Trustees Of Union College

UNION COLLEGE ALLOCATION FOR INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS UNDER CARES ACT

UNION COLLEGE ALLOCATION EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR STUDENTS UNDER CARES ACT

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: DEEP DRILLING OF LAKE JUNIN, PERU: CONTINUOUS TROPICAL RECORDS OF GLACIATION, CLIMATE CHANGE AND MAGNETIC FIELD VARIATIO

SUCCESS-LEADERS: LEADING EDUCATIONAL AND ACADEMIC DIRECTIONS TO ENHANCE RETENTION IN STEM

UNION COLLEGE RENOVATION PROJECT FOR FACULTY AND UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FACILITY

SUCCESS: STIMULATING UNDERGRADUATES: CREATING CONTRIBUTORS IN ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE FOR SOCIETY

CPATH EAE: CAMPUS WIDE COMPUTATION INITIATIVE - A NEW MODEL FOR COMPUTING EDUCATION

SUPPORTING SCHOLARS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

DEVELOPMENT OF PRECIPITATION, EVAPORATION AND TEMPERATURE RECORDS FROM TROPICAL LAKE SEDIMENTS AND CAVE DEPOSITS FOR THE LAST 700,000 YEARS

CAREER: THE SCIENCE OF MEASUREMENT-BASED STABILITY ASSESSMENT AND MODEL VALIDATION FOR MICROGRIDS

THE EFFICACY OF A COMPUTING-CONCEPTS VIDEO LIBRARY FOR STUDENTS AND PEER TUTORS IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY CONTEXTS -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY PREPARING STUDENTS IN NON-COMPUTING MAJORS TO USE COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES IN THEIR ACADEMIC WORK AND FUTURE CAREERS. INCREASINGLY, STUDENTS IN ALL DISCIPLINES MUST LEARN TO USE COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY. TO MEET THE INCREASED NEED FOR STUDENTS TO USE COMPUTATIONAL METHODS ACROSS ALL FIELDS, NON-COMPUTING COURSES COMMONLY INTEGRATE COMPUTATIONAL COMPONENTS INTO THEIR CURRICULA. HOWEVER, MANY NON-COMPUTING FACULTY ARE NOT PREPARED TO TEACH THE COMPUTING CONCEPTS THAT UNDERLIE THE COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES THAT THEIR STUDENTS MUST MASTER. THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT NON-COMPUTING FACULTY WHO ARE TEACHING COMPUTING CONCEPTS BY DEVELOPING A CURATED SET OF VIDEOS THAT PROVIDES THE CONTENT NEEDED FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN BASIC COMPUTING CONCEPTS. THE INFUSION OF FOUNDATIONAL COMPUTING CONCEPTS INTO NON-COMPUTING COURSES WILL INCREASE BOTH THE NUMBER AND DIVERSITY OF STUDENTS WHO ARE PREPARED TO UTILIZE COMPUTATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES WHEN THEY ENTER THE WORKFORCE. THIS PROJECT?S GOALS ARE TO (1) EXPAND AND STRENGTHEN THE OCCTIVE VIDEO LIBRARY (ONLINE COMPUTING-CONCEPTS TOOLKIT OF INTERDISCIPLINARY VIDEOS FOR EDUCATION), DESIGNED TO INTRODUCE FOUNDATIONAL COMPUTING CONCEPTS IN NON-CS COURSES, (2) BROADLY DISSEMINATE OCCTIVE FOR USE BY NON-CS FACULTY AND PEER TUTORS, AND (3) ASSESS THE IMPACT OF OCCTIVE USE ON STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND PEER TUTORS. THE EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE OCCTIVE LIBRARY WILL BE INFORMED BY BEST PRACTICES IN INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO DESIGN. THE VIDEOS WILL BE SUPPLEMENTED WITH SAMPLE TEACHING MATERIAL AND OTHER SUPPORT MATERIALS THAT AID FACULTY ADOPTION. FACULTY, WHO WILL BE RECRUITED FROM A WIDE RANGE OF DISCIPLINES AND INSTITUTIONS, WILL BE TRAINED TO INTEGRATE OCCTIVE INTO THEIR COURSES THROUGH IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS. THE EFFICACY OF THE OCCTIVE LIBRARY WILL BE MEASURED BY ASSESSING STUDENTS? COMPREHENSION OF COMPUTING CONCEPTS, FACULTY?S ADOPTION OF MATERIALS IN THEIR CLASSES, AND PEER TUTOR EXPERIENCES. 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 UNDERGRADUATE ALFALFA TEAM

REU SITE: ENGINEERING RESEARCH IN A LIBERAL ARTS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONTEXT -THIS THREE-YEAR PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE TEN UNDERGRADUATES EACH YEAR WITH ENGINEERING RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND TRAINING IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP. PARTICIPANTS WILL BE RECRUITED FROM TWO- AND FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES. REU STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AND IMPROVE THEIR EXPERIMENTAL, ANALYTICAL, AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS. THE ASSOCIATED PROGRAMMING WILL ENGAGE STUDENTS ABOUT PLANNING FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL AND OTHER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, WHILE ALSO INTRODUCING THEM TO ENTREPRENEURIAL CONCEPTS THAT WILL HELP THEM PLACE THEIR RESEARCH IN WIDER CONTEXTS. IN ADDITION, THE PROJECT WILL EXAMINE STUDENT PERSISTENCE IN STEM, SPECIFICALLY ENCOURAGING COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS TO CONTINUE TO FOUR-YEAR PROGRAMS. THIS PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE MISSION OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION TO ADVANCE NATIONAL HEALTH, PROSPERITY, AND WELFARE BY INCREASING PARTICIPATION IN ENGINEERING AND STEM TO CREATE A MORE COMPETITIVE AND SKILLED WORKFORCE. THE REU STUDENTS WILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN RESEARCH IN BIOMEDICAL, CIVIL, COMPUTER, ELECTRICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, MATERIALS, AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROJECTS. PROJECTS WILL INCLUDE WORK IN AREAS INCLUDING TURBULENT FLOW, VACCINE DEVELOPMENT, ELECTRIC GRID STABILITY, WATER QUALITY, AND AEROGEL MATERIALS. THE PROGRAM EXPERIENCES AND ACTIVITIES WILL: 1) SPARK STUDENTS? INTEREST IN ENGINEERING AND STEM CAREERS; 2) INCREASE STUDENTS? PERSISTENCE IN STEM AND CONTINUATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS TO BACHELOR?S DEGREES; 3) DEVELOP STUDENTS? EXPERIMENTAL, ANALYTICAL, AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS; AND 4) ENABLE THE STUDENTS TO PLACE THEIR RESEARCH IN WIDER CONTEXTS (E.G., SOCIETAL IMPACTS, APPLICATIONS, AND POTENTIAL COMMERCIALIZATION). STUDENTS WILL WORK DIRECTLY WITH FACULTY MENTORS IN STATE-OF-THE-ART LABORATORIES WHILE ALSO ENGAGING IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING MODELED ON THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION I-CORPS PROGRAM. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A HIGH-SPEED VOLUMETRIC PARTICLE IMAGE VELOCIMETRY SYSTEM FOR FLUID MECHANICS RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND ENGINEERING

RUI: ROLE OF MECHANICAL FORCES AXIAL TORSION AND FLEXURE IN CHICK EMBRYOS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A HIGH-RESOLUTION MICRO-COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SYSTEM FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY STEM RESEARCH AND UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING

TAS::57 3600::TAS "THE NEURONAL CONTROL OF FLYING PREY INTERCEPTION IN DRAGONFLIES" DATED 20 APRIL 2010 AND REVISED 31 MAY 2010; THE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A MULTI-MATERIAL 3D PRINTER TO ENABLE NOVEL MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING

COGNITIVE BENEFITS OF INTERACTIVE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE FOR MCI

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A POWDER X-RAY DIFFRACTOMETER (PXRD) FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A STABLE ISOTOPE RATIO MASS SPECTROMETER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TRAINING

RUI: TAILORED AEROGEL MATERIALS

MRI-R^2: ACQUISITION OF A 400 MHZ NMR SPECTROMETER FOR UNION COLLEGE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF AN INVERTED OPTICAL MICROSCOPE TO ENABLE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH THAT UNITES FIVE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE UNION COLLEGE NANOSCI

MRI: ACQUISITION OF AN INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROMETER FOR EXPANSION OF ANALYTICAL ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN THE EARTH SCIENCES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EVOFAB - A FULLY AUTOMATED ROBOTIC FACTORY THAT DESIGNS, BUILDS, AND TESTS SOFT ACTUATORS -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS RESEARCH TO CREATE A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT ROBOTIC FACTORY FOR THE AUTOMATED DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND TESTING OF NOVEL SOFT ACTUATORS, POWERED BY PRESSURIZED AIR. SUCH ACTUATORS ARE IMPORTANT FOR FOOD HANDLING, WEARABLE DEVICES, SURGICAL TOOLS, AND OTHER APPLICATIONS REQUIRING THE SAFE MANIPULATION OF EASILY DAMAGED ITEMS. THE ROBOTIC FACTORY CAN PRINT AN ACTUATOR FROM MULTIPLE POLYMER FEEDSTOCKS COVERING A WIDE RANGE OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, IN ORDER TO CUSTOM TAILOR THE COMPONENT TO THE NEEDS OF THE USER. COMBINING MULTIPLE MATERIALS TO ACHIEVE A DESIRED RESULT IS A CHALLENGING PROCESS EVEN FOR HUMAN EXPERTS, MADE MORE DIFFICULT WHEN PRODUCING NOVEL PARTS FOR ONE-OFF TASKS. THEREFORE THE ROBOTIC FACTORY EMBEDS AN INTELLIGENT DESIGN CAPABILITY, USING HIGH-FIDELITY SIMULATIONS TO TEST AND EVOLVE MILLIONS OF POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS. EVEN THE BEST SIMULATIONS DEPEND ON ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE OF PHYSICAL PARAMETERS. THEREFORE, AFTER A PART IS MANUFACTURED, THE ROBOTIC FACTORY WILL TEST IT AGAINST THE SIMULATOR PREDICTIONS. IF THE PERFORMANCE IS ACCEPTABLE, THE PART IS USED. OTHERWISE THE SIMULATOR IS RECALIBRATED AND THE PROCESS REPEATS. WITH EACH CYCLE, THE ALGORITHM CAN EXPLORE AN INCREASINGLY RICH DESIGN SPACE. TO EXTEND THE NUMBER OF ITERATIONS THAT CAN BE PERFORMED WITHOUT HUMAN INTERVENTION, FAILED PARTS ARE RECYCLED AND THE MATERIAL REUSED. THE ROBOTIC FACTORY DRAWS ON PREVIOUS RESULTS TO CONTINUALLY IMPROVE THE PARTS IT MAKES. FUTURE GENERATIONS OF ROBOTIC FACTORIES WILL PRODUCE INCREASINGLY COMPLEX DEVICES, UP TO AND INCLUDING FULLY FUNCTIONAL SOFT ROBOTS. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO TRANSFORM THE DESIGN AND DISCOVERY OF NOVEL SOFT COMPONENTS AND DEVICES. THE SYSTEM, CALLED EVOFAB, IS AN AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC FACTORY THAT COMBINES INNOVATIVE EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHMS WITH FULLY AUTOMATED FABRICATION AND IN-SITU CHARACTERIZATION TO DESIGN, MANUFACTURE, AND TEST PNEUMATICALLY POWERED SOFT COMPONENTS. EVOFAB DESIGNS AND SIMULATES PARTS, WHICH ARE THEN 3D PRINTED, PROBED, AND PLACED IN A PNEUMATIC TEST FIXTURE, ALL WITHOUT HUMAN INTERVENTION. MATERIAL FROM FAILED PARTS IS RECOVERED IN AN INTEGRATED RECYCLING PROCESS. THIS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT HAS FIVE INNOVATIVE THREADS: (1) A FABRICATION-AWARE EVOLUTIONARY DESIGN SYSTEM THAT RAPIDLY AND EFFICIENTLY SEARCHES A DESIGN SPACE FOR RESPONSIVE CONFIGURATIONS; (2) SIMULATIONS OF DESIGNS THAT MINIMIZE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NUMERICAL PREDICTIONS AND REAL BEHAVIORS; (3) AN AUTOMATED FABRICATION PIPELINE THAT PRINTS AND (4) CHARACTERIZES THOSE DESIGNS; AND (5) AN INTEGRATED RECYCLING PROCESS THAT MAXIMIZES UNTENDED OPERATION. 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: TROPICAL HOLOCENE CLIMATIC INSIGHTS FROM ANDEAN PALEOGLACIER DYNAMICS

ROLE OF MECHANICAL FORCES IN CARDIAC S-LOOPING

PFI-TT: DEVELOPMENT OF AEROGEL MATERIALS FOR AUTOMOTIVE POLLUTION REDUCTION

RUI: CATALYTIC AEROGEL MATERIALS

RUI: PLASMONIC NANOPARTICLE SANDWICHES: USING PEPTOID NANOSHEETS AS PLATFORMS FOR FREE-STANDING NANOPARTICLE ARRAYS -WITH SUPPORT FROM THE MACROMOLECULAR, SUPRAMOLECULAR AND NANOCHEMISTRY (MSN) AND CHEMICAL MEASUREMENT AND IMAGING (CMI) PROGRAMS IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, ELLEN ROBERTSON AND HER STUDENTS AT UNION COLLEGE ARE DEVELOPING METHODS TO PREPARE TWO DIMENSIONAL (2D) MOLECULAR NANOSHEETS THAT INCORPORATE GOLD AND SILVER NANOPARTICLES. TWO-DIMENSIONAL ARRAYS OF GOLD AND SILVER NANOPARTICLES ARE PROMISING SENSORS FOR DETECTING HYDROPHOBIC POLLUTANTS IN WATER, BUT IT IS CRITICAL THAT: 1) THE ARRAYS REMAIN STABLE IN WATER; AND 2) THAT THE PACKING ARRANGEMENT OF THE PARTICLES WITHIN THE ARRAYS IS CONTROLLABLE. DR. ROBERTSON AND HER STUDENTS ARE USING THE OIL-WATER INTERFACE AS A PLATFORM TO DIRECT THE ASSEMBLY OF NANOPARTICLES BETWEEN TWO THIN MOLECULAR LAYERS THAT ARE HIGHLY WATER-STABLE. THE DISCOVERIES OF THE ROBERTSON RESEARCH TEAM COULD LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SENSORS CAPABLE OF DETECTING LOW LEVELS OF HYDROPHOBIC POLLUTANTS IN WATER. THIS PROJECT WILL HELP PREPARE UNDERGRADUATES AT UNION FOR CAREERS AND/OR GRADUATE STUDIES IN STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS) BY PROVIDING HANDS-ON RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR THREE TO FIVE UNDERGRADUATES EACH YEAR, WITH AN INTENTIONAL EMPHASIS ON INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF GROUPS UNDERREPRESENTED IN STEM; BY ESTABLISHING A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE ROBERTSON LAB AT UNION COLLEGE WITH AN R1 INSTITUTION, ENABLING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO WORK IN A GRADUATE LAB SETTING; AND BY INTEGRATING THE RESEARCH INTO UNION COLLEGE?S NANOTECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM, ENGAGING A GREATER NUMBER OF STUDENTS. THE SPECIFIC MOLECULAR LAYERS THAT THE ROBERTSON LAB USES TO PRODUCE WATER-STABLE 2D NANOPARTICLE ARRAYS ARE COMPOSED OF AMPHIPHILIC PEPTOID POLYMERS, A RELATIVELY NEW CLASS OF PEPTIDOMIMETICS. THESE POLYMERS FORM WATER-STABLE BILAYER PEPTOID NANOSHEETS THROUGH A MECHANISM AT FLUID INTERFACES THAT INVOLVES MONOLAYER ASSEMBLY AND COLLAPSE. WHEN CARRIED OUT AT THE OIL-WATER INTERFACE, HYDROPHOBICALLY FUNCTIONALIZED NANOPARTICLES DISPERSED IN THE OIL PHASE ARE INCORPORATED INTO THE PEPTOID NANOSHEET HYDROPHOBIC INTERIOR. BY VARYING THE PROPERTIES OF THE NANOPARTICLES USED IN THE NANOSHEET SYNTHESIS (I.E., CONCENTRATION, LIGAND, CORE SIZE, AND MATERIAL), DR. ROBERTSON AND HER STUDENTS AIM TO CONTROL THE STRUCTURAL AND OPTO-ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF THE GOLD AND SILVER NANOPARTICLE-EMBEDDED NANOSHEETS. THE EFFECTS OF THE SYNTHESIS CONDITIONS WILL BE ASSESSED THROUGH A VARIETY OF CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUES, INCLUDING UV-VISIBLE SPECTROSCOPY, RAMAN MICROSCOPY, LIGHT MICROSCOPY, SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY, TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY, AND ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY. NANOSHEETS WITH PROMISING OPTO-ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES WILL BE TESTED FOR THEIR ABILITY TO SERVE AS SURFACE ENHANCED RAMAN SCATTERING (SERS) SENSORS TO DETECT HYDROPHOBIC POLLUTANTS, SUCH AS POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS, IN WATER. 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.

OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE EARLIEST DAYS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM DEPENDS CRUCIALLY ON ACCURATE AND PRECISE RADIOMETRIC DATING. DIFFERENT ISOTOPE SYSTEMS CO

A BETTER UNION: A COMMUNITY-WIDE APPROACH TO THE PREVENTION OF POWER-BASED PERSONAL VIOLENCE

MRI: DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR TESTING CATALYTIC AEROGEL MATERIALS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A HIGH RESOLUTION HIGH SPEED 3D MOTION TRACKING SYSTEM FOR MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING

MRI-R2: ACQUISITION OF MICRO-RAMAN AND MICRO-IR SPECTROMETERS FOR A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY SPECTROSCOPY LABORATORY AT UNION COLLEGE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF INSTRUMENTATION TO SUPPORT A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ACOUSTIC LABORATORY FOR FACULTY AND STUDENT RESEARCH AT UNION COLLEGE

EQUIPMENT: MRI: TRACK 1 ACQUISITION OF A LASER ABLATION SYSTEM FOR ICP-MS TO EXPAND A BROAD RANGE OF ANALYTICAL ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN THE EARTH SCIENCES -THIS MRI AWARD FUNDS A LASER ABLATION (LA) SYSTEM TO COUPLE WITH AN EXISTING INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROMETER (ICP-MS). THE LA-ICP-MS ALLOWS ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF VERY SMALL AREAS (MICRON SCALE) OF SOLID GEOLOGICAL OR BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES. THE LA WILL ENABLE THE RESEARCH PROGRAMS OF UNION FACULTY AND STUDENTS, AS WELL AS THOSE OF RESEARCHERS FROM OUTSIDE INSTITUTIONS. THE ACQUISITION OF THE LA WILL GREATLY EXPAND OUR ABILITY TO ADDRESS BOTH BASIC AND APPLIED QUESTIONS IN PALEOCLIMATOLOGY, PALEOENVIRONMENTS, AND HIGH-TEMPERATURE GEOCHEMISTRY (INCLUDING VOLCANOLOGY AND GEOCHRONOLOGY), AND THEIR CONNECTION TO RELATED GEOLOGICAL, GEOCHEMICAL, ATMOSPHERIC, HYDROLOGIC, AND ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. THE LA WILL ALLOW FOR BOTH RAPID THROUGHPUT AND HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTION THAT IS REQUIRED BY THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. THIS INSTRUMENTATION WILL ALLOW THE LAB TO EXPAND ITS CAPABILITIES IN GEOCHEMISTRY, AND IS CRITICAL TO ADVANCING THE RESEARCH NEEDS OF SEVERAL GEOSCIENCES FACULTY AND THEIR STUDENTS. THE LA WILL ADVANCE RESEARCH ON DEVELOPING MULTIPROXY PALEOCLIMATE, PALAEOCEANOGRAPHIC, AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECORDS, SPECIFICALLY TO: A) UTILIZE STALAGMITES TO DEVELOP CLIMATE RECORDS IN TEMPERATE AND TROPICAL REGIONS; B) INVESTIGATE HISTORICAL POLLUTION EVENTS USING STALAGMITES AND BIVALVE SHELLS; AND C) DEVELOP AND INVESTIGATE ELEMENTAL PROXIES IN BIOLOGICAL CARBONATES INCLUDING BIVALVE SHELLS AND CORALS. THE LA SYSTEM WILL ALSO ADVANCE HIGH-TEMPERATURE GEOCHEMICAL RESEARCH, WITH PROJECTS ON MAGMA MIXING, VOLATILE CONTENT OF MAGMAS PRIOR TO ERUPTION, AND THERMOMETRY IN VOLCANIC ROCKS AND DEEPLY ERODED MOUNTAIN BELTS. THE LA WILL BE USED IN UNDERGRADUATE INDEPENDENT RESEARCH, THE LAB COMPONENTS OF UNDERGRADUATE COURSES, AND WILL ADVANCE THE RESEARCH OF TWO FEMALE PRE-TENURE FACULTY AT NEARBY INSTITUTIONS AS WELL AS FOSTER NEW COLLABORATIONS AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY INSTRUMENT FOR RESEARCH AND TEACHING IN THE SCIENCES AT UNION COLLEGE

ARTIFACT-FREE RECONSTRUCTION OF MEDICAL IMAGING INFORMATION

WAVELENGTH AGILE PHOTOACOUSTIC MICROSCOPY FOR VIDEO-RATE FUNCTIONAL IMAGING

INSECT OPTIC GLOMERULI: EXPLORATION OF A UNIVERSAL CIRCUIT FOR SENSORIMOTOR PROCESSING

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PROVENANCE AND THERMAL EVOLUTION OF THE CHUGACH-PRINCE WILLIAM TERRANE FLYSCH, SOUTHERN ALASKA

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: TRANSLATION AND ACCRETION OF THE YAKUTAT MICROPLATE AND PRINCE WILLIAM TERRANE, ALASKA

LEAPS-MPS: SHARP INEQUALITIES IN PROBABILITY AND ANALYSIS -THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE MATHEMATICAL FIELDS OF PROBABILITY, ANALYSIS, AND PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS (PDES) ? FUNDAMENTAL TOOLS IN UNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL PHENOMENA ? THROUGH THE STUDY OF INEQUALITIES. A CLASSICAL TOPIC OF STUDY IN MATHEMATICS, INEQUALITIES DESCRIBE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN QUANTITIES WHICH MAY NOT BE KNOWN PRECISELY BUT CAN BE ESTIMATED OR APPROXIMATED. THE INEQUALITIES TO BE CONSIDERED IN THIS PROJECT HAVE APPLICATIONS TO PHYSICS AND ENGINEERING IN THE STUDY OF THE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY OF MEMBRANES; THE MOTION OF RANDOM PARTICLES; AND THE TORSIONAL RIGIDITY, ELASTICITY, ELECTROSTATIC CAPACITY, AND HEAT CONTENT OF MATERIALS. THE INSIGHTS UNCOVERED WILL BE RELEVANT TO A RAPIDLY CHANGING SOCIETY, IN WHICH DATA AND RANDOMNESS ARE INCREASINGLY PRESENT IN DAILY LIFE. THE PROJECT WILL ENGAGE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN HANDS-ON MATHEMATICAL RESEARCH WITH THE GOAL OF INCREASING THE MATHEMATICAL TALENT POOL IN THE UNITED STATES. GRADUATE STUDENTS, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS, AND EARLY CAREER MATHEMATICIANS WILL BE INVOLVED IN A CONFERENCE THAT WILL ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE WHILE CREATING A MORE INCLUSIVE CULTURE AND SENSE OF BELONGING, PARTICULARLY AMONG UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS IN MATHEMATICS. A DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES WILL BE ACCESSIBLE TO A GENERAL AUDIENCE, THEREBY INCREASING PUBLIC SCIENTIFIC LITERACY AND ENGAGEMENT WITH SCIENCE BY INTRODUCING PROBABILITY AND ITS IMPACTS ON SOCIETY. THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON TWO MAIN RESEARCH DIRECTIONS: 1) PROVING SHARP INEQUALITIES INVOLVING THE EXPECTED LIFETIME OF A DIFFUSION STARTED INSIDE A DOMAIN AND THE PRINCIPAL DIRICHLET EIGENVALUE; AND 2) ADDRESSING FUNCTIONAL INEQUALITIES FOR DEGENERATE DIFFUSIONS. THE FIRST RESEARCH DIRECTION FOCUSES ON PROVING SHARP INEQUALITIES INVOLVING THE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY AND THE TORSIONAL RIGIDITY OF DOMAINS THROUGH EXIT TIMES OF DIFFUSIONS. THE TORSIONAL RIGIDITY MEASURES HOW MUCH A ROD WITH CROSS-SECTIONS GIVEN BY A PARTICULAR DOMAIN IS RESISTANT TO TWISTING FORCES. THUS, OBTAINING SHARP BOUNDS FOR THE TORSIONAL RIGIDITY WILL HAVE PHYSICAL APPLICATIONS TO ENGINEERING PROBLEMS. THE PI WILL STUDY THE UNDERLYING PDES BY APPLYING PROBABILISTIC AND ANALYTIC METHODS. THE SECOND DIRECTION WILL FOCUS ON PROVING GRADIENT ESTIMATES AND OTHER FUNCTIONAL INEQUALITIES FOR THE HARMONIC FUNCTIONS RELATED TO DEGENERATE DIFFUSIONS. THE PI?S GOAL WILL BE TO FOCUS ON PROBLEMS IN THE DEGENERATE HYPOELLIPTIC CASE WHERE THERE IS NO CANONICAL UNDERLYING SUB-RIEMANNIAN STRUCTURE, WHICH ARE CALLED WEAK H?RMANDER DIFFUSIONS. ONE OF THE MAIN PROBABILISTIC TOOLS THAT IS USED INVOLVES DEVELOPING SHARP COUPLINGS OF DIFFUSION PROCESSES. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT FEATURES A THIRD RESEARCH DIRECTION, TO BE EXPLORED WITH UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS, THAT FOCUSES ON THE THEORY OF EXPLICIT LIMIT THEOREMS FOR THE PRODUCTS OF RANDOM SINGULAR MATRICES. 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.

MRI: TRACK 1 ACQUISITION OF A MULTIFUNCTIONAL THERMAL ANALYSIS INSTRUMENT FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN ADVANCED NANOMATERIAL DEVELOPMENT -THIS AWARD IS JOINTLY SUPPORTED BY THE MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION AND THE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION PROGRAMS. UNION COLLEGE IS ACQUIRING A THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYZER INTEGRATED WITH A FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROMETER AND A GAS CHROMATOGRAPH/MASS SPECTROMETER (TGA/FTIR/GC/MS) SYSTEM TO SUPPORT THE RESEARCH OF ELLEN ROBERTSON, ANN ANDERSON, MARY CARROLL, YIJING STEHLE, AND CHRISTOPHER WHITEHEAD AND OTHER COLLEAGUES AT THE INSTITUTION. IN GENERAL, A THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYZER (TGA) IS A SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT THAT AIDS THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE STRUCTURAL, MECHANICAL, CHEMICAL, AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS AS A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE. HOWEVER, HAVING ONLY INFORMATION ABOUT THE MATERIAL WEIGHT LOSS AS A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR ANSWERING THE SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH MATERIAL. INSTEAD, A THOROUGH CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CHEMICAL SPECIES THAT ARE RELEASED DURING MATERIAL HEATING IS OFTEN DESIRED. A TGA/FTIR/GC/MS SYSTEM ALLOWS FOR THE UNAMBIGUOUS IDENTIFICATION OF MATERIAL THERMAL DEGRADATION PRODUCTS THROUGH THE ASSIGNMENT OF BOTH VIBRATIONAL MODES (FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY ? FTIR) AND MOLECULAR WEIGHT ANALYSIS (MASS SPECTROSCOPY ? MS). THE INSTRUMENT IMPACTS MANY AREAS, SUCH AS CHEMISTRY, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, MATERIALS SCIENCE, AND NANOTECHNOLOGY. FURTHERMORE, THE NEW INSTRUMEN PROVIDES RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR A DIVERSE GROUP OF AT LEAST 50 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ANNUALLY, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM. THE AWARD IS AIMED AT ENHANCING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AT ALL LEVELS. RESEARCH ENABLED BY THE INSTRUMENT IS FOCUSED ON CHARACTERIZING THE STRUCTURAL, MECHANICAL, CHEMICAL, AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF DIVERSE CLASSES OF MODERN NANOMATERIALS, INCLUDING PLASMONIC NANOMATERIALS FOR DETECTING POLLUTANTS, SEMICONDUCTING QUANTUM DOTS FOR HEAVY METAL SENSING, METAL OXIDE NANOCRYSTALS AND AEROGELS FOR CATALYSIS, AND FUNCTIONALIZED GRAPHENE OXIDE MEMBRANES FOR WATER FILTRATION AND PURIFICATION. THE INSTRUMENT ALLOWS FOR THE UNAMBIGUOUS IDENTIFICATION OF NANOMATERIAL THERMAL DEGRADATION PRODUCTS THROUGH THE ASSIGNMENT OF BOTH VIBRATIONAL MODES AND MOLECULAR WEIGHT SIGNATURES. 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: ELUCIDATING THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF SENSORY RESPONSE AND SIGNAL FUNCTION ON THE EVOLUTION OF SIGNAL DIVERSITY

NEUTRINO AND NUCLEOSYNTHESIS IN GAMMA RAY BURSTS

ADVANCE PARTNERSHIPS FOR ADAPTATION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND DISSEMINATION (PAID) AWARD: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH - SUN: SUPPORTING WOMEN FACULTY IN STEM

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THROUGH EXTRAGALACTIC RADIO ASTRONOMY

NUE: BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN THE ENGINEERING CLASSROOM AND THE RESEARCH LABORATORY: NANOSCIENCE AT UNION COLLEGE

ERI: INCREASING THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE AUXETIC BEHAVIOR OF GRAPHENE OXIDE MEMBRANES -WHEN MATERIALS ARE STRETCHED IN ONE DIRECTION, IT IS TYPICAL THAT THE DIMENSIONS IN THE OTHER DIRECTIONS TEND TO DECREASE. HOWEVER, SOME ADVANCED MATERIALS, KNOWN AS AUXETIC MATERIALS, EXHIBIT A CROSS-SECTIONAL EXPANSION THAT IS PERPENDICULAR TO THE FORCE APPLIED DURING STRETCHING. AUXETIC MATERIALS ARE CURRENTLY USED IN APPLICATIONS SUCH AS BODY ARMOR, PACKING MATERIALS, KNEE AND ELBOW PADS, AND SPONGE MOPS. GRAPHENE OXIDE MEMBRANES ARE IDENTIFIED WITH AUXETIC BEHAVIOR, WHICH MAKE THEM EXCELLENT CANDIDATE FOR A WIDE RANGE OF PROMISING SEPARATION AND FILTRATION APPLICATIONS IN THE BIOMEDICAL, AUTOMOBILE, AND DEFENSE INDUSTRIES, AND FOR CLEAN ENERGY. HOWEVER, THERE IS STILL A LIMITED UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM IN THEIR AUXETIC BEHAVIOR. IN THIS ENGINEERING RESEARCH INITIATION (ERI) PROJECT, A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CARRIED OUT TO GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURE OF GRAPHENE OXIDE MEMBRANES THAT CAUSES ITS AUXETIC BEHAVIOR. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT UNION COLLEGE, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED BACKGROUNDS. THESE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES WILL PREPARE STUDENTS FOR SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL CAREERS, AND/OR GRADUATE STUDIES IN NANOTECHNOLOGY-BASED INDUSTRIES. IN ADDITION, THE RESEARCH WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO UNION?S MECHANICAL ENGINEERING CURRICULUM TO IMPROVE ENGINEERING EDUCATION. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TWO-FOLD: 1) TO ACHIEVE A FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE AUXETIC BEHAVIOR OF GRAPHENE OXIDE MEMBRANES BY CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS BASED ON TWO HYPOTHESES - THE ?WRINKLE? AND/OR THE ?AUXETIC FRAMEWORK? ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BEHAVIOR, AND 2) TO INVESTIGATE HOW NEGATIVE POISSON RATIO CUSTOMIZATION AFFECTS THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, STABILITY, PERMEABILITY, AND POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF THE MEMBRANES. SPECIFICALLY, THIS EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH WILL EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NEGATIVE POISSON RATIO AND THE SIZE, ORIENTATION, AND DEFORMATION OF WRINKLES, AS PER THE WRINKLE HYPOTHESIS. IT WILL ALSO INVESTIGATE THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE NEGATIVE POISSON RATIO AND THE OXYGEN/CARBON ATOMIC RATIO OF THE AUXETIC FRAMEWORK HYPOTHESIS. BY COMBINING EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES AND DYNAMIC ANALYSES, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO NOT ONLY IDENTIFY THE STRUCTURAL BASIS OF GRAPHENE OXIDE MEMBRANE'S AUXETIC BEHAVIOR BUT ALSO DEVISE TECHNIQUES FOR CUSTOMIZING THIS BEHAVIOR TO ADDRESS A RANGE OF ENGINEERING CHALLENGES. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS ALSO EXPECTED TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE PI?S FUTURE RESEARCH ENDEAVORS IN THE SHORT AND LONG TERM. 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.

ERI: EVALUATION OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO LYME DISEASE ANTIGENS USING BACTERIALLY-DERIVED OUTER MEMBRANE VESICLES -LYME DISEASE IS THE MOST COMMON VECTOR BORNE DISEASE (HUMAN ILLNESS CAUSED BY PARASITES, VIRUSES, OR BACTERIA) IN THE UNITED STATES. IT IS CAUSED BY BACTERIA THAT ARE SPREAD THROUGH THE BITE OF TICKS. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO LYME DISEASE IS HIGHLY VARIABLE AND DEPENDS ON MANY FACTORS. LYME ANTIGENS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO PRODUCE A PROTECTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS. IN OTHER SITUATIONS OR FORMS, THESE SAME ANTIGENS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO PRODUCE A LARGE IMMUNE RESPONSE BUT NO PROTECTION. DUE TO THIS LACK OF CONSISTENCY, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF SPECIFIC LYME DISEASE ANTIGENS ON THE IMMUNE RESPONSE USING A NOVEL CARRIER SYSTEM. THE IMMUNE SYSTEM RESPONSE WILL BE TESTED USING OUTER MEMBRANE VESICLES (OMVS). OMVS ARE ULTRA-SMALL PIECES OF BACTERIA THAT WILL BE USED TO CARRY MULTIPLE LYME PROTEINS. THE IMMUNE RESPONSE GENERATED BY THESE OMVS WILL FIRST BE MEASURED. THEN, IT WILL BE COMPARED TO THE RESPONSE GENERATED BY OMVS CARRYING ONLY ONE LYME PROTEIN. THIS RESEARCH WILL HELP IDENTIFY WHICH PROTEINS ARE REQUIRED TO CREATE A STRONG AND PROTECTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE. IN THE LONG-TERM, THIS WILL LEAD TO IMPROVED VACCINATION STRATEGIES AGAINST LYME DISEASE. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH SKILLS THROUGH PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROJECT. ADDITIONAL STUDENTS WILL BE INTRODUCED TO THIS RESEARCH THROUGH ITS INCLUSION IN A NEW COURSE. LASTLY, LYME DISEASE IS A PREVALENT PROBLEM THAT IMPACTS NEW YORK RESIDENTS. RESULTS FROM THIS WORK WILL BE OF GREAT INTEREST TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. IN RESPONSE TO THIS INTEREST, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL PREPARE AND LEAD A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THIS RESEARCH. THIS WILL INCREASE THE PUBLIC?S SCIENCE LITERACY AND HELP STUDENTS GAIN SKILLS COMMUNICATING SCIENCE TO A GENERAL AUDIENCE. LYME DISEASE IS AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE CAUSED BY THE BACTERIA BORRELIA BURGDORFERI (BB), SPREAD TO HUMANS BY THE BLACK-LEGGED TICK. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THERE IS WIDE VARIATION IN THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO BB ANTIGENS DUE TO A VARIETY OF FACTORS, OFTEN RESULTING IN INCOMPLETE PROTECTION. OUTER MEMBRANE VESICLES (OMVS), SPHERICAL LIPID BILAYERS NATURALLY DERIVED FROM BACTERIA, HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO INDUCE A STRONG AND PROTECTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE IN ANIMAL MODELS, EVEN WHEN USED IN COMBINATION WITH POORLY IMMUNOGENIC ANTIGENS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO INCREASE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO VARIOUS LYME ANTIGENS USING THE OMV BACKGROUND AND DETERMINE IF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO A PHYSICAL MIXTURE OF SINGLE-ANTIGEN OMVS IS EQUAL TO THE IMMUNE RESPONSE OF MULTIVALENT OMVS. THESE OBJECTIVES WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY: 1) EXPLORING FUSION PROTEINS AS A PROOF OF CONCEPT TO PRESENT FULL BB ANTIGENS ON OMVS; 2) DETERMINING THE POTENTIAL TO EXPRESS MULTIPLE BB ANTIGEN EPITOPES ON THE OMV SURFACE SIMULTANEOUSLY; AND 3) EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF THESE SINGLE AND MULTI-ANTIGENIC PARTICLES ON THE ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE OF TWO ANIMAL MODELS. THESE STUDIES WILL HELP INFORM MORE EFFECTIVE TAILORING STRATEGIES FOR MODULATING THE HOST IMMUNE RESPONSE TO BB INFECTION, POTENTIALLY SHAPING A NEW PARADIGM AROUND THE STUDY OF LYME DISEASE IMMUNOLOGY AND EFFECTIVE VACCINATION TECHNIQUES REQUIRED TO PREVENT BB INFECTION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

ERI: WAKE INTERACTIONS PAST TWO ROUGHNESS ELEMENTS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A SURFACE -THE TURBULENT FLOW OVER TWO ROUGHNESS ELEMENTS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY ON AN OTHERWISE RELATIVELY SMOOTH SURFACE IS ENCOUNTERED IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS (E.G., TWO DUNES IN CLOSE PROXIMITY AND TWO PROTRUSIONS IN CLOSE SUCCESSION ON AN ENGINEERED SURFACE). THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE UPSTREAM WAKE AND THE DOWNSTREAM WAKE GOVERN IMPORTANT FLOW FEATURES INCLUDING DRAG AND TURBULENCE. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO QUANTIFY AND UNDERSTAND THE WAKE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN TWO ROUGHNESS ELEMENTS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY UNDER INCOMING TURBULENT FLOW. FOR THIS PURPOSE, FLOW MEASUREMENTS WILL BE MADE FOR A WIDE RANGE OF CONFIGURATIONS USING STATE-OF-THE-ART INSTRUMENTATION. THE PROJECT WILL BE PERFORMED AT AN UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION PROVIDING FOUNDATION FOR ENGINEERING RESEARCH AND ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TRAINING. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE ENGAGING RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO WILL GAIN VALUABLE RESEARCH TRAINING AND MENTORING WHILE WORKING ALONGSIDE FACULTY. HIGH-SPEED VOLUMETRIC PARTICLE IMAGE VELOCIMETRY, A NON-INTRUSIVE LASER-DIAGNOSTIC FLOW MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE, WILL BE USED TO MEASURE THE FLOW OVER TWO CYLINDRICAL ROUGHNESS ELEMENTS POSITIONED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY AND IMMERSED IN A TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYER. THE CYLINDERS WILL BE POSITIONED AT VARIOUS CONFIGURATIONS TO VARY THE DEGREE BY WHICH THE UPSTREAM CYLINDER SHELTERS THE DOWNSTREAM CYLINDER FROM THE INCOMING HIGH-MOMENTUM FLOW. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL ALLOW FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF RICH FLOW PHYSICS: THE INTERACTION OF TWO 3D SHEAR LAYERS IN THE LOWER PORTION OF A TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYER. THE OBJECTIVES ARE TO 1) QUANTIFY THE FLOW INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE WAKES OF THE TWO CYLINDRICAL ROUGHNESS ELEMENTS; 2) CHARACTERIZE THE VORTICAL STRUCTURES SHED FROM ISOLATED CYLINDRICAL ROUGHNESS ELEMENTS AND IDENTIFY THE MODIFICATIONS TO THESE STRUCTURES DUE TO THE INTRODUCTION OF AN UPSTREAM CYLINDER; 3) INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF ADDITIONAL UPSTREAM ELEMENTS (I.E., SHELTERING BY 2, 3, AND 4 UPSTREAM ELEMENTS) ON THE CAPTURED FLOW PHYSICS, 4) QUANTIFY THE ROUGHNESS-INDUCED PERTURBATION TO THE BOUNDARY LAYER AND ITS COHERENT STRUCTURES; AND 5) DISTILL A SPATIOTEMPORALLY-RESOLVED FLOW DESCRIPTION THAT ILLUSTRATES SHELTERING FLOW PHYSICS ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF ARRANGEMENTS. THE SPATIALLY- AND TEMPORALLY-RESOLVED MEASUREMENTS WILL AID IN ADDRESSING A GAP IN THE LITERATURE ON THE FLOW OVER TWO ROUGHNESS ELEMENTS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY, OFFER INSIGHT INTO THE RICH FLOW PHYSICS INVOLVED, AND PROVIDE BENCHMARK RESULTS TO AID OTHER RESEARCHERS IN THEIR MODELING AND VALIDATION EFFORTS. 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.

NUCLEON STRUCTURE STUDIES WITH ELECTROMAGNETIC PROBES

THE UNDERGRADUATE ALFALFA TEAM

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A CAVITY RING-DOWN SPECTROSCOPY (CRDS) WATER ISOTOPE ANALYZER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TRAINING

BRIGE: MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF NANOMATERIALS BY ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MEASURING AND MODELING COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SITS: IMPROVING RICE CULTIVATION BY OBSERVING DYNAMIC SOIL CHEMICAL PROCESSES FROM GRAIN TO LANDSCAPE SCALES -THIS AWARD WAS MADE THROUGH THE SIGNALS IN THE SOIL (SITS) SOLICITATION, A COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE (USDA NIFA). ACCORDING TO THE US CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL, ARSENIC (AS) IS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY CONTAMINANT DUE TO ITS PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATION WITH NUMEROUS CHRONIC DISEASES, INCLUDING HEART DISEASE, CANCER, AND DIABETES. HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE CHRONICALLY EXPOSED TO HIGH LEVELS OF NATURALLY OCCURRING AS THROUGH BOTH DRINKING WATER AND FOOD. PADDY RICE FIELDS, WHICH COVER 12% OF ALL ARABLE LAND AND PROVIDE 20% OF HUMAN CALORIC INTAKE, CONTAIN ABUNDANT IRON OXIDES THAT RETAIN NATURAL AS. IRON REDUCTION IN PADDY FIELDS MOBILIZES THIS AS INTO WATER WHERE IT CAN BE ABSORBED INTO RICE CROPS. HUMANS ARE EXPOSED TO THIS TOXIC AS WHEN THEY CONSUME THIS RICE, AND THE AS ALSO REDUCES OVERALL RICE YIELDS BECAUSE IT IS TOXIC TO RICE TOO. THUS, AS RELEASE FROM RICE PADDY SOILS POSES A HUMAN HEALTH RISK AND THREATENS FARMING COMMUNITIES AND THE SUPPLY OF ONE OF THE WORLD?S MOST IMPORTANT CROPS. THIS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH TEAM FROM COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, UNION COLLEGE, AND SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY AIMS TO IDENTIFY HOW RICE CULTIVATION PRACTICES, ALONG WITH CLIMATE, AFFECT WHERE AND WHEN AS IS RELEASED FROM RICE PADDY SOILS AND HOW THIS ULTIMATELY TRANSLATES INTO ABSORPTION INTO THE RICE CROP. FINDINGS FROM THIS WORK WILL USE REAL-TIME DATA FROM FIELD AND SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS TO HELP PREDICT AREAS OF GREATEST RISK OF AS IN THE RICE CROP AND TO IDENTIFY RICE CULTIVATION PRACTICES THAT MINIMIZE AS UPTAKE BY THE RICE CROP. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE SHARED WITH FARMING COMMUNITIES IN THE PROJECT STUDY AREAS OF CAMBODIA AND TEXAS AS WELL AS WITH THE BROADER SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY TO HELP PROMOTE BETTER RICE CULTIVATION PRACTICES. THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A MECHANISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT CONTROL THE DISSOLVED AS CONCENTRATION AND SPECIATION IN RICE PADDY SOILS, AND TO USE THIS INFORMATION TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS. THIS RESEARCH GOAL IS WELL-SUITED TO SITS BECAUSE THIS MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TEAM FUSES FREQUENT AND DENSE MEASUREMENTS OF SOIL GEOCHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY, MICROBIOLOGY, AND HYDROLOGY COLLECTED WITH IN SITU SENSORS, REMOTE SENSING, AND SAMPLING IN RICE PADDY SOILS TO OBSERVE, MODEL, AND PREDICT ARSENIC SOLID-SOLUTION PARTITIONING AND UPTAKE INTO RICE. HIGH-RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSING DATA WILL BE USED TO UPSCALE PORE-SCALE OBSERVATIONS TO FIELD AND LANDSCAPE SCALES. THE RESEARCH WILL TEST THREE HYPOTHESES EXAMINING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS, IRON (FE) REDUCTION AND AS RELEASE, AND RICE UPTAKE OF AS: 1) EXTERNAL CONTROLS INCLUDING CLIMATE, IRRIGATION AND FERTILIZATION DRIVE THE TIMING, LOCATION AND DEPTH OF THE REDOX GRADIENTS, AND ULTIMATELY REGULATE AS UPTAKE IN RICE; 2) STEEP NEAR-SURFACE GRADIENTS IN DISSOLVED AS RESULT FROM OVERLAPPING FE AND SULFATE REDUCTION, AND CREATE TRANSIENT THIOARSENIC COMPLEXES THAT DECOUPLE AS SOLUBILITY FROM FE REDUCTION; AND 3) WHEN INTEGRATED WITH PROCESS-BASED MODELS, REMOTELY SENSED INDICATORS OF WATER AND NUTRIENT STRESS CAN ACCURATELY SCALE FIELD OBSERVATIONS OF REDOX GRADIENTS AND RICE UPTAKE TO LARGER LANDSCAPES. FIELD SITES WILL BE SELECTED FROM WORKING RICE FARMS IN CAMBODIA WHERE RICE-AS LEVELS FREQUENTLY EXCEED SAFE LEVELS. THESE SITES WILL BE EXTENSIVELY CHARACTERIZED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO MEASURE CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION, MINERALOGY, AND REDOX STATE OF FE, AS, AND OTHER KEY ELEMENTS IN THE PADDY SOIL AND CONTROLS, THE MICROBIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES AND METABOLISMS THAT FACILITATE THOSE TRANSFORMATIONS, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO SURFACE WATER HYDROLOGY, WATER BALANCE, AND IRRIGATION REGIMENS. QUANTITATIVE MODELS WILL BE CONSTRUCTED TO TEST POTENTIAL REACTION NETWORKS AND TO ESTABLISH THE KINETIC AND THERMODYNAMIC CONTROLS AFFECTING REDOX GRADIENTS IN RICE PADDIES. NOVEL MACHINE LEARNING, PROBABILISTIC MODELS, AND REMOTELY SENSED INDICATORS OF INUNDATION, WATER, AND NUTRIENT STRESS WILL BE USED TO PREDICT THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF REDOX PROCESSES, AQUEOUS AS, AND RICE-AS LEVELS MORE WIDELY, AND AT A FINE SPATIAL SCALE. THIS INTEGRATED APPROACH WILL PROVIDE NEW AND POWERFUL INSIGHT INTO THE MECHANISM AND DYNAMICS OF REDOX PROCESSES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS ON AS UPTAKE BY RICE THAT WILL BE TESTED WITH FIELD SAMPLING IN TEXAS, WHERE RICE-AS IS ALSO VARIABLE AND FREQUENTLY ELEVATED. BROADER IMPACTS ACTIVITIES INCLUDE TRAINING OF GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, AND ALSO RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERREPRESENTED AND FIRST-GENERATION HIGH SCHOOL 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.

PFI (CONFERENCE): SUPPORTING UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS IN TECHNOLOGY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT (SUITED) -THE BROADER IMPACT/COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL OF THIS PARTNERSHIPS FOR INNOVATION (PFI) ? CONFERENCE PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP COMMUNITIES OF EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS FROM PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS (PUIS) TO FOSTER AND IMPROVE THEIR INSTITUTIONAL ECOSYSTEMS FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION ACTIVITIES. FACULTY AT PUIS ARE, AT PRESENT, SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES, EVEN THOUGH THE INSTITUTIONS MAY BE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP EXPERIENCES AND TRAINING TO STUDENTS EARLY IN THEIR CAREERS. THE LACK OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER RESOURCES AT PUIS MAY HINDER INVOLVEMENT IN MOVING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FROM THE LABORATORY TO THE MARKETPLACE OR SOCIETY. WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS WILL INCLUDE FACULTY MEMBERS AND ADMINISTRATORS FROM A DIVERSE BODY OF PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, INCLUDING MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS AND GROUPS UNDERREPRESENTED IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. THE WORKSHOP REPORTS WILL BE DISSEMINATED BROADLY IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THE OVERALL IMPACT. THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE SERIES SEEKS TO STIMULATE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND COMMERCIALIZATION ACTIVITIES AT PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS. THE WORKSHOP WILL PROVIDE PARTICIPANTS WITH A FORUM TO: (1) LEARN ABOUT TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITIES, (2) DEVELOP SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITIES IN THE INNOVATION ARENA, (3) ADDRESS BARRIERS TO COMMERCIALIZATION AND PARTNERSHIPS, AND (4) DEVELOP PLANS TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND INNOVATION AND TRANSLATION. BASIC RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AT UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED AND LINKED TO POTENTIAL COMMERCIALIZATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. THE INCREASED PARTICIPATION BY PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS IN THESE ACTIVITIES WILL PROVIDE ENHANCED DISCIPLINARY (TECHNICAL) AND ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR FACULTY MEMBERS AND THEIR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

TO SUPPORT A PROJECT TO ENHANCE THE CURRENT FINDING AID AND ONLINE ACCESS FOR THE JOHN BIGELOW COLLECTION. BIGELOW (1817-1911) HAD A DISTINGUISHED CAREER AS AN AUTHOR, ABOLITIONIST, NEWSPAPER EDITOR, DIPLOMAT, AND INFLUENTIAL PUBLIC SERVANT. HE SERVED AS CONSUL GENERAL AT PARIS (1861-65) AND MINISTER TO FRANCE (1865), WAS CO-OWNER AND CO-EDITOR WITH WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT OF THE NEW YORK EVENING POST, AND WAS A FOUNDER AND THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.

CAREER: REAL-TIME ULTRASOUND BIOMICROSCOPY WITH OPTOACOUSTIC ARRAYS

FRG: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE CALCULUS OF FUNCTORS AND THE THEORY OF OPERADS: INTERACTIONS AND APPLICATIONS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SPATIO-TEMPORAL CHANGES IN RED SEA SURFACE HYDROLOGY AND CONTROLS ON DEEP OCEAN CIRCULATION SINCE THE 1700S -UNDERSTANDING THE VARIABILITY AND LONG-TERM TRENDS IN HYDROGRAPHY OF THE INDIAN OCEAN AND CONNECTED SEAS (E.G., RED SEA) HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR PREDICTING THE IMPACTS OF CHANGES IN CLIMATE ACROSS THE REGION. RED SEA OCEAN CIRCULATION IS VITAL FOR INDIAN OCEAN CIRCULATION AND ECOSYSTEMS. THIS CIRCULATION SUPPLIES OXYGEN TO CRITICAL MARINE ECOSYSTEMS WITHIN THE ARABIAN SEA. EVAPORATION WITHIN THE RED SEA ALSO PLAYS A FUNDAMENTAL ROLE IN THE REGIONAL HYDROLOGIC CYCLE AND FRESHWATER BALANCE. THESE ARE CRITICAL FOR THE LARGELY AGRARIAN SOCIETIES IN THE REGION. YET, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW RED SEA OCEAN CIRCULATION VARIES ACROSS YEARS AND DECADES IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN CLIMATE. THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE FOUR RECORDS OF PAST CLIMATE AND OCEAN CHANGES USING CORALS FROM ACROSS THE EASTERN EDGE OF THE RED SEA. CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF THE CORES WILL BE COMPARED WITH EXISTING INSTRUMENTAL DATA TO GENERATE RECORDS OF TEMPERATURE, SALINITY AND DENSITY THAT EXTEND BACK 200-400 YEARS. THESE CLIMATE AND OCEAN RECORDS WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO HOW RED SEA CIRCULATION PATTERNS CHANGE ACROSS SPACE AND TIME IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE SYSTEMS. THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT TWO EARLY CAREER FEMALE SCIENTISTS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT THE NEXT GENERATION OF GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCIENTISTS. THESE STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE MENTORING AND TRAINING IN MARINE GEOCHEMISTRY AND PALEOCLIMATE RESEARCH. IN ADDITION, THE PIS WILL PARTICIPATE IN ART-SCIENCE OUTREACH INITIATIVES SUCH AS SYNERGY II. THIS INCLUDES EXHIBITIONS TO SHOWCASE THE POTENTIAL FOR COMBINING GEOCHEMISTRY AND PALEOCLIMATE TO UNDERSTAND PAST VARIABILITY AND FUTURE THREATS TO VULNERABLE SOCIETIES. THIS PROJECT WILL RECONSTRUCT RED SEA SURFACE HYDROGRAPHY USING COMPARISONS OF MULTI-CENTURY CORAL PROXY RECORDS TO EXAMINE THE ROLE OF SPATIO-TEMPORAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN PRECONDITIONING THE SURFACE OCEAN FOR DEEP WATER FORMATION. SPECIFICALLY, THE STUDY WILL USE MEASUREMENTS OF ?18O AND SR/CA IN CORAL SKELETON TO RECONSTRUCT SEASONAL TO MULTI-DECADAL VARIABILITY IN RED SEA SEA SURFACE SALINITY AND TEMPERATURE OVER THE PAST 300 YEARS. LINKS BETWEEN THE PRECURSORS FOR RED SEA DEEP VENTILATION IN THE NORTH AND BROADER SURFACE OCEAN HYDROGRAPHY WILL BE EVALUATED USING COMPARISONS OF CORAL RECORDS SPANNING 6? OF LATITUDE. THESE RECORDS WILL TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT VARIABILITY IN SALINITY OF NORTHWARD-FLOWING RED SEA SURFACE CURRENTS SERVES AS AN INDICATOR FOR THE STRENGTH OF DEEP VENTILATION. LINKAGES BETWEEN THE SPATIO-TEMPORAL PERSPECTIVE OF SURFACE OCEAN PRECURSORS FOR DEEP WATER VENTILATION AND REGIONAL ATMOSPHERIC AND CLIMATE PHENOMENA (ARCTIC OSCILLATION, AO; NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION, NAO) WILL BE EXAMINED, UTILIZING OBSERVATIONS AND INSTRUMENTAL CLIMATE INDICES. THESE RECORDS OF RED SEA VARIABILITY WILL IDENTIFY THE SURFACE CONTROLS OF DEEP OCEAN CIRCULATION AND CONSTRAIN VARIABILITY DURING PERIODS OF SUSTAINED WARM/COLD CLIMATE. 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.

NEUTRINOS AND NUCLEOSYNTHESIS IN GAMMA RAY BURSTS

CSI UNION: UNDERSTANDING FORENSIC AND BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGIES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: P2C2--UNRAVELLING THE SIGNALS IN TROPICAL PACIFIC LAKE ARCHIVES: TOWARDS IMPROVED HOLOCENE HYDROCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTIONS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: DIFFUSION STUDIES IN BADDELEYITE AND ZIRCON -THE MINERALS ZIRCON (ZRSIO4) AND BADDELEYITE (ZRO2), ALTHOUGH PRESENT ONLY IN LOW CONCENTRATIONS IN MOST ROCKS, ARE IMPORTANT PHASES IN GEOCHRONOMETRY (MEASURING AGES OF ROCKS, METEORITES, AND GEOLOGIC EVENTS). THEY INCORPORATE TRACE AND MINOR ELEMENTS USEFUL AS GEOCHEMICAL INDICATORS. ZIRCONS IN PARTICULAR ARE VERY ROBUST MINERAL GRAINS AND, SINCE THEY CAN SURVIVE MANY TYPES OF GEOLOGICAL EVENTS, ARE SOME OF THE OLDEST KNOWN MATERIALS ON EARTH. THEY HAVE PRESERVED INFORMATION ABOUT GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES THAT WERE OCCURRING UP TO 4.4 BILLION YEARS AGO. UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFUSION (MOBILITY OF ATOMS) BEHAVIOR OF KEY ELEMENTS INSIDE THESE MINERALS PROVIDES MAJOR CONSTRAINTS ON HOW WE INTERPRET THE MEASURED AGES, AND CHEMICAL SIGNATURES OF ROCKS AND ANCIENT GEOLOGICAL EVENTS. THERE HAS BEEN EXTENSIVE STUDY OF DIFFUSION OF SEVERAL CHEMICAL ELEMENTS IN ZIRCON, EVEN IF SOME ELEMENTS HAVE BEEN UNDERSTUDIED. IN CONTRAST, THERE IS A LACK OF DIFFUSION DATA ENTIRELY FOR BADDELEYITE, WHICH CAN YIELD COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION TO THAT GAINED FROM ZIRCON ANALYSIS. UNDERSTANDING DIFFUSION IN THESE MINERALS IS ESSENTIAL FOR INTERPRETING A WIDE RANGE OF GEOCHRONOMETRIC DATA, AND EVALUATING AND INTERPRETING THE CHEMICAL AND ISOTOPIC SIGNATURES RETAINED IN THESE MINERALS OVER GEOLOGIC TIMEFRAMES. THE MAIN BROADER IMPACTS OF THIS WORK WILL BE A CONTRIBUTION OF IMPORTANT DATA THAT CAN BE USED BY A WIDE RANGE OF SCIENTISTS IN DIVERSE, BUT RELATED, FIELDS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN PHYSICS, ENGINEERING, AND GEOSCIENCES, AS WELL AS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. THE PROPOSED EXPERIMENTS BUILD ON A BODY OF WORK MEASURING DIFFUSION OF A VARIETY OF ELEMENTS IN ACCESSORY MINERALS (MINERALS IN GENERALLY MINOR ABUNDANCE IN ROCKS, BUT WHICH INCORPORATE ELEMENTS IMPORTANT AS GEOCHRONOMETERS OR GEOCHEMICAL TRACERS), TO OBTAIN A MORE COMPLETE GEOCHEMICAL PICTURE OF THESE CRITICAL MINERALS. THE WORK ALSO CONTINUES THE REFINEMENT AND APPLICATION OF ACCELERATOR-BASED ION BEAM TECHNIQUES (RUTHERFORD BACKSCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY AND NUCLEAR REACTION ANALYSIS) IN DIFFUSION STUDIES, EXPLOITING THE SUPERIOR DEPTH RESOLUTION OF THESE ANALYTICAL METHODS TO ACCESS THE SLOW DIFFUSIVITIES CHARACTERISTIC OF MANY SPECIES IN THESE MATERIALS. WITH THE INCREASING APPLICATION OF MICROANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES TO ANALYZE NATURAL SAMPLES AND ACCESS FINE-SCALE CHEMICAL AND ISOTOPIC VARIATIONS, DIFFUSION DATA ARE A CRITICAL PARAMETER IN INTERPRETING TIMING OF GEOLOGIC EVENTS, AND EVALUATION OF PAST CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENTS AND THERMAL HISTORIES. THESE MEASUREMENTS WILL YIELD CRITICAL INFORMATION FOR INTERPRETING ISOTOPIC AGES AND THERMAL HISTORIES FOR BADDELEYITE, A MINERAL OF INTEREST BUT FOR WHICH LITTLE DIFFUSION DATA CURRENTLY EXIST. THE MEASUREMENTS OF PENTAVALENT CATION DIFFUSION IN ZIRCON WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESISTANCE TO CHEMICAL ALTERATION OF ELEMENTS POTENTIALLY USEFUL AS GEOCHEMICAL TRACERS, PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO SUBSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS AND CHARGE BALANCE FOR DIFFUSION OF ALTERVALENT CATIONS. THE XE DIFFUSION RESULTS MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR BETTER INTERPRETING XE ISOTOPE SYSTEMATICS AND NOBLE GAS BEHAVIORS IN TERRESTRIAL AND LUNAR SAMPLES, AND UNDERSTANDING HISTORIES OF THE EARLY EARTH AND SOLAR SYSTEM. ZIRCONIA ALSO HAS UTILITY AS A REFRACTORY AND OPTICAL MATERIAL, SO BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF ITS PROPERTIES MAY HAVE TECHNOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS. THE BROADER IMPACTS OF THIS WORK WILL BE AS A CONTRIBUTION OF IMPORTANT DATA THAT CAN BE USED BY A WIDE RANGE OF SCIENTISTS IN DIVERSE, BUT RELATED, FIELDS IN THE GEOSCIENCES, INCLUDING THERMOCHRONOLOGY, GEOCHRONOLOGY, AND STUDIES OF THE EARLY EARTH AND SOLAR SYSTEM. THE PROJECT WILL INVOLVE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN RESEARCH, PROVIDING EXPERIENCE IN PREPARING SAMPLES, CRYSTAL SYNTHESIS, CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS, USING VARIOUS ANALYTICAL METHODS, AND ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING DATA AND PRESENTING AT RESEARCH CONFERENCES. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT A COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORT AIMED AT INTRODUCING LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH METHODS AND EARTH SCIENCE. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY PETROLOGY & GEOCHEMISTRY AND DIVISION OF EARTH SCIENCES TO SUPPORT PROJECTS THAT INCREASE RESEARCH CAPABILITIES, CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE AT A WIDE VARIETY OF INSTITUTION TYPES, AS OUTLINED IN THE GEO EMBRACE DCL. 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.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES /GOALS THE POSSIBILITY THAT SUBSURFACE OCEANS ON THE ICY SATELLITES OF THE OUTER PLANETS MIGHT HARBOR LIFE HAS STIMULATED EXPERIMENTAL EFFORTS TO BETTER DEFINE THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CONDITIONS WITHIN THESE WATER-RICH BODIES.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH, RUI, SG: PHENOTYPIC AND GENOMIC PATTERNS OF DIVERGENCE ACROSS A YOUNG DROSOPHILA SPECIES COMPLEX.

EAGER: PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYMERIC NANOCOMPOSITES

PRIVACY IN PRACTICE: THE ROLE OF EHRS IN PEDIATRICIAN INTERACTIONS WITH PATIENTS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A LASER ABLATION SYSTEM FOR INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROSCOPY AT UNION COLLEGE

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE ECOLOGY OF ANAPLASMA PHAGOCYTOPHILUM: RESERVOIRS, RISK, AND INCIDENCE

GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION IN THE NORTHEAST: IMPROVING STEM EDUCATION BY DEMONSTRATING HOW SCIENCE MATTERS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INVESTIGATING THE ROLE AND INTERPLAY OF MICROENVIRONMENT, MANUFACTURING, AND METABOLISM ON MSC PRODUCTION OF EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES -MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS (MSCS) ARE ISOLATED FROM BONE MARROW AND FAT CELLS. WHILE THEY ARE NOT STEM CELLS, THEY EXHIBIT A SIMILAR ABILITY TO DIFFERENTIATE INTO MANY TYPES OF CELLS. THAT ABILITY FORMS THE BASIS FOR DEVELOPING TREATMENTS FOR A VARIETY OF DISEASES. MSCS ALSO GENERATE EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES (EVS). THE EVS TRANSPORT BIOACTIVE MOLECULES THAT PROMPT CELLULAR-LEVEL RESPONSES. IT IS DIFFICULT TO MANUFACTURE EVS REPRODUCIBLY. THIS LIMITS ITS CURRENT THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL. CHANGES IN LOCAL CONDITIONS IMPACT MSC-EV PRODUCTION AND FUNCTION. UNDERSTANDING THOSE IMPACTS IS THE FOCUS OF THIS PROJECT. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROMOTE STEM PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. MANY CHALLENGES CONTRIBUTE TO THE LACK OF SUCCESSFUL MSC-EV CLINICAL TRANSLATION. MSC HETEROGENEITY IS A KEY ISSUE. THERE ARE NO EFFECTIVE CRITICAL QUALITY ATTRIBUTES (CQAS) THAT PREDICT HOW A GIVEN BATCH OF EVS WILL PERFORM. THERE ARE ALSO NO STANDARDIZED MANUFACTURING APPROACHES FOR EVS. IN ADDITION, THERE IS A KNOWLEDGE GAP REGARDING THE EFFECTS OF SCALING EV MANUFACTURING WITH RESPECT TO 2D VS. 3D ENVIRONMENTS. THE OVERALL GOALS OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO UNDERSTAND HOW 3D STRUCTURE AFFECTS EV PRODUCTION AND TO IDENTIFY METABOLIC PATHWAYS CONTROLLING THIS RESPONSE. TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS, THE PROJECT TEAM WILL: 1) INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF 3D HYDROGEL MICROENVIRONMENTS ON EV FUNCTION, 2) DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF MANUFACTURING STRATEGIES ON EVS, AND 3) DEFINE METABOLIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH EV PRODUCTION. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE MECHANISMS IDENTIFIED WILL HAVE RELEVANCE FOR MSC-EVS FOR DIFFERENT THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS AND FOR EVS GENERATED BY OTHER CELL TYPES. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY SUPPORTED BY THE CELLULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM IN ENG/CBET AND THE SYSTEMS AND SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY PROGRAM IN BIO/MCB. 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.

CUE ETHICS: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EVALUATING FRAMEWORKS FOR INCORPORATING COMPUTING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

THE ROSES FUNDING OPPORTUNITY GOALS ARE: 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 AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.

RUI: A MULTI-SITED ETHNOGRAPHY OF GLOBAL PENTECOSTAL NETWORKS: THE VIEW FROM FIJI

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: P2C2--BRIDGING THE GAP FROM NORTHERN IBERIA TO NORTHWEST AFRICA TO RECONSTRUCT ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS AND HYDROCLIMATE FOR THE LAST 2,500 YEARS

III: SMALL: RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ANTE - A FOUR-TIER FRAMEWORK TO BOOST VISUAL LITERACY FOR HIGH DIMENSIONAL DATA

COLLABORATIVE: EAGER: SEISMIC SURVEY OF LAKE JUNIN, PERU IN PREPARATION FOR DEEP DRILLING

EAGER: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: POSITRON ANNIHILATION SPECTROSCOPY OF EARTH MATERIALS: A COMBINED MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION APPROACH

SCIP, HOP & JUMP: SUMMER CLINICAL IMMERSION PROGRAM, HANDS ON PROTOTYPING, AND JUMP-STARTING DESIGN PROJECTS TOWARDS TRANSLATION

I-CORPS: AEROGELS - A CATALYST FOR CLEANER AIR

I-CORPS: RAPID SUPERCRITICAL FABRICATION OF AEROGELS

EAGER: BEHAVIORAL REPERTOIRES FOR SOFT ROBOTICS

CONFERENCE TRAVEL FUNDING: MANIFOLDS, K-THEORY, AND RELATED TOPICS, JUNE 23-27, 2014

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE ANTARCTIC SCALLOP AS KEY TO PALEOENVIRONMENTS AND SEA LCE CONDITIONS: UNDERSTANDING THE MODERN TO PREDICT THE PAST

FIRST CITIZEN REMEMBERED: THE PAPERS OF JOHN BIGELOW AND THE NATION AT HOME AND ABROAD, 1833-1911

CONFERENCE TRAVEL FUNDING: ALPINE CONFERENCE ON ALGEBRAIC AND APPLIED TOPOLOGY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH:FUNCTIONAL AND ECOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF BONE MATERIAL VARIATION IN CERCOPITHECOID MANDIBLES

THE FOURTH AROLLA CONFERENCE ON ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY

CONFERENCE TRAVEL FUNDING: ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY, GROUP THEORY, AND REPRESENTATION THEORY; SUMMER 2009; ISLE OF SKYE, SCOTLAND

2022 UNION COLLEGE MATHEMATICS CONFERENCE -THE UNION COLLEGE MATHEMATICS CONFERENCE WILL TAKE PLACE JUNE 3-5, 2022, ON THE UNION COLLEGE CAMPUS IN SCHENECTADY, NY. THIS CONFERENCE HAS BEEN HELD IN VARIOUS FORMS SINCE THE 1970S, APPROXIMATELY EVERY 2-3 YEARS. THE CONFERENCE HAS MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY OF THE HUDSON VALLEY REGION AND BEYOND. THE CONFERENCE WILL CREATE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR CROSS-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AMONG THE VARIOUS FIELDS REPRESENTED AT THE CONFERENCE. THE AWARD WILL SUPPORT THE PARTICIPATION OF MATHEMATICIANS WHO ARE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS AND/OR ARE MEMBERS OF HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN THE MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES. THE CONFERENCE WILL FEATURE FIVE PARALLEL SESSIONS IN ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY, APPLIED TOPOLOGY AND GEOMETRY, DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRY AND GEOMETRIC ANALYSIS, RINGS AND ALGEBRAS, AND STOCHASTIC ANALYSIS AND APPLICATIONS. IN ADDITION, THERE WILL BE FIVE FEATURED TALKS (INCLUDING FOUR PLENARY) ON RECENT WORK IN THESE FIELDS, A NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH OR ARE INTERESTED IN THE ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN MATHEMATICS' RESEARCH COMMUNITIES, AND MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERACTION AMONG PARTICIPANTS. THE PARALLEL SESSIONS WILL PROVIDE RESEARCHERS WITH THE CHANCE TO LEARN OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THEIR FIELDS AND TO SHARE THEIR OWN WORK WITH AN AUDIENCE OF SPECIALISTS, WHILE THE PLENARY TALKS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO FOSTER THE CREATION OF ENTIRELY NEW FIELDS BY EXPOSING PARTICIPANTS TO GROUNDBREAKING WORK OUTSIDE OF THEIR OWN AREAS OF EXPERTISE. THE CONFERENCE WEBSITE IS MAINTAINED AT: HTTP://WWW.MATH.UNION.EDU/~MARIANOP/UNIONCONFERENCE2022/UCMC2022INDEX.HTML 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.

RAPID: THE EFFUSIVE TO EXPLOSIVE TRANSITION OF LA SOUFRI?RE, ST. VINCENT: INSIGHTS FROM PETROLOGY AND HYGROMETRY

SECOND WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN IN COMPUTATIONAL TOPOLOGY (WINCOMPTOP 2)

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: UPSTATE NUMBER THEORY CONFERENCE

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

TO SUPPORT THE PRESENTATION OF CHAMBER MUSIC PERFORMANCES BY THE UNION COLLEGE CONCERT SERIES.

TO SUPPORT THE PRESENTATION OF SOLO AND CHAMBER MUSIC PERFORMANCES BY THE UNION COLLEGE CONCERT SERIES.

VOSS: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IS LARGER SMARTER? INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF GROUP SIZE ON COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE

PHASE RELATIONS OF SALT-H2O SOLUTIONS AT HIGH PRESSURE: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ICY WORLDS

NUCLEON STRUCTURE STUDIES WITH ELECTROMAGNETIC PROBES