Barnard College

TIME AND ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND-INSTITUTIONAL PORTION FOR BARNARD COLLEGE

CARES ACT: HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND FOR BARNARD COLLEGE

THE CREATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF LANGUAGE

MRI CONSORTIUM: DEVELOPMENT OF A WIDE FIELD-OF-VIEW CAMERA FOR THE SCHWARZSCHILD-COUDER GAMMA RAY TELESCOPE

RESEARCH IN CHEMISTRY: LAB RENOVATIONS FOR FACULTY AND UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN

SENSORY AND PERCEPTUAL FACTORS IN SPOKEN COMMUNICATION

RUI: MAPPING PHYSICAL NETWORKS TO FUNCTIONAL NETWORKS IN SCN OSCILLATION

BARNARD ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARS PROGAM

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF ALKANE HYDROXYLASE (ALKB) REACTIVITY AND SELECTIVITY

PATHWAYS INTO THE SCIENCES: SUPPORTING PERSISTENCE AND GRADUATION OF WOMEN PURSUING STEM DEGREES

PHYSIOLOGICAL DISSECTION OF THE SCN

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MRI CONSORTIUM: DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL TELESCOPE FOR VERY HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY ASTROPHYSICS

COLLABORATIVE PROPOSAL: RUI: UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT-DEPENDENT ROLES OF HOXA5 IN CELL FATE AND PATTERNING

WOU-MMA PARTICLE AND GAMMA-RAY ASTROPHYSICS WITH VERITAS AND CTA: UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF COSMIC ACCELERATORS -GAMMA RAY TELESCOPES EXPLORE THE UNIVERSE AT THE HIGHEST ENERGIES, OFFERING A STUNNING VIEW OF COSMIC PHENOMENA THAT OCCUR ONLY UNDER EXTREME PHYSICAL CONDITIONS. GROUND-BASED OBSERVATORIES SUCH AS VERITAS IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA AND THE UPCOMING CHERENKOV TELESCOPE ARRAY OBSERVATORY ARE UNIQUELY ABLE TO MAKE DETAILED AND SENSITIVE OBSERVATIONS OF HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY SOURCES. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE PHYSICS OF ACTIVE GALAXIES, COSMOLOGY, THE STUDY OF BLAZAR JETS, COUNTERPARTS OF NEUTRINOS DETECTED BY THE ICECUBE NEUTRINO OBSERVATORY, AND EXPLORING VERY HIGH ENERGY GALACTIC ACCELERATORS. THIS AWARD INTRODUCES UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO FRONTIER RESEARCH, TRAINS GRADUATE STUDENTS AND EARLY-CAREER POSTDOCTORAL SCIENTISTS, AND THUS HELPS TO CREATE NEXT-GENERATION SCIENTIFIC LEADERS. THE BARNARD GROUP WILL OPERATE, AND OBSERVE WITH, VERITAS, AN IMAGING ATMOSPHERIC CHERENKOV TELESCOPE FACILITY SENSITIVE TO GAMMA RAYS AT ENERGIES ABOVE A HUNDRED BILLION ELECTRON-VOLTS. RESEARCH TOPICS INCLUDE THE NATURE OF PEVATRON CANDIDATES AND PULSAR WIND NEBULAE IN THE GALAXY. THE GROUP USES DATA FROM LHAASO, HAWC, VERITAS, FERMI-LAT, AND X-RAY SATELLITES. STUDENTS AND OTHER JUNIOR RESEARCHERS WILL CARRY OUT FRONTIER RESEARCH IN PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS WITH A STATE-OF-THE ART HIGH-ENERGY ASTROPHYSICAL FACILITY. GROUP MEMBERS ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN MENTORING ACTIVITIES FOCUSED ON UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS THIS PROJECT ADVANCES THE OBJECTIVES OF WINDOWS ON THE UNIVERSE: THE ERA OF MULTI-MESSENGER ASTROPHYSICS, ONE OF THE 10 BIG IDEAS FOR FUTURE NSF INVESTMENTS. 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.

WOU-MMA: UNDERSTANDING COSMIC PARTICLE ACCELERATORS WITH THE VERITAS AND CTA GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATORIES

PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS AT TEV ENERGIES WITH VERITAS

RUI: QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF BRAIN CLOCK OSCILLATIONS AND ASSOCIATED CELLULAR CONTACTS AND MORPHOLOGIES

CAPACITY LIMITS IN THE NEURAL CIRCUITRY OF VISUAL WORD RECOGNITION - PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT FOR MOST LITERATE ADULTS, READING FEELS EFFORTLESS. HOWEVER, VISUAL WORD RECOGNITION IS A COMPLEX PROCESS PERFORMED BY SPECIALIZED CIRCUITS IN THE BRAIN, AND FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IT NEVER BECOMES EASY. EVEN SKILLED READERS HAVE TO PROCESS A PAGE OF TEXT IN SMALL CHUNKS, DUE TO POOR PERIPHERAL VISION AND INHERENT CAPACITY LIMITS FOR SENSORY INFORMATION PROCESSING. IT IS DIFFICULT TO RECOGNIZE EVEN JUST TWO CLEARLY VISIBLE WORDS AT ONCE. THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES THE UNDERLYING NEURONAL BASIS FOR CAPACITY LIMITS IN VISUAL WORD RECOGNITION AND HOW THEY DIFFER ACROSS INDIVIDUALS. SPECIFIC RESEARCH GOALS: (1) TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT A PARTICULAR OCCIPITO- TEMPORAL BRAIN AREA, THE PUTATIVE `VISUAL WORD FORM AREA' (VWFA), IS A BOTTLENECK TO WORD RECOGNITION. OBSERVERS WILL VIEW FLASHING PAIRS OF WORDS IN AN MRI SCANNER THAT RECORDS BOTH FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITY AND STRUCTURAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BRAIN AREAS. TO TRACE OUT THE FLOW OF INFORMATION FROM EARLY VISUAL CORTEX INTO THE LANGUAGE SYSTEM, THIS STUDY WILL MANIPULATE WHICH ASPECTS OF THE STIMULI THE OBSERVERS ATTEND TO. (2) TO VARY THE TASK DEMANDS IN ORDER TO HONE IN ON THE PARTICULAR STAGE OF WORD RECOGNITION (E.G., ORTHOGRAPHIC, LEXICAL) WHERE THERE IS A PROCESSING BOTTLENECK. (3) TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN READING ABILITY ARE RELATED TO CAPACITY LIMITS IN PARTICULAR PROCESSING STAGES, AND TO RELATE THOSE CAPACITY LIMITS TO WHITE MATTER TRACTS THAT ARE HYPOTHESIZED TO CONTROL THE FLOW OF VISUAL INFORMATION DURING READING. CANDIDATE: DR. ALEX WHITE IS A POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER SEEKING TO ESTABLISH HIMSELF AS A UNIQUELY SKILLED COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENTIST AND LAUNCH HIS OWN LABORATORY TO STUDY VISUAL PERCEPTION AND THE NEURAL FOUNDATIONS OF LITERACY. IN HIS PRIOR TRAINING, HE INVESTIGATED THE MECHANISMS OF SELECTIVE ATTENTION WITH PSYCHOPHYSICS, EYE-TRACKING, AND FMRI. IN HIS MOST RECENT WORK HE DISCOVERED THAT SKILLED READERS CAN SEMANTICALLY RECOGNIZE ONLY ONE WORD AT A TIME, AND NOW SEEKS TO FULLY EXPLAIN THAT FINDING. TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS HE NEEDS MORE TRAINING IN ADVANCED NEUROIMAGING, ESPECIALLY DIFFUSION-WEIGHTED MRI (DMRI), TO ASSAY THE WHITE MATTER TRACTS IN THE READING CIRCUITRY. THE PATHWAY TO INDEPENDENCE AWARD WILL ALLOW HIM TO REACH HIS GOALS BY FUNDING ADDITIONAL TRAINING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON AND FACILITATING HIS TRANSITION TO A FACULTY POSITION. TRAINING PLAN: DR. WHITE HAS ASSEMBLED A FIRST-RATE TEAM OF MENTORS: DR. JASON YEATMAN, WHO DEVELOPS SOPHISTICATED IMAGING METHODS TO STUDY THE NEURAL CIRCUITS RELATED TO READING AND DYSLEXIA; DR. GEOFF BOYNTON, AN EXPERT IN FMRI AND THE EFFECTS OF ATTENTION IN HUMAN VISUAL CORTEX; AND DR. JOHN PALMER, WHO DEVELOPS MATHEMATICAL MODELS FOR CAPACITY LIMITS IN PERCEPTION. IN THE K99 PHASE OF THIS AWARD, THESE MENTORS WILL TRAIN DR. WHITE IN ADVANCED FMRI ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES, DMRI AND MODELING. THEY WILL SUPPORT THE EXECUTION OF THE FIRST SET OF PROPOSED STUDIES AND PREPARE HIM TO BECOME AN EFFECTIVE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR. WHEN HE CARRIES ON THIS WORK INDEPENDENTLY IN HIS OWN LAB, HE HOPES TO OPEN NEW AVENUES OF APPLIED RESEARCH THAT WILL ALLEVIATE READING IMPAIRMENTS IN DIVERSE POPULATIONS.

PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS AT TEV ENERGIES WITH VERITAS

EFFECTS OF LOCAL ADAPTATION ON PARALLEL PATHWAY CIRCUIT COMPUTATIONS IN THE RETINA

TEV ASTROPHYSICS WITH THE VERITAS GAMMA RAY OBSERVATORY

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF ALKANE HYDROXYLASE (ALKB) REACTIVITY AND SELECTIVITY - ABSTRACT THE CLASS-III DIIRON PROTEINS, A GROUP OF INTEGRAL MEMBRANE PROTEINS UNIFIED BY A HISTIDINE-RICH ACTIVE SITE, CATALYZE A WIDE RANGE OF REACTIONS INCLUDING HYDROXYLATIONS REQUIRED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SPHINGOLIPIDS (AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF THE MYELIN SHEATH), DESATURATING FATTY ACIDS THAT REGULATE METABOLISM AND CANCER PROGRESS, AND HYDROXYLATING STRAIGHT CHAIN ALKANES, ENABLING THEM TO BE BIODEGRADED IN OIL-IMPACTED ENVIRONMENTS. THE DIVERSE CHEMISTRY IN THIS ENZYME FAMILY IS CONTROLLED, AT LEAST IN PART, BY SUBSTRATE CHANNELS WELL MATCHED TO THE STRUCTURE OF THE DIFFERENT SUBSTRATES. THE STRUCTURE OF THE ACTIVE SITE, ONLY RECENTLY DETERMINED, IS PUZZLING BECAUSE NO COVALENT BRIDGE LINKING THE TWO REDOX ACTIVE IRON IONS IS APPARENT. ELECTRONS ARE REQUIRED TO ACTIVATE THESE ENZYMES. SOME CLASS-III DIIRON PROTEINS HAVE THEIR ELECTRON-TRANSFER PARTNERS COVALENTLY BOUND WHILE OTHERS DO NOT. THE FUNCTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE DIFFERENT MODALITIES IS NOT KNOWN. THIS PROGRAM WILL TARGET STRUCTURE/FUNCTION RELATIONSHIPS IN ALKANE MONOOXYGENASES (ALKB), THE MOST BIOCHEMICALLY TRACTABLE MEMBER OF THE CLASS-III DIIRON PROTEIN FAMILY, TO UNDERSTAND REACTION MECHANISMS AND THE FACTORS THAT CONTROL REACTION SCOPE. WE WILL COMBINE MECHANISTIC WORK ON ALKB VARIANTS WITH SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PROTEIN USING A VARIETY OF TECHNIQUES THAT CAN SHED LIGHT ON THE THREE DIMENSIONAL AND ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE OF THE ACTIVE SITE. WE WILL MINE OUR LARGE LIBRARY OF FUNCTIONAL ALKB ENZYMES (CURRENTLY WE CAN EXPRESS MORE THAN 60 DIFFERENT ALKBS FROM DIFFERENT BACTERIA) TO SEARCH FOR PATTERNS IN REACTIVITY. WE WILL UTILIZE INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE CRYO-EM STRUCTURE OF ALKB WE PUBLISHED IN 2023, AS WELL AS DEEP MUTATIONAL SCANNING, TO DEVELOP A LARGE LIBRARY OF VARIANT TO PROBE THE STRUCTURAL FACTORS THAT CONTROL REACTIVITY. WE WILL DETERMINE THE MECHANISM OF THE RECENTLY DISCOVERED CAPABILITY OF ALKB TO CATALYZE THE DEFLUORINATION OF FLUORINATED ALKANES. WE WILL ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEW FAMILY OF ALKBS WHOSE EXISTENCE WE RECENTLY REPORTED—A FUSION PROTEIN CONTAINING TWO ELECTRON TRANSFER PARTNERS NOT PREVIOUSLY SEEN LINKED TO ALKB—AND CHARACTERIZE ITS REACTIVITY. WE WILL ALSO EXPLORE WHETHER ARCHAEA EXPRESS ALKBS CAPABLE OF PARTICIPATING IN THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE. WE EXPECT TO GENERATE NEW INSIGHTS INTO MECHANISMS OF SELECTIVE C-H AND C-F BOND ACTIVATION. BY LEVERAGING OUR UNIQUE EXPERTISE WITH THIS KEY MEMBER OF THE CLASS-III DIIRON PROTEINS, WE EXPECT TO CONTRIBUTE TO A FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THESE METALLOENZYMES WORK, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR BOTH HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.

CAREER: EFFICIENT CODING OF VISUAL,STRUCTURAL, AND SEMANTIC SCENE INFORMATION -IT IS COMMONLY SAID THAT ?A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS?, A PHRASE THAT EVOKES THE RICH AMOUNT OF INFORMATION WE CAN GAIN FROM THE SCENES THAT MAKE UP OUR VISUAL WORLD. BUT DO ALL SCENES CONTAIN THE SAME AMOUNT OF INFORMATION? INTUITIVELY, THE ANSWER SEEMS TO BE ?NO? -- WE OFTEN ENCOUNTER SITUATIONS WHERE WE ARE OVERWHELMED WITH VISUAL INFORMATION, SUCH AS IN A CROWDED CONCERT VENUE OR A CLUTTERED DESK. FURTHER, WHEN OVERWHELMED WITH VISUAL INFORMATION, WE MAY MAKE CONSEQUENTIAL MISTAKES, SUCH AS FAILING TO FIND A TUMOR ON A MEDICAL SCAN OR CRASHING ONE?S CAR. THIS CAREER AWARD AIMS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TYPES OF SCENE INFORMATION CREATE OVERLOAD AND THE TIME COURSE OF NEURAL PROCESSING WHEN OVERCOMING INFORMATION OVERLOAD. USING BOTH BEHAVIORAL AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY (EEG) MEASURES, WE ASSESS FOUR LEVELS OF INFORMATION, RANGING FROM PURELY VISUAL TO SEMANTIC. THESE EXPERIMENTS PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO THE MECHANISMS OF VISUAL PERCEPTION AND MAY ENABLE DESIGNERS TO CREATE SPACES THAT MINIMALLY TAX OUR COGNITIVE RESOURCES. THIS AWARD ALSO TAKES MEANINGFUL STEPS TOWARD DEMOCRATIZING TRAINING IN BASIC COMPUTING. THE PI AND STUDENTS WORK TO CREATE AN OPEN EDUCATIONAL MULTI-MEDIA TEXTBOOK THAT TRAINS STUDENTS IN SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING SKILLS. THIS CAREER AWARD AIMS TO GAIN INSIGHTS INTO THE MECHANISMS OF SCENE PERCEPTION BY ASSESSING THE SYSTEM UNDER INFORMATION OVERLOAD. WE GAIN INSIGHTS INTO COGNITIVE AND NEURAL MECHANISMS WHEN WE PUSH SYSTEMS TO THEIR LIMITS. RAPID VISUAL PERCEPTION HAS INTRIGUED RESEARCHERS BECAUSE THE SPEED OF PERCEPTION PLACES BOUNDS ON THE TYPES OF NEURAL MECHANISMS THAT CAN ACHIEVE RECOGNITION. HOWEVER, MOST WORK CENTERS AROUND THE SUCCESSES OF RAPID SCENE UNDERSTANDING THAN ITS FAILURES. THIS WORK ASSESSES HOW FOUR LEVELS OF INCREASING INFORMATIONAL COMPLEXITY (VISUAL, OBJECT-BASED, SEMANTIC, AND EXPERIENTIAL) CONTRIBUTE TO EARLY SCENE PROCESSING. SPECIFICALLY, THE RESEARCH TESTS HOW EACH INFORMATION LEVEL AFFECTS PERFORMANCE IN RAPID SCENE DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION TASKS AND HOW EACH ALTERS THE TIME COURSE OF INFORMATION PROCESSING USING EEG. THE RESULTS OF THESE EXPERIMENTS REVEAL WHAT TYPES OF INFORMATION AFFECT VISUAL PROCESSING AND AT WHAT TIME SCALES, PROVIDING CRITICAL INSIGHTS INTO THE MECHANISMS OF RAPID VISUAL PERCEPTION. THE PI COLLABORATES WITH STUDENTS TO CREATE AN OPEN MULTIMEDIA TEXTBOOK ON SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING SKILLS THAT ARE OFTEN MISSING FROM EARLY COMPUTER SCIENCE CLASSES. 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.

MAXIMIZING RECRUITMENT PERSISTENCE AND SUCCESS OF UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN IN SCIENCE

ELEMENTS: RUI: ACCESSIBLE GPU-ACCELERATED EDGE OPTIMAL CONTROL LIBRARY AND BENCHMARKS -NONLINEAR OPTIMAL CONTROL SOLVERS ARE USED IN A DIVERSE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS FROM ROBOTICS TO MANUFACTURING AND UTILITIES. UNFORTUNATELY, CURRENT SOFTWARE INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDAMENTALLY LIMITS THE PERFORMANCE OF MANY OF THESE SYSTEMS DUE TO ITS INABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY SCALE TO LARGE-SCALE PROBLEMS. AT THE SAME TIME, ADVANCES IN PARALLEL COMPUTATIONAL HARDWARE HAVE SHOWN PROMISE FOR ADDRESSING THESE LIMITATIONS. THIS PROJECT OVERCOMES SUCH COMPUTATIONAL CHALLENGES THROUGH ACCELERATION ON GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNITS (GPUS), AND DEVELOPS MORE GENERAL, ACCESSIBLE, AND DOCUMENTED OPEN-SOURCE GPU OPTIMAL CONTROL LIBRARIES THAT CAN SUPPORT A BROADER RANGE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, WITH A FOCUS IN ROBOTICS. THESE LIBRARIES ARE PAIRED WITH OPEN-SOURCE BENCHMARK PROBLEMS AND DATASETS AND INTEGRATED INTO MACHINE LEARNING (ML) FRAMEWORKS TO ENABLE FAIR EVALUATIONS OF NEW ALGORITHMS AND TO ENABLE BROADER PARTICIPATION IN THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELD. FINALLY, THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS AN INTEGRATED EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM THAT PROVIDES BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE, ENABLING RESEARCHERS AND PRACTITIONERS WORLDWIDE TO LEARN ABOUT THESE TOPICS, LEVERAGE THIS CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE TO IMPROVE THEIR SYSTEMS, AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE CURRENT PROJECT. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES FUNDAMENTAL SHORTCOMINGS IN CURRENT SOFTWARE LIBRARIES FOR OPTIMAL CONTROL, WHICH DO NOT CONSIDER THE USE OF GPU-ACCELERATION, AND ARE OFTEN NOT COMPATIBLE AND COMPARABLE WITH EACH OTHER. AS SUCH, THIS WORK ADDRESSES CRITICAL SCIENTIFIC NEEDS FOR LOW-LATENCY OPTIMAL CONTROL AT THE EDGE AS WELL AS UNIFIED APIS AND BENCHMARK PROBLEMS AND DATASETS. THIS PROJECT EXPANDS UPON AND GENERALIZES EXISTING PROOF-OF-CONCEPT, OPEN-SOURCE GPU-ACCELERATED OPTIMAL CONTROL SOLVERS FOR ROBOTICS ENABLING THEM TO BE BROADLY USED ACROSS BOTH THE ROBOTICS DOMAIN, AS WELL AS FOR OTHER OPTIMIZATION TASKS. THIS NOT ONLY INCLUDES SUPPORT FOR GENERAL PURPOSE CONSTRAINTS AND SUPPORTING KERNELS COMMONLY FOUND IN ROBOTICS AND BEYOND, BUT ALSO WRAPPERS IN HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGES AND INTEGRATION WITH POPULAR MACHINE LEARNING (ML) FRAMEWORKS. OPEN-SOURCE BENCHMARK PROBLEMS AND DATASETS AS WELL AS UNIFIED APIS ARE PROVIDED TO: ENABLE THE OPTIMAL CONTROL COMMUNITY TO FULLY AND FAIRLY EVALUATE NOVEL ALGORITHMS AND IMPLEMENTATIONS; ENABLE LOW-BARRIERS TO ENTRY FOR CONTRIBUTIONS FROM RESEARCHERS AND PRACTITIONERS WORLDWIDE; AND AVOID THE CURRENT UNNECESSARY DEVELOPMENT OF BESPOKE LIBRARIES BY INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS. THE TEAM EVALUATES THIS APPROACH BY TRACKING THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS, RESEARCHERS, EDUCATORS, UNIQUE APPLICATIONS, AND SUBFIELDS USING, CITING, AND CONTRIBUTING TO THIS SOFTWARE, COURSEWARE, AND BENCHMARKS. 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: RUI: THE NEURAL BASIS OF BECOMING A PARENT: FROM GENOTYPE TO PHENOTYPE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF AN INTEGRATED CONFOCAL AND TIRF FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPE FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TEACHING AT BARNARD COLLEGE

TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF PHONETIC PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION

CHARACTERIZING HYDROXYLATION MECHANISMS OF DIIRON ENZYMES

UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISM OF C-X HYDROGENOLYSIS CATALYZED BY SUPPORTED METAL NANOPARTICLES -WITH FUNDING FROM THE CHEMICAL CATALYSIS PROGRAM OF THE CHEMISTRY DIVISION, PROFESSORS AUSTIN OF BARNARD COLLEGE, FREDERICK AND SCHWARTZ OF UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, AND GRABOW OF UNIVERSITY HOUSTON WILL STUDY HOW TO CATALYTICALLY REDUCE OFF CARBON-HALOGEN BONDS. THE WORK IS OF RELEVANCE TO THE CHEMISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT. IN PARTICULAR, A NUMBER OF MODERN PESTICIDES CONTAIN SUCH CARBON-HALOGEN (IODINE, BROMINE, CHLORINE, OR FLUORINE) BONDS. THESE MOLECULES HAVE BEEN DESIGNED IN PART BECAUSE THEY ARE STABLE, BUT THAT STABILITY CAN ALSO BECOMES A LIABILITY AT THE END OF THE PROJECTED PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE. THIS COLLABORATIVE TEAM WILL USE A RANGE OF APPROACHES TO LEARN HOW TO SELECTIVELY REDUCTIVELY REMOVE THE HALOGENS FROM THESE MOLECULES. THE TEAM WILL ALSO STUDY CATALYSTS THAT CAN BREAK THESE BONDS TO UNDERSTAND PRECISELY HOW THEY CARRY OUT THIS IMPORTANT CHEMISTRY, AND BUILD COMPUTATIONAL MODELS TO DESIGN NEW CATALYSTS OF GREATER PRACTICALITY. ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM ARE COMMITTED TO DIVERSIFYING THE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE. THE PIS WILL WORK TO RECRUIT WOMEN INTO SCIENCE, AND INTO THIS RESEARCH TEAM IN PARTICULAR, THROUGH A NEWLY FORMED 4 + 1 PROGRAM AT BARNARD COLLEGE, THAT PROVIDES PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE A MASTER'S DEGREE IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN JUST ONE YEAR AFTER COMPLETING THEIR SPECIALIZED UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE AT BARNARD COLLEGE. THE SELECTED STUDENTS WILL SPEND TIME IN A CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LAB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AND A COMPUTATIONAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LAB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, IN ADDITION TO TIME WORKING AT BARNARD COLLEGE AND IN THE MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION LABS AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, SO THAT THEY WILL LEARN ALL OF THE FACETS OF THIS MULTIDISCIPLINARY EFFORT. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL TEST SEVERAL MECHANISTIC HYPOTHESES ABOUT THE NATURE OF AROMATIC C-X BOND HYDROGENOLYSIS CATALYZED BY SUPPORTED METAL NANOPARTICLES. REACTION RATE DATA FOR C-X BOND HYDROGENOLYSIS IN AROMATIC COMPOUNDS SHOWS A SURPRISING LACK OF SENSITIVITY TO THE IDENTITY OF X, IMPLYING THAT C-X BOND BREAKING IS NOT RATE-DETERMINING. THE TEAM HYPOTHESIZES THAT SURFACE CHEMISTRY PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN DEHALOGENATION OF HALOGENATED AROMATIC COMPOUNDS IN WAYS THAT ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE CHEMISTRY FOR THE ANALOGOUS ALKYL-X SPECIES. THE COLLABORATIVE TEAM WILL STUDY THE DETAILED STEPS OF C-X BOND HYDROGENOLYSIS ON SYSTEMS OF INCREASING COMPLEXITY AND USE DATA FROM THOSE STUDIES TO INFORM DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY (DFT) CALCULATIONS AND ALLOW FOR THE JOINT EXPERIMENTAL/COMPUTATIONAL TEAM TO BUILD MICRO-KINETIC MODELS. 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.

HIGH ENERGY GAMMA-RAY ASTROPHYSICS WITH VERITAS

GENOME-WIDE CHROMATIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN KAPOSI SARCOMA TISSUE - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE KAPOSI SARCOMA-ASSOCIATED HERPESVIRUS (KSHV) IS AN ETIOLOGICAL AGENT OF CANCER. AMONG THESE MALIGNANCIES, KAPOSI SARCOMA (KS) IS PARTICULARLY PREVALENT IN PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV. CENTRAL TO IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL POINTS OF THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IS A FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE VIRUS DRIVES CANCER PROGRESSION AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL. SINCE ITS DISCOVERY DECADES AGO, THE FIELD HAS EXCELLED AT LABORATORY STUDIES OF KSHV INFECTION. PARTICULAR CHALLENGES REMAIN, HOWEVER, IN STUDYING ACTUAL TISSUE. THIS PROPOSAL ATTEMPTS TO BRIDGE THIS GAP WITH A FOCUSED PROJECT THAT CONNECTS KEY COLLABORATORS IN THE GREATEST AREAS OF NEED. BY BUILDING ON ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS WITH A BIOREPOSITORY AND LEVERAGING RESOURCES AT AN ADVANCED CORE FACILITY, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO STUDY HARD-TO-FIND SPECIMENS WITH FRONTLINE GENOMICS METHODS. ALL EXPERIMENTS WILL BE PERFORMED BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. SPECIFIC AIM 1 WILL IDENTIFY VIRUS-ASSOCIATED HOST ENHANCERS AND REGULATED GENES IN KS TISSUE. THE PROJECT WILL OBTAIN CLINICAL SPECIMENS OF KS FROM THE AIDS AND CANCER SPECIMEN RESOURCE. SKIN LESIONS WILL BE BROUGHT TO AND PROCESSED AT THE MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CENTER FOR ADVANCED GENOMICS TECHNOLOGY FOR MULTIOME SINGLE-CELL ATAC-SEQ AND SINGLE-CELL RNA-SEQ EXPERIMENTS. THE SEQUENCING DATA OF OPEN CHROMATIN AND GENE EXPRESSION WILL BE ANALYZED BY A TEAM OF UNDERGRADUATES FROM BARNARD COLLEGE. THE GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY ENHANCERS AND REGULATED GENES MODULATED BY THE PRESENCE OF VIRAL INFECTION. THIS WILL PROVIDE A MAP OF CHROMATIN INTERACTIONS FROM ACTUAL CANCER TISSUE AND REPRESENTS A TRANSFORMATIVE STEP BEYOND CELL CULTURE STUDIES. SPECIFIC AIM 2 WILL IDENTIFY HOST SUPER-ENHANCERS IN KS TISSUE. TO COMPLEMENT THE OPEN CHROMATIN EXPERIMENTS OF AIM 1, AIM 2 WILL USE CHIP-SEQ TO IDENTIFY SUPER-ENHANCERS FOR KS. THE SAME FROZEN TUMOR TISSUE FROM THE AIDS AND CANCER SPECIMEN RESOURCE IN AIM 1 WILL BE PROCESSED. CHIP-SEQ WILL BE PERFORMED USING ANTIBODIES AGAINST BRD4, A HOST REGULATOR OF SUPER- ENHANCER ACTIVITY. THE GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY ACTIVE SUPER-ENHANCERS. THIS WILL PROVIDE A MAP OF KEY ONCOGENE REGULATORY ELEMENTS FROM ACTUAL CANCER TISSUE AND REPRESENTS A TRANSFORMATIVE STEP BEYOND CELL CULTURE STUDIES. THE AREA IMPACT STRATEGY EMPHASIZES STUDENT PEER MENTORSHIP AND LEADERSHIP. THIS PROPOSAL WILL DESIGNATE THREE STUDENTS TO SERVE AS LABORATORY MENTORS AND LEADERS. ALONG WITH THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, THE PEER LEADERS WILL COORDINATE EXPERIMENTS AND DATA ANALYSIS WITH OTHER STUDENTS ON THE TEAM. THIS INTERTWINES MENTORSHIP TRAINING WITH THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES AT MULTIPLE LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT. THE OVERALL IMPACT WILL BE IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL DRIVERS OF KS. ELUCIDATING REGULATORY ARCHITECTURE AND CIRCUITRY WILL IDENTIFY ENHANCERS AND TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS THAT MAY BE ESSENTIAL FOR GROWTH AND POTENTIAL TARGETS IN FUTURE TREATMENTS.

CAREER: ELUCIDATING THE NEURONAL BASIS OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN THE DROSOPHILA CIRCADIAN SYSTEM -THE CIRCADIAN SYSTEM PROVIDES INTERNAL TEMPORAL ORDER FOR AN ANIMAL?S PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR. CIRCADIAN DISRUPTION HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH, AND A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE INDICATES THE EXISTENCE OF SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE CIRCADIAN SYSTEMS OF MANY SPECIES. DROSOPHILA IS A POWERFUL MODEL SYSTEM TO STUDY THE NEURONAL BASIS OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN TIMEKEEPING DUE TO ITS WELL-CHARACTERIZED CIRCADIAN CLOCK NEURON NETWORK AND THE HIGHLY CONSERVED MOLECULAR CIRCADIAN CLOCK. THE MAIN GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFERENCES IN THE UNDERLYING ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCADIAN SYSTEM IN THE DROSOPHILA BRAIN UNDERLIE SEX DIFFERENCES IN SLEEP/WAKE CYCLES AND ROBUSTNESS IN TIMEKEEPING. UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISTIC BASIS OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN THE CIRCADIAN SYSTEM WILL INFORM OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MALES AND FEMALES MAY BE DIFFERENTIALLY AFFECTED BY THE CHALLENGES OF COMPLEX MODERN ENVIRONMENTS. THE EDUCATION PLAN OF THE PROJECT CONSISTS OF A SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH INVOLVING CONNECTOMICS, NEUROGENETICS, AND BEHAVIOR THAT WILL ALLOW STUDENTS TO GAIN RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN THE INTERFACE OF BIOLOGY, BIOINFORMATICS, AND ENGINEERING. IN ADDITION, COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COLUMBIA ZUCKERMAN INSTITUTE?S PUBLIC OUTREACH PROGRAMS OFFICE. THEY WILL INVOLVE PARTICIPATION IN AN EVENT FOR FAMILIES, BRAIN CLOCKS, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SATURDAY SCIENCE PROGRAM, AND A PUBLIC EVENT FOCUSED ON CONVERSATIONS WITH NEW YORK CITY-BASED MUSICIANS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BREAKOUT SCIENCE PROGRAM, A SERIES OF INTERDISCIPLINARY EVENTS THAT AIMS TO CREATE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN SCIENCE THROUGH THE ARTS. THE CIRCADIAN SYSTEM PROVIDES INTERNAL TEMPORAL ORDER FOR MULTIPLE ASPECTS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR, ALLOWING THE ANTICIPATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES. AS IN MAMMALS, MOST OF THE WORK ON DROSOPHILA CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS HAS FOCUSED ON MALES. THE OVERARCHING HYPOTHESIS OF THIS PROPOSAL IS THAT SEX DIFFERENCES IN SLEEP/WAKE CYCLES ARE MEDIATED BY DIFFERENCES IN THE NETWORK PROPERTIES OF THE BRAIN?S TIMEKEEPING CENTER. IN AIM 1, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE SEXUALLY DIMORPHIC PHENOTYPES OF THE PIGMENT DISPENSING FACTOR (PDF) / PDF RECEPTOR (PDFR) PATHWAY MUTATIONS ARE DUE TO DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF PDF SIGNALING IN THE CLOCK NEURON NETWORK. THE TEAM WILL USE TIME-COURSE IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY TO COMPARE EXPRESSION RHYTHMS OF CLOCK PROTEINS AND CRISPR-CAS9 TO KNOCKOUT PDFRS IN SUBSETS OF CLOCK NEURONS. IN ADDITION, THE TEAM WILL DETERMINE IF THE PDFR-IMMUNOPOSITIVE NEURONS IN FEMALES ARE LESS RESPONSIVE TO PDF-MEDIATED MORNING CELL OUTPUT USING THE ATP/P2X2 FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY APPROACH. IN AIM 2, THE TEAM WILL TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE MORNING OSCILLATOR HAS MORE INFLUENCE OVER THE MALE TIMEKEEPING NEURONAL NETWORK BY CHANGING THE SPEED OF THE MOLECULAR CLOCK IN SPECIFIC CELL TYPES AND DISRUPTING MOLECULAR OSCILLATIONS IN SPECIFIC CLOCK CLASSES IN MALES AND FEMALES. IN AIM 3, THE TEAM WILL CHARACTERIZE SEX DIFFERENCES IN STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY PATTERNS BETWEEN THE DORSAL NEURONS 1 POSTERIOR (DN1P?S) AND THE MORNING OSCILLATOR. THE TEAM WILL COMPARE THE STRENGTH OF THE DN1P CONNECTIONS TO MORNING AND EVENING CELLS AND TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT GLUTAMATERGIC INHIBITION OF THE LATERAL CLOCK NEURONS BY DN1P?S IS MORE PRONOUNCED IN MALES THAN FEMALES ANALYZING PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO BATH-APPLIED GLUTAMATE. COLLECTIVELY, THE STUDIES WILL ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISTIC BASIS OF DIFFERENCES IN SLEEP/WAKE CYCLES BETWEEN FEMALES AND MALES. 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.

TOPOLOGY OF THE HUMAN-KSHV HOST-PATHOGEN GENOME

INTUITIVE MATHEMATICAL OPERATIONS IN INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD

OSIB:RUI: ELUCIDATING THE CELL BIOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENTAL REGULATION OF SPOROGENESIS AND SPORE DIMORPHISM IN THE MICROSPORIDIA NOSEMA CERANAE USING A NOVEL FLOW CYTOMETRY APPROACH -SOME MICROBIAL PATHOGENS INFECTING HUMANS AND OTHER ANIMALS IMPORTANT TO HUMAN ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS HONEY BEES ARE HARD TO STUDY BECAUSE OF THEIR COMPLEX LIFE CYCLES, IN WHICH CELLS OF MANY DIFFERENT LIFE STAGES OCCUR INSIDE THE CELLS OF THEIR HOSTS. IN OTHER AREAS OF BIOLOGY, A TECHNOLOGY CALLED FLOW CYTOMETRY HAS BEEN USED TO IDENTIFY AND SEPARATE CELLS OF DIFFERENT TYPES FROM A COMPLEX MIXTURE BASED ON DIFFERENTIAL STAINING. THIS PROPOSAL SHOWS EVIDENCE THAT FLOW CYTOMETRY CAN BE USED TO ISOLATE AND QUANTIFY DIFFERENT LIFE STAGES OF A SPECIFIC PARASITE THAT INFECTS AND HARMS HONEY BEES AND THEIR COLONIES. FLOW CYTOMETRY WILL BE USED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOST AND PARASITE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE PRODUCTION OF DIFFERENT PARASITE LIFE STAGES AND HOW EACH LIFE STAGE IMPACTS ON THE HEALTH OF THE HOST AND SPREAD OF INFECTION BETWEEN HOSTS. IN ADDITION, UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS WILL BE SUPPORTED AND TRAINED IN FLOW CYTOMETRY AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES TO PREPARE THESE STUDENTS FOR CAREERS THAT SUPPORT THE US BIOECONOMY. THE STUDY OF OBLIGATE INTRACELLULAR PATHOGENS WITH COMPLEX LIFE CYCLES IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE THEY CANNOT EASILY BE REPRODUCED OUTSIDE THE HOST AND ARE CHALLENGING TO ISOLATE. THESE OBSTACLES RENDER MANY IMPORTANT AVENUES OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY UNACHIEVABLE, ESPECIALLY IN SITUATIONS WHERE BOTH HOST AND PATHOGEN ARE NON-MODEL ORGANISMS FOR WHICH LIMITED OR NO SPECIES-SPECIFIC MOLECULAR TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE, LEADING TO SLOWED SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS. FLOW CYTOMETRY IN CONJUNCTION WITH SPECIALIZED CELL DYES WAS DEVELOPED AS A STRATEGY TO ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF NOSEMA CERANAE, A KEY PATHOGEN OF HONEY BEES. THE HYPOTHESIS IS THAT THIS STRATEGY WILL ISOLATE AND QUANTIFY N. CERANAE LIFE STAGES CORRESPONDING TO TWO SPORE TYPES WITH DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTAL TIMING, DISTINCT MORPHOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES, AND DIVERGENT INFECTIOUS PROPERTIES. ISOLATION OF THE SPORE TYPES AND THEIR PRECURSORS WILL ALLOW SCIENTISTS TO DEFINE THE MOLECULAR ARCHITECTURE OF CELLULAR IDENTITY THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THEIR UNIQUE PROPERTIES. QUANTIFICATION OF THESE SPORE TYPES AND THEIR PRECURSORS DURING INFECTION IN BEES WILL ALLOW SCIENCE TO ANSWER KEY QUESTIONS ABOUT INFECTION DYNAMICS BY DEFINING ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT GOVERN THE GENERATION OF THE TWO SPORE TYPES. USE OF THIS TECHNIQUE PROMISES TO FACILITATE A NUMBER OF NEW DIRECTIONS IN MICROSPORIDIA RESEARCH. IN ADDITION, THIS WORK IS THE BASIS FOR IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL THERAPEUTICS TO PREVENT OR MINIMIZE NOSEMA INFECTION OF BEES, AN IMPORTANT POLLINATOR. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

THE INTERFACE OF LEARNING AND SPATIAL-NUMERICAL SKILLS

RUI: PUBERTAL MATURATION OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS

RUI: TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF HOST-PATHOGEN VIRAL SYMBIOSIS AT SINGLE-CELL RESOLUTION

MODULATION OF FEAR CONDITIONING BY EXTENDED AMYGDALA CIRCUITS

RUI: ELUCIDATING THE ROLE OF HOXA-5 IN CERVICAL SOMITE MORPHOGENESIS AND EVOLUTION

EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF SPATIAL-NUMERICAL ASSOCIATIONS

REGULATION OF FEAR CONDITIONING BY SUBICULAR INPUTS TO THE BNST

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A 400 MHZ NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR) SPECTROMETER FOR RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING AT BARNARD COLLEGE

RUI: NEURAL BASIS OF PUBERTAL SHIFTS IN STRESS REACTIVITY

MODULATION OF FEAR MEMORY BY CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR IN THE AMYGDALA

TESTING THE TISSUE-SPECIFIC MECHANISMS OF HOXA5 FUNCTION IN MUSCULOSKELETAL PATTERNING

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING FORMIN-ASSOCIATED INHERITED DEAFNESS

RUI: BUILDING A MOLECULAR FOUNDATION FOR TROPICAL MYCORRHIZAL BIOLOGY: SPOROCARP SURVEYS OF ECTOMYCORRHIZAL FUNGAL DIVERSITY OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN DIPT

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: HNDS-R: LEARNING TASK-RELEVANT VISUAL FEATURES BY LINKING LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS AND DEEP CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS -BUILDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) SYSTEMS THAT APPROACH HUMAN COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY REQUIRES A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE BRAIN USES VISUAL AND LINGUISTIC INFORMATION TO ACHIEVE SPECIFIC GOALS. WHILE PREVIOUS RESEARCH IN COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND AI HAS FOCUSED ON VISUAL CLASSIFICATION TASKS, SUCH AS IDENTIFYING OBJECTS OR LABELING SCENES, REAL-WORLD BEHAVIOR IS MORE NUANCED AND OFTEN DEPENDS ON SELECTING TASK-RELEVANT INFORMATION, GUIDED BY THE OBSERVER?S GOALS. CRITICALLY, THIS PROCESS DRAWS NOT ONLY ON THE VISUAL FEATURES OF THE SCENE, BUT ON CONCEPTUAL AND LINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE AS WELL. THIS PROJECT EXAMINES HOW PEOPLE FLEXIBLY EXTRACT AND USE VISUAL INFORMATION IN CONTEXT AND HOW THIS INFORMATION IS REPRESENTED IN COMPUTATIONAL MODELS, SUPPORTING THE GOAL OF ADVANCING THEORIES OF COGNITION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE ADAPTIVE, HUMAN-ALIGNED AI SYSTEMS. THE PROJECT INTEGRATES METHODS FROM VISUAL AI (CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS), LANGUAGE-BASED AI (LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS), NEUROSCIENCE, AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE. FIRST, DEEP NETWORKS ARE TRAINED TO PREDICT LANGUAGE EMBEDDINGS OF HUMAN SCENE DESCRIPTIONS ELICITED UNDER DIFFERENT TASK GOALS, CAPTURING HOW SEMANTIC MEANING MAPS ONTO VISUAL FEATURES. NEXT, THESE NETWORKS ARE REVERSE-ENGINEERED TO GENERATE ACTIVATION MAPS THAT IDENTIFY THE REGIONS OF EACH IMAGE MOST RELEVANT FOR A GIVEN TASK. THESE MAPS ARE VALIDATED USING BOTH BEHAVIORAL EXPERIMENTS AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY (EEG). A NOVEL MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE (DYNAMIC ELECTRODE-TO-IMAGE MAPPING) IS USED TO TRACK WHEN AND HOW THESE TASK-RELEVANT FEATURES ARE PROCESSED IN THE BRAIN. FINALLY, THE PROJECT ASSESSES WHETHER FEATURES IDENTIFIED BY THE BRAIN CONTRIBUTE TO SUCCESSFUL BEHAVIOR. THIS APPROACH REVEALS HOW VISUAL, CONCEPTUAL, AND NEURAL SYSTEMS INTERACT TO SUPPORT GOAL-DIRECTED PERCEPTION, OFFERING A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING SCENE PROCESSING AND FOR BUILDING AI SYSTEMS THAT BETTER REFLECT HUMAN NEEDS AND CAPACITIES. 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.

DESIGNING AND CHARACTERIZING HIGHLY SELECTIVE HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSTS FOR HYDRODEOXYGENATING BIO-OILS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: A MULTISCALE QUANTIFICATION OF PLASMID ACQUISITION IN ESCHERICHIA COLI PATHOGENS

SPINNING, ECCENTRIC BLACK HOLE PAIRS: BLACK HOLE SCATTERING AND BINARY FORMATION

RUI: A MECHANISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT OF METAL IONS ON THE CHEMISTRY OF METALLOTHIONEIN-3 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN NEURONAL CELLS

RUI: PARTITIONING DRIVERS OF ROOT TRAIT COVARIATION: FROM PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY TO GLOBAL EVOLUTIONARY TRENDS

GP-UP: CREATING A DIVERSE GROUP OF LEADERS: THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE PATHWAYS SCHOLARS PROGRAM E(SP)2 AT BARNARD COLLEGE

RUI: MECHANISMS, KINETICS, AND DYNAMICS OF CARBENE ADDITIONS TO DIARYLCYCLOOCTYNES

CONSTRUCTION AND UNION OF 2-AMINO SUGAR BUILDING BLOCKS

RUI: SELENIUM-MODIFIED ELECTRODES: FROM SURFACE REACTIVITY TO BIOSENSING DEVELOPMENTS

COMPUTING FELLOWS PROGRAM: INCREASING MEANINGFUL COMPUTING ENGAGEMENT ACROSS DISCIPLINES -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY PROVIDING COMPUTING FELLOWSHIPS TO INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEANINGFUL COMPUTING ENGAGEMENT ACROSS ALL DISCIPLINES. THE LOW RATE OF PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN AND UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN COMPUTING NEGATIVELY IMPACTS THE DIVERSITY AND ROBUSTNESS OF THE COMPUTING WORKFORCE. THIS ISSUE ALSO LOWERS THE LEVEL OF TECHNICAL INNOVATION IN OTHER DISCIPLINES. IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, THE PROJECT WILL DEVELOP COMPUTING FELLOWSHIPS AND STUDY THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. THE FELLOWS IN THIS PROJECT WILL WORK WITH STUDENTS AND FACULTY IN COURSES OF SCIENCE, HUMANITIES, AND THE ARTS TO INCORPORATE COMPUTING ACTIVITIES IN CLASSES AND SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING. THE PROJECT AIMS TO LOWER THE BARRIER OF ENTRY TO COMPUTING WHILE RAISING STUDENT CONFIDENCE AND INTEREST. THIS PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO RAISE THE COMPUTING ABILITIES, INTEREST, AND SELF-EFFICACY OF STUDENTS IN ALL FIELDS, TO ATTRACT MORE WOMEN TO COMPUTING, AND TO INCREASE DIVERSITY TO THE COMPUTING WORKFORCE. THE PROJECT WILL ADOPT AND ADAPT AN EVIDENCE-BASED PEER AND NEAR-PEER LEARNING TO PROMOTE SELF-EFFICACY, A SENSE OF BELONGING, AND ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING. THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE RIGOROUS RESEARCH TO ESTABLISH PROOF OF CONCEPT AND EVALUATION FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. PEER AND NEAR-PEER MENTORING AND ENGAGING COMPUTING EXPERIENCES IN INTRODUCTORY COURSES HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE RECRUITMENT, ENGAGEMENT, AND RETENTION OF WOMEN IN COMPUTING. THE PIS WILL USE A MIXED RESEARCH METHOD TO INCREASE THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES IN THE PROPOSED COMPUTING FELLOWSHIP PROJECT. THE PROJECT RESULTS WILL BE DISSEMINATED THROUGH PUBLICATIONS IN JOURNALS AND ACADEMIC CONFERENCES OF COMPUTING. THE PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A NATIONAL MODEL THAT CAN GUIDE OTHER INSTITUTIONS INTERESTED IN CREATING SIMILAR COMPUTING FELLOWSHIPS. THE NSF IUSE: EHR 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.

NEW; TITLE: LINKING AS, SE, V, AND MN BEHAVIOR TO NATURAL AND BIOSTIMULATED URANIUM CYCLING; PI: BRIAN J. MAILLOUX

STANDARD RESEARCH GRANT: REPRESENTATION AND INFERENCE IN THE BRAIN -THE GOAL OF THIS THREE-YEAR PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP USEFUL AND PRECISE DEFINITIONS OF ?REPRESENTATION? AND ?INFERENCE? FOR ATTRIBUTION TO THE BRAIN. REPRESENTATION AND INFERENCE ARE CENTRAL NOTIONS IN NEUROSCIENCE, COGNITIVE SCIENCE, AND PHILOSOPHY, BUT THERE IS NO WIDELY ACCEPTED DEFINITIONS OF THESE TERMS, AND EACH OF THESE FIELDS WOULD BENEFIT FROM DEFINITIONS IN TERMS OF NEURAL ACTIVITY. FOR EXAMPLE, NEUROSCIENTISTS OFTEN DESCRIBE NEURAL ACTIVITY AS REPRESENTING AND INFERRING. IT IS THEIR WAY OF DESCRIBING THE OVERALL FUNCTION OF THAT ACTIVITY, AN ABSTRACTION AWAY FROM DETAILED NEURAL RECORDINGS. BUT, BECAUSE THERE ARE NO SETTLED DEFINITIONS, THERE ARE NO OBJECTIVE GROUNDS FOR THESE DESCRIPTIONS. AS A RESULT, THEY ARE TREATED AS CASUAL GLOSSES RATHER THAN AS RIGOROUS ANALYSES. JUST AS PROPER DEFINITIONS ACCELERATED PROGRESS IN OTHER FIELDS, PROPER DEFINITIONS OF ?REPRESENTATION? AND ?INFERENCE? HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS IN NEUROSCIENCE. THIS PROJECT WILL DESCRIBE THE CHALLENGE OF DEFINING ?REPRESENTATION? AND ?INFERENCE? IN TERMS OF NEURAL ACTIVITY, SURVEY POTENTIAL DEFINITIONS, AND DEVELOP NEW DEFINITIONS OF THESE TERMS THAT LINK THEM TO SPECIFIC KINDS OF LEARNING, EACH WITH IDENTIFIABLE NEURAL CORRELATES. IT WILL THEN BE SHOWN HOW TO ATTRIBUTE SPECIFIC REPRESENTATIONS AND INFERENCES TO THE BRAIN. THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF NEUROSCIENCE AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE, AND THEREBY SERVE TO ADVANCE THESE FIELDS. THEY WILL ALSO BE USED IN GRADUATE AND ADVANCED UNDERGRADUATE COURSES, AND THEY WILL BE PUBLISHED OPEN SOURCE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

THE GEOMETRY AND DYNAMICS OF SYMPLECTIC MANIFOLDS

RUI: DYNAMIC CONTROL OF ELECTROPHILIC CARBENE ADDITIONS TO STRAINED C-C BONDS

HIGH ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS WITH STACEE AND VERITAS

CAREER: CIRCUIT DISCOVERY IN THE DROSOPHILA CONNECTOME -THE FRUIT FLY USES ITS SENSES, ITS MEMORY, AND ITS INTERNAL STATES TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT WHERE TO LAY AN EGG, WHAT TO EAT, AND WHETHER TO PURSUE OR ACCEPT A MATE. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO DISCOVER THE NEURAL PATHWAYS AND CIRCUITS IN THE FRUIT FLY?S BRAIN THAT ENABLE IT TO FLEXIBLY MAKE DECISIONS. THESE PARTS OF THE BRAIN ARE DIFFICULT TO STUDY WITH TRADITIONAL METHODS. THE RECENT AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTOME DATA ? FULL RECONSTRUCTIONS OF ENTIRE BRAIN VOLUMES ? NOW PROVIDE RESEARCHERS WITH ACCESS TO THE PARTS OF THE FLY?S BRAIN THAT OSTENSIBLY COMBINE SENSORY INFORMATION WITH MEMORIES AND INTERNAL STATES TO EFFECT AN ACTION. THIS PROJECT WILL ANALYZE THE FRUIT FLY CONNECTOME USING METHODS THAT HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN USED FOR STUDYING SOCIAL NETWORKS. NETWORK SCIENCE TOOLS CAN IDENTIFY GROUPS OF NEURONS THAT INTERACT WITH REGIONS OF KNOWN FUNCTION, THUS ENABLING THE DISCOVERY OF NEURAL CIRCUITS THAT SUPPORT COGNITIVE-LEVEL FUNCTION IN THE FRUIT FLY. THIS PROJECT WILL ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW FLEXIBLE, CONTEXT-DEPENDENT INTERACTIONS HAPPEN IN THE BRAIN. CURRENT TECHNOLOGY CANNOT AUTONOMOUSLY EMULATE THESE FLEXIBLE AND CONTEXT-DEPENDENT BEHAVIORS AT SUCH A SMALL SCALE. THE PROJECT?S EDUCATION PLAN WILL BROADEN PARTICIPATION IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH THROUGH INNOVATIVE WORKSHOPS AND COURSES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS THAT ENGAGE THE NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCHERS IN LEARNING BASIC CODING AND NETWORK ANALYSES, AND IN EXPLORING THE CONNECTOME. THE PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTOME DATA ALSO MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO ENGAGE YOUNG PEOPLE IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH AT SCALE. IN ADDITION TO STRENGTHENING THE U.S. DOMESTIC WORKFORCE THROUGH STUDENT TRAINING, THIS PROJECT WILL INCREASE NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ? SPECIFICALLY IN PURSUIT OF ELUCIDATING THE PARTS OF THE FLY?S BRAIN THAT ENDOW IT WITH FLEXIBLE, CONTEXT-DEPENDENT BEHAVIOR. THE NEURAL CIRCUITS THAT PERFORM CONTEXT-DEPENDENT COMPUTATIONS ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN AND DIFFICULT TO STUDY WITH COMMONLY USED METHODS SUCH AS GENETIC MANIPULATIONS WHICH REQUIRE A KNOWN TARGET WITH AN ASSOCIATED DRIVER LINE. RESEARCHERS POSIT THAT THE DIFFUSE NEUROPILS OF THE SUPERIOR PROTOCEREBRUM CONTAIN CIRCUITS FOR HIGHER-ORDER PROCESSING. THE DROSOPHILA CONNECTOME IS A VOLUMETRIC RECONSTRUCTION OF AN ENTIRE BRAIN, INCLUDING ANNOTATED CELL TYPES WITH NO CURRENTLY KNOWN FUNCTION IN THE DIFFUSE REGIONS OF THE BRAIN. THIS PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE THE CONNECTOME TO DISCOVER THE NEURAL CIRCUITS THAT PRODUCE COGNITIVE-LEVEL COMPUTATIONS RELATED TO DECISION-MAKING IN OVIPOSITION, AND OTHER ETHOLOGICALLY-RELEVANT BEHAVIORS. COMMUNITY DETECTION METHODS, TOGETHER WITH OTHER STATISTICAL NETWORK ANALYSES AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELING, WILL BE EMPLOYED TO: (1) CHARACTERIZE THE CIRCUIT STRUCTURE OF THE UNDERSTUDIED REGIONS OF THE BRAIN BELIEVED TO SUPPORT CONTEXT-DEPENDENT COMPUTATIONS; (2) INVESTIGATE THE INPUTS TO THE OVIPOSITION PRE-MOTOR CIRCUIT TO CONNECT POPULATIONS OF UNKNOWN CELL TYPES TO BEHAVIORALLY-RELEVANT FUNCTION; AND, (3) DETERMINE THE UTILITY OF COMMUNITY DETECTION METHODS FOR DETECTING MICROSCALE CIRCUITS FOR DENDRITIC PROCESSING. THE PROJECT WILL LEAD TO EXPERIMENTALLY TESTABLE PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEURONS, CELL TYPES, AND CIRCUITS THAT DRIVE CONTEXT-DEPENDENT BEHAVIORS IN A MODEL ORGANISM THAT HAS A WEALTH OF GENETIC TOOLS AVAILABLE FOR TESTING THE RESULTING PREDICTIONS. FURTHERMORE, THESE STUDIES WILL LEAD TO COMPUTATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF DROSOPHILA BRAIN ORGANIZATION AND AN ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO USE NETWORK SCIENCE TOOLS TO REVEAL AND INVESTIGATE NEURONAL CIRCUITS. 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: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CONSTRAINING PERIDOTITE ALTERATION TIMESCALES WITH ENVIRONMENTAL TRACERS (3H, 39AR, 14C AND 81KR)

SELF-REGULATION AND THREAT: SHIFTING TACTICS IN THE FACE OF THREATENING STEREOTYPES

FOUNDATIONS OF THE THEORY OF J-HOLOMORPHIC CURVES

THE DEFINITION, ACQUISITION, AND FRACTURE OF LAND RIGHTS

RUI: HARNESSING THE REDOX CHEMISTRY OF SILVER: FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES OF OXIDATION CHEMISTRY AT DINUCLEAR SILVER CATALYSTS

FMITF: TRACK III: INTRODUCING VERIFICATION THROUGH CREATIVE EMBEDDED SYSTEMS -THE PROJECT INTEGRATES FORMAL VERIFICATION TECHNIQUES INTO CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION. IT TARGETS STUDENTS WORKING WITH MICROCONTROLLER-BASED EMBEDDED SYSTEMS AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA, INCLUDING SOUND SYNTHESIS AND ART INSTALLATIONS. AS PROGRAMMERS IN GENERAL, AND ESPECIALLY CREATIVE TECHNOLOGISTS, INCREASINGLY USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)-ASSISTED TOOLS TO WRITE CODE, THEY FACE GROWING CHALLENGES IN MANAGING AND VERIFYING THE CORRECTNESS OF THEIR SYSTEMS. THE PROJECT?S NOVELTIES ARE ITS INTEGRATION OF RUNTIME VERIFICATION, MODEL CHECKING, AND REACTIVE SYNTHESIS INTO CREATIVE EMBEDDED SYSTEMS CURRICULA, AND ITS ADAPTATION OF THESE TOOLS FOR USE BY NON-VERIFICATION STUDENTS. THE VISION IS THAT PROGRAM VERIFICATION IS DEEPLY INTEGRATED INTO EVERY STUDENT?S EXPERIENCE, EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT EXPLICITLY STUDYING VERIFICATION. THE PROJECT?S IMPACTS ARE TO MAKE VERIFICATION TOOLS ACCESSIBLE TO NEW USER COMMUNITIES, ADDRESS THE URGENT NEED FOR TRUSTWORTHY AI-GENERATED CODE IN THE MAKER AND ARTS COMMUNITIES, AND TRAIN STUDENTS TO BE PREPARED FOR VERIFICATION-FOCUSED ENGINEERING CAREERS. THE PROJECT ADVANCES EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH BY EXPLORING HOW FORMAL REASONING CAN BE TAUGHT THROUGH HANDS-ON, PROJECT-BASED WORK AND ESTABLISHES A PIPELINE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH INTO VERIFICATION OF AI-GENERATED CODE FOR MEDIA ARTS SOFTWARE. TECHNICALLY, THE PROJECT DEVELOPS NEW PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES AND TOOL INTEGRATIONS TO INTRODUCE FORMAL VERIFICATION TOOLS SUCH AS RTLOLA, TLA+, AND TEMPORAL STREAM LOGIC (TSL) IN CREATIVE CONTEXTS. THE INVESTIGATORS ADAPT THESE TOOLS TO MICROCONTROLLER-BASED PLATFORMS AND DESIGN LEARNING MODULES THAT ALIGN WITH THE WORKFLOWS OF ARTISTS, DESIGNERS, AND CREATIVE CODERS. 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: LIT: VULNERABILITY OF TROPICAL ECTOTHERMS TO CLIMATE WARMING

MRI: TRACK 1: ACQUISITION OF AN INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROMETER TO QUANTIFY TRACE METAL IONS ENABLING NEW RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING AT BARNARD COLLEGE -THIS AWARD IS SUPPORTED BY THE MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION PROGRAM AND THE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION PROGRAM. DRS. AUSTIN, BRENNER, DONEGAN, MAILLOUX, AND VIZCARRA AT BARNARD COLLEGE WILL ACQUIRE AN INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROMETER (ICP-MS). ICP-MS ENABLES THE MEASUREMENT OF VERY LOW LEVELS OF METALS IN MANY DIFFERENT SAMPLE TYPES, INCLUDING: BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES, TISSUES, SOLID MATERIALS (AFTER APPROPRIATE TREATMENT), AND WATER SAMPLES. THIS INSTRUMENT WILL ALLOW RESEARCHERS AT BARNARD AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS IN THE REGION TO PURSUE IMPORTANT AREAS OF RESEARCH IN THE FIELDS OF CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, INCLUDING: GROUNDWATER AND SOIL CONTAMINATION; NUTRIENT SOURCES THAT FUEL PERSISTENT, DIFFICULT-TO-TREAT BACTERIAL INFECTIONS; AND THE GLOBAL CYCLING OF CARBON. THE ACQUISITION OF AN ICP-MS AT BARNARD COLLEGE WILL SUPPORT STUDENTS IN A RANGE OF RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAMS, INCLUDING PROGRAMS TARGETING AT DIVERSIFYING THE SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING WORKFORCE. THE ACQUISITION OF AN ICP-MS WILL ENABLE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT RESEARCH GROUPS TO ANSWER VEXING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF METAL IONS IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS. THE INSTRUMENT WILL ENABLE THE DETERMINATION OF THE CELLULAR PROCESSES INVOLVED IN HEME UPTAKE IN NON-TUBERCULOSIS MYCOBACTERIUM. IT WILL ALSO FACILITATE IDENTIFICATION OF THE ACTIVE SITE OF THE NON HEME DIIRON ENZYME ALKANE MONOOXYGENASE (ALKB). QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COUPLING BETWEEN THE METABOLISM OF ANAEROBIC BACTERIA AND ARSENIC SOLUBILIZATION WILL BE ADDRESSED BY USING THE ICP-MS TO MEASURE ARSENIC LEVELS IN WATER SAMPLES FROM MESOCOSM EXPERIMENTS. THE CAPACITY OF OYSTERS LIVING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO AN EPA-DESIGNATED SUPERFUND SITE TO RECORD LEAD CONTAMINATION BY ANALYSIS OF THEIR SHELLS WILL BE INVESTIGATED USING THE INSTRUMENT. THE INSTRUMENT WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO ON-GOING WORK TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ARSENIC LEVELS IN RICE GRAINS ARE CONTROLLED, TO A LARGE EXTENT, BY ZINC LEVELS IN SOILS, WITH HIGH ARSENIC LEVELS CORRELATED WITH ZINC-DEPLETED SOILS. THE ABILITY OF THE INSTRUMENT TO DETECT TRACE LEVELS OF LARGE NUMBER OF METALS WILL BE USED IN SEVERAL CATALYTIC PROJECTS WHERE THE REACTION MEDIUM WILL BE EXAMINED TO DETERMINE IF METAL IONS ARE LEACHING FROM CATALYST SURFACES DURING CHEMICAL REACTIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: CRIMINAL COMPETITION AND COLLECTIVE POLITICAL MOBILIZATION IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE -MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE DEVELOPING WORLD LIVE AND WORK IN MARGINALIZED URBAN SPACES WITH LIMITED ACCESS TO BASIC PUBLIC GOODS. OFTEN THESE SAME SPACES ARE SITES FOR ORGANIZED CRIMINAL GROUPS ENGAGED IN VIOLENT AND ILLICIT ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING THE SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF DRUGS. BUT RELATIVELY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW THE PRESENCE AND OPERATION OF ORGANIZED CRIME IMPACT THE ABILITY OF VULNERABLE URBAN POPULATIONS TO ACCESS CRITICAL PUBLIC GOODS OFTEN IN SHORT SUPPLY IN MARGINALIZED URBAN SETTINGS, INCLUDING POTABLE WATER, SANITATION, AND GREEN SPACE. EXISTING RESEARCH SHOWS THAT ACCESS TO PUBLIC GOODS BEARS A RELATION TO LEVELS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE STABILITY OF DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. MOREOVER, THESE CONDITIONS HAVE BROADER IMPLICATIONS FOR PHENOMENON OF GLOBAL CONCERN, INCLUDING POPULATION MOVEMENT AND THE FLOWS OF ILLICIT GOODS. THIS STUDY AIMS TO ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORGANIZED CRIME AND ACCESS TO PUBLIC GOODS. THE STUDY USES MULTIPLE METHODOLOGIES AND EMPHASIZES THE TRAINING OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO GAIN EXPERIENCE COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DIFFERENT FORMS OF DATA AS PART OF CARRYING OUT SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH. THIS STUDY ASKS: WHEN AND HOW DO CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS IMPACT COMMUNITY-LEVEL POLITICAL MOBILIZATION FOR PUBLIC GOODS IN SOCIOECONOMICALLY MARGINALIZED SETTINGS? THE INVESTIGATOR EVALUATES WHETHER VARIATION IN THE EXTENT OF COMPETITION AMONG CRIMINAL GROUPS CAN HAVE DISTINCT CONSEQUENCES FOR THE INCENTIVES AND CAPACITY OF COMMUNITIES TO MOBILIZE TO DEMAND PUBLIC GOODS FROM STATES. THE DEPARTURE FROM THE CONVENTIONAL SCHOLARLY FOCUS ON HIGHLY VIOLENT DEVELOPING WORLD CITIES PROMISES BOTH RESEARCH AND POLICY INSIGHTS RELEVANT FOR A BROADER RANGE OF URBAN SETTINGS. THE STUDY EVALUATES THE GENERALIZABILITY OF PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM A PILOT STUDY BY DEPLOYING A MULTI-METHOD RESEARCH DESIGN: (A) COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY QUANTITATIVE DATA AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD-LEVEL, INCLUDING FROM GOVERNMENT ARCHIVES AND MEDIA; (B) AN ORIGINAL SURVEY REPRESENTATIVE OF A RANDOM SAMPLE OF NEIGHBORHOODS THAT VARY IN LEVELS OF CRIMINAL COMPETITION AND COLLECTIVE POLITICAL MOBILIZATION; AND (C) FIELDWORK TO COLLECT QUALITATIVE DATA IN SELECT NEIGHBORHOODS. THE RESULTING STUDY PROMISES SEVERAL BROADER IMPACTS, INCLUDING TRAINING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO CARRY OUT QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS, GENERATING SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS, AND DEVELOPING BRIEFS WITH RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE DISSEMINATED IN CONVENINGS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND DECISION MAKERS. 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.

CRII: OAC: RUI: REAL-TIME, MIXED-INTEGER MODEL PREDICTIVE CONTROL VIA LEARNED GPU-ACCELERATION -FROM SELF-DRIVING CARS TO ROBOTIC HOME-HEALTH AIDS, IN ORDER FOR AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS TO MEET THEIR POTENTIAL, THEY MUST OPERATE SAFELY AROUND HUMANS IN UNSTRUCTURED AND DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS. THIS REQUIRES THESE SYSTEMS TO QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY SOLVE MOTION PLANNING AND CONTROL PROBLEMS. UNFORTUNATELY, MANY STATE-OF-THE-ART ALGORITHMS USED TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS TODAY ARE TOO SLOW TO RUN IN REAL-TIME, LIMITING SUCH SYSTEMS. THIS PROJECT HELPS ALLEVIATE THESE ISSUES BY LEVERAGING PARALLEL COMPUTING AND MACHINE LEARNING TO DEVELOP NEW SOLVERS THAT ACCELERATE THE COMPUTATION OF OPTIMIZATION-BASED ALGORITHMS USED FOR PLANNING AND CONTROL. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES CRITICAL SCIENTIFIC NEEDS FOR PRACTICAL ONLINE PLANNING AND CONTROL FOR FIELD ROBOTS AND RESULTS IN OPEN-SOURCE SOLVER ARTIFACTS THAT CAN BE USED IN WIDER SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING DOMAINS SUCH AS OPERATIONS RESEARCH. THIS PROJECT ALSO DIRECTLY FEEDS INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW OPEN-SOURCE ROBOTICS COURSES AND, AS THE PROJECT IS LOCATED AT AN UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN?S COLLEGE, THIS RESEARCH ALSO PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR A NUMBER OF WOMEN UNDERGRADUATES TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH - MANY FOR THE FIRST TIME. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE COMPUTATIONAL CHALLENGES OF MIXED-INTEGER TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS, WHICH ARE CRUCIAL FOR MOTION PLANNING AND CONTROL IN AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS OPERATING IN UNSTRUCTURED ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROJECT BUILDS ON RECENT RESEARCH THAT HAS SHOWN THAT THESE ALGORITHMS CAN BE ACCELERATED THROUGH PARALLELISM USING GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNITS (GPUS) AND MACHINE LEARNING. THE PROJECT DEVELOPS AN OPEN-SOURCE GPU-ACCELERATED MIXED-INTEGER SOLVER ARCHITECTURE. A LEARNED PARALLEL SEARCH HEURISTIC THAT ACCELERATES THE OUTER BRANCH-AND-BOUND LAYER OF THE OVERALL SOLVER IS DEVELOPED BY LEVERAGING DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE AND MACHINE LEARNING. A GPU-ACCELERATED DIRECT TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION SOLVER IS ALSO DEVELOPED FOR THE UNDERLYING CONTINUOUS PROBLEM. THIS UNDERLYING SOLVER TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE BLOCK-TRIDIAGONAL STRUCTURE OF THE SCHUR COMPLEMENT OF THE TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM THROUGH A NOVEL SYMMETRIC STAIR PRECONDITIONER, A PRECONDITIONED CONJUGATE GRADIENT SOLVER, AND A BLOCK-FACTORIZATION-BASED SOLVER. THE OVERALL SOLVER IS EVALUATED AND COMPARED TO STATE-OF-THE-ART APPROACHES THROUGH SIMULATION AND ON A PHYSICAL QUADRUPED ROBOT TO DEMONSTRATE ITS EFFECTIVENESS IN GENERATING DYNAMIC LOCOMOTION BEHAVIORS. 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.

3-MANIFOLDS AND GEOMETRY

AMIDOGLYCOSYLATION REACTIONS OF GLYCAL METALLANITRENES

RUI: COLLABORATIVE: UNPAK: UNDERGRADUATES PHENOTYPING ARABIDOPSIS KNOCKOUTS: A DISTRIBUTED GENOMIC APPROACH TO EXAMINE EVOLUTIONARILY IMPORTANT TRAIT

RUI: METALLANITRENE-MEDIATED AMINO SUGAR SYNTHESIS

3-MANIFOLDS AND GEOMETRY

THREE-MANIFOLDS AND GEOMETRY

INTERACTING PARTICLE SYSTEMS AND BEYOND -THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE STUDY OF LATTICE MODELS IN STATISTICAL MECHANICS. THE ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURE INHERENT IN SUCH MODELS ALLOWS FOR MANY EXACT COMPUTATIONS, WHILE THEIR PROBABILISTIC NATURE PROVIDES A NEW POINT OF VIEW AND INTERPRETATION OF THE UNDERLYING ALGEBRAIC DATA. FOR INSTANCE, THESE SYSTEMS CAN BE USED TO STUDY HOW CRYSTALS MELT, HOW NEURONS MOVE THROUGH THE BRAIN, HOW A FIRE FRONT ADVANCES, HOW A CANCER SPREADS, HOW A PLANKTON COLONY GROWS IN THE OCEAN. THE RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS AT ACHIEVING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MACROSCOPIC BEHAVIOR OF SOME IMPORTANT MODELS AS THE SIZE OF THE SYSTEM GROWS. THE MODELS UNDER CONSIDERATION ARE USUALLY REFERRED TO AS ?INTEGRABLE? OR ?EXACTLY SOLVABLE.? THOUGH EXACTLY SOLVABLE SYSTEMS ARE VERY SPECIAL, THEIR ASYMPTOTIC PROPERTIES ARE BELIEVED TO BE REPRESENTATIVE FOR A LARGER FAMILY OF MODELS. IN THIS WAY, BESIDES BEING INTERESTING THEMSELVES, EXACTLY SOLVABLE SYSTEMS ARE EXEMPLARS OF THEIR CONJECTURED UNIVERSALITY CLASSES AND CAN BE USED TO BUILD INTUITION AND MAKE PREDICTIONS. THE AIM IS TO OBTAIN A VARIETY OF ROBUST METHODS TO STUDY THE UNIVERSALITY CLASSES. THIS RESEARCH PROGRAM SEEKS TO ESTABLISH A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF SOME ?UNIVERSALITY? FEATURES IN THE CONTEXT OF CERTAIN INTERACTING PARTICLE SYSTEMS. THE RESEARCH PROGRAM CONSISTS OF THREE MAIN DIRECTIONS? THE STUDY OF LOG-GASES (ENSEMBLE OF PARTICLES ON THE LINE CONFINED BY AN EXTERNAL POTENTIAL THAT REPEL EACH OTHER LOGARITHMICALLY), THE STUDY OF THE STATIONARY MEASURES FOR THE KARDAR-PARISI-ZHANG EQUATION (A NON-LINEAR STOCHASTIC PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION THAT WAS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED AS A MODEL OF SURFACE GROWTH), AND THE STUDY OF TRAFFIC MODELS. 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.

PHARMACOLOGIC PROTEASOME INHIBITION AS A STRATEGY FOR TREATING N. CERANAE INFECTION IN HONEY BEES

COASTAL SEES (TRACK 2), COLLABORATIVE: DEVELOPING HIGH PERFORMANCE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS TO SUSTAIN COASTAL CITIES

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF JUDGES TO ASSURE DUE PROCESS: TENSION AMONG NEUTRALITY, RIGHTS PROTECTION, AND ROLE

PHONETIC CONVERGENCE IN SPOKEN COMMUNICATION

RUI: ENERGETICS AND DYNAMICS OF AN ELECTRON-TRANSFER PROTEIN FROM A PSYCHROPHILIC, HYDROCARBONOCLASTIC MICROORGANISM

RUI: THE VIBRATIONAL STRUCTURE OF ATOMICALLY-PRECISE NANOSTRUCTURES: FROM MOLECULAR CLUSTERS TO QUANTUM DOTS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SATC: CORE: MEDIUM: BEYOND APP-CENTRIC PRIVACY: INVESTIGATING PRIVACY ECOSYSTEMS AMONG VULNERABLE POPULATIONS -MUCH PRIVACY RESEARCH HAS TAKEN AN APP-CENTRIC APPROACH, NARROWLY FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING USER CONCERNS, IF ANY, WITH PRIVACY RISKS OF AN APP AND ALLEVIATING THE SYMPTOMATIC EVIDENCE OF THE AILMENT (DATA LEAKED BY A SPECIFIC APP). THIS PROJECT TACKLES THE PRIVACY ECOSYSTEM, AN INTERLOCKING WEB OF DATAVEILLANCE THAT CAN ENCOMPASS EVERYTHING FROM CREDIT CARD PURCHASES TO LOCATION HISTORY TO COMMUNICATIONS METADATA. THE LARGER PRIVACY ECOSYSTEMS GOES BEYOND THE RISKS OF PARTICULAR APPS AND AIMS TO MITIGATE THE MULTIPLE PRIVACY RISKS THAT THREATEN PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BOTH MORE AT RISK OF PRIVACY BREACHES AND MORE HARMED BY THEIR CONSEQUENCES. HEALTH IS A KEY CONTEXT AND DOMAIN IN WHICH A BROAD VIEW OF PRIVACY IS NECESSARY. THIS PROJECT GOES BEYOND APP-CENTRIC VIEWS OF HEALTH PRIVACY AND AIMS TO EXAMINE VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS? PRIVACY BEHAVIORS IN THE HEALTHCARE CONTEXT. IT DEVELOPS AND EVALUATES WAYS THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS CAN BETTER PROTECT THEMSELVES, AS WELL AS TOOLS TO HELP HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS SUPPORT THEIR CLIENTS? PRIVACY. THROUGH QUALITATIVE RESEARCH THAT INCLUDES IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS AND SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS, THIS PROJECT IS CHARACTERIZING THE UNDERSTANDING OF RISK EXPERIENCED BY VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR HEALTHCARE, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE BROAD PRIVACY ECOSYSTEM BEYOND INDIVIDUAL APPS. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ALSO IS EXPLORING THE ROLE OF SERVICE PROVIDERS, INCLUDING LIBRARIANS, SOCIAL WORKERS, TEACHERS, AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS. PROVIDING PRIVACY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES. THROUGH QUALITATIVE RESEARCH THAT INCLUDES IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS AND SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS, THIS PROJECT IS CHARACTERIZING THE UNDERSTANDING OF RISK EXPERIENCED BY VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR HEALTHCARE, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE BROAD PRIVACY ECOSYSTEM BEYOND INDIVIDUAL APPS. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ALSO IS EXPLORING THE ROLE OF SERVICE PROVIDERS, INCLUDING LIBRARIANS, SOCIAL WORKERS, TEACHERS, AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN PROVIDING PRIVACY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES. THE SECOND PART OF THIS RESEARCH INVOLVES VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND PRIVACY EXPERTS. PARTICIPATORY DESIGN IS EMPLOYED TO DEVELOP AND EVALUATE A TOOLKIT TO SUPPORT PRIVACY ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS DEVELOPING A FREELY AVAILABLE PRIVACY TOOLKIT DESIGNED FOR THOSE WHO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE TO VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS TO HELP MITIGATE PRIVACY HARMS. THE PROJECT IS CONTRIBUTING TO UNDERSTANDING PRIVACY RISK AND MANAGEMENT FOR VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS AND PROVIDES A NEW FRAME FOR PRIVACY AND SECURITY RESEARCHERS IN THE STUDY OF PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. 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 - DISCORDANT MODELS OF TESTOSTERONE FUNCTION

CRII: SHF: RUI: EXPLORING HUMAN-IN-THE-LOOP PROGRAM SYNTHESIS THROUGH LIVE CODING

ESTABLISHING A MECHANISTIC BASIS FOR THE PLASMID ACQUISITION COST - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE PREVIOUSLY UNDERSTUDIED PHENOMENON TERMED PLASMID ACQUISITION COST, IN THE CONTEXT OF HORIZONTAL GENE TRANSFER (HGT). PLASMID TRANSFER IS A DOMINANT WAY THAT PATHOGENS ADAPT TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS. THESE PLASMIDS OFTEN EXERT A SUSTAINED BURDEN ON CELLS, ASSOCIATED WITH CONTINUED EXPRESSION OF PLASMID GENES, KNOWN AS THE PLASMID FITNESS COST. THEY ALSO INDUCE A COMPLEMENTARY, INDEPENDENT, TRANSIENT BURDEN REFLECTIVE OF THE METABOLIC ADAPTATION IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING PLASMID ACQUISITION. HOWEVER, WHEREAS FITNESS COSTS ARE WELL-STUDIED, THE MECHANISTIC FACTORS UNDERLYING THESE TRANSIENT EFFECTS, REFERRED TO AS THE PLASMID ACQUISITION COSTS, ARE CURRENTLY UNKNOWN. THIS INFORMATION IS CRITICAL TO DEVELOPING FUNDAMENTAL INSIGHTS INTO PATHOGEN DYNAMICS AND POTENTIAL DOWNSTREAM INTERVENTIONAL STRATEGIES. BASED ON OUR PRELIMINARY DATA, OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT ACQUISITION COSTS ARISE AS A RESULT OF METABOLIC DYSREGULATION IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING PLASMID TRANSFER. WE WILL INVESTIGATE THIS HYPOTHESIS WITH TWO SPECIFIC AIMS: (1) WE WILL ELUCIDATE THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL BASIS OF THE PLASMID ACQUISITION COST, BY UNDERTAKING A DETAILED CHARACTERIZATION OF THE WELL-CHARACTERIZED RP4 CONJUGATIVE PLASMID IN A STANDARD LABORATORY ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAIN; WE NOTE THAT OUR PRELIMINARY WORK ILLUSTRATING THE EXISTENCE AND EXTENT OF ACQUISITION COSTS WAS ORIGINALLY DONE USING THIS COMBINATION. SPECIFICALLY, WE ESTABLISHED A NOVEL EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOL THAT RELIABLY QUANTIFIES THE GROWTH DEFECT IN NEW PLASMID RECIPIENTS. HERE, WE WILL PAIR TIME SERIES RNA-SEQ MEASUREMENTS WITH METABOLIC MODELING TO ELUCIDATE THE METABOLIC DYSREGULATION THAT OCCURS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING PLASMID ACQUISITION; WE WILL VALIDATE THESE RESULTS USING A RATIONALLY SELECTED SET OF GENE KNOCKOUT STRAINS AND REPRESENTATIVE PLASMIDS. OVERALL, THIS WILL ESTABLISH A MECHANISTIC EXPLANATION FOR OBSERVED ACQUISITION COSTS. (2) WE WILL DETERMINE THE GENETIC DETERMINANTS OF THE ACQUISITION COST IN DIVERSE PLASMIDS, USING NATURALLY RELEVANT PLASMIDS AND STRAINS ISOLATED FROM BOTH ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLINICAL SAMPLES, AS WELL AS STANDARD LABORATORY PLASMIDS. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL LEVERAGE AVAILABLE WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCES WITH ASSEMBLED PLASMIDS FROM OUR COLLABORATORS, ALONG WITH THE CORRESPONDING SAMPLES, TO ISOLATE PLASMIDS FROM TWO SPECIES: E. COLI AND KLEBSIELLA PNEUMONIAE. WE WILL THEN QUANTIFY ACQUISITION COSTS FOR EACH PLASMID; MULTIPLE VARIABLE REGRESSION WILL BE USED TO UNDERSTAND WHICH PLASMID CHARACTERISTICS ARE MOST PREDICTIVE OF OBSERVED ACQUISITION COSTS. THIS WILL RESULT IN THE FIRST RIGOROUS QUANTIFICATION OF PLASMID ACQUISITION COSTS IN NATURALLY OCCURRING ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLINICAL PLASMIDS. BEYOND DEMONSTRATING THE GENERALITY OF THIS PHENOMENON, THESE RESULTS WILL SERVE AS THE FOUNDATION FOR PREDICTING AND MODULATING HGT DYNAMICS IN MORE COMPLEX POPULATIONS. MOREOVER, ALL PLASMIDS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE, WHICH WILL SERVE AS AN INVALUABLE RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL TOOL THROUGHOUT THE WIDER ACADEMIC COMMUNITY.

MRI-R2: ACQUISITION OF UV-VIS-NIR FT-IR AND FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRIC INSTRUMENTATION

BRC-BIO:GLIAL REGULATION OF NEURAL HOMEOSTASIS DURING ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS IN D. MELANOGASTER -THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND US IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING, IN WAYS BOTH BIG AND SMALL. BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS MUST UTILIZE PROCESSES TO MAINTAIN HOMEOSTASIS (A PHYSIOLOGICAL EQUILIBRIUM) IN ORDER TO CONTINUE FUNCTIONING AMIDST A FLUCTUATING ENVIRONMENT. THE ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY OF NEURONS CONTROLS ESSENTIAL BODILY FUNCTIONS AND BEHAVIORS THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR SURVIVAL. WITHIN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, ANOTHER SET OF CELLS, CALLED GLIA, REGULATE AND SUPPORT NEURONS. RECENT WORK BY THE PI, AND OTHERS, HAS SHOWN THAT GLIAL CELLS PLAY IMPORTANT ROLES IN HELPING NEURONS MAINTAIN HOMEOSTASIS. THIS PROJECT WILL USE GENETIC TOOLS AVAILABLE IN FRUIT FLIES TO ELUCIDATE NOVEL MECHANISMS FOR HOW GLIA AND NEURONS INTERACT TO ENABLE ANIMALS TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE IN FLUCTUATING ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROJECT WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH INCLUSIVE EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES, INCLUDING EXPERIMENTS COMPLETED BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE PI?S NEUROBIOLOGY LAB COURSE, AND PARTICIPATION IN A RESEARCH BASED MENTORING PROGRAM FOR FIRST YEAR UNDERGRADUATES FROM HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN STEM. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO DEVELOP A SCIENCE TRANSLATORS PROGRAM, CREATING RESOURCES FOR NON-SCIENTISTS TO LEARN ABOUT SOCIALLY RELEVANT SCIENCE RESEARCH, IN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH. TOGETHER, THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS GRANT WILL INCORPORATE A DIVERSE GROUP OF STUDENTS IN STUDYING BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH ANIMALS RESPOND TO STRESS, GIVING STUDENTS OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP A SENSE OF BELONGING IN STEM, LEARN HANDS-ON LAB SKILLS, AND PRESENT THEIR WORK AT CONFERENCES AND IN PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS. WHILE MUCH WORK HAS FOCUSED ON THE CELL INTRINSIC AND NEURAL CIRCUIT LEVEL MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH NEURONS REGULATE THEIR EXCITABILITY, MECHANISMS BY WHICH GLIA REGULATE THE NERVOUS SYSTEM RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS ARE LESS WELL UNDERSTOOD. USING DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER, THE PI?S LAB HAS RECENTLY IDENTIFIED GLIAL HOMEOSTATIC ROLES FOR TWO GENES, THE VOLTAGE-GATED POTASSIUM CHANNEL SEIZURE AND THE ION TRANSPORTER NCC69, IN NEUROPILE ENSHEATHING GLIA (EGN). EGN HAVE BEEN SHOWN BY OTHERS TO ACT AS PHAGOCYTES IN ADULT D. MELANOGASTER, THEREFORE THIS PROJECT TESTS THE HYPOTHESIS THAT GLIAL PHAGOCYTOSIS OF NEURONS, IN PROCESSES SUCH AS SYNAPTIC PRUNING, MODULATES THE ABILITY OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM TO MAINTAIN HOMEOSTASIS IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS. FURTHERMORE, THE PROJECT WILL TEASE APART THE IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENTAL AND ADULT GLIAL FUNCTION ON NERVOUS SYSTEM HOMEOSTASIS. ULTIMATELY, THE PROJECT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE WEALTH OF GENETIC TOOLS, NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ASSAYS AVAILABLE IN D. MELANOGASTER TO UNCOVER BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GLIAL FUNCTION IN THEIR REGULATION OF NEURAL ACTIVITY AND ANIMAL BEHAVIOR. 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.

FROM DIRECT INSTRUCTION TO AUTHENTIC LEARNING: A SHIFT TO INCREASE ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND ENGINEERING COMPETENCIES AMONG YOUTH OF COLOR

RUI - COLLABORATIVE: ENGAGING UNDERGRADUATES IN GENOMIC QUESTIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT: BUILDING A DATABASE OF COMPLEX PHENOTYPES FOR PLANT KNOC

CREATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF LANGUAGE

NEURAL BASIS OF PUBERTAL SHIFTS IN STRESS REACTIVITY

REGULARITY PROPERTIES OF STATIONARY AND EVOLUTION FREE BOUNDARY PROBLEMS

WHEN CLIMATE CHANGED: THE FALL OF EMPIRES AND THE RISE OF A NEW SCIENCE

CSR: CHS: MEDIUM: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IMPROVING PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IN URBAN CITIES USING INTELLIGENT WEARABLE SYSTEMS

EAGER: AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH FOR QUANTIFICATION AND PROSPECTIVE ISOLATION OF NOSEMA CERANAE LIFE STAGES FROM HOST CELLS WITH POTENTIAL FOR APPLICATION TO DIVERSE PATHOGEN SPECIES

RUI: LEAD INTERACTIONS WITH METALLOTHIONEIN-3

LONG TERM DEVELOPMENT OF A MACROECONOMY

RAPID: EXAMINING HOW ACCESS TO GREEN SPACE IMPACTS SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

2019 SECURE AND TRUSTWORTHY CYBERSPACE PI MEETING

FROM ANIMAL TO ARTIFICE: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC INVESTIGATION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN THE EXPERIMENTAL REALM OF HUMAN ORGAN REPLACEMENT

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RECONSTRUCTING RIVER DISCHARGE AND HYDROLOGIC VARIABILITY IN PANAMA VIA CORAL GEOCHEMISTRY: IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE PANAMA CANAL

THE STUDY OF FERMI-LAT MAPS AT HIGH ENERGY (E>30GEV) HAS PROVIDED CRITICAL GUIDANCE TO THE TEV INSTRUMENTS DURING 2009. A NUMBER OF NEW TEV BLAZERS

21-NUSTAR21-0014 SEARCHING FOR NEUTRINO-EMITTING BLAZARS IN HARD X-RAY BAND

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON THE REACTING TO THE PAST PEDAGOGY FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION

USING FERMI-LAT TO SELECT VARIABLE AND UNIDENTIED TEV SOURCE CANDIDATES THE STUDY OF THE HIGHEST ENERGY PHOTONS (E>30 GEV) COLLECTED BY FERMI-LAT

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF NATIVE AMERICAN EXPANSION

BARNARD COLLEGE INC. USING FERMI TO UNDERSTAND THE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM UNRESOLVED DISCRETE SOURCE

THIS PROPOSAL TACKLES THE CHALLENGE OF THE IDENTIFICATION OF SOURCES THAT PRODUCE THE ICECUBE NEUTRINOS USING A MULTI-MESSENGER APPROACH

BARNARD COLLEGE GEV/TEV BLAZAR POPULATION STUDIES WITH VERITAS AND FERMI IT IS PROPOSED TO IMPROVE

HOMOLOGY THEORIES FOR TANGLES AND BORDERED 3-MANIFOLDS

THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO TACKLE A LONG-STANDING OPEN QUESTION THE LOCATION OF THE GAMMA-RAY EMITTING REGION IN AGN THROUGH OBSERVATIONS THAT ARE TAILORED TO CATCH A SERIES OF GAMMA-RAY FLARES ASSOCIATED WITH A SUPERLUMINAL RADIO KNOT IN SELECTED BLAZA

ACQUISITION OF AN ION CHROMATOGRAPH (IC) FOR WATER QUALITY ANALYSES IN AN UNDERGRADUATE-LED LAB

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: COUPLED THERMAL-HYDROLOGICAL-MECHANICAL-CHEMICAL-BIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY AT DUSEL HOMESTAKE

SEARCHING FOR NEUTRINO EMITTING BLAZARS IN THE HARD X RAY BAND

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR GENOMICS AND BIOINFORMATICS EDUCATION

TO COVER COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRESERVATION OF THE TRANSMISSION OF CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE THROUGH THE MALAGNAN SKILL OF CARVING IN PNG.

DARK COMPONENTS AND OTHER COSMOLOGICAL MYSTERIES LINKED THROUGH EXTRA DIMENSIONS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CHANGES IN RIVER-AQUIFER EXCHANGE INDUCED BY GROUNDWATER PUMPING, AND THEIR EFFECT ON ARSENIC CONTAMINATION IN THE RED RIVER

FULBRIGHT-HAYS - FACULTY RESEARCH ABROAD

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

SUPPORTING FEEDBACK LOOP LEARNING IN NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE COURSES -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY IMPROVING UNDERGRADUATES? ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND COMPLEX SYSTEMS AND HOW SUCH SYSTEMS MAY BE INFLUENCED TOWARDS DESIRABLE OUTCOMES. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON FEEDBACK LOOPS, WHICH ARE SYSTEMS IN WHICH AN INITIAL ACTION TRIGGERS A CHAIN OF INFLUENCES THAT EITHER AMPLIFIES OR COUNTERACTS THE INITIAL ACTION. FEEDBACK LOOPS DRIVE MANY IMPORTANT NATURAL AND ENGINEERED SYSTEMS. THEY MAY FOSTER GROWTH/DECAY/INSTABILITY (AS IN PANDEMIC DISEASE SPREAD, NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTIONS, OR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE) OR STABILITY (AS IN A CAR?S CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM OR A PREDATOR/PREY SYSTEM). AS FEEDBACK LOOP THINKING BECOMES MORE COMMON, SOCIETY WILL BENEFIT IN DIFFERENT SETTINGS. FOR EXAMPLE, EACH TIME AN INDIVIDUAL IS ABLE TO DISCERN THAT THEY MAY BE TRAPPED IN A DAMAGING FEEDBACK LOOP AND STRATEGIZE A WAY OUT; OR EACH TIME A LEADER USES FEEDBACK LOOP THINKING TO BRING STABILITY TO A FRAUGHT SITUATION; OR EACH TIME A PROFESSIONAL USES FEEDBACK LOOP THINKING TO CATALYZE GROWTH TOWARDS A DESIRABLE OUTCOME. THIS IS A LEVEL 1 PROJECT, IN THE IUSE ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING TRACK, TACKLING THE CHALLENGE OF MAKING FEEDBACK LOOP THINKING ACCESSIBLE TO ALL UNDERGRADUATES. THE PROJECT'S LEARNING GOALS ARE THAT STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE FEEDBACK LOOPS WHEN THEY ENCOUNTER THEM IN AN UNFAMILIAR CONTEXT, AND USE FEEDBACK LOOP THINKING TO EXPLAIN, PREDICT AND IMPROVE THE BEHAVIOR OF SYSTEMS THEY CARE ABOUT. AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM WILL DESIGN, DEVELOP, AND FIELD TEST A SUITE OF SIX MINI-LESSONS THAT CAN BE ADAPTED FOR ANY UNDERGRADUATE COURSE IN WHICH AT LEAST ONE FEEDBACK LOOP IS CURRENTLY BEING TAUGHT. THESE LESSONS AIM TO ELEVATE STUDENTS FROM UNDERSTANDING ONE FEEDBACK LOOP AS AN EXPLANATORY MECHANISM FOR ONE PHENOMENON IN ONE COURSE, TO GRASPING FEEDBACK LOOPS AS A GENERALIZABLE EXPLANATORY STRATEGY APPLICABLE ACROSS MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES. TEST BEDS FOR THE INITIAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ARE IN PSYCHOLOGY, RACE AND GENDER STUDIES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, AND NEUROANATOMY COURSES. TO ASSESS THE FIRST LEARNING GOAL (RECOGNIZE FEEDBACK LOOPS IN UNFAMILIAR CONTEXT), THE PROJECT TEAM IS DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING A NEW INSTRUMENT, IN WHICH PARTICIPANTS READ SHORT NARRATIVES AND STATE WHETHER EACH IS OR IS NOT A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP. THE SECOND LEARNING GOAL WILL BE ASSESSED VIA STUDENT PRODUCTS FROM EACH LESSON AND INSTRUCTORS? REFLECTIVE JOURNALING AFTER TEACHING EACH LESSON. AN EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD WILL PROVIDE EVALUATIVE GUIDANCE ON BOTH THE INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND THE BROADER IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT THROUGH TWICE-YEARLY MEETINGS. INSIGHTS AND MATERIALS EMERGING FROM THE PROJECT WILL BE DISSEMINATED BY WORKSHOPS AND WEBINARS FOR EDUCATORS, AND THROUGH A WIDELY-USED WEB-BASED PORTAL THAT SERVES AND REVIEWS UNDERGRADUATE INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES. THE NSF IUSE: EHR 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.

ZINE UNION CATALOG PLANNING MEETING [THE ZINE UNION CATALOG (ZINECAT) IS A SHARED CATALOG FOR ZINES. A ZINE, SHORT FOR FANZINE OR MAGAZINE, IS A DIY PUBLISHING MEDIUM USED BY SUBCULTURE AND MINORITIZED COMMUNITIES TO SHARE THEIR LIVES AND KNOWLEDGE. A UNION CATALOG IS A RESOURCE WHERE LIBRARIES MINGLE INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR COLLECTIONS VIA CATALOGING AND HOLDINGS INFORMATION. DUE TO THE DIVERSE STANDARDS AND PRACTICES OF DESCRIBING COLLECTIONS AMONG LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT COLLECT AND MAINTAIN ZINES, ACCESSING INFORMATION ABOUT ZINES THROUGH TRADITIONAL DISCOVERY SYSTEMS HAS BEEN CHALLENGING. ZINECAT EMPOWERS RESEARCHERS TO ENCOUNTER ZINE HOLDINGS BY SEARCHING A SINGLE CATALOG, HELPS LIBRARIANS COPY CATALOG RECORDS TO ELIMINATE DUPLICATED EFFORT, AND FACILITATES LENDING OF ZINES ACROSS COLLECTIONS. ZINECAT SERVES LIBRARIANS, STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, RESEARCHERS, ARCHIVISTS, ZINE MAKERS, AND ANYONE WITH AN INTEREST IN ZINES.]

RAPID: SOVEREIGNTY, RIGHTS, JUSTICE AND THE MANUS ISLAND DETENTION CENTER, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

FERMI POINTED OBSERVATIONS AND MULTIWAVELENGTH COVERAGE OF THE QUASARS 3C 279 AND 4C 21.35 DURING GAMMA-RAY FLARES. WE PROPOSE TARGET OF OPPORTUNITY

THE BARNARD INTERDISCIPLINARY WORKSHOP ON EMBODIMENT

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH: LATINIDAD IN PRECISION MEDICINE: EMERGENCE OF IMAGINED GENETIC COMMUNITIES

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT TECHNICAL STAFF AND EQUIPMENT RENTAL COSTS FOR THE 2022 ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL AND RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMMING.

TO SUPPORT TECHNICAL STAFF AND VIRTUAL PLATFORM COSTS FOR THE 2021 ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL AND RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMMING.

TO SUPPORT TECHNICAL STAFF AND EQUIPMENT COSTS FOR THE 2020 ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL AND RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMMING.

TO SUPPORT STAFFING AND EQUIPMENT COSTS FOR THE 2019 ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL AND RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMMING DEDICATED TO FILMS HIGHLIGHTING FEMALE LEADERSHIP.

TO SUPPORT A TECHNICAL DIRECTOR AND RENTAL OF EQUIPMENT FOR THE 2018 ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL.

IN RECENT YEARS, STUDIES OF TEV EMISSION USING IMAGING CHERENKOV TELESCOPES HAS PROVIDED NEW INSIGHT ON THE MOST EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS IN OUR GALAXY.

TOPOLOGICAL METHODS IN SINGULARITY THEORY

STUDENT TRAVEL GRANT FOR 2021 FORMAL METHODS IN COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN (FMCAD)

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT TECHNICAL STAFF AND EQUIPMENT RENTAL COSTS FOR THE ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL AND RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMMING.

CRII: HCC: RUI: TRANSPARENCY AND ACCESS CONTROL IN LIFE SCIENCE DATA SHARING -THIS AWARD IS FUNDED IN WHOLE OR IN PART UNDER THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021 (PUBLIC LAW 117-2). GENERATING AND SHARING LARGE QUANTITIES OF DATA ARE NOW A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF LIFE SCIENCE RESEARCH AND HAVE TAKEN A KEY ROLE IN SUCH COLLABORATIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHALLENGES OF DATA SHARING IN LIFE SCIENCE RESEARCH, WHILE PLACING USABILITY AT THE FOREFRONT OF DESIGN. IT WILL EXPLORE NEW APPROACHES TO FACILITATING DATA SHARING BETWEEN COLLABORATING LIFE SCIENTISTS BY DIVING DEEP INTO THE ISSUES SURROUNDING THE CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH ACCESS CONTROL THROUGH ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERVIEWS AND BY DEVELOPING NEW SYSTEMS THAT SIMPLIFY AND EXPEDITE DATA SHARING. DATA SHARING IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACED BY LIFE SCIENTISTS, AS DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES PRODUCE DATA WITH DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS, METHODS, AND DATA SHARING NEEDS AND CRITERIA. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE DATA SHARING PROCESS WILL AID LIFE SCIENTISTS IN ADVANCING BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, WHICH COULD DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF INDIVIDUALS IN SOCIETY. FOUR KEY INSIGHTS REGARDING CURRENT ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS GUIDE THIS RESEARCH: (1) LACK OF DEFAULT OR TRANSFERABLE ACCESS SETTINGS LEADS TO INEFFICIENCY. (2) LACK OF VISIBLE SHARING SETTINGS CAN RESULT IN ACCIDENTAL DATA SHARING. (3) INCONSISTENT OWNERSHIP OVER FILES CAN LEAD TO INACCESSIBLE DATA ONCE RESEARCHERS LEAVE THE COLLABORATION. (4) DATA-SHARING TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE INSTITUTION AGNOSTIC ARE THE MOST USED. THE RESEARCH WILL CLARIFY SUCH CHALLENGES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ACCESS CONTROL WHEN SHARING DATA WITH COLLABORATORS, THROUGH SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS AND OBSERVATION OF LIFE SCIENTISTS WHEN THEY ARE SHARING DATA. A SOFTWARE SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED AND RELEASED OPEN-SOURCE, THAT ADDRESSES POTENTIAL USABILITY BREAKDOWNS IN EXISTING SYSTEMS AND PROVIDES FEATURES THAT MAY BE MISSING FROM COMMONLY USED OFF-THE-SHELF PRODUCTS. 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.