYSICS AND FACILITATE RATIONAL DESIGN OF NEW THERAPEUTICS.

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM

COMPARING COGNITIVE REMEDIATION APPROACHES FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY PROJECT

BRC-BIO: SUCCESS IN THE ANTHROPOCENE: EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY OF THE COMMON WALL LIZARD IN OHIO -LARGE CHANGES TO OUR PLANET?S CLIMATE AND ECOSYSTEMS HAVE PRESENTED CHALLENGES TO MANY ORGANISMS, YET SOME SPECIES ARE APPARENTLY THRIVING IN THESE NEW ENVIRONMENTS. ONE EXAMPLE IS THE COMMON WALL LIZARD, A SMALL, ACTIVE LIZARD SPECIES NATIVE TO MAINLAND EUROPE BUT RECENTLY ESTABLISHED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, CANADA, AND THE US. THE RESEARCH PROJECT DESCRIBED HERE SEEKS TO IDENTIFY THE REASONS THAT THIS SPECIES HAS FLOURISHED IN NOVEL URBAN ENVIRONMENTS ON A NEW CONTINENT AFTER AN INTRODUCTION OF SO FEW ANIMALS. SPECIFICALLY, THIS RESEARCH WILL LEVERAGE FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND LAB EXPERIMENTS INCLUDING MEASURES OF BEHAVIOR, PHYSIOLOGY, AND BODY DIMENSIONS TO DESCRIBE RESPONSES TO NEW CLIMATES AND ALTERED PHYSICAL HABITAT STRUCTURE. ADDITIONALLY, THE RESEARCH WILL EMPLOY NEW ADVANCES TO IDENTIFY GENES RELATED TO THESE SPECIFIC TRAITS AND HOW THESE TRAITS HAVE HELPED LIZARDS EXPAND ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE SINCE THEIR INTRODUCTION. THIS INFORMATION CAN THEN BE LEVERAGED IN MANAGEMENT EFFORTS TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF POTENTIALLY HARMFUL INVASIVE SPECIES OR TO UNDERSTAND HOW ORGANISMS WE WANT TO PROTECT MAY RESPOND TO CHANGES IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT. THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SYSTEMS ESTABLISHED HERE WILL FORM THE FOUNDATION OF A LONG-TERM, SUSTAINABLE RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS THAT WILL BE A MODEL FOR OTHER INSTITUTIONS, WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON INCREASED PARTICIPATION AND SUCCESS IN STEM FIELDS FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES. THIS RESEARCH PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE AN INTEGRATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT AND EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES THAT SHAPE THE SUCCESSFUL ESTABLISHMENT OF A VERTEBRATE ECTOTHERM, THE COMMON WALL LIZARD (PODARCIS MURALIS), IN A NOVEL ENVIRONMENT. THE RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO HOW COMPLEX ORGANISMAL PHENOTYPES ARE SHAPED BY EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES AND HOW THEY RESPOND TO NEW ECOLOGICAL SITUATIONS BY (1) QUANTIFYING THERMOREGULATORY BEHAVIORS AND THERMALLY-DEPENDENT TRAITS TO ASSESS THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF PLASTICITY AND ADAPTATION IN THE ABILITY OF P. MURALIS TO THRIVE IN URBAN LANDSCAPES; (2) IDENTIFYING MORPHOLOGY-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIPS IN ECOLOGICALLY-RELEVANT CONTEXTS TO TEST FOR MORPHOLOGICAL SHIFTS IN TIME AND SPACE AND THEN ASSESS WHETHER THESE SHIFTS CONTRIBUTE TO INVASION SUCCESS AND CAN PREDICT FUTURE EXPANSION; AND (3) UTILIZING WHOLE-GENOME RESEQUENCING TO TEST HYPOTHESES REGARDING THE IMPACT OF THE FOUNDING EVENT ON FUNCTIONAL AND NEUTRAL LEVELS OF VARIATION AT THE GENOMIC LEVEL AND HOW THIS HAS IMPACTED KEY EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES. THIS WORK LEVERAGES RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES AND WILL VALIDATE NEW APPROACHES TO PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR FUTURE STUDIES, INCLUDING THE USE OF INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY, MICROSENSOR TEMPERATURE TRANSMITTERS, NOVEL APPLICATION OF MOVEMENT MODELLING, AND GENOMIC SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGIES AND ANALYSIS PIPELINES. THIS HOLISTIC APPROACH ADVANCES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ORGANISMS INTERACT WITH NOVEL ENVIRONMENTS AND PROVIDES A CONCEPTUAL BASIS FOR CHARACTERIZING THE PHENOTYPIC AND GENOMIC QUALITIES THAT FACILITATE SUCCESS IN NEW OR CHANGING 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.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY PROJECT AT ROBERTS WESLEYAN COLLEGE

DISRUPTING DOGMA: INVESTIGATING LPS BIOSYNTHESIS INHIBITION AS AN ALTERNATIVE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF AMINOGLYCOSIDE ANTIBIOTICS - PROJECT SUMMARY WITH NUMEROUS GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIAL SPECIES DEMONSTRATING ANTIMICROBIAL DRUG RESISTANCE, THE IDENTIFICATION OF NEW INHIBITORS AND THE OPTIMIZATION OF EXISTING INHIBITORS IS NECESSARY TO ENABLE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF ILLNESSES. RECENT RESEARCH EFFORTS IN OUR LAB AND OTHERS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT AMINOGLYCOSIDES HAVE MINIMAL IMPACT ON PROTEIN SYNTHESIS AND IN FACT THEY POTENTLY BIND TO HEPTOSYTRANSFERASE I (HEPI) IN ESCHERICHIA COLI. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT FINDING, BECAUSE IT MAY ALLOW FOR THIS CLASS OF ANTIBIOTICS TO BE DRAMATICALLY REDESIGNED TO BE BETTER DRUGS WITH FEWER SIDE EFFECTS, BECAUSE THE HEPI AND RIBOSOME BINDING SITES HAVE VERY DIFFERENT SIZES AND THEY HAVE DRAMATIC DIFFERENCES IN CHARGES (HEPI IS POSITIVELY CHARGED, WHILE THE RIBOSOME IS NEGATIVELY CHARGED). THIS PROPOSAL WILL ADVANCE EFFORTS TO REDESIGN AMINOGLYCOSIDE ANTIBIOTICS TO ENHANCE HEPI BINDING AND TO REDUCE BINDING TO OTHER CELLULAR TARGETS THAT CAN LEAD TO SIDE EFFECTS LIKE OTO- AND NEPHROTOXICITY. OUR INVESTIGATION WILL ADDRESS THREE HYPOTHESES: (1) THAT AMINOGLYCOSIDES BIND TO OTHER CELLULAR TARGETS BEYOND THE RIBOSOME INCLUDING HEPTOSYLTRANSFERASE ENZYMES, (2) UNDERSTANDING THE HEPI-AMINOGLYCOSIDE INTERACTIONS WILL ENABLE STRUCTURAL MODIFICATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF BACTERICIDAL ACTIVITY, AND (3) THAT COMPUTATIONAL METHODS CAN ENHANCE AMINOGLYCOSIDE REDESIGN. TO DATE, EFFORTS TO REDESIGN AMINOGLYCOSIDES FOR MORE POTENT BINDING TO THE RIBOSOME HAS FAILED TO LEAD TO MORE POTENT DRUGS, AND THIS IS LIKELY BECAUSE THE MECHANISM OF ACTION INVOLVES OTHER ENZYMES LIKE HEPI. THIS WORK PROMISES TO ENHANCE DRUG DISCOVERY EFFORTS WHILE ALSO PROVIDING TRAINING FOR STUDENTS IN MY LAB AND IN TWO UPPER-LEVEL BIOCHEMISTRY COURSES AT WESLEYAN IN 21ST CENTURY DRUG DISCOVERY METHODS.

ASYMMETRIC C-C BOND-FORMING REACTIONS CATALYZED BY CINCHONA ALKALOID DERIVATIVES

REU SITE: THE KECK NORTHEAST ASTRONOMY CONSORTIUM

HIGH RESOLUTION SPECTROSCOPY OF MOLECULAR HYDROGEN COMPLEXED WITH TRANSITION METAL HALIDES AND CHALCOGENS: A MODEL FOR H2 MOF HYDROGEN STORAGE

STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL STUDIES OF GLYCOSYL HYDROLASES GOVERNING VIBRIO BIOFILM DISPERSAL - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT BIOFILMS ARE SURFACE-ATTACHED COMMUNITIES OF BACTERIA SURROUNDED BY AN EXTRACELLULAR PROTECTIVE MATRIX COMPOSED OF POLYSACCHARIDES, PROTEINS, AND NUCLEIC ACIDS. BIOFILMS PROTECT BACTERIAL PATHOGENS FROM ANTIBIOTICS AND THE HOST IMMUNE SYSTEM AS WELL AS FROM PREDATION, NUTRIENT LIMITATION, AND PHYSICAL INSULTS WHILE IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESERVOIRS. AS IMPORTANT AS THE FORMATION OF BIOFILMS, DISPERSAL MECHANISMS ALLOW BACTERIA TO DEGRADE THE BIOFILM MATRIX AND ESCAPE IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN INTERNAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL CUES. UNDERSTANDING HOW BIOFILMS DISPERSE IS IMPORTANT IN DEVELOPING NEW STRATEGIES FOR COMBATTING BIOFILM-RELATED INFECTIONS AND ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT BACTERIA. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO USE A STRUCTURE/FUNCTION APPROACH TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS OF BIOFILM FORMATION, ADHESION, AND DISPERSAL AT THE MOLECULAR SCALE. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISM OF BIOFILM DISPERSAL USING THE MODEL BIOFILM-FORMING BACTERIUM VIBRIO CHOLERAE. VIBRIO CHOLERAE BIOFILMS ARE COMPOSED OF A SECRETED EXOPOLYSACCHARIDE CALLED VIBRIO POLYSACCHARIDE (VPS), ALONG WITH SECRETED MATRIX PROTEINS AND EXTRACELLULAR DNA. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS OF THIS PROPOSAL IS THAT RBMB, A SECRETED PUTATIVE GLYCOSYL HYDROLASE, IS A KEY FACTOR IN THE DISPERSAL OF VC BIOFILMS AND THAT IT DIGESTS VPS LEADING TO BREAKDOWN OF THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX. WE AIM TO UNDERSTAND THE STRUCTURE AND MECHANISM OF RBMB-ASSOCIATED VPS DIGESTION BY PURSUING THE FOLLOWING THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: 1) UNDERSTAND THE VPS CLEAVAGE SPECIFICITY, MECHANISM AND KINETIC PROPERTIES OF THE PUTATIVE GLYCOSYL HYDROLASE RBMB FROM VIBRIO CHOLERAE; 2) DETERMINE THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE AND ENZYMATIC MECHANISM OF RBMB IN CLEAVING VPS; AND 3) USING IN VITRO AND IN VIVO TECHNIQUES, DETERMINE HOW RBMB ACTIVITY LEADS TO DEGRADATION OF THE BIOFILM AND VIBRIO CHOLERAE DISPERSAL. WE WILL USE A COMBINATION OF ENZYMATIC ASSAYS, SITE-DIRECTED MUTAGENESIS, X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, AND IMAGING OF LIVING VIBRIO CHOLERAE BIOFILMS TO COMPLETE THESE AIMS. OUR RATIONALE FOR THE PROPOSED WORK IS THAT BY UNDERSTANDING THE STRUCTURE AND MECHANISM OF RBMB, ITS SPECIFICITY TOWARDS VPS, AND THE ROLE OF MATRIX PROTEINS IN BIOFILM DISPERSAL, WE WILL GAIN A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW BIOFILMS DISPERSE. WHILE THIS PROPOSAL FOCUSES ON VIBRIO CHOLERAE, WE EXPECT THAT THESE INSIGHTS WILL BE APPLICABLE TO OTHER BACTERIAL PATHOGENS WHO PRODUCE BIOFILMS USING SECRETED EXOPOLYSACCHARIDES AND MATRIX PROTEINS. RESULTS FROM THIS PROPOSAL WILL CONTRIBUTE TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GLYCOSYL HYDROLASES AIDING THEIR POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC USE IN THE TREATMENT OF ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT AND PERNICIOUS BACTERIAL INFECTIONS. THIS WORK ALSO PROMISES NEW RESEARCH POSSIBILITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIFICALLY CLEAVABLE POLYSACCHARIDE SCAFFOLDS FOR BIOENGINEERING AND BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS.

SHF:SMALL:CERTIFIED COST RECURRENCES FOR HIGHER-ORDER FUNCTIONAL PROGRAMS

MECHANISM OF CELL MEMBRANE TARGETING BY VIBRIO CHOLERAE CYTOLYSIN

INTEGRATIVE DATA ANALYSIS FOR NICOTINE DEPENDENCE SYMPTOMS IN NOVICE SMOKERS

TAS::57 3600::TAS "(YIP) SOFTWARE VERIFICATION WITH DIRECTED TYPE THEORY"

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH-RUI: THE ROLE OF EXTRACELLULAR H+ IN PROCESSING VISUAL SIGNALS

WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THESE GENES WILL REVEAL NOVEL CONTRIBUTORS TO GRAVITY PERCEPTION SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND RESPONSE REGULATION.

CAREER: ON THE WORKINGS OF DNA MISMATCH REPAIR PROTEINS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A SCANNING TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE ENERGY DISPERSIVE SPECTROMETER AND CRYOTRANSFER SYSTEM FOR AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEA

CENTERS FOR VETERAN STUDENT SUCCESS

SYNTHESIS OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE MOLECULES USING THE INTERRUPTED FEIST-B?NARY AND RELATED REACTIONS

ENDOWMENT FOR A PERMANENT, DEDICATED POSITION OF CURATOR FOR THE WESLEYAN CINEMA ARCHIVES

LIBRATIONAL MODE COUPLING THEORY OF ALLOSTERIC SIGNAL TRANSMISSION - PROJECT SUMMARY: LIBRATIOAL MODE COUPLING THEORY OF ALLOSTERIC SIGNAL TRANSMISSION THE ALLOSTERIC EFFECT IN PROTEINS IS THE MODULATION OF FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR DUE TO INTERACTION WITH AN EFFECTOR LIGAND OR A MUTATION AT A REGION DISTAL TO THE ACTIVE SITE. ALLOSTERY IS A CRITICAL FEATURE OF ALL METABOLIC CONTROL PROCESSES, THE MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF BIOMOLECULAR MACHINES AND MOTORS, GENE EXPRESSION, AND MANY OTHER BIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA. NOTABLY, THE TIME FRAME OF AN ALLOSTERIC EFFECT IS ~10-3 – 1 SECONDS, BUT THE LENGTH SCALE CAN BE QUITE LONG (100 ANGSTROMS IN THE DNA REPAIR PROTEIN, MUTS). RECENT REVIEWS REPORT DIVERSE EXAMPLES FN THE STATE OF EXPERIMENT AND THEORY OF THE ALLOSTERIC EFFECT IN DIVERSE EXAMPLES, BUT ALL CONCUR THAT THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF ALLOSTERIC SIGNAL PROPAGATION IN LARGE PROTEINS REMAINS AN UNSETTLED RESEARCH QUESTION. RECENTLY (2020) SOME EXPERIMENTS THAT CAN TRACK THE TIME EVOLUTION OF AN ALLOSTERIC SIGNAL HAVE BEEN REPORTED, BUT REMAIN TO BE FULLY INTERPRETED. A NUMBER OF HYPOTHESES ABOUT HOW ALLOSTERY WORKS AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL HAVE BEEN PROPOSED, INCLUDING PATHWAYS OF COOPERATIVE AMINO ACID RESIDUES, FLEXIBILITY/RIGIDITY MODELS, ENERGY LANDSCAPE - ENSEMBLE THEORY, AND COMPLEX NETWORKS, ALL OF WHICH HAVE SOME PLAUSIBILITY. HOWEVER, EACH HAS BEEN APPLIED TO POSITIVE INSTANCES IN ONLY ONE OR JUST A FEW PROTEINS IN A CLASS, AND TYPICALLY DO NOT INCLUDE STATISTICAL CONTROLS NOR EXPLAIN LIGAND BINDING OR MUTATIONS WHICH HAVE POTENTIAL BUT DO NOT ELICIT AN ALLOSTERIC EFFECT (NEGATIVE INSTANCES). A PARTICULAR CHALLENGE WITH LARGE PROTEINS HAS BEEN ACCOUNTING FOR THE PROPAGATION OF ALLOSTERIC SIGNALS OVER LONG RANGE WITHOUT ATTENUATION. A PROMISING HYPOTHESIS PURSUED HERE POSTULATES THAT LONG-RANGE SIGNAL TRANSMISSION OCCURS AS AN ALLOSTERIC EFFECTOR-INDUCED PERTURBATION TRANSMITTED VIA COUPLING WITH THE DELOCALIZED BREATHING MOTIONS OF A PROTEIN, I.E. “LIBRATIONAL MODE COUPLING” (LMC). THE PROPOSED RESEARCH INVOLVES ELUCIDATING THE EXTENT TO WHICH LMC CONTRIBUTES TO ALLOSTERIC SIGNALING USING “STATE-OF-THE-ART" ALL- ATOM MOLECULAR DYNAMICS (MD) COMPUTER SIMULATIONS TOGETHER WITH OUR LMC ANALYSIS, CONSIDERING BOTH MOTIONAL AND ENERGY OPTIONS FOR OBTAINING MODES. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS THE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A QUANTITATIVE METRIC DIAGNOSTIC OF ALLOSTERIC SIGNAL PROPAGATION VIA LMC AS APPLIED TO MD SIMULATIONS ON SELECTED, WELL-CHARACTERIZED ALLOSTERIC PROTEINS. THE RESULTS OF THE PROPOSED LMC-MD STUDIES MAY EITHER SUPPORT OR REFUTE THE ROLE OF BREATHING MOTIONS, WITH EITHER OUTCOME CONTRIBUTING VALUABLE NEW KNOWLEDGE. SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN NEW FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ALLOSTERIC CONTROL PROCESSES THAT WILL BE ULTIMATELY USEFUL IN ALLOSTERIC DRUG DESIGN.

EXPLORING THE NEXT SPACE FRONTIER: OPTIMIZING TRAJECTORIES OF FUTURE SPACECRAFT BASED ON THE OUTER HELIOSPHERE AND ITS INTERSTELLAR ENVIRONMENT

BETA-LACTAMASES AND DD-PEPTIDASES: ACTIVE SITE CHEMISTRY

INVESTIGATION OF DEFECTIVE ALLOSTERIC SIGNALING AS A BASIS FOR DNA MISMATCH REPAIR MALFUNCTION IN LYNCH CANCER SYNDROME

THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF VERTEBRAL DEFECTS

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

THE GRANTS TO REDUCE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING ON CAMPUS PROGRAM (CAMPUS PROGRAM) IS AUTHORIZED BY 34 U.S.C. 20125. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO COMBAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING ON CAMPUSES. THESE COMPREHENSIVE EFFORTS ARE DESIGNED TO ENHANCE VICTIM SERVICES (INCLUDING LEGAL SERVICES), IMPLEMENT PREVENTION AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND DEVELOP AND STRENGTHEN SECURITY AND INVESTIGATION STRATEGIES TO PREVENT, PROSECUTE, AND RESPOND TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING. THE CAMPUS PROGRAM SUPPORTS ACTIVITIES THAT DEVELOP CAMPUS-BASED COORDINATED RESPONSES AMONG CAMPUS VICTIM SERVICES, CAMPUS LAW ENFORCEMENT, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, HOUSING OFFICIALS, ADMINISTRATORS, STUDENT LEADERS, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS, AND DISCIPLINARY BOARDS, ENHANCE VICTIM SAFETY AND THE PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE, AND HOLD OFFENDERS ACCOUNTABLE. TO BE EFFECTIVE, THESE RESPONSES MUST BE LINKED TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, PROSECUTORS OFFICES, COURTS, AND NONPROFIT, NONGOVERNMENTAL VICTIM ADVOCACY AND VICTIM SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS. NEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY IS A PRIVATE, FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTION LOCATED IN LINCOLN, NE. WITH THIS CONTINUATION AWARD, NEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, IN COLLABORATION WITH VOICES OF HOPE AND LINCOLN POLICE DEPARTMENT, WILL CONTINUE TO MEET THE STATUTORY AND PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENTS. IN ADDITION, THE PROJECT WILL: (1) CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THE CONFIDENTIAL AND NON-CONFIDENTIAL VICTIM SERVICES AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS ON CAMPUS AND STRENGTHEN THE RELATIONSHIP OF OFF CAMPUS PARTNERS TO ENSURE THE PROCESS OF REPORTING IS VICTIM-CENTERED AND TRAUMA-INFORMED; AND 2) CONDUCT OUTREACH TO ALL STUDENTS ON CAMPUS FOR MANDATORY TRAINING, INCLUDING TARGETED WORK WITH THREE GROUPS THAT ATTRACT A MAJORITY OF STUDENT ACTIVITY ON CAMPUS (THEATRE, GREEK LIFE, ATHLETICS).

DIGITAL INTRO: CONNECTING INTRODUCTORY SOCIAL SCIENCE CONTENT WITH MODERN DIGITAL APPLICATION AND WORKFORCE EMPOWERMENT -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY TRANSFORMING INTRODUCTORY SOCIAL SCIENCES EDUCATION THROUGH INNOVATIVE, PROJECT-BASED LEARNING THAT INTEGRATES ESSENTIAL MODERN DIGITAL SKILLS SUCH AS DATA ANALYTICS, PROGRAMMING, COMPUTER GRAPHICS, VIDEO PRODUCTION, AND WEB DEVELOPMENT. BY INTRODUCING A SCALABLE MODEL IN THE INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY COURSE, WHICH ATTRACTS HIGH NUMBERS OF WOMEN AND STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, THE INITIATIVE AIMS TO EMPOWER STUDENTS WITH CRITICAL TECHNICAL SKILLS FROM THE OUTSET OF THEIR ACADEMIC JOURNEY. EMPHASIZING ENGAGEMENT WITH DIGITAL TOOLS AND INTERDISCIPLINARY INQUIRY, THE PROJECT SEEKS TO ENRICH DISCIPLINARY CONTENT LEARNING WHILE INSPIRING STUDENTS TO EXPLORE AND EXCEL IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY FIELDS. THIS APPROACH ALIGNS WITH NSF'S STRATEGIC GOAL TO ?EMPOWER STEM TALENT TO FULLY PARTICIPATE IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING.? THROUGH COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS BETWEEN CONTENT EXPERTS AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATORS, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SET A NEW STANDARD FOR INTEGRATING DIGITAL LITERACY INTO INTRODUCTORY COURSES, FOSTERING CREATIVITY, INDEPENDENCE, AND CAREER READINESS AMONG STUDENTS NATIONWIDE. THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE A REDESIGN OF THE INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY COURSE BY INTEGRATING MODERN DIGITAL WORKFORCE SKILLS WITH DISCIPLINARY CONTENT, INCORPORATING TOOLS SUCH AS PYTHON, ADOBE EXPRESS, AND HTML, AIMING TO DEEPEN STUDENTS' UNDERSTANDING OF PSYCHOLOGY CONCEPTS THROUGH PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS. SUPPORTING RESOURCES WILL BE CURATED TO AID STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, REPRESENTATION, AND ACTION ACROSS VARIOUS DIGITAL PROJECTS. SCAFFOLDING WILL PROVIDE BOTH IN-CLASS AND OUT-OF-CLASS SUPPORT, UTILIZING PEER MENTORING, PAIR PROGRAMMING, AND TEACHABLE AGENTS TO ENHANCE LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND BUILD A SENSE OF BELONGING. THE INITIATIVE ALSO EMPHASIZES THE CREATION OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) TO FREELY DISTRIBUTE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND SHARE STUDENT LEARNING ARTIFACTS, PROMOTING INCLUSIVITY AND ACCESSIBILITY IN EDUCATION. THE PROJECT'S EVALUATION WILL EMPLOY BOTH FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS TO MEASURE OUTCOMES RELATED TO DIGITAL SKILLS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, AND CAREER INTENTIONS AMONG DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATIONS, AIMING TO VALIDATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROJECT-BASED CURRICULUM IN ENHANCING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING OUTCOMES. THE NSF IUSE: EDU PROGRAM SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STEM EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS. THROUGH THE ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING TRACK, THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS THE CREATION, EXPLORATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROMISING PRACTICES AND TOOLS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

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

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EPIIC: EMPOWERED -- BUILDING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE TOGETHER -THIS IS A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT ACROSS THE FOLLOWING INSTITUTIONS: HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON, ALBANY COLLEGE OF PHARMACY & HEALTH SCIENCES, MONTGOMERY COLLEGE, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CUMMINGS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AND OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. ACCORDING TO THE US BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, OVER THE NEXT DECADE, STEM OCCUPATIONS ARE FORECAST TO GROW FASTER THAN THE TOTAL FOR ALL OCCUPATIONS, LEAVE A TALENT SHORTAGE FOR INDUSTRIES TO FILL NEARLY 3.5 MILLION STEM JOBS BY 2029. IN ADDITION, THERE IS A GROWING DISCONNECT BETWEEN WHAT STEM STUDENTS LEARN IN COLLEGE AND WHAT EMPLOYERS EXPECT NEW GRADUATES TO BE ABLE TO DO. SOME EMPLOYERS FIND RECENT GRADUATES LACK SOFT SKILLS LIKE PROBLEM SOLVING, CRITICAL THINKING, AND WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION; OTHERS FIND STUDENTS TO BE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE PRACTICAL AND TECHNICAL SKILLS NEEDED FOR THEIR DAY-TO-DAY WORK. THIS COLLABORATIVE EPIIC PROJECT DEFINES A PROCESS TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES AT THE ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROJECT. COHORT INSTITUTIONS WILL WORK TOGETHER GROW INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS, IMPROVE ALIGNMENT OF PROGRAM CURRICULA WITH INDUSTRY NEEDS, AND ENHANCE FACULTY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. THROUGH THIS EPIIC PROJECT, THE COLLABORATING INSTITUTIONS WILL BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH INDUSTRY EXPERTS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO FIND OUT WHAT SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE ARE NEEDED FOR STEM JOBS IN THEIR FIELDS. THE COHORT WILL USE THIS INFORMATION TO MODIFY AND ENHANCE COLLEGE COURSES AND CURRICULAR STRUCTURE WITH INDUSTRY NEEDS IN MIND SO STUDENTS ARE PREPARED FOR JOBS RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE. AT THE SAME TIME, SKILLS TRAINING FOR FACULTY MUST BE PROVIDED SO INSTRUCTORS ARE PREPARED TO TEACH THE ENHANCED COURSE CONTENT AND MULTIPLE DEGREE PATHWAYS MUST BE CREATED SO STUDENTS WITH DIVERSE PREPARATION AND LIFE SITUATIONS WILL GRADUATE. PROJECT PARTICIPANTS WILL ALSO COMMUNICATE TO STUDENTS CLEARLY AND EFFECTIVELY ABOUT HOW AND WHY THEIR EDUCATION WILL PREPARE THEM FOR THE STEM CAREERS THEY WANT, THUS BUILDING THE WORKFORCE THIS COUNTRY NEEDS. EACH ACADEMIC INSTITUTION IN THE DIVERSE COHORT, WHICH INCLUDES TWO SMALL LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES, TWO 2-YEAR TECHNICAL COLLEGES, A PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE STATE UNIVERSITY, AND A 4-YEAR COLLEGE OFFERING SPECIALIZED UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE DEGREES, HAS DEVELOPED AN INDIVIDUALIZED PLAN TO IMPLEMENT THIS PROCESS. THE PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS WILL EXCHANGE INFORMATION AND WORK TOGETHER AS A COHORT TO ENHANCE EACH INSTITUTION'S CAPACITY FOR BUILDING EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS. THIS PROCESS WILL POSITION THE INSTITUTIONS TO FURTHER DEEPEN ENGAGEMENT WITH INDUSTRY AND ENHANCE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR REGIONAL INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS. 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.

MESODERMAL PATTERNING MODULES IN THE EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE TETRAPOD PECTORAL REGION

NSL - BACCALAUREATE NURSING - LOAN GRANT WITH FUNDS FOR NEW BUDGET PERIOD

APPLICATIONS OF BISMUTH COMPOUNDS AS CATALYSTS IN ORGANIC SYNTHESIS

FUNCTIONAL INTERACTION OF HISTONE H1 WITH THE CORE NUCLEOSOME

MECHANISM OF SECA-DEPENDENT PROTEIN TRANSLOCATION

STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF THE SYNAPTONEMAL COMPLEX

RUI: PHENAZINE CHEMISTRY AS A MEANS OF ASSEMBLING MULTIFUNCTIONAL PI-CONJUGATED ORGANIC MATERIALS.

EMERGENCY FINANCIAL GRANTS TO PROVIDE INSTITUTIONAL RELIEF OR STUDENT AWARDS AS A RESULT OF COVID-19.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EQUIPMENT: MRI CONSORTIUM: TRACK 2 DEVELOPMENT OF A NEXT GENERATION FAST NEUTRON DETECTOR -THE STUDY OF NEUTRON-RICH ATOMIC NUCLEI CAN REVEAL EFFECTS ABOUT HOW PROTONS AND NEUTRONS INTERACT INSIDE NUCLEI. THESE PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE FORMATION OF THE ELEMENTS IN THE UNIVERSE AND HELP SCIENTISTS UNDERSTAND HOW THE NUCLEAR CORE OF ATOMS FORM. ONE OF THE WAYS TO INVESTIGATE THESE NUCLEI AT THE EDGE OF STABILITY IS TO MEASURE THEIR BREAKUP PRODUCTS, WHICH INCLUDES THE NEUTRONS THAT ARE NOT NEEDED TO HOLD THE SMALLER NUCLEI TOGETHER. THE DETECTION OF NEUTRONS IS CHALLENGING BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO CHARGE AND ONLY INTERACT WITH THE NUCLEAR CORE OF ATOMS. THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT, BUILDING, AND COMMISSIONING OF A MODULAR ARRAY BASED ON PLASTIC SCINTILLATOR FOR THE DETECTION OF FAST (BETWEEN ONE THIRD AND ONE HALF THE SPEED OF LIGHT) NEUTRONS. THE NEW DETECTOR ARRAY WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE HOW PRECISELY WE CAN DETERMINE THE NEUTRONS? POSITION COMPARED TO CURRENT NEUTRON DETECTORS BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE USE OF STATE-OF-THE-ART PHOTO-SENSORS, AND AS A RESULT ENABLE NUCLEAR STRUCTURE MEASUREMENTS WITH SUPERIOR PRECISION. THE DETECTOR MODULES WILL BE BUILT AND TESTED TO A LARGE EXTENT AT THE SEVEN PARTICIPATING UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS, ALLOWING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO LEARN KEY TECHNICAL SKILLS AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO NUCLEAR PHYSICS RESEARCH IN A MEANINGFUL WAY. SCINTILLATION DETECTORS, I.E. DETECTORS THAT MEASURE THE SCINTILLATION LIGHT THAT STEMS FROM SUBATOMIC PARTICLES INTERACTING WITHIN THE DETECTOR, ARE WIDELY EMPLOYED IN RESEARCH, INDUSTRY, AND MEDICAL IMAGING, SO THESE SKILLS CAN BE APPLIED IN MANY CRUCIAL FIELDS. CONTEMPORARY FAST NEUTRON DETECTORS USE CONVENTIONAL DETECTOR CONFIGURATIONS OF LONG PLASTIC SCINTILLATOR BARS READ OUT BY PAIRS OF PHOTO-MULTIPLIER TUBES (PMTS). THE POSITION OF THE NEUTRON INTERACTION IS DEDUCED FROM THE TIME DIFFERENCE OF THE SIGNALS MEASURED BY EACH PMT AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE DETECTOR BAR, AND FROM WHICH DETECTOR BAR HAS BEEN HIT. A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SCINTILLATION-LIGHT COLLECTION IS PURSUED IN THIS NEW DETECTOR USING ARRAYS OF SILICON PHOTO-MULTIPLIERS (SIPMS), OVERCOMING THE LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT DESIGNS AND RESULTING IN IMPROVED POSITION RESOLUTION FOR FAST NEUTRON DETECTION. THIS ALSO ALLOWS A TILED DESIGN THAT OFFERS MUCH MORE FLEXIBILITY IN ADJUSTING THE ACTIVE AREA OF THE ARRAY TO SPECIFIC EXPERIMENT NEEDS. INVARIANT-MASS SPECTROSCOPY OF NEUTRON-UNBOUND STATES IN ELEMENTS BEYOND OXYGEN REQUIRES SUCH AN EXPERIMENTAL SETUP WITH IMPROVED RESOLUTION. AS ONE MOVES TO HEAVIER UNBOUND SYSTEMS ONE FACES HIGHER LEVEL DENSITIES. TO RESOLVE THESE IN THE RECONSTRUCTED DECAY ENERGY SPECTRUM REQUIRES HIGHER MOMENTUM (AND THUS POSITION) RESOLUTION. A HIGH POSITION RESOLUTION ALSO IMPROVES THE DISCRIMINATION OF DOUBLE-SCATTERED EVENTS AND ALLOWS THE USE OF HIGHER BEAM ENERGIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE AT THE RARE-ISOTOPE BEAM FACILITIES SUCH AS THE FACILITY FOR RARE ISOTOPE BEAMS (FRIB). THE COMPLETED INSTRUMENT WILL SERVE THE BROAD FRIB USER COMMUNITY AND ENABLE INVARIANT MASS MEASUREMENTS AT THE RESOLUTION THAT IS REQUIRED FOR HEAVIER AND MORE EXOTIC ISOTOPES THAT ARE AVAILABLE WITH FRIB BEAMS. 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.

MEASURING ROTATIONS OF 3D PRINTED PARTICLES IN TURBULENT FLUID FLOW

INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF MUTSY IN MEIOTIC RECOMBINATION AND MAINTAINING GENOME INTEGRITY

INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

ARRA - NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM