Muhlenberg College

INSTITUTIONAL ASSISTANCE DUE TO COVID-19 IMPACT

STUDENT ASSISTANCE DUE TO COVID-19 IMPACT

SCHOLARS IN MATH AND SCIENCE: A PROGRAM TO IMPROVE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF STUDENTS IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

SCHOLARS IN MATH AND SCIENCE (SIMS), A PROGRAM TO ENHANCE DIVERSITY IN THE SCIENCES.

SCHOLARSHIPS IN MATH AND SCIENCE (SIMS): IMPROVING RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION IN THE MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

C-RUI: LINKING ECOLOGY, LEAF CHEMISTRY, AND PLANT GENETICS TO ASSESS ABIOTIC AND BIOTIC DETERMINANTS OF HERBIVORY

RUI: FUNCTION OF C. ELEGANS TAILLESS IN UTERUS DEVELOPMENT

RUI: GENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE C. ELEGANS TAILLESS GENE NHR-67

REU SITE: RESEARCH CHALLENGES OF IDENTIFYING INTEGER SEQUENCES USING THE OEIS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: INTERROGATING CATALYTIC EFFICIENCY THROUGH KINETIC, STRUCTURAL AND SMALL-MOLECULE GUIDED INVESTIGATION OF L-DOPA 2,3-DIOXYGENASES. -WITH THIS AWARD, THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE PROCESSES PROGRAM IN THE CHEMISTRY DIVISION IS FUNDING DRS. KERI COLABROY AT MUHLENBERG COLLEGE AND LARRYN PETERSON OF RHODES COLLEGE, IN COLLABORATION WITH DR. KATHERINE HICKS FROM THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT CORTLAND TO STUDY HOW EXTRADIOL DIOXYGENASE ENZYMES USE OXYGEN TO CHEMICALLY REARRANGE CATECHOLIC CARBON (A PRIMARY COMPONENT OF LIGNIN IN WOODY PLANTS) INTO USEFUL MATERIALS, SUCH AS NATURAL PRODUCTS. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE FACULTY MENTORS, UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS WILL SYSTEMATICALLY CHANGE THE SIZE AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF THESE PLANT-BASED CARBON SOURCES, MUTATE THE ENZYMES? STRUCTURES AND STUDY THE EFFECT OF THESE CHANGES ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MOLECULAR CONVERSIONS. THESE STUDENTS WILL EXPERIENCE THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF THE PROJECT THROUGH CROSS-OVER TRAINING AT EACH OF THE PARTICIPATING LABORATORIES. IN ADDITION, PARTS OF THE PROJECT WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO COURSEWORK AT EACH OF THE HOME INSTITUTIONS TO BROADEN THE REACH OF ORIGINAL RESEARCH AND HELP DEVELOP THE SKILLS THAT ALL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS NEED TO SUCCEED IN STEM COURSES, GRADUATE TRAINING AND STEM CAREERS. EXPANDING THE ABILITY TO NOT ONLY PREDICT CATALYTIC EFFICIENCY FOR ENZYME-SUBSTRATE PAIRS, BUT ALSO PURPOSEFULLY ENGINEER EXTRADIOL DIOXYGENASE ENZYMES LIKE L-DOPA 2,3-DIOXYGENASE TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE ON NON-NATIVE SUBSTRATES IS NECESSARY TO UTILIZE THE POWERFUL CHEMICAL CAPACITY OF EXTRADIOL DIOXYGENASE ENZYMES TO REFASHION NATURALLY ABUNDANT CATECHOLIC CARBON INTO USEFUL MATERIALS. L-DOPA 2,3-DIOXYGENASE EXHIBITS ENORMOUS CATALYTIC POTENTIAL, BUT THE PREVAILING UNDERSTANDING OF ?SUBSTRATE OXIDIZABILITY? AS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE BEHIND EXTRADIOL DIOXYGENASE REACTIVITY HAS PROVEN INADEQUATE. OVER THE COURSE OF THIS PROJECT, A ?TOOLKIT? OF NOVEL CATECHOLS ARE SYNTHESIZED TO VARY SUBSTRATE SIZE ALONGSIDE REDOX POTENTIAL OVER A SUFFICIENTLY LARGE SUITE OF SUBSTRATES TO BE ABLE TO VISUALIZE THE IMPACTS OF EACH VARIABLE INDEPENDENTLY AND INTERDEPENDENTLY. THE TOOLKIT IS THEN USED IN STRUCTURAL STUDY OF ACTIVE SITE VOLUME AND IN PRE-STEADY STATE AND EQUILIBRIUM MEASUREMENTS OF RATE TO MEASURE AND ULTIMATELY TUNE CATALYTIC EFFICIENCY ACROSS EVOLUTIONARILY DIVERSE L-DOPA 2,3-DIOXYGENASE HOMOLOGS AND THEIR MUTANTS. THE PROJECT IS CONDUCTED ENTIRELY THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS UNDER THE DIRECT MENTORSHIP OF THE COPIS AND COLLABORATOR. PARTICIPATING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ALSO CROSSOVER BETWEEN THE HOME INSTITUTIONS TO EXPERIENCE THE PROJECT FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, AND PART OF THE PROJECT IS INTEGRATED INTO UNDERGRADUATE COURSEWORK AT EACH OF THE HOME INSTITUTIONS TO REACH MORE UNDERGRADUATES WITH THE HIGH IMPACT LEARNING THAT COMES WITH ORIGINAL RESEARCH. THESE EXPERIENCES ARE POWERFULLY EFFECTIVE AT DEVELOPING THE SKILLS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS NEED TO SUCCEED IN STEM COURSES, GRADUATE TRAINING AND IN STEM CAREERS. 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.

TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF CELL DIFFERENTIATION IN C. ELEGANS BY TAILLESS

MUHLENBERG COLLEGE INSIDE-OUT PRISON EXCHANGE PROGRAM

LEAPS-MPS: UNVEILING THE ORIGIN OF CARBON DOT FLUORESCENCE USING DENSITY FUNCTIONAL TIGHT BINDING -IN THIS PROJECT, MANAGED BY THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY AT THE NSF, PROFESSOR DUCHIMAZA HEREDIA AND STUDENTS AT EMMANUEL COLLEGE WILL USE COMPUTER SIMULATIONS TO UNDERSTAND WHY CARBON DOTS FLUORESCE. CARBON DOTS ARE FORMED BY A POLYMERIZATION REACTION OF SMALL MOLECULES AT HIGH TEMPERATURES, AND THEY HAVE BEEN OBSERVED TO GLOW IN VARIOUS COLORS. THE MULTICOLOR FLUORESCENCE OF CARBON DOTS MAKES THEM USEFUL IN APPLICATIONS INCLUDING DRUG DELIVERY, BIOSENSING, AND IMAGING. COMPUTATIONAL METHODS WILL BE EMPLOYED TO INVESTIGATE THE REASON FOR FLUORESCENCE, OVERCOMING EXPERIMENTAL CHALLENGES IN DETERMINING THE STRUCTURE OF THE CARBON DOTS. THIS PROJECT WILL CREATE RESEARCH POSITIONS THAT SUPPORT TRAINING FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND ESTABLISH PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTS AROUND THE BOSTON AREA TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO A GRADUATE-LEVEL RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT. THE CHEMISTRY EDUCATION PATHWAY WILL BE STRENGTHENED BY INVOLVING HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THIS INVESTIGATION AND USING ASPECTS OF THIS PROJECT TO TEACH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HOW COMPUTERS ARE USED IN CHEMISTRY RESEARCH. PROFESSOR DUCHIMAZA HEREDIA AND HIS COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY RESEARCH GROUP WILL INVESTIGATE THE ELECTRONIC NATURE OF MULTICOLOR FLUORESCENCE IN POLYMERIC OR AMORPHOUS CARBON DOTS. EXISTING HYPOTHESES INCLUDE SIZE-DEPENDENT EMISSIONS, SURFACE-STATE DERIVED EMISSION, AND FLUORESCENCE DUE TO MOLECULAR FLUOROPHORES. WHILE FLUORESCENCE ACROSS THE VISIBLE SPECTRUM IS POSSIBLE, EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS SUPPORTS ONLY BLUE FLUORESCENCE. THE PROJECT WILL USE ENHANCED SAMPLING METHODS TO PREDICT THE STRUCTURE OF AMORPHOUS CARBON DOTS. IT WILL ALSO LEVERAGE THE CHEMICAL ACCURACY OF DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY (DFT) AND THE SPEED OF DENSITY FUNCTIONAL-BASED TIGHT-BINDING (DFTB). THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DETERMINE WHETHER FLUORESCENCE IS POSSIBLE SOLELY DUE TO THE CARBON DOT STRUCTURE, IDENTIFY HOW THE ENVIRONMENT OF A FLUOROPHORE INFLUENCES ITS EMISSION PROPERTIES, AND PERFORM EXTENSIVE BENCHMARKING TO COMPARE THE RESULTS OF DFT AND DFTB FOR ACCURATE AND FAST PREDICTION OF CARBON DOT AND FLUOROPHORE SYSTEMS. 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: KINETIC STUDY AND MECHANISM OF L-DOPA DIOXYGENASE, A NEW TYPE OF VICINAL-OXYGEN-CHELATE (VOC) DIOXYGENASE

RUI: RHIC PHYSICS AT MUHLENBERG COLLEGE AND IN THE ALLENTOWN COMMUNITY

RUI: ANTIQUARKS AND ULTRA-RELATIVISTIC HEAVY IONS AT MUHLENBERG COLLEGE

PROCESS ORIENTED GUIDED INQUIRY LEARNING (POGIL) IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

RUI: THE SPIN PUZZLE, PHENIX, AND HEAVY IONS WITH MUHLENBERG UNDERGRADUATES

MCA PILOT PUI: FROM GLOMERULI TO POLLINATION: VERTICAL INTEGRATION OF NEURAL ENCODING THROUGH ECOLOGICALLY-RELEVANT BEHAVIOR -ECOLOGICAL DEGRADATION DRIVEN BY HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND THE RESULTANT DISRUPTIONS TO SENSORY PROCESSING IS A MAJOR FOCUS OF CONSERVATION NEUROSCIENCE. THE IMPACTS OF ODOR POLLUTION HAVE COME UNDER INCREASING SCRUTINY IN RECENT DECADES. AGROCHEMICAL SCENT POLLUTION HAS BEEN FOUND TO DISRUPT BUMBLEBEE BEHAVIOR, A PARTICULARLY ALARMING FINDING IN LIGHT OF THEIR CRITICAL ROLE AS POLLINATORS IN AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS. THESE FINDINGS IMPLY THAT NEURAL PROCESSING OF FLORAL ODORS IS IMPACTED BY ODOR POLLUTION. ONE BARRIER FOR UNDERSTANDING THESE IMPACTS OF AGROCHEMICALS ON BUMBLEBEE FORAGING BEHAVIOR IS THAT THERE ARE NO CONCRETE COMPUTATIONAL STRUCTURES FOR REPRESENTING AND EXPLORING ODOR PERCEPTION, AS CURRENT METHODS ARE STATISTICAL IN NATURE. THIS MEANS POLLUTION CANNOT BE EASILY MEASURED, OR QUANTIFIED; WHICH MAKES IT CHALLENGING TO DEVELOP AGRICULTURAL RECOMMENDATIONS. THIS PROJECT IS BUILDING UPON EARLIER WORK THAT ESTABLISHED A QUANTIFICATION MECHANISM FOR COMPLEX ODORS (I.E. ODORS MADE UP OF MANY MOLECULES) TO ESTABLISH AN ALGORITHM FOR REPRESENTING BUMBLEBEE ODOR PERCEPTION. THE ESTABLISHED ?COMPOUNDS WITH BORDERS? (CWB) METHOD ALLOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANY TWO ODORS TO BE REPRESENTED AS AN ANGULAR DISTANCE, AND HAS BEEN USED TO ESTABLISH A ?SAFE ZONE? OF ODOR POLLUTION FOR COMPLEX ODORS: POLLUTED-ODORS WITHIN A 20-30 DEGREE RANGE ARE GENERALIZED. NEXT STEPS INCLUDE EXPANDING CWB INTO A MORE COMPREHENSIVE GEOMETRY THAT CAN ACCURATELY ACCOUNT FOR SIMPLER ODORS AS WELL. THIS WORK WILL BE PERFORMED AT A ?PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION?, INCORPORATING VALUABLE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF STEM PROFESSIONALS. GIVEN THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION OF ODOR PROCESSING, THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF MOLECULAR-IDENTITY VERSUS -FEATURE OF ODORANTS IS LINKED TO STIMULUS COMPLEXITY, WITH ENCODING OF SIMPLER ODORS CORRELATING WITH IDENTITY AND MORE COMPLEX ODORS CORRELATING WITH FEATURES. ?COMPOUNDS WITH BORDERS? IS PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE FOR COMPLEX BLENDS BECAUSE IT QUANTIFIES THE AMOUNT OF SENSORY ENERGY THAT IS DISTRIBUTED ACROSS MOLECULAR FEATURES IN AN ODOR USING A EUCLIDEAN APPROACH WHERE ?DIMENSIONS? IN ODOR SPACE REPRESENT THOSE FEATURES. THE NEXT HURDLE IS TO EXPAND THE GEOMETRY OF THIS ODOR-SPACE TO INCORPORATE MOLECULAR IDENTITY. THIS IS NOT LOGISTICALLY TRACTABLE WITHOUT DATA THAT DELINEATE WHAT LEVEL OF ODOR COMPLEXITY SHIFTS THE PRIMARY-PROCESSING OUTPUT FROM ?IDENTITY? TO ?FEATURE? CORRELATION. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP A MORE COMPREHENSIVE GEOMETRY USING ASSOCIATIVE ODOR LEARNING PARADIGMS COMBINED WITH RECORDING NEURAL ACTIVITY AT BOTH THE INPUT (ANTENNAE) AND OUTPUT (ANTENNAL LOBE TRACTS) FROM PRIMARY OLFACTORY PROCESSING. GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-ELECTROANTENNOGRAPHIC RECORDINGS WILL ESTABLISH A SPECIES SPECIFIC ODOR-SALIENCE ACROSS MOLECULAR IDENTITIES AND FEATURES. SPIKE-RESOLVED MULTI-UNIT RECORDINGS FROM THE ANTENNAL LOBE TRACTS WILL ASSAY ODOR INFORMATION AS IT MOVES FORWARD TO INTEGRATION AND ACTION CENTERS. COMPARING THE POINT AT WHICH ODOR RESPONSES SHIFT FROM CORRELATING WITH MOLECULAR IDENTITY TO MOLECULAR FEATURE AT A NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL LEVEL WILL INFORM AN EXPANDED GEOMETRY THAT UTILIZES STIMULUS COMPLEXITY TO SHAPE DIMENSIONAL WEIGHTING. THUS, THIS WORK AIMS TO ESTABLISH A NOVEL PARADIGM FOR VERTICAL INTEGRATION OF NEURAL ENCODING THROUGH BEHAVIOR IN OLFACTION. 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.

EARMARKS

EARMARKS

INTEGRATION OF BIOINFORMATICS INTO A BIOLOGY CURRICULUM

DIRECTED GRANTS

DESCRIPTION:THIS ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING TO THE RECIPIENT TO FUND A PROPOSED PILOT PROJECT TO DETERMINE IF PROVIDING LANDLORDS WITH A 50% REBATE FOR MITIGATING THEIR RENTAL PROPERTIES IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO INCREASE RADON TESTING AND MITIGATION IN A PREDOMINANTLY HISPANIC COMMUNITY OF RENTERS IN ALLENTOWN, PA. THE GOAL IS TO SEE IF PROVIDING AN INCENTIVE OR REDUCED COST RADON MITIGATION SYSTEM WILL ENCOURAGE LANDLORDS TO TEST. THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO REDUCE RADON LEVELS IN HOMES AND SAVE LIVES FROM RADON INDUCED LUNG CANCER. FEDERAL FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $12,917 ARE CONTINGENT UPON AVAILABILITY. ACTIVITIES:THE PROPOSED PLAN WILL INCLUDE IDENTIFYING LANDLORDS IN ALLENTOWN, PA WHO OWN RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTIES IN THE ZIP CODES 18101,18102, AND 18109, AND REQUESTING PERMISSION TO TEST THOSE PROPERTIES FOR RADON. IF THE RADON LEVELS ARE FOUND TO BE ABOVE THE 4 PCI/L ACTION LEVEL SET BY THE EPA, RADON EXHAUST SYSTEMS WILL BE INSTALLED AT 50% OF THE NORMAL MITIGATION COST. BIDS FOR MITIGATION COSTS WILL BE PROCURED FROM 2 RADON MITIGATION COMPANIES, AS REQUIRED BY MUHLENBERG COLLEGE. EPA FUNDING WILL BE USED TO FUND 50% OF THE MITIGATION PROJECT. WORK WILL COMMENCE ON JUNE 12, 2023 AND END ON JUNE 11, 2024. THE PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN AN ACADEMIC INSTITUTION, (MUHLENBERG COLLEGE) AND A LOCAL COMMUNITY PARTNER (PROMISED NEIGHBORHOODS OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY). TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THIS IS THE FIRST SUCH COLLABORATION FOR RADON MITIGATION IN THE COUNTRY. SUBRECIPIENT:NO SUBAWARDS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT.OUTCOMES:THE OUTCOMES WOULD BE: 1) RESIDENTS ARE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE RADON, 2) HOMES ARE BEING MITIGATED IF OVER THE EPA RECOMMENDED ACTION LEVEL, 3) SAVING LIVES FROM RADON INDUCED LUNG CANCER, AND 4) DEVELOPING A PILOT PROJECT THAT COULD BE REPLICATED NATIONALLY THAT PROVIDES INCENTIVES TO LANDLORDS/TENANTS IN LOW INCOME AND SOCIAL ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED COMMUNITIES. INTENDED BENEFICIATES INCLUDE THE RESIDENTS IN THE ALLENTOWN ZIP CODES OF 18101, 18102 AND 18109.

MUHLENBERG COLLEGE - LEHIGH COUNTY VOTING INTEGRITY AND CIVIC EDUCATION PROJECT

FY 2013 NIST SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - ITL

FY 2011 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - GAITHERSBURG