Bucknell University

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND – IHES - INSTITUTIONAL

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND – IHES

TOLERANCE AND RESISTANCE RESPONSES OF AFRICAN BATS TO VIRAL ANTIGENS: IMMUNOLOGICAL TRADEOFFS IN ZOONOTIC RESERVOIR HOSTS. - ABSTRACT THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE THAT THE UNIQUE PHYSIOLOGY OF BATS PLAYS IN THEIR ABILITY TO ACT AS HOST RESERVOIRS FOR DISEASES THAT CAN SPILL OVER TO HUMANS. THE PROJECT WILL BE CARRIED OUT UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS IN UGANDA ON THREE SPECIES OF BATS THAT HAVE VARYING LINKS TO THE SPREAD OF EBOLA VIRUS (EBOV) TO HUMANS. BY COMPARING THE ABILITY OF THESE THREE SPECIES OF BATS TO RESPOND TO EBOLA-LIKE IMMUNE CHALLENGES, THIS WORK WILL HELP IDENTIFY THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO SPILLOVER RISK. IN THE LONG TERM, THIS WORK WILL HELP IDENTIFY HOST SPECIES FOR EBOV AND OTHER RELATED VIRUSES THAT PRESENT RISK TO HUMANS. IT WILL ALSO HELP EXPLAIN HOW DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BATS RESPOND TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF VIRAL INFECTIONS. THE MAIN FOCUS OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE TO IDENTIFY BEHAVIORS AND MOLECULAR PATHWAYS THAT ENABLE RESERVOIR HOSTS TO TOLERATE INFECTIONS, PROVIDING CRITICAL INSIGHT INTO ONE OF THE MECHANISMS THAT LEADS TO SPILLOVER. THIS WORK IS DRIVEN BY THE HYPOTHESIS THAT SOME BAT SPECIES HAVE COEVOLVED WITH PARTICULAR TYPES OF VIRAL INFECTIONS AND, THEREFORE, HAVE ADAPTED MECHANISMS TO MINIMIZE PATHOLOGY DURING INFECTION. BATS ARE GLOBALLY BIODIVERSE AND HAVE MANY UNIQUE ECOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS, INCLUDING FLIGHT AND THE ABILITY TO EMPLOY BOTH HYPO- AND HYPERTHERMIC BODY TEMPERATURE REGULATION. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON THREE BAT SPECIES CHOSEN BECAUSE THEY ARE IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH HUMANS, THEIR HABITATS COVER THE RANGE OF EBOV EXPOSURE RISK, AND THEY HAVE DIVERGENT COEVOLUTIONARY HISTORIES WITH VIRAL PATHOGENS; TWO OF THE THREE SPECIES HAVE SIGNIFICANT TIES TO EBOV EPIDEMIOLOGY. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THESE QUESTIONS UNDER NATURAL CONDITIONS IN THE FIELD BY TAKING THE INNOVATIVE APPROACH OF USING EBOV VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLES AS A PROXY FOR EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION WITH BIOHAZARDOUS PATHOGENS. THIS PROJECT HAS THREE SPECIFIC AIMS THAT WILL ALLOW THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ITS GOALS. FIRST, THE PROJECT TESTS THE HYPOTHESIS THAT SPECIFIC AFRICAN BAT SPECIES WILL DISPLAY SIGNATURES OF EBOV DISEASE TOLERANCE IN RESPONSE TO CHALLENGE WITH EBOV VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLES, AND THUS ARE LIKELY TO BE NATURAL RESERVOIR HOSTS. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT INSIGHT INTO DISEASE TOLERANCE IN BATS AND THE POTENTIAL IDENTITY OF EBOV RESERVOIR(S). SECOND, THIS PROJECT TESTS THE HYPOTHESIS THAT BATS DISPLAY VARIABLE LEVELS OF DISEASE TOLERANCE THAT DEPEND UPON INNATE IMMUNE PATHWAYS THAT HAVE UNDERGONE UNIQUE EVOLUTIONARY SELECTION IN BATS. THIRD, THIS PROJECT EXPLORES WHETHER TOLERANCE OF AND RESISTANCE TO VIRAL INFECTION ARE FACILITATED BY THE UNIQUE METABOLIC BEHAVIORS OF BATS, NAMELY THAT THEY CAN DEPRESS METABOLISM AND ENTER TORPOR TO CONSERVE ENERGY AND CAN ELEVATE METABOLISM AND THUS TEMPERATURE DURING FLIGHT. THE ROLE OF CHANGES IN BODY TEMPERATURE IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD AND THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL IDENTIFY WHETHER THESE PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES CONTRIBUTE TO IMMUNOLOGICAL TOLERANCE AND RESISTANCE IN IMPORTANT DISEASE RESERVOIRS. TOGETHER, THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THESE GOALS WILL HELP DETERMINE WHETHER INFECTION TOLERANCE CONFERS ON AFRICAN BAT SPECIES THE ABILITY TO SERVE AS RESERVOIR HOSTS FOR VIRULENT ZOONOTIC VIRUSES AND WILL IDENTIFY MOLECULAR, PHYSIOLOGICAL, AND BEHAVIORAL MECHANISMS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO TOLERANCE PHENOTYPES.

UGV MOBILITY AND COORDINATION IN JOINT URBAN/LITTORAL ENVIRONMENTS

IUSE/PFE: RED INNOVATION: ENABLING CONVERGENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING THROUGH STRUCTURAL CHANGE

PHYSICAL SCIENCES SCHOLARS (PSS) PROGRAM

UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLE MOBILITY IN URBAN TERRAIN

"NEW; DATA NETWORK WEATHER SERVICE REPORTING; PI - MICHAEL FREY"

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: FROM MOLECULES TO MATING: AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING CHEMICAL SIGNAL EVOLUTION IN FIREFLIES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: LIFE HISTORY STRATEGIES WITHIN A POPULATION DEPEND ON CELLULAR AND ORGANISMAL TRAITS THAT UNDERLIE DIFFERENCES IN RESOURCE ACQUISITION AND ALLOCATION -ALL ORGANISMS NEED ENERGY TO FUEL THE BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF LIFE. IN GENERAL, THIS ENERGY CAN BE ALLOCATED TO THREE BROAD CATEGORIES: GROWTH, SELF-MAINTENANCE, AND REPRODUCTION. SAID IN ANOTHER WAY, ORGANISMS CAN ALLOCATE ACQUIRED ENERGY TO GROW THEIR BODY TO ACHIEVE A LARGER SIZE, TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN THEIR BODY TO LIVE LONGER, OR TO REPRODUCE AND CREATE THE NEW BODIES OF THEIR OFFSPRING. HOWEVER ENERGY IS LIMITING, SO IF MORE IS INVESTED INTO GROWTH, LESS CAN BE INVESTED INTO SELF-MAINTENANCE AND REPRODUCTION. THIS RESULTS IN ALLOCATION TRADE-OFFS, WHERE SOME INDIVIDUALS ARE BETTER AT GROWING, WHILE OTHERS MAY BE ABLE TO ATTAIN EXTREME LONGEVITY. WHILE THESE PATTERNS GENERALLY HOLD IN ANIMALS, IN MANY SPECIES SCIENTIST?S OBSERVE CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WHO APPEAR TO BE ABLE TO DO IT ALL WITH FEW CONSEQUENCES, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW THIS OCCURS. THIS PROPOSAL STUDIES A LONG-LIVED SEABIRD, LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS, THAT HAS BEEN STUDIED CONTINUOUSLY FOR THE PAST 70 YEARS. THIS WORK HAS REVEALED THAT WHILE WE HAVE MANY INDIVIDUALS WHO SHOW THE EXPECTED ALLOCATION TRADE-OFFS THERE ARE ALSO MANY THAT SOMEHOW HAVE ESCAPED THAT TRADE-OFF. OUR WORK EXPLORES THE MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR PROCESSES THAT UNDERLIE THE ABILITY TO AVOID THIS TRADE-OFF. THIS WORK IS FOCUSED ON A FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION IN BIOLOGY, AND WILL HELP US TO UNDERSTAND HOW MOLECULAR PROCESSES AND ORGANISMAL PERFORMANCE AFFECT LONGEVITY. THIS WORK ALSO STRONGLY SUPPORTS UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE EDUCATION, AND WILL RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INQUIRY-BASED SCIENTIFIC MODULES USED IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOMS. FACTORS DRIVING THE EVOLUTION OF DIVERSE LIFE HISTORY STRATEGIES BOTH WITHIN AND BETWEEN SPECIES REMAIN A FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY. BECAUSE RESOURCES ARE FINITE, MANY LIFE HISTORY TRAITS ARE SUBJECT TO INTRINSIC TRADE-OFFS. HOWEVER, THEORETICAL MODELS HAVE PROPOSED THAT VARIATION IN INDIVIDUAL ACQUISITION OF RESOURCES CAN PRODUCE APPARENT POSITIVE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN INVESTMENT IN REPRODUCTION AND INVESTMENT IN SURVIVAL INSTEAD OF THE EXPECTED TRADE-OFF. THIS PROPOSAL TESTS THESE MODELS BY EXAMINING PHENOTYPIC VARIATION IN STRATEGIES TO BALANCE THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN CURRENT REPRODUCTION AND SURVIVAL IN A LONG-LIVED SEABIRD, LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS (HYDROBATES LEUCORHOUS), THAT HAS BEEN STUDIED CONTINUOUSLY SINCE 1953. THIS PROPOSAL HAS THREE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: 1) TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND ORGANISMAL PERFORMANCE TRAITS THAT UNDERLIE THE OBSERVED VARIATION IN TRADE-OFF STRATEGIES IN THIS POPULATION, AND 2) TO DETERMINE IF INDIVIDUALS WHO APPEAR TO ESCAPE THE TRADE-OFF DO SO VIA HIGHER FORAGING EFFICIENCY AS PROPOSED IN THEORETICAL MODELS, AND 3) TO DETERMINE WHETHER THESE TRADE-OFF STRATEGIES ARE FIXED OR PLASTIC IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABILITY. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS INFORMED BY A 70-YEAR DEMOGRAPHIC DATA SET, AND UTILIZES (I) A COMBINATION OF NOVEL TECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR TOOLS TO UNDERSTAND THE MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND ORGANISMAL PERFORMANCE TRAITS THAT UNDERLIE THE OBSERVED VARIATION IN TRADE-OFF STRATEGIES, AND (II) EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATIONS TO EXPLORE WHETHER THESE STRATEGIES ARE FIXED OR PLASTIC. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE INTEGRATIVE ECOLOGICAL PHYSIOLOGY PROGRAM AND THE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCOR). THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

CAREER: AEROSOL-WATER INTERACTIONS IN THE ATMOSPHERE

INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF DISEASE-ASSOCIATED MUTATIONS ON DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 FUNCTION - PROJECT SUMMARY IN HUMANS, THE MOST COMMON EPIGENETIC DNA MODIFICATION IS METHYLATION OF CYTOSINES, PREDOMINANTLY IN CPG DINUCLEOTIDES. DISRUPTION OF THE NORMAL DNA METHYLATION PATTERN IS KNOWN TO PLAY A ROLE IN SEVERAL DISEASES. DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (DNMT1) IS PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE DNA METHYLATION PATTERN THROUGH MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF CELL DIVISION. DNMT1 IS A MULTIDOMAIN PROTEIN WITH A C-TERMINAL CATALYTIC METHYLTRANSFERASE DOMAIN AND A LARGE N-TERMINAL REGULATORY REGION. THE REPLICATION FOCUS TARGETING SEQUENCE (RFTS) DOMAIN, FOUND IN THE N-TERMINAL REGULATORY REGION, IS A KEY REGULATOR OF DNMT1 ACTIVITY IN VIVO. THE RFTS DOMAIN BINDS TO THE DNA BINDING SITE AND PREVENTS ASSOCIATION WITH DNA. IN ADDITION, THE RFTS DOMAIN IS INVOLVED IN SEVERAL PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTIONS THAT SERVE TO LOCALIZE AND ACTIVATE DNMT1 FOR CATALYSIS. RECENTLY, MUTATIONS IN THE RFTS DOMAIN HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT RESULT IN TWO DIFFERENT ADULT ONSET NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS. AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS EXHIBIT MODIFIED DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS WITH GLOBAL HYPOMETHYLATION AND SITE-SPECIFIC HYPERMETHYLATION. THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT LEAD TO THIS ALTERED METHYLATION PATTERN ARE STILL UNCLEAR AND LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE BIOCHEMICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THESE MUTATIONS. IN THIS PROPOSAL, WE SEEK TO UNDERSTAND HOW THESE CHANGES IN AMINO ACID SEQUENCE ARE IMPACTING THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF DNMT1. FOR SPECIFIC AIM 1, MELTING TEMPERATURES AND FLUORESCENCE ANISOTROPY WILL BE USED TO EXAMINE CHANGES IN PROTEIN STABILITY AND DYNAMICS INDUCED BY THE DISEASE-ASSOCIATED MUTATIONS. FOR SPECIFIC AIM 2, RFTS-MEDIATED AUTOINHIBITION WILL BE ASSESSED IN THE MUTANT ENZYMES. BOTH DNA BINDING AFFINITY AND DNA METHYLATION ACTIVITY WILL BE EXAMINED IN WILD-TYPE AND MUTANT ENZYMES TO DETERMINE IF THE MUTATIONS RELIEVE NORMAL AUTOINHIBITION. FOR SPECIFIC AIM 3, THE IMPACT OF THE MUTATIONS ON KEY INTERMOLECULAR INTERACTIONS WILL BE EXAMINED. THE RFTS DOMAIN IS KNOWN TO BIND TO UHRF1 (UBIQUITIN-LIKE, CONTAINING PHD AND RING FINGER DOMAINS PROTEIN 1) AND MODIFIED HISTONE H3 TAILS. ISOTHERMAL TITRATION CALORIMETRY WILL BE USED TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF RFTS MUTATIONS ON THESE REGULATORY PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTIONS. OUR PRELIMINARY WORK SHOWS THAT DISEASE-ASSOCIATED MUTATIONS G589A AND V590F REDUCE THERMAL STABILITY OF THE PROTEIN WHILE ALSO INCREASING DNA BINDING AFFINITY AND CATALYTIC ACTIVITY, INDICATING AT LEAST PARTIAL RELIEF OF NORMAL RFTS- MEDIATED AUTOINHIBITION IN THESE MUTANT ENZYMES. COLLECTIVELY, THESE STUDIES REPRESENT AN EXCELLENT TRAINING OPPORTUNITY FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. UNDERGRADUATES WILL ENGAGE IN ALL ASPECTS OF THIS RESEARCH AND GAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE DESIGNING EXPERIMENTS, COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DATA, AND INTERPRETING RESULTS. WE EXPECT OUR BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES TO YIELD KEY INSIGHTS INTO THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISEASE-ASSOCIATED MUTATIONS THAT WILL ULTIMATELY AID IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF DISEASE FORMATION IN AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS.

USING EARLY INTRODUCTION TO UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TO RECRUIT, RETAIN, AND GRADUATE MORE STEM MAJORS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DESIGN FOR IMPACT - CREATING EFFECTIVE STUDENT ACTIVITIES THAT FACULTY WILL USE

CAREER: SHEAR BANDING IN BULK METALLIC GLASSES

CC* NETWORK DESIGN: THE BUCKNELL SCIENCE DMZ NETWORK DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

MRI: ACQUISITION OF LA-ICP-MS TO SUPPORT RESEARCH IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENGINEERED SYSTEMS, GEOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCES, AND CHEMISTRY FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A QUADRUPOLE/TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETER WITH ION MOBILITY SEPARATIONS FOR FACULTY AND STUDENT RESEARCH IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY

FIELD TESTING AND MONITORING OF AN EXPERIMENTAL SOIL-BENTONITE CUTOFF WALL

BIOORTHOGONAL CHEMICAL PROBE FOR LIVE CELL IMAGING OF LACTYLATION - PROJECT SUMMARY PROTEIN LACTYLATION IS A RECENTLY DISCOVERED POSTTRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATION (PTM), BIOCHEMICALLY COUPLED TO L- LACTATE AND METHYLGLYOXAL CELLULAR LEVELS. ALTHOUGH OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PTM IS STILL IN ITS INFANCY, IT IS RATIONAL TO ASSUME IT HAS IMPORTANT PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, EMERGING DATA SHOW PERTURBED PROTEIN LACTYLATION IN CONDITIONS SUCH AS AUTOIMMUNITY, INFLAMMATION, AND CANCER, WHERE L-LACTATE LEVELS FLUCTUATE AT THE SPATIOTEMPORAL SCALE. THEREFORE, IT IS CRUCIAL THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE SPATIOTEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF LACTYLATION IN LIVING SYSTEMS TO IMPROVE OUR PERSPECTIVE OF CELL BIOLOGY AND IDENTIFY NEW CLUES TO DETECT AND TREAT DISEASES. STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS ISOTOPE LABELING COUPLED WITH MASS SPECTROMETRY USED FOR STUDYING LACTYLATION ARE INVASIVE AND GENERATE DATA LACKING THE SPATIOTEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF LIVING SYSTEMS, CREATING A CRITICAL NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO DEVELOP A BIOORTHOGONAL CHEMISTRY- BASED LIVE-CELL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY TO STUDY PROTEIN LACTYLATION AT THE SPATIOTEMPORAL SCALE. THE PROPOSED LIVE- CELL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY WILL ALLOW US TO PROBE LACTYLATION IN REAL-TIME, CONNECTING THE SPATIOTEMPORAL DATA WITH DYNAMIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES SUCH AS METABOLITE-PTM-EPIGENETIC RELATIONSHIP, INTRACELLULAR PROTEIN TRAFFICKING, CELL DEVELOPMENT, CELL DIFFERENTIATION, AND CELL MIGRATION. OUR STRATEGY IS TO DESIGN A FLUORO-SUBSTITUTED L-LACTIC ACID METABOLIC ANALOG THAT REACTS VIA A NOVEL BIOORTHOGONAL FLUORINE-SELENOL SUBSTITUTION REACTION TO TRIGGER AGGREGATION-INDUCED EMISSION (AIE) IN A NUCLEOCYTOPLASMIC-LOCALIZING IMAGING PROBE, ALLOWING HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING OF INTRACELLULAR LACTYLATED PROTEINS. WE WILL ACHIEVE THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT USING THREE SPECIFIC AIMS. IN SPECIFIC AIM 1, WE WILL APPLY ENANTIOSELECTIVE CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS TO DESIGN A BIOORTHOGONAL FLUORO-SUBSTITUTED L- LACTIC ACID METABOLIC ANALOG TO TAG INTRACELLULAR PROTEINS AND DETERMINE IF THIS ANALOG IS A SUBSTRATE FOR PROTEIN LACTYLATION. SPECIFIC AIM 2 WILL DEVELOP A SELENOL-CONTAINING, NUCLEOCYTOPLASMIC-LOCALIZING, AIE IMAGING PROBE THAT FLUORESCES ONLY AFTER FLUORINE-SELENOL SUBSTITUTION REACTION TO ELIMINATE BACKGROUND SIGNALS FOR IMPROVED RESOLUTION DETECTION OF FLUORO-LACTYLATED PROTEINS. THE FINAL AIM WILL INVESTIGATE THE METABOLIC ANALOG AND IMAGING PROBE IN REAL-TIME IMAGING OF LACTYLATION IN LIVE CELLS. WHEN COMPLETED, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN A LIVE-CELL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY THAT CAPTURES THE SPATIOTEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF PROTEIN LACTYLATION IN THE CYTOPLASM AND NUCLEUS AND IS EASILY ADAPTABLE FOR CYTOSOLIC AND NUCLEAR IMAGING OF OTHER PTMS, INCLUDING ACETYLATION AND O- GLCNACYLATION. SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS EXPLORATORY TECHNOLOGY WILL EXPAND THE TOOLBOX OF BIOORTHOGONAL CHEMISTRY-BASED METABOLIC LABELING, INTRODUCING NEW CHEMISTRY AND STRATEGY TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY AND RESOLUTION OF BIOORTHOGONAL CHEMISTRY-BASED LIVE-CELL IMAGING. IMPORTANTLY, THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY WILL ENABLE DETAILED INVESTIGATIONS OF HIGHLY DYNAMIC INTRACELLULAR PTMS TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CELL BIOLOGY, WHICH IS CRITICAL TO DETECTING AND TREATING DISEASES.

SEX-DEPENDENT EFFECT OF STRESS ON ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

TRANSCRIPTOMICS OF IMMUNITY AND DISEASE IN AFRICAN FRUIT BATS- IMPORTANT ZOONOTIC RESERVOIRS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A FREQUENCY QUADRUPLED TITANIUM SAPPHIRE LASER FOR ION, ATOM AND MOLECULE SPECTROSCOPY -HIGH QUALITY LASER SYSTEMS MAKE POSSIBLE THE CONTROL AND INVESTIGATION OF ATOMS AND MOLECULES WITH EXQUISITE PRECISION. THIS MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION (MRI) AWARD SUPPORTS THE ACQUISITION OF A BROADLY TUNABLE LASER SYSTEM WHICH WILL OPEN UP LARGE SWATHES OF THE PERIODIC TABLE FOR STUDY. COMBINING THE LIGHT WITH DIFFERENT ELEMENTS, THE PIS WILL CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS RANGING FROM SEARCHING FOR NEW FORCE CARRYING BOSONS, TO STUDYING NUCLEAR STRUCTURE, AND INVESTIGATING MOLECULAR COLLISIONS. THE INSTRUMENT WILL ENRICH LABORATORY INSTRUCTION, AS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHERS AT BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY AND SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY WILL GAIN FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH STATE-OF-THE ART INSTRUMENTATION IN ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS. A CONTINUOUS WAVE (CW) FREQUENCY QUADRUPLED TITANIUM SAPPHIRE LASER COVERING SIGNIFICANT SECTIONS OF THE 250 TO 1000 NM SPECTRAL WINDOW WILL BE ACQUIRED AND INTEGRATED INTO THE ATOMIC, MOLECULAR AND OPTICAL (AMO) PHYSICS LAB AT BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY. THE LASER SYSTEM WILL BE USED FOR EXPERIMENTS IN PRECISION ISOTOPE SHIFT MEASUREMENTS MOTIVATED BY SEARCHES OF PHYSICS BEYOND THE STANDARD MODEL, AS WELL AS MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY OF ALKALI DIATOMIC MOLECULES WITH THE AIM OF CHARACTERIZING INTERACTION STRENGTHS, COLLISIONS RATES, AND ELECTRONIC POTENTIAL ENERGY CURVES. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM BOTH INSTITUTIONS WILL BE INVOLVED IN ALL ASPECTS OF THE EXPERIMENTS, GAINING EXPERIENCE IN ATOM, ION, AND MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY, LASER COOLING, ION TRAPPING AND OTHER SKILLS WHICH ARE CENTRAL TO CONTEMPORARY WORK IN AMO PHYSICS. 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.

PHYSIOLOGIAL CHANGES IN REMNANT BAT POPULATIONS IN WNS AFFECTED AREAS

GLUCOCORTICOID EXPOSURE DURING PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT: EMBRYONIC MODULATION AND LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES ON OXIDATIVE STRESS AND AGING

RUI: POLYCATIONIC CAGE FOR JACKETED COVALENT ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS

CAREER: IT'S NOT SORCERY, IT'S SKILL: SHEDDING LIGHT ON HOW PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCES SHAPE THE USE OF INTUITION IN ENGINEERING PRACTICE -EXPERT ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS FREQUENTLY RELY ON THEIR INTUITION ? THE ABILITY TO SUBCONSCIOUSLY USE THEIR PAST EXPERIENCES TO NAVIGATE A PRESENT PROBLEM. PRACTITIONERS REPORT INTUITION TO BE A CRUCIAL PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILL THAT THEY ARE ALSO HESITANT TO ADMIT HAVING USED BECAUSE OF STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH THE TERM. ALTERNATIVE TERMS LIKE ?GUT FEELING,? ?SPIDEY-SENSE,? OR EVEN ?BLACK MAGIC SORCERY? ARE OFTEN USED INSTEAD. THIS AVOIDANCE AROUND DISCUSSING INTUITION USE DENIES A REALITY OF ENGINEERING PRACTICE AND MAY ALSO EXPLAIN WHY ENGINEERING INTUITION REMAINS UNDERSTUDIED. LIMITED PREVIOUS WORK HAS IDENTIFIED THAT INTUITION IS PRIMARILY DEVELOPED THROUGH PAST EXPERIENCES. IT IS YET UNKNOWN HOW PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES INFLUENCE INTUITION DEVELOPMENT AND HOW POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOPS CREATED BY EXPERIENCE INFLUENCE INTUITION USE. ALL THAT CAN BE DEDUCED IS THAT INTUITION?S RELIANCE ON EXPERIENCE INHERENTLY MEANS THAT THE ABILITY TO DEVELOP THIS CRITICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILL IS OPPORTUNITY-LIMITED, AND THE VALUE OF CERTAIN EXPERIENCES IN ENGINEERING IS REINFORCED THROUGHOUT HIRING PROCESSES THAT FAVOR STUDENTS WITH INTERNSHIP, RESEARCH, AND LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCES. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS CAREER PROJECT IS TO SUPPORT THE CREATION OF THE 21ST CENTURY ENGINEER (ALIGNING WITH THE GOALS OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND CENTERS DIVISION). THIS WORK WILL SHED LIGHT ON THE EXPERIENCE-INTUITION-EXPERTISE RELATIONSHIP IN ENGINEERING TO FURTHER OUR UNDERSTANDING AND TO TAKE STEPS TOWARDS CREATING SPACE FOR OPEN DISCUSSION OF INTUITION USE IN ENGINEERING. THE KNOWLEDGE GENERATED WILL SUPPORT THE CREATION OF CURRICULAR INTERVENTIONS THAT EXPLICITLY EMBED EXPERIENCE-BASED SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND SERVE AS A STEP TOWARDS ALLEVIATING THE OPPORTUNITY BOTTLENECK SURROUNDING INTUITION DEVELOPMENT. GENERATED KNOWLEDGE WILL ALSO EXPAND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT EXPERIENCES ADD VALUE IN DEVELOPING TRANSFERABLE ENGINEERING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS. THESE INSIGHTS WILL SUBSEQUENTLY SUPPORT THE HIRING AND RECRUITMENT PRACTICES THAT ALLOW FOR CONSIDERATION OF QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WITH NON-TRADITIONAL EXPERIENCES, WHICH WILL REDUCE THE BARRIERS TO ENTRY, PERSISTENCE, AND RE-ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING CAREERS. THIS CAREER PROJECT WILL EMPLOY A QUALITATIVE APPROACH ACROSS TWO AIMS. AIM 1 INTENDS TO CHARACTERIZE THE WAYS IN WHICH ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS UNDERSTAND EXPERIENCE TO INFLUENCE INTUITION DEVELOPMENT AND USE. A PHENOMENOGRAPHIC APPROACH (THAT IS, ONE WHICH EXPLORES THE WAYS IN WHICH PEOPLE EXPERIENCE OR THINK ABOUT PHENOMENA) WILL BE USED TO ADDRESS RQ1: HOW DO PRACTITIONERS UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF EXPERIENCE IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS, PARTICULARLY THE SKILL OF ENGINEERING INTUITION? THIS STEP WILL BE FOLLOWED BY NARRATIVE ANALYSIS ADDRESSING RQ2: HOW DO PERSONALLY FORMATIVE EXPERIENCES FACILITATE OR INHIBIT AN INDIVIDUAL?S PERCEIVED AGENCY IN USING INTUITION AS A PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH?, AND RQ3: HOW DO ASPECTS OF IDENTITY AND SELF-PERCEPTION INTERPLAY WITH EXPERIENCE TO AFFECT AN INDIVIDUAL?S DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF INTUITION? OUTCOMES WILL DIRECTLY INFORM THE FIRST COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT?S EDUCATION PLAN TO DEVELOP AND PILOT A STUDENT-FACING PRACTITIONER VOICES SERIES THAT USES PRACTITIONER NARRATIVES TO HIGHLIGHT DIFFERENT EXPERIENTIAL PATHWAYS. AIM 2 INTENDS TO CHARACTERIZE THE PERCEPTIONS OF INTUITION AND ITS ROLE IN ENGINEERING PRACTICE HELD BY ENGINEERING FACULTY AND INDUSTRY RECRUITERS. A PHENOMENOGRAPHIC APPROACH WILL ALSO BE USED TO ANSWER RQ4: HOW DO ENGINEERING FACULTY AND INDUSTRY RECRUITERS UNDERSTAND ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING, PARTICULARLY THE ROLE OF INTUITION? THIS STEP WILL BE FOLLOWED BY DISCOURSE ANALYSIS USED TO ANSWER RQ5: WHAT DOES THE DISCOURSE AROUND INTUITION ACROSS DIFFERENT GROUPS REVEAL ABOUT SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON THE CONSTRUCT AND THE POTENTIAL CHALLENGES OF ANY INTUITION-RELATED INITIATIVES? OUTCOMES WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE TARGET AUDIENCES FOR THE SECOND COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT?S EDUCATION PLAN TO DEVELOP AND PILOT MATERIALS, INCLUDING SHORT COURSES, THAT INTRODUCE INTUITION TO ENGINEERING FACULTY, PRACTITIONERS, AND INDUSTRY RECRUITERS. THESE EFFORTS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONIZE ENGINEERING BY FACILITATING A MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE POISED TO MORE EFFICIENTLY AND ACCURATELY LEVERAGE THEIR PAST EXPERIENCES TO ADDRESS CURRENT AND ARISING WORLD PROBLEMS. 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: ACQUISITON OF A CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE

RUI: THERMODYNAMICS OF SECONDARY AEROSOL FORMATION: THE ROLE OF BINARY AND TERNARY NUCLEATION

REU SITE: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN ECOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CADIZ, SPAIN

EAGER: BUILDING HUMAN SOCIAL NETWORKS TO DEVELOP DATA-DRIVEN APPROACHES THAT EXPAND LIFELONG LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION, ADVOCACY AND ENFORCEMENT AT BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY

BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY - WNS SURVIVORS LEVELS OF GEOMYCES DESTRUCTANS EXPOSURE IN MITIGATION & CONSERV

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: JAMMED GRANULAR MATTER WITHIN NETWORKS OF PINS: STRUCTURE, ELASTICITY, PLASTICITY AND RHEOLOGY UNDER SHEAR

MRI: ACQUISITION OF EQUIPMENT FOR MELT- AND SOLID-STATE FABRICATION AND BARRIER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES

GEOMORPHIC RESPONSE OF GLACIAL DECOUPLING IN ALPINE REGIONS IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE WARMING: ICY DEBRIS FANS AND EARLY PARAGLACIAL LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION

LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS OF RATE COEFFICIENTS FOR THE VIBRATIONAL RELAXATION OF CARBON MONOXIDE THROUGH COLLISIONS WITH CARBON MONOXIDE AND MOLECULAR NITROGEN WILL BE PERFORMED.

REU SITE: SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM IN PHYSICS

ADVANCE - CATALYST: AGREE: SELF-ASSESSMENT OF GENDER, RACIAL, AND ETHNIC EQUITY IN STEM FACULTY AT BUCKNELL

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: HNDS-I: DATA RESOURCES AND ANALYTIC TOOLS TO UNDERSTAND POPULATION SCALE HUMAN MOBILITY FOR APPLICATIONS IN SBE RESEARCH

RESEARCH STUDYING THE PROCESS-PROPERTY-MICROSTRUCTURE RELATIONSHIP

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A NANOINDENTER FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF BIOLOGICAL AND ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS

COLLABORATIVE PROPOSAL: ROLE OF FACULTY IN SUPPORTING LIFELONG LEARNING: AN INVESTIGATION OF SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN ENGINEERING UND

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PM: RUI: SEARCHES FOR ULTRALIGHT BOSONIC DARK MATTER WITH ATOMIC MAGNETOMETER NETWORKS

RUI: REACTION FRONTS IN FLUID FLOWS -- PINNING LOBES AND FLIGHTS

REU SITE - BUCKNELL SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM IN PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SPATIOTEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF INTERACTING BACTERIAL COMMUNITIES IN COMPACT COLONIES

FARNESYL TRANSFERASE INHIBITORS: CANCER AND IMMUNITY

ERI: A COMPUTATIONAL AND EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO ESTABLISHING MULTISCALE AND MULTIPHASIC STRUCTURE-FUNCTION MECHANISMS OF MUSCLE STIFFNESS -THIS ENGINEERING RESEARCH INITIATION (ERI) AWARD SUPPORTS RESEARCH THAT WILL CREATE A MODEL OF MUSCLE BEHAVIOR AT MULTIPLE SCALES. MUSCLE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING THE POWER THAT IS NECESSARY TO LIVE OUR DAILY LIVES ? WALKING, COMMUNICATING, AND BREATHING ARE ALL POSSIBLE THANKS TO SKELETAL MUSCLE. HOWEVER, MUSCLE INJURY, NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASE, AND OTHER IMPAIRMENTS CAN REDUCE A PERSON?S MOBILITY AND CAUSE SIGNIFICANT PAIN BECAUSE THE MUSCLES ARE TOO STIFF. THIS PROJECT IS TO INVESTIGATE HOW THE STIFFNESS AND BIOLOGY OF HEALTHY MUSCLE IS DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF IMPAIRED MUSCLE. IN PARTICULAR, IT IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN HOW MOLECULES THAT COMPOSE SKELETAL MUSCLE CONTRIBUTE TO THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, PARTICULARLY TO MUSCLE STIFFNESS. THE PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE HOW THREE KEY PARTS OF SKELETAL MUSCLE CONTRIBUTE TO MUSCLE STIFFNESS ? A) MUSCLE CELLS, B) A WEB-LIKE TISSUE CALLED THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX, AND C) THE CELLULAR LIQUIDS IN MUSCLE. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL USE EXPERIMENTAL TESTING COMPLEMENTED BY COMPUTER MODELS TO GENERATE DATA. THIS DATA WILL HELP SCIENTISTS AND CLINICIANS BETTER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SPECIFIC MECHANISMS OF A DISEASE CHANGE MUSCLE STIFFNESS. THE RESULTS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVING TREATMENTS FOR PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM SUCH MUSCLE CONDITIONS. THIS GRANT ALSO WILL SUPPORT EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH TO MENTOR A DIVERSE GROUP OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHERS AND SUPPORT THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CAREERS IN THE SCIENCES. THIS WORK WILL ESTABLISH CRITICAL STRUCTURE-FUNCTION MECHANISMS IN PASSIVE SKELETAL MUSCLE BY LEVERAGING MULTISCALE MATERIALS TESTING AND FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS. WHILE CHANGES TO MUSCLE STIFFNESS FROM IMPAIRMENTS CORRELATE TO MEASUREMENTS SUCH AS COLLAGEN CONTENT AND TYPE, PREDICTING THE HYPERELASTIC, ANISOTROPIC MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF MUSCLE IN VIVO IS NOT POSSIBLE. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL PERFORM MULTI-AXIAL MATERIALS TESTING ON INDIVIDUAL MUSCLE FIBERS, MUSCLE TISSUE, AND WHOLE MUSCLE UNDER BOTH TENSILE AND COMPRESSIVE CONDITIONS. THESE EXPERIMENTAL DATA WILL COMPRISE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE SET OF MUSCLE MATERIAL PROPERTIES COLLECTED TO DATE AND WILL BE USED FOR THE CALIBRATION AND VALIDATION OF A MULTISCALE, BIPHASIC, HOMOGENIZED FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF MUSCLE TISSUE THAT LINKS MICROSTRUCTURAL FORM TO MACRO FUNCTION. THIS MODEL CAN THEN BE USED IN FUTURE EFFORTS TO STUDY HOW MICROSTRUCTURAL CHANGES TO MUSCLE TISSUE ALTER MUSCLE MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND THUS IN VIVO FUNCTION. 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.

RUI: LAGRANGIAN STUDIES OF ACTIVE MIXING -- BARRIERS, ENHANCED TRANSPORT AND COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: MECHANISM OF HIGH ENANTIOMERIC RESOLUTION WITH BILE MICELLES

SCHOLARS AWARD: WHAT OUGHT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTAND ABOUT SCIENCE?

RUI: THE EFFECTS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL FLUID FLOWS ON FRONT PROPAGATION

STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY OF THE CATALYTIC DOMAIN OF BACTERIOPHAGE T4 PRIMASE

RAPID: IMMUNE RESPONSES TO COV INFECTIONS IN AFRICAN AND NORTH AMERICAN BATS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTERS FOR THE MOLECULAR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CONSORTIUM IN UNDERGRADUATE COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY (MERCURY)

BUILDING AN UNDERSTANDING OF ASTRONOMICAL SIZES AND SCALES WITH WORLDWIDE TELESCOPE

ERI: BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF LOW-FREQUENCY, LOW-INTENSITY ULTRASOUND ON ENDOTHELIAL CELL AND MACROPHAGE CO-CULTURE -THIS ENGINEERING RESEARCH INITIATION (ERI) AWARD WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF ULTRASOUND ON ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (BLOOD VESSEL CELLS) AND MACROPHAGES (IMMUNE CELLS). ENDOTHELIAL CELLS AND MACROPHAGES WORK TOGETHER IN MANY BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, ONE OF WHICH IS ANGIOGENESIS, THE CREATION OF BLOOD VESSELS. ANGIOGENESIS IS CRITICAL FOR THE HEALING OF DAMAGED TISSUES AS IN THE CASE OF CHRONIC WOUNDS. CHRONIC WOUNDS LAST ON AVERAGE TWELVE MONTHS AND MAY LEAD TO AMPUTATION OF LOWER LIMBS OR POSSIBLY EVEN DEATH. HUMAN CLINICAL TRIALS HAVE SHOWN THAT LOW-FREQUENCY, LOW-INTENSITY ULTRASOUND ADVANCES CHRONIC WOUND HEALING. HOWEVER, THE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS ARE STILL NOT UNDERSTOOD. THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM UNDERSTANDING HOW ULTRASOUND AFFECTS ENDOTHELIAL CELLS AND MACROPHAGES INDIVIDUALLY AND TOGETHER MAY ENHANCE ULTRASOUND THERAPIES FOR ADVANCED HEALING AND ULTIMATELY INCREASE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PATIENTS. THIS AWARD WILL ALSO PROMOTE UNDERGRADUATE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT EXPOSURE AND TRAINING IN TISSUE ENGINEERING, PARTICULARLY FOR UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS AND WOMEN IN ENGINEERING THROUGH HANDS-ON LABORATORY EXPERIENCES. FORMAL COURSE OFFERINGS IN TISSUE ENGINEERING WILL ALSO BE DEVELOPED FOR BOTH ENGINEERING AND NON-ENGINEERING MAJORS WITH A FOCUS ON MINORITIZED STUDENTS AND WOMEN IN ENGINEERING. THE RESEARCH GOAL IS TO EVALUATE THE PROMOTION OF ANGIOGENESIS AS A POSSIBLE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISM OF THERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUND. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH TWO OBJECTIVES: (1) CHARACTERIZE UNI- AND BI-DIRECTIONAL EFFECTS OF LOW-FREQUENCY, LOW-INTENSITY ULTRASOUND ON MACROPHAGE AND ENDOTHELIAL CELL PRO-ANGIOGENIC FACTORS VIA MACROPHAGE AND ENDOTHELIAL DIRECT CO-CULTURE, INDIRECT CO-CULTURE (TRANSWELL), AND INDIVIDUALLY (ENDOTHELIAL ALONE AND MACROPHAGE ALONE) AND (2) ANALYZE GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES USING BULK RNASEQ AND GLOBAL BIOINFORMATION METHODS. THESE OBJECTIVES WILL BE CONDUCTED IN VITRO USING 3D COLLAGEN SCAFFOLDS TO MORE CLOSELY MIMIC PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF THERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUND ON ANGIOGENESIS WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT TO THE POSSIBLE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF ULTRASOUND. PRELIMINARY DATA AND PUBLISHED LITERATURE STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT STIMULATION OF ANGIOGENESIS MAY BE THE MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH ULTRASOUND MEDIATES HEALING. IF THIS IS CONFIRMED BY THE DATA COLLECTED, THIS MAY INDICATE THAT ULTRASOUND COULD BE AN EFFECTIVE THERAPY TO RECOVER FUNCTIONAL ENDOTHELIAL BEHAVIOR WHERE PATHOLOGICAL ANGIOGENESIS IS A HALLMARK OF DISEASES INCLUDING ATHEROSCLEROSIS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. THESE DATA WOULD PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS OF ULTRASOUND. 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: COUPLED EFFECTS OF DENSITY, MICROSTRUCTURE, AND ION SELECTIVITY FOR CLAY MEMBRANES -THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH THAT ADVANCES FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF BENTONITE CLAY, PROMOTING THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND CONTRIBUTING TO NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND WATER SECURITY NEEDS. BENTONITE IS A NATURAL CLAY MINERAL WITH A UNIQUE ABILITY TO ACT LIKE A SEMI-PERMEABLE MEMBRANE, SLOWING THE MOVEMENT OF CHEMICALS WHILE STILL ALLOWING WATER TO PASS THROUGH. THIS SPECIAL PROPERTY CAN AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE OF ENGINEERED CONTAINMENT SYSTEMS FOR MUNICIPAL, AGRICULTURAL, NUCLEAR, AND MINING WASTES. BENTONITE MEMBRANE BEHAVIOR IS ALSO BEING LEVERAGED FOR EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN WATER TREATMENT, DESALINATION, CARBON STORAGE, AND OSMOTIC POWER GENERATION. HOWEVER, ENGINEERS DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS BEHIND THIS BEHAVIOR DUE TO LIMITED EXPERIMENTAL DATA TO VALIDATE EXISTING MODELS OR APPLY THEM IN DESIGN PRACTICE. THE RESEARCH WILL QUANTIFY HOW THE STRUCTURE AND BEHAVIOR OF BENTONITE INFLUENCE ITS ABILITY TO CONTROL CHEMICAL MOVEMENT AND WATER FLOW. RESULTS WILL HELP IMPROVE THE DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT RELIES ON BENTONITE, SUPPORTING NATIONAL PROSPERITY AND WELFARE THROUGH MORE EFFECTIVE AND RESILIENT ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS. IN ADDITION, THE AWARD WILL SUPPORT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TRAINING AND MENTORING OF UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, AS WELL AS STEM OUTREACH TO EDUCATE AND INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION OF COLLEGE STUDENTS TO PURSUE ENGINEERING. THE GOALS OF THE RESEARCH ARE TO INVESTIGATE INTERRELATED EFFECTS OF ION SELECTIVITY, POROSITY, AND MICROSTRUCTURE ON BENTONITE MEMBRANE BEHAVIOR, AND TO CHARACTERIZE THE IMPACTS OF THESE EFFECTS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENGINEERED SYSTEMS THAT UTILIZE BENTONITE. OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE SIGNIFICANCE AND PERSISTENCE OF MEMBRANE BEHAVIOR IN THESE SYSTEMS IS HINDERED BY LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA. FOR EXAMPLE, ALTHOUGH THE FILTRATION EFFICIENCY OF BENTONITE MEMBRANES IS KNOWN TO BE SENSITIVE TO MEMBRANE DENSITY AND THE TYPES AND CONCENTRATIONS OF CHEMICAL SPECIES BEING FILTERED, THE VAST MAJORITY OF PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED ON LOW-DENSITY BARRIERS AND ELECTROLYTE SOLUTIONS CONTAINING ONLY MONOVALENT SALTS. THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE MEASURING CHEMICAL TRANSPORT RATES, MEMBRANE EFFICIENCY, AND PORE SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS IN BENTONITE SPECIMENS OF DIFFERENT DENSITIES AND SOLUTION CHEMISTRIES. THE RESEARCH WILL EXPAND THE EXISTING DATABASE OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF BENTONITE MEMBRANES, SO THAT THEORETICAL MODELS FOR COUPLED WATER AND CHEMICAL FLOWS THROUGH THESE MEMBRANES CAN BE VALIDATED OVER A WIDER RANGE OF CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS. 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.

CI-ADDO-EN: FRAMEWORKS FOR NS-3

AF: SMALL: RUI: TOWARDS ASYNCHRONOUS, CRASH-TOLERANT SHARED DATA -THE WORLD IS FULL OF COMPUTING DEVICES AND ENORMOUS DATA SETS. ONE APPROACH TO SOLVE INTERESTING PROBLEMS IS TO DISTRIBUTE COMPUTING ACROSS MANY DEVICES, COMBINING THEIR COMPUTING POWER. UNFORTUNATELY, DATA ACCESS IN SUCH A SYSTEM IS SLOW DUE TO THE PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS OF COMMUNICATING OVER LARGE DISTANCES. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO FIND TECHNIQUES TO SPEED UP DATA ACCESS IN THESE DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING SYSTEMS. PREVIOUS WORK HAS DONE THIS IN WELL-BEHAVED SYSTEMS BUT CANNOT HANDLE THE FACTS THAT COMPUTERS FAIL AND COMMUNICATION DELAYS ARE UNPREDICTABLE. IN THIS PROJECT, THE RESEARCHERS WILL DESIGN MORE ROBUST TECHNIQUES WHICH CAN HANDLE THESE REAL-WORLD DIFFICULTIES. TO DO THIS, A TRADEOFF IS NECESSARY. BY ALLOWING DATA ACCESS TO BE SLIGHTLY OUT-OF-ORDER, PARTICIPANTS IN THE SYSTEM CAN ACCESS THAT DATA FASTER AND BE MORE RESILIENT TO ERRORS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM. EFFICIENT ACCESS TO DATA IS A FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCK IN MODERN COMPUTING SYSTEMS, SO BETTER TECHNIQUES FOR PROVIDING THAT ACCESS CAN SPEED UP AND IMPROVE A BROAD RANGE OF COMPUTING ACTIVITIES. THIS PROJECT EXPLORES DISTRIBUTED ALGORITHMS FOR RELAXED DATA TYPES. SPECIFICALLY, THE RESEARCHERS INTEND TO USE RELAXATION OF A FIRST-IN, FIRST-OUT QUEUE TO PROVIDE RESILIENCY TO CRASHES, ARBITRARY MESSAGE DELAYS, AND CONCURRENT ACTION BY REMOTE USERS IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM. THESE RELAXATIONS WEAKEN THE ORDERING GUARANTEES OF A QUEUE, WHICH ALLOWS MORE-PERFORMANT ALGORITHMS, AND HOPEFULLY IMPLEMENTATIONS IN SYSTEMS WHERE A TRADITIONAL QUEUE IS IMPOSSIBLE. ALGORITHMS FOR SUCH RELAXED QUEUES EXIST IN WELL-BEHAVED MODELS WHERE IT IS EASIER TO DEFINE THE LIMITATIONS OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE, SUCH AS THOSE WITHOUT CRASHES AND WITH KNOWN BOUNDS ON COMMUNICATION DELAY. IN THIS PROJECT, THE RESEARCHERS WILL MOVE TOWARD MORE REALISTIC MODELS OF COMPUTATION, DESIGNING SHARED DATA STRUCTURE ALGORITHMS WHICH TOLERATE UNPREDICTABLE TIMING AND CRASHES OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE RELAXED ORDER OF DATA RETRIEVAL, AN ALGORITHM CAN ACHIEVE BETTER PERFORMANCE AND BE RESILIENT TO FAULTS IN THE DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM. THE RESEARCHERS WILL PROVE THEIR ALGORITHMS CORRECT AND BEGIN STRUCTURING BROADER QUESTIONS OF WHAT OTHER DATA TYPES COULD BENEFIT FROM SIMILAR TECHNIQUES. 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 CHALLENGES OF LIVING SMALL: FUNCTIONAL TRADEOFFS IN THE VERTEBRAL BONE STRUCTURE OF DIMINUTIVE MAMMALS -THIS RESEARCH EXPLORES HOW BODY SIZE AFFECTS THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF BONES IN VERY SMALL (MINIATURIZED) MAMMALS. MINIATURIZATION IS COMMON ACROSS ANIMAL GROUPS AND IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE EVOLUTION OF NEW FEATURES DESPITE THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES FACED BY SMALL ANIMALS. THE EFFECTS OF MINIATURIZATION ON THE VERTEBRATE SKELETON ARE PARTICULARLY FUNDAMENTAL BECAUSE THE SKELETAL SYSTEM SUPPORTS ALL OTHER ORGAN SYSTEMS, AND MUST WITHSTAND INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL APPLIED FORCES WHILE STILL FACILITATING EFFICIENT BODY MOTION. IT REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD HOW THE SKELETONS OF THE SMALLEST VERTEBRATE ANIMALS WITHSTAND AND TRANSMIT EVERYDAY FORCES. 3D IMAGING TECHNIQUES, COMPUTER MODELING, AND PHYSICAL TESTING ON MAMMALIAN BACKBONES (VERTEBRAE) WILL BE USED TO ASSESS HOW THE SKELETONS OF SEVERAL RELATED GROUPS OF SMALL MAMMALS (SHREWS, MOLES, HEDGEHOGS, AND SOLENODONS) HAVE EVOLVED TO FUNCTION AT SMALL SIZE. THE PROJECT IS TESTING WHETHER SMALLER BONES ARE STRONGER (MORE RESISTANT TO BREAKING) OR STIFFER (MORE RESISTANT TO BENDING), AND HOW INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BONE STRUCTURE WORK TOGETHER TO ALLOW VERY SMALL MAMMALS TO MOVE SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY. PLANNED ACTIVITIES WILL PROMOTE SCIENTIFIC AND PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW NATURAL SELECTION LEADS TO CHANGES IN THE SHAPES OF BONES, AND HOW BODY SIZE INFLUENCES THE WAY ANIMALS INTERACT WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT. THIS PROJECT INVOLVES TRAINING OF SIX STUDENTS FROM A PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION (BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY) IN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES THROUGH THE FIELD MUSEUM WILL PROMOTE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY AND IMPORTANCE OF SMALL MAMMALS, WHICH ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED BUT ARE CRITICAL TO ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION. THIS RESEARCH LEVERAGES THE TAXONOMIC RICHNESS AND ECOLOGICAL AND BODY SIZE DIVERSITY OF THE MAMMALIAN CLADE EULIPOTYPHLA TO: 1) MEASURE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF TRABECULAR AND CORTICAL BONE TISSUES TO WHOLE-BONE PERFORMANCE IN THE EULIPOTYPHLAN LUMBAR SPINE; 2) QUANTIFY THE SELECTIVE PRESSURES TO MAXIMIZE BONE STRENGTH, STIFFNESS, OR BOTH IN VERY SMALL MAMMALS; AND 3) DETERMINE WHEN TRADEOFFS BETWEEN STRENGTH AND STIFFNESS OCCUR AS VERY SMALL MAMMALS ADOPT NOVEL ECOLOGIES. BY FOCUSING ON THE MORPHOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE OF TRABECULAR AND CORTICAL BONE IN THE AXIAL SKELETON, SPECIFICALLY THE LUMBAR SPINE, THIS RESEARCH TAKES ADVANTAGE OF A SYSTEM THAT IS DEVELOPMENTALLY CONSTRAINED VIA HOX PATTERNING BUT ALSO MORPHOLOGICALLY PLASTIC AND HEAVILY INVOLVED IN QUADRUPEDAL LOCOMOTION. THE INTEGRATIVE APPROACH OF THIS STUDY SYNTHESIZES FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS (FEA) RESULTS WITH BODY SIZE, PHYLOGENETIC, ECOLOGICAL, AND MORPHOMETRIC DATA TO ASSESS MORPHO-FUNCTIONAL TRADEOFFS AND QUANTIFY SELECTIVE PRESSURES ON VERTEBRAL BONE. THE USE OF EULIPOTYPHLA FOR THIS CLADE-WIDE FUNCTIONAL STUDY IS NOVEL BUT APPROPRIATE, AS THE GROUP IS TAXONOMICALLY AND ECOLOGICALLY DIVERSE AND INCLUDES THE SMALLEST MAMMAL BY MASS (WEIGHING LESS THAN TWO GRAMS). THESE INVESTIGATIONS WILL YIELD NOVEL QUANTITATIVE EVIDENCE ABOUT THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF, AND INTERACTION BETWEEN, TRABECULAR AND CORTICAL BONE UNDER STRESS, AND TEST LONG-STANDING HYPOTHESES ABOUT HOW SELECTION ACTS ON BONE MORPHOLOGY TO PRODUCE APPROPRIATELY STRONG, STIFF BONY STRUCTURES AT SMALL SIZES. IN ADDITION, EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH OUTCOMES INCLUDE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TRAINING, A TREASURE HUNT ACTIVITY TO FIND SMALL MAMMALS AT THE FIELD MUSEUM, AND A LEARNING KIT FOR THE FIELD MUSEUM TO SUPPORT MIDDLE SCHOOL LEARNING STANDARDS. 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.

RUI: DUAL DOMAIN ORGANOGELS: A NOVEL MATERIAL PLATFORM

RUI: EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF ACTIVE MIXING IN EXTENDED FLUID SYSTEMS -NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT EXPERIMENTS IN THIS PROJECT EXPLORE THE EFFECTS OF FLUID FLOWS ON ?ACTIVE? AGENTS SUCH AS SWIMMING ORGANISMS AND MOVING REACTION FRONTS. FLUID FLOWS ARE EVERYWHERE IN NATURE AND IN TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING IN LIVING ORGANISMS; IN RIVERS, LAKES AND OCEANS; IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND IN STARS; IN NUMEROUS INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES; AND EVEN IN ?FLOWS? OF PEOPLE IN SOCIETY. THESE EXPERIMENTS TEST PREDICTIONS THAT FLUID MIXING CAN SYNCHRONIZE THE GROWTH OF MICROBIAL COLONIES, SIMILAR TO THE RAPID ?BLOOMING? OF ALGAE IN THE OCEANS; THAT MIXING PATTERNS IN THE FLOW CAN AFFECT THE FORMATION OF BIOFILMS ON SURFACES; THAT THE COMBINATION OF SWIMMING AND THE FLUID FLOW CAN RESULT IN ?CHAOTIC? TRAJECTORIES; AND THAT FLOWS CAN ENHANCE ? AND SOMETIMES INHIBIT -- THE SPREADING OF GROUPS OF SWIMMING MICROBES AND OF REACTION FRONTS. THE RESULTS FROM THESE EXPERIMENTS COULD HELP EXPLAIN HOW ALGAE BLOOMS FORM AND HOW DISEASES SPREAD IN MOVING POPULATIONS; AN UNDERSTANDING OF ACTIVE MIXING COULD ALSO HELP IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ?SELF-ASSEMBLED? MICROSTRUCTURES. ALL OF THE RESEARCH IS DONE WITH UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, GIVING THEM EXPERIENCES THAT PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT AS SCIENTISTS. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT THE EXPERIMENTS IN THIS PROJECT STUDY THE EFFECTS OF LAMINAR FLOWS ON ACTIVE IMPURITIES THAT CONSUME ENERGY, RESULTING IN MOTION RELATIVE TO THE FLUID. THE ACTIVE IMPURITIES ARE (A) SELF-PROPELLED MICROBES, SUCH AS SWIMMING BACTERIA AND ALGAE; AND (B) PROPAGATING CHEMICAL REACTION FRONTS. THE FLOWS INCLUDE VORTEX CHAIN AND VORTEX ARRAY FLOWS, HYPERBOLIC FLOWS IN A CROSS-CHANNEL, TIME-DEPENDENT CHANNEL FLOWS, AND SPATIALLY-DISORDERED FLOWS. PREVIOUS EXPERIMENTS BY THE PI?S GROUP HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT ?BURNING INVARIANT MANIFOLDS? AND ?SWIMMING INVARIANT MANIFOLDS? BLOCK THE MOTION OF ACTIVE IMPURITIES IN LAMINAR FLOWS. WE WILL EXTEND THESE STUDIES TO EXPLORE TRANSPORT AND PATTERN FORMATION OF ACTIVE IMPURITIES OVER DISTANCES LARGER THAN TYPICAL FLOW SCALES. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL INVESTIGATE: (1) THE EFFECTS OF LAMINAR MIXING ON THE GROWTH OF MICROBIAL COLONIES, BOTH WITH AND WITHOUT CHEMO- AND PHOTOTAXIS; (2) THE EFFECTS OF CHAOTIC FLUID MIXING ON BIOFILM FORMATION; (3) LARGE-SCALE PROPAGATION OF REACTION FRONTS AND THE LEADING EDGES OF MICROBIAL ENSEMBLES; (4) CHAOTIC MOTION OF ACTIVE IMPURITIES IN FLOWS WHERE PASSIVE MIXING IS NON-CHAOTIC; (5) LONG-RANGE TRANSPORT OF ACTIVE IMPURITIES IN LAMINAR FLOWS; AND (6) HOW SELECTION OVER MULTIPLE GENERATIONS ENHANCES CERTAIN SWIMMING PROTOCOLS IN RESPONSE TO THE FLUID MIXING. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT: PROPAGATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CONCEPT WAREHOUSE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AT FIVE DIVERSE INSTITUTIONS AND BEYOND

DIRECTED GRANTS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: BSM-PM: EXOTIC PHYSICS SEARCHES WITH MAGNETOMETER NETWORKS -UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF DARK MATTER, THE INVISIBLE SUBSTANCE MAKING UP MOST OF THE UNIVERSE'S MASS, IS ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES IN SCIENCE TODAY. THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS A TEAM OF PHYSICISTS WHO WILL LEAD TWO INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTS SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE OF NEW PHYSICS BEYOND THE STANDARD MODEL (BSM) OF PHYSICS. (THE STANDARD MODEL ENCAPSULATES OUR BEST UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIVERSE TO DATE.) THESE EXPERIMENTS, THE GLOBAL NETWORK OF OPTICAL MAGNETOMETERS FOR EXOTIC PHYSICS SEARCHES (GNOME) AND THE SEARCH FOR NON-INTERACTING PARTICLES EXPERIMENTAL HUNT (SNIPE HUNT), USE HIGHLY SENSITIVE DETECTORS TO DETECT FAINT MAGNETIC SIGNALS THAT COULD BE CAUSED BY DARK MATTER OR OTHER EXOTIC FIELDS ORIGINATING FROM ASTROPHYSICAL EVENTS LIKE BLACK HOLE MERGERS. GNOME LOOKS FOR SHORT-LIVED TRANSIENT SIGNALS DETECTED ACROSS A GLOBAL SENSOR NETWORK, WHILE SNIPE HUNT SEARCHES FOR WAVE-LIKE SIGNALS CAUSED BY THE EARTH ACTING AS A GIANT DARK-MATTER ANTENNA. TOGETHER, THESE PROJECTS PROVIDE A UNIQUE AND POWERFUL APPROACH TO DISCOVERING NEW PHYSICS. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS SUPPORTED BY THE AWARD WILL CONTRIBUTE TO ALL ASPECTS OF THE RESEARCH: FROM EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION TO DATA COLLECTION AND THEORETICAL MODELING, WHILE GAINING EXPERIENCE THAT PREPARES THEM FOR A WIDE RANGE OF CAREERS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. ADDITIONALLY, ACTIVITIES SUCH AS COLLABORATIVE TRAINING NETWORKS, OUTREACH TO LOCAL SCHOOLS, CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT, AND PARTICIPATION IN NATIONAL MENTORING PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED TO EXPAND PARTICIPATION IN STEM BY MAKING ADVANCED RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES WIDELY ACCESSIBLE. THIS PROJECT ADVANCES EXPERIMENTAL SEARCHES FOR ULTRALIGHT BOSONIC FIELDS, SUCH AS AXIONS AND HIDDEN PHOTONS, THAT MAY CONSTITUTE DARK MATTER OR ARISE IN OTHER BSM SCENARIOS. THE SNIPE HUNT USES THE EARTH-IONOSPHERE SYSTEM AS A PLANET-SCALE TRANSDUCER TO CONVERT DARK MATTER FIELDS INTO OSCILLATING MAGNETIC SIGNALS THAT CAN BE MEASURED BY WIDELY SEPARATED INDUCTION-COIL MAGNETOMETERS IN ELECTROMAGNETICALLY QUIET ENVIRONMENTS. BUILDING ON PRIOR RESULTS THAT SET LEADING CONSTRAINTS IN THE SUB-HZ RANGE, THE NEXT-GENERATION SNIPE HUNT WILL IMPLEMENT NOVEL GRADIOMETRIC TECHNIQUES TO MEASURE THE MAGNETIC FIELD CURL AND EXPAND THE DETECTABLE MASS RANGE BY TWO ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE. GNOME, BY CONTRAST, IS SENSITIVE TO TRANSIENT EVENTS CAUSED BY COMPACT DARK MATTER OBJECTS OR BURSTS OF EXOTIC FIELDS. THE EXPERIMENT EMPLOYS GPS-SYNCHRONIZED, MAGNETICALLY-SHIELDED ALKALI MAGNETOMETERS AND ALKALI/NOBLE-GAS COMAGNETOMETERS WITH SUB-FEMTOTESLA SENSITIVITY DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE GLOBE. THE ADVANCED GNOME SCIENCE RUN WILL USE UPGRADED COMAGNETOMETERS CAPABLE OF DETECTING BOTH PROTON AND NEUTRON SPIN COUPLINGS, SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING SENSITIVITY TO SPIN-DEPENDENT INTERACTIONS OF BSM FIELDS. TARGETED SIGNAL CLASSES INCLUDE TOPOLOGICAL DEFECT DARK MATTER, Q-BALLS, AXION STARS, SOLAR AXION HALOS, GRAVITATIONALLY FOCUSED DARK MATTER STREAMS, AND EXOTIC BURSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ASTROPHYSICAL PHENOMENA. THE COLLABORATIVE ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK INTEGRATES MACHINE LEARNING, GPU-BASED INFERENCE PIPELINES, AND DATA FROM LIGO AND OTHER OBSERVATORIES TO PURSUE MULTI-MESSENGER DETECTION STRATEGIES. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO DEVELOP INFRASTRUCTURE FOR LONG-TERM STABLE OPERATION OF COMAGNETOMETERS AND ESTABLISH NEW CONSTRAINTS ON BSM PARAMETER SPACE. 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: CAS: DIPHOSPHITE SCAFFOLDS FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF BIMETALLIC COMPLEXES CONTAINING EARTH ABUNDANT METALS AND STRAINED RINGS

LEAPS-MPS: UNDERSTANDING CLUSTEROLUMINESCENT PRENYLATED DEEP EUTECTIC SOLVENTS -THIS AWARD IS BEING FUNDED BY THE MPS-LEAPS (LAUNCHING EARLY-CAREER ACADEMIC PATHWAYS) PROGRAM AND MANAGED BY THE BROADENING PARTICIPATION (CHE-BP) PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY. WITH THIS SUPPORT, PROFESSOR AGATEMOR AND HIS STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI INTEND TO DEVELOP AND INVESTIGATE PHOTOLUMINOPHORES THAT EMIT LIGHT IN AN AQUEOUS ENVIRONMENT USING BIOCOMPATIBLE AND ECO-FRIENDLY DEEP EUTECTIC SOLVENTS (DESS). PHOTOLUMINOPHORES, MOLECULAR ENTITIES THAT EMIT LIGHT AFTER ABSORBING PHOTONS, ARE USED IN MANY ASPECTS OF MODERN LIFE, INCLUDING MEDICINE, ENERGY, AND CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS. HOWEVER, MOST CURRENTLY USED PHOTOLUMIPHORES ARE TOXIC AND QUENCH THEIR EMISSION IN AN AQUEOUS ENVIRONMENT, LIMITING THEIR REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS. SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT DESCRIBED HERE COULD ENABLE A HOLISTIC DESCRIPTION OF PHOTOLUMINESCENCE AND POTENTIALLY LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING SOLAR ENERGY HARVESTING TECHNOLOGIES AND SOLAR PHOTOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS PROCEDURES. PROFESSOR AGATEMOR WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO STRENGTHEN DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE STEM COMMUNITY IN THIS PROJECT BY PROVIDING HANDS-ON TRAINING ON CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION, AND CELL BIOLOGY TO STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN STEM, SPECIFICALLY AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC UNDERGRADUATES. THE TRAINING OPPORTUNITY IS EXPECTED TO FOSTER STUDENTS' INTEREST IN STEM CAREERS THROUGH INTERACTION WITH POTENTIAL ROLE MODELS AND MENTORS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE MECHANISM BEHIND THE PHOTOLUMINESCENCE OF DESS. THE DESS WILL BE FACILELY SYNTHESIZED BY MIXING HYDROGEN BOND DONORS WITH ACCEPTORS IN DIFFERENT MOLAR RATIOS, ALLOWING CONTROL OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND PHOTOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES. THE CENTRAL POSTULATION IS THAT MOLECULAR INTERACTIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO THE PHOTOLUMINESCENT BEHAVIOR OF THE DESS. THEREFORE, MOLECULAR INTERACTIONS, SUCH AS PI-PI AND HYDROGEN BOND INTERACTIONS, WITHIN THE DESS AND THE DES-WATER SYSTEM WILL BE ELUCIDATED USING VISCOMETRY, UV-VIS ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY, AND 1H-1H TWO-DIMENSIONAL MAGIC-ANGLE SPINNING NUCLEAR OVERHAUSER EFFECT SPECTROSCOPY. STEADY-STATE AND TIME-RESOLVED PHOTOLUMINESCENCE SPECTROSCOPIES WILL BE USED TO INVESTIGATE THE MECHANISM UNDERPINNING THE DES EMISSION IN AN AQUEOUS ENVIRONMENT. THE PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF THE DES WILL BE INVESTIGATED IN CELL CULTURE ASSAYS AND THROUGH PHOTOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS PROTOCOLS. AN EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THE PROJECT IS TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO APPRECIATE THE POWER OF CHEMISTRY IN HARNESSING LIGHT FOR VARIOUS REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS AND DEVELOP THE SKILLS FOR A SUCCESSFUL STEM CAREER. 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: BEHAVIOR OF TRIVALENTS IN METAPHASE I AND ANAPHASE I

CASE STUDIES FOR A GENERAL ACCOUNT OF BIOLOGICAL KINDS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: THE ROLE OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ORGANIC COMPONENTS ON AEROSOL HYGROSCOPICITY

CRII: HCC: CROSS-TEAM COLLABORATION TO CREATE ACCESSIBLE SOFTWARE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES -SOFTWARE NOW IMPACTS NEARLY EVERY ASPECT OF DAILY LIFE. ACCESSIBILITY FAILURES IN SOFTWARE CAN THEREFORE CREATE BARRIERS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICES SUCH AS BANKING, EDUCATION, COMMUNICATION, AND TRAVEL FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. THIS PROJECT CONTRIBUTES TO IMPROVING SOFTWARE ACCESSIBILITY; WORK THAT BENEFITS SOCIETY BY PROGRESSING SCIENCE, ADVANCING NATIONAL WELFARE, AND SUPPORTING EDUCATION AND DIVERSITY. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND LEGAL IMPERATIVES MANDATE THAT SOFTWARE BE ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. HOWEVER, LARGE-SCALE ANALYSES, LAWSUITS, AND ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS SHOW THAT ACCESSIBILITY FAILURES OCCUR FREQUENTLY. SUCH FAILURES INCLUDE LOW CONTRAST COLORS, BUTTONS ON WEBSITES THAT ARE TOO SMALL, AND SOFTWARE BEING UNUSABLE WITH ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. SOFTWARE CREATION IS A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS BETWEEN MULTIPLE ROLES SUCH AS ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALISTS, DESIGNERS, DEVELOPERS, AND TESTERS. THE PROCESS INVOLVES SOCIAL AND TECHNICAL FACTORS WITH A RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACCESSIBILITY TO BE INTEGRATED OR LOST. BY STUDYING SOFTWARE CREATION TEAMS, THIS RESEARCH WILL IDENTIFY CURRENT ACCESSIBILITY PRACTICES THROUGHOUT THE SOFTWARE CREATION PROCESS. THE RESULTING INSIGHTS WILL HIGHLIGHT BEST PRACTICES AND OFFER GUIDANCE FOR IMPROVING COLLABORATIVE TOOLS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES. THESE INSIGHTS WILL BE SHARED WITH THE RESEARCH AND INDUSTRY COMMUNITY THROUGH PAPERS, PRESENTATIONS, AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL MEDIA. THIS PROJECT WILL HELP IMPROVE COLLABORATIVE SOFTWARE CREATION TOOLS, EDUCATION, AND COMPANY PRACTICES TO IMPROVE SOFTWARE ACCESSIBILITY, THEREBY HELPING ENSURE EVERYONE HAS EQUITABLE ACCESS TO SERVICES THAT ARE INCREASINGLY MEDIATED THROUGH SOFTWARE. THIS PROJECT WILL REACH THOSE GOALS THROUGH THREE MAIN STEPS. FIRST, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL INTERVIEW PEOPLE ACROSS SOFTWARE CREATION ROLES TO UNDERSTAND CURRENT COLLABORATION AND ACCESSIBILITY TECHNIQUES FROM MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES. NEXT, RESEARCHERS WILL OBSERVE MULTI-ROLE TEAMS COLLABORATING IN THE WORKPLACE DURING VARIOUS POINTS IN A SOFTWARE PROJECT'S LIFECYCLE. RESEARCHERS WILL PERFORM INDUCTIVE THEMATIC ANALYSIS ON THE COLLECTED DATA; ITERATIVELY WORKING THROUGH TRANSCRIPTS, FIELD NOTES, AND ARTIFACTS (E.G., EMAILS, WHITE BOARDING, DESIGNS) TO IDENTIFY THEMES. IN THE FINAL PHASE, RESEARCHERS WILL RUN FOCUS GROUPS WITH PEOPLE ACROSS SOFTWARE CREATION ROLES TO GATHER FEEDBACK ON IDENTIFIED THEMES AND EXTEND THOSE THEMES INTO ACTIONABLE IMPLICATIONS FOR IMPROVING COLLABORATIVE TOOLS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES. RESULTS WILL BE DISSEMINATED TO MULTIPLE AUDIENCES THROUGH ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS, INDUSTRY-FOCUSED DOCUMENTATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS, AND PUBLICLY AVAILABLE EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL. 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.

CRII: RI: RUI: PRINCIPLED METHODS FOR COMPRESSING NEURAL NETWORKS THROUGH DISCRETE OPTIMIZATION AND POLYHEDRAL THEORY

RUI: THERMODYNAMICS OF SECONDARY AEROSOL FORMATION; FORMATION OF NEUTRAL AND IONIC CLOUD CONDENSATION NUCLEI

THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE OF MARS COOLS BY RADIATIVE EMISSION FROM VIBRATIONALLY-EXCITED CARBON DIOXIDE. THERE ARE SEVERAL VIBRATIONAL STATES THAT CONTRIB

CEDAR: RUI--QUENCHING OF VIBRATIONALLY-EXCITED OZONE BY ATOMIC OXYGEN

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A FAST PARTICULATE SPECTROMETER

RUI: SYNTHESIS OF NEW P-METALLATED NUCLEOSIDES

RUI: THE IMPACT OF MULTIPLE FUNCTIONAL ROLES ON THE MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSIFICATION OF TURTLE SHELLS

RUI: MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF AGGREGATION AND GUEST-HOST SOLVATION BY BILE ACIDS

CRII: AF: RUI: BREAKING GROUND ON CIRCULANT TSP -THIS AWARD IS FUNDED IN WHOLE OR IN PART UNDER THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021 (PUBLIC LAW 117-2). THE TRAVELING SALESMAN PROBLEM (TSP) IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS PROBLEMS IN THEORETICAL COMPUTER SCIENCE. ITS ORIGINS ARE DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE: A SALESPERSON NEEDS TO VISIT A SET OF CITIES (VISITING EACH CITY EXACTLY ONCE IN A CYCLE, STARTING AND ENDING AT A HOME OFFICE) AND WANTS TO FIND THE LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY TO DO SO. DESPITE THESE SIMPLE ORIGINS, IT HAS IMPORTANT APPLICATIONS RANGING FROM PRODUCING CIRCUITS TO UNDERSTANDING PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTIONS, AND RESEARCH ON THE TSP HAS FUELED PROGRESS THROUGHOUT THE BROADER ALGORITHMS RESEARCH COMMUNITY. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON AN IMPORTANT SPECIAL CASE OF THE TSP KNOWN AS THE CIRCULANT TRAVELING SALESMAN PROBLEM (CIRCULANT TSP). THIS SPECIAL CASE WAS FIRST MOTIVATED IN THE 1970'S BY APPLICATIONS IN RECONFIGURABLE NETWORK DESIGN AND WASTE MINIMIZATION, AND THE INNATE HARDNESS OF CIRCULANT TSP HAS OFTEN BEEN CITED AS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION IN TSP RESEARCH. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES TO CAPITALIZE ON RECENT CIRCULANT TSP RESULTS, AND TO DEVELOP A NEW APPROACH TO STUDYING CIRCULANT TSP WITH POTENTIAL TO RESOLVE LONG-STANDING OPEN QUESTIONS. FURTHER, THE TSP'S NOTORIETY AND SUCCINCT STATEMENT MAKE IT AN ENGAGING PROBLEM FOR USE IN OUTREACH. THE PROJECT WILL TRAIN AND SUPPORT UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO BECOME RESEARCHERS IN THEORETICAL COMPUTER SCIENCE, AND THE PROJECT WILL LEAD TO A NEW SHORT-COURSE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ON THE TSP SHOWCASING MODERN RESEARCH. IN MORE DETAIL, THE TSP IS A NOTORIOUSLY AND FORMALLY HARD PROBLEM. AS SUCH, SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING RECENT TSP RESULTS HAVE STEMMED FROM STUDYING SPECIAL, MORE STRUCTURED CASES OF THE TSP. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES A NEW APPROACH TO ONE SUCH SPECIAL CASE, CIRCULANT TSP. IN CIRCULANT TSP, THE INPUT COSTS OF TRAVELLING BETWEEN CITIES HAVE TO BE PARTICULARLY STRUCTURED (SPECIFICALLY, THEY MUST EXHIBIT A TYPE OF CIRCULANT SYMMETRY). FUNDAMENTAL OPEN QUESTIONS REVOLVE AROUND THE COMPLEXITY OF CIRCULANT TSP. THE PROPOSED APPROACH TO ADDRESSING THESE QUESTIONS BRIDGES TECHNIQUES FROM POLYHEDRAL COMBINATORICS AND NUMBER THEORY. SPECIFICALLY, IT FOCUSES ON USING THESE TECHNIQUES TO DESCRIBE THE COMBINATIONS OF EDGE LENGTHS THAT CAN BE PUT TOGETHER TO FORM A FEASIBLE SOLUTION TO THE TSP (I.E., A HAMILTONIAN CYCLE VISITING EACH OF THE INPUT CITIES EXACTLY ONCE). BECAUSE THESE TECHNIQUES FOCUS EXPLICITLY ON UNDERSTANDING THE EDGE LENGTHS OF FEASIBLE TSP SOLUTIONS, THEY WILL LIKELY EXTEND BEYOND CIRCULANT TSP AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE BROADER TSP LITERATURE. 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 AUTOMOTIVE TIRE FORCE AND MOMENT SENSORS

RUI: TOWARDS ROBUST SPARSITY IN NONUNIFORM SAMPLING MULTIDIMENSIONAL NMR -WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CHEMICAL MEASUREMENT AND IMAGING PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, PROFESSOR DAVID ROVNYAK AND HIS GROUP AT BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY ARE DEVELOPING DATA SAMPLING TECHNOLOGY AND PRINCIPLES TO ACCELERATE THE DISCOVERY OF COMPLEX MOLECULAR STRUCTURES. BROADLY, CHEMISTS ARE STUDYING MOLECULES OF INCREASING COMPLEXITY AND SIZE, SUCH AS COMPLEX NATURAL PRODUCTS FROM WHICH SCIENTISTS CAN DEVELOP NEW BIO-INSPIRED DRUGS, WHERE IT IS VITAL TO DISCOVER THE EXACT STRUCTURES OF THESE MOLECULES. A CENTRAL TECHNIQUE IN CHEMISTRY THAT MEETS THIS NEED IS NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR). HOWEVER, THE MORE COMPLEX AND LARGE A MOLECULE IS, THE MORE DIFFICULT IT IS TO SOLVE ITS STRUCTURE. USING STATISTICAL AND RELATED DATA SCIENCE METHODS, THE ROVNYAK GROUP IS DEVELOPING AND DISSEMINATING NEXT-GENERATION DATA SAMPLING METHODS THAT MAKE ADVANCED NMR ANALYSIS MUCH FASTER AND MORE ACCESSIBLE TO CHEMISTS. THE WORK IS PROVIDING RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. THE TEAM IS ALSO INVOLVED IN OUTREACH ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING SUMMER SCIENCE CAMPS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND PRESENTATIONS AT REGIONAL SCHOOLS AND MUSEUMS. ADVANCED 2D-NMR EXPERIMENTS, OFTEN USED FOR DETECTING LONG RANGE ATOMIC CONNECTIVITIES, ARE REQUIRED TO PROBE THE STRUCTURE OF INCREASINGLY COMPLEX PROTON-POOR NATURAL PRODUCTS AND BIO-INSPIRED MOLECULES. THE BURDEN OF INDIRECT INCREMENTATION IN POWERFUL 2D-NMR SPECTROSCOPIES LEADS TO VERY LONG ACQUISITION TIMES AND EXTREMELY LOW SENSITIVITY. SOLUTIONS TO THE ?INCREMENTATION PROBLEM? OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL NMR HAVE BEEN PURSUED FOR ABOUT THREE DECADES, THROUGH A BROAD FAMILY OF TECHNIQUES KNOWN AS NONUNIFORM SAMPLING (NUS). IN 2D-NMR, NUS IS OFTEN NOT USED AT ALL OR ONLY CONSERVATIVELY, SUCH AS 50% DATA REDUCTION. THIS FAILS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BENEFITS NUS OFFERS. THIS WORK IS PROBING THE BARRIERS TO SPARSER NUS AND DEVELOPING IMPROVED 1D-NUS SCHEDULES FOR ADVANCED 2D-NMR EXPERIMENTS BEYOND THE 50% THRESHOLD WHILE ENSURING HIGH SPECTRAL FIDELITY. THE WORK INCLUDES STRATEGIES FOR ?SUPER RESOLUTION? NMR SPECTROSCOPY WITH ULTRA-HIGH INCREMENTATION VALUES. INTUITIVE AND EASY-TO-USE 1D-NUS SCHEDULES WILL BE MADE WIDELY AVAILABLE WITH POTENTIALLY WIDE IMPACT ON THE EXPERIMENTAL CHEMICAL SCIENCE COMMUNITY. 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.

RBDG RURAL BUSINESS COOP OPPORTUNITY GRANT

NETS: SMALL: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE FLEXIBLE INTERNETWORK STACK (FINS) FRAMEWORK

RUI: SUBSTRATE BINDING AND REGIOCHEMICAL CONTROL BY SOYBEAN LIPOXYGENASE-1

REVITALIZING THE LIBERAL ARTS THROUGH THE HEALTH HUMANITIES MINOR [BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY?S HEALTH HUMANITIES WORKING GROUP PROPOSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW INTERDISCIPLINARY MINOR IN THE HEALTH HUMANITIES AS A MEANS OF REVITALIZING THE LIBERAL ARTS CORE, EXPANDING STUDENTS? HUMANISTIC KNOWLEDGE OF HEALTH, AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE UNIVERSITY?S ALREADY WELL-SITUATED RURAL AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. THE MINOR WILL HAVE THREE BASIC COMPONENTS: 1) A GATEWAY COURSE ENTITLED HUMANIZING HEALTH; 2) THREE ELECTIVES DRAWN FROM DIFFERENT HUMANITIES DEPARTMENTS; AND 3) A CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE PLACING STUDENTS IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR RURAL LOCAL COMMUNITIES. FUNDED ACTIVITIES INCLUDE SUMMER WORKSHOPS; CURRICULAR DEVELOPMENT GRANTS; FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR; AND EXTERNAL REVIEW. THROUGH ITS EMPHASIS ON THE URGENCY OF THE HEALTH HUMANITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS--NOT JUST THOSE PURSUING CAREERS IN BIOMEDICINE--THIS PROJECT WILL AMPLIFY THE HUMANITIES? CONTRIBUTION TO UNDERSTANDING HEALTH, ILLNESS, AND MEDICINE WITHIN OUR CAMPUS AND OUR REGIONAL COMMUNITIES.]

RUI: STUDY OF PARASITE-HOST MODEL AND ITS BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS: SIMULATIONS AND THEORY

(RE)LOCATING TRAUMA: MAPPING THE DANGERS OF CARCERAL ALGORITHMS THROUGH STORIES OF INCARCERATION [THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A GROWING EFFORT IN CRITICAL DATA STUDIES TO FOCUS ANALYSIS ON INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR USE OF ALGORITHMIC TOOLS THAT POSE STRUCTURAL HARMS TO PRISONERS, COUNTERING THE INSTITUTIONAL FOCUS ON ASSESSING THE (RACIALIZED) ?RISK? INDIVIDUALS POSE TO THE INSTITUTION AND, BY EXTENSION, SOCIETY. BY EXAMINING THE LIMITATIONS AND CONSEQUENT DANGERS OF EXISTING ALGORITHMIC TOOLS, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ADDRESS HOW ALTERNATIVE DATA-INFORMED APPROACHES COULD LEAD TO THE REHABILITATION AND LIBERATION OF INCARCERATED PEOPLE.]

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: A MATHEMATICAL DESIGN FRAMEWORK FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF BIOLOGICALLY-INSPIRED SYSTEMS

DETERMINING THE AREAL EXTENT AND TECTONIC SIGNIFICANCE OF MESOPROTEROZOIC (1.50-1.45 GA) SEDIMENTATION AND METAMORPHISM ALONG THE YAVAPAI-MAZATZAL LI

NRI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DYNAMIC BRACES FOR QUANTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF ABNORMAL CURVES IN THE HUMAN SPINE

OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONS PROGRAMS (EARMARKS)

CRII: CHS: RUI: COMPUTATIONAL MODELS OF HUMANS FOR STUDYING AND IMPROVING HUMAN-AI INTERACTION

EXPRESSIONS AND TRANSFORMATIONS OF GENDER, FAMILY, AND STATUS IN EASTERN AND CENTRAL AFRICA 500-1800 CE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RESEARCH INITIATION: RUI: IS IT ROCKET SCIENCE OR BRAIN SCIENCE? DEVELOPING AN APPROACH TO MEASURING ENGINEERING INTUITION

SYNTHESIS OF AMINE-TERMINATED POLYMERS USING LEWIS ACID-INDUCED N-METHLYENEAMINES AS CATIONIC INITIATORS

CPS: MEDIUM: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: AUTOMATED DISCOVERY OF DATA VALIDITY FOR SAFETY-CRITICAL FEEDBACK CONTROL IN A POPULATION OF CONNECTED VEHICLES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: SILTY STREAMS AND DILUTED SEAS IN THE LATE DEVONIAN APPALACHIAN BASIN: PROBING THE EFFECTS OF EARLY ICEHOUSE EXTREMES ON VERTEBRATE PALEOGEOBIOLOGY -AT THE END OF THE DEVONIAN PERIOD THE EARTH EXPERIENCED A UNIQUELY COOL CLIMATE, THE FIRST RECORD OF LIMBED VERTEBRATES, AND ONE OF EARTH?S ?BIG FIVE? MASS EXTINCTIONS. FOR THIS STUDY, RESEARCHERS ARE COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DATA FROM ROCK AND FOSSIL SAMPLES FROM SURFACE EXPOSURES AND FROM THE SUBSURFACE (ROCK CORES) TO TEST THE LINK BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL EXTREMES AND VERTEBRATE HABITATS DURING THE LATE DEVONIAN ~360 MILLION YEARS AGO. THIS WORK WILL ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL, AND PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN EARTH?S PAST. THIS COLLABORATIVE AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT WILL SUPPORT THE EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF EIGHT STUDENTS AND TWO EARLY CAREER FACULTY. IT WILL INVOLVE RURAL COMMUNITY PUBLIC OUTREACH TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE OF DEVONIAN GEOLOGY, WHICH UNDERLIES MUCH OF THE RURAL LANDSCAPE OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA, INCLUDING EDUCATIONAL FIELD EVENTS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERACTIVE DISPLAY AT A HIGHLY TRAFFICKED RURAL ZOO. ENGAGING WITH THE PUBLIC THROUGH THIS RESEARCH WILL PROMOTE AWARENESS OF EARTH SCIENCE CAREER PATHS, AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SUCH KNOWLEDGE IN UNDERSTANDING OUR PLANET?S PAST AND FUTURE. EVIDENCE OF LATE FAMENNIAN (~361-359 MA) GLACIATION ALONG THE EASTERN MARGIN OF NORTH AMERICA IS SPATIALLY LIMITED AND CONTROVERSIAL YET CALLS FOR ABRUPT AND ANOMALOUS COLD CLIMATES GLOBALLY THAT ARE UNRECOGNIZED IN EXISTING MODELS FOR THE EARLIEST STAGES OF THE LATE PALEOZOIC ICE AGE (LPIA). THIS PROJECT EXAMINES THE UPPER DEVONIAN ROCK RECORD IN PENNSYLVANIA AND OHIO (APPALACHIAN BASIN) ALONG A CONTINENTAL-TO-MARINE TRANSECT, ACQUIRING ABUNDANT NEW GEOCHEMICAL, SEDIMENTOLOGICAL, AND PALEONTOLOGICAL DATA TO 1?ESTABLISH AN AGE FRAMEWORK FOR BROAD CORRELATION, 2?SCRUTINIZE THE (LONG-DEBATED) GLACIOGENIC NATURE OF THESE DEPOSITS, AND 3?ELUCIDATE DRAMATIC PALEOENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN VERTEBRATE HABITATS THAT HOSTED THE FINS-TO-LIMBS TRANSITION. THIS IS AN ARCHETYPAL REGION TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE ON AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS, BUT MODERN QUANTITATIVE ANALYTICAL DATA ARE LACKING TO DATE. 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: REDUCING STUDENT RESISTANCE TO ACTIVE LEARNING: APPLYING RESEARCH RESULTS TO FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A PLANAR BIAXIAL MATERIAL TESTING SYSTEM FOR ENHANCEMENT OF RESEARCH AND TEACHING AT BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY

RUI: RATIONAL SCHUR FUNCTIONS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

RUI: IN SITU INVESTIGATIONS OF CLAY MINERAL SWELLING USING ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY

RUI: MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS IN EXPLORING NON-EQUILIBRIUM SYSTEMS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ATD: RAPID STRUCTURE RECOVERY AND OUTLIER DETECTION IN MULTIDIMENSIONAL DATA -THE PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP AND APPLY TOOLS COMING FROM ALGEBRA TO IDENTIFY ATTACKS EMBEDDED WITHIN LEGITIMATE COMMUNICATIONS STREAMS AND ONLINE FORA. THE RESEARCH WILL ENHANCE STATISTICAL METHODS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO DETECT AND COMBAT THREATS. SPECIFICALLY, THE RESEARCH WILL WORK WITH UNLABELED DATA AND WILL BE APPLICABLE IN ENVIRONMENTS THAT CANNOT SUPPORT LEARNING ON TRAINING DATA, SUCH AS NEW DOMAINS OR PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN THREATS. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, PREPARING THEM FOR THEIR FUTURE CAREERS IN STEM FIELDS. THE RESEARCH ON DETECTING OUTLIERS IN DATA, RECOVERING MISSING DATA, AND DETECTING HIDDEN CONSTRAINTS WILL HAVE MANY APPLICATIONS ACROSS THE SCIENCES. THE PROJECT AIMS TO DESIGN A SELF-ADAPTIVE LINEAR-TIME ALGORITHM TO SEPARATE SIGNALS, FIND HIDDEN CONSTRAINT EQUATIONS, AND DETECT SIMILARITIES IN HIGH-DIMENSIONAL DATA (TENSORS). THIS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH OF THE THREE INVESTIGATORS AND STUDENT PARTICIPANTS WILL FOCUS ON THREE INDEPENDENT TASKS. THE FIRST WILL EXTEND SIGNAL SEPARATION AND OUTLIER PREDICTION TO A CONTINUOUS SPECTRUM. THE SECOND WILL REFACTOR ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURES INTO TENSOR NETWORKS FOR UNIFORM ALGORITHMS. THE THIRD WILL DEVISE FASTER (LINEAR-TIME) SOLUTIONS TO MATRIX SYSTEMS TO ENHANCE PRACTICAL RANGE. ANALYSIS OF HIGH-DIMENSIONAL DATA OFTEN RUNS AFOUL OF THE CURSE OF DIMENSIONALITY: AS THE NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT PARAMETERS INCREASES, THE TIME NEEDED TO SEARCH NEIGHBORS GROWS EXPONENTIALLY. ALSO, THE MEANING OF OUTLIER BECOMES BLURRED AS NOTIONS OF FAR APART AND CLOSE TOGETHER ARE LESS DISTINGUISHABLE, AND TRADITIONAL STATISTICS TEND TO IDENTIFY LARGE SUBSPACES. THE NEW ALGEBRAIC MARKERS WILL DETECT STRUCTURE IN ANY DIMENSION AND BE QUICKLY COMPUTABLE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GEOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS ON ~25 MILLION YEARS OF MAGMATISM ALONG AN ARC-TRANSFORM JUNCTION, WRANGELL VOLCANIC BELT, ALASKA

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TUES: VERTICAL INTEGRATION OF CONCEPTS AND LABORATORY EXPERIENCES IN BIOMETRICS ACROSS THE FOUR YEAR ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: STAR-PLANET INTERACTIONS AROUND LOW-MASS STARS -A COLLABORATIVE TEAM FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AND VASSAR COLLEGE WILL STUDY MAGNETIC FIELDS OF PLANETS FOUND BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM. MAGNETIC FIELDS SHAPE HOW PLANETS EVOLVE OVER TIME. HOWEVER, MAGNETIC FIELD PROPERTIES ARE CURRENTLY UNKNOWN FOR ALMOST ALL PLANETS OUTSIDE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. WHEN THE MAGNETIC FIELDS OF PLANETS AND STARS INTERACT, THEY PRODUCE RADIO WAVES. BY DETECTING THESE RADIO WAVES, THE PROJECT CAN MEASURE THE MAGNETIC FIELDS OF PLANETS. THE INVESTIGATORS WILL SEARCH FOR THESE RADIO WAVES AND MEASURE THEIR PROPERTIES. THE TEAM WILL ALSO MAKE COMPUTER MODELS TO EXPLAIN THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE RADIO WAVES USING THE MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF STAR AND PLANET. THIS RESEARCH WILL TRAIN FUTURE ASTRONOMERS AND ENGAGE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN SCIENTIFIC CAREERS. THE TEAM WILL SHARE THIS RESEARCH WITH A BROAD AUDIENCE WITH A PLANETARIUM PROGRAM, AVAILABLE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH. THEY WILL ALSO CREATE HIGH-SCHOOL-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS BASED ON THE RESEARCH RESULTS. THIS PROJECT WILL EXAMINE MAGNETIC STAR-PLANET INTERACTIONS FROM LOW-MASS STARS THROUGH INTERCONNECTED OBSERVATIONAL AND THEORETICAL INVESTIGATIONS. THE INVESTIGATORS WILL FOLLOW-UP NEWLY DISCOVERED PLANETARY SYSTEMS FROM NASA'S TRANSITING EXOPLANET SURVEY SATELLITE (TESS) MISSION. TESS HAS MULTIPLIED THE POPULATION OF KNOWN PLANETARY SYSTEMS PREDICTED TO HAVE A DETECTABLE SIGNATURE OF RADIO STAR-PLANET INTERACTION. THESE PLANETS HAVE ORBITAL PERIODS OF LESS THAN 1 ONE DAY, MAKING IT FEASIBLE TO OBSERVE COMPLETE ORBITAL CYCLES USING GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES. TELESCOPES WILL BE EMPLOYED TO SEARCH FOR PERIODIC RADIO EMISSION INDUCED BY MAGNETIC INTERACTIONS BETWEEN LOW-MASS STARS AND THEIR INNERMOST PLANETS. THE TEAM WILL CLOSE KNOWLEDGE GAPS BY CHARACTERIZING THE TARGET STARS? MAGNETIC FIELDS VIA ZEEMAN BROADENING AND IMPROVING PLANETARY RADII VIA TRANSIT PHOTOMETRY. TO INTERPRET THE RADIO OBSERVATIONS AND BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ABILITY OF CLOSE-IN EXOPLANETS TO POWER RADIO INTERACTIONS, THE INVESTIGATORS WILL CARRY OUT 3D MODELING OF THE CIRCUMPLANETARY MAGNETIC/PLASMA ENVIRONMENT FOR MAGNETICALLY ACTIVE AND INACTIVE STELLAR HOSTS. THESE SIMULATIONS WILL CHARACTERIZE PLANETARY ATMOSPHERIC MASS-LOSS, ITS DEPENDENCE ON STELLAR AND PLANETARY MAGNETIC PROPERTIES, AND WHAT EFFECT THESE HAVE ON THE GENERATION OF RADIO EMISSION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HYDRAULIC SUSTAINABILITY OF SOIL-BENTONITE CUTOFF WALLS SUBJECTED TO CYCLIC WETTING AND DRYING

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EFFECTS OF AEROSOL PHASE, MORPHOLOGY, AND MIXING STATE ON DROPLET FORMATION

CULTURES AT THE CONFLUENCE: THE MORAVIAN MISSION DIARY OF SHAMOKIN, PENNSYLVANIA (1745-1755)

RBDG RURAL BUSINESS COOP RURAL ENTERPRISE GRANT

FUNCTION THEORY ON POLYDISCS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE ROLE OF GLUCOCORTICOIDS IN MEDIATING LIFE HISTORY TRADEOFFS

CHARACTERIZING SOLVABLE CASES OF QUADRATIC BINARY OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS

MRI:ACQUISITION OF AN ISOTHERMAL TITRATION CALORIMETER TO CHARACTERIZE MOLECULAR INTERACTIONS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DESIGN FRAMEWORK FOR BIOMIMETIC ELASTO-FLUIDIC SYSTEMS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SEDIMENTARY BASIN RESPONSE TO PALEOCENE-EOCENE SPREADING RIDGE SUBDUCTION IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ALASKA

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR FUTURE ENGINEERING EDUCATION RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP

NEW COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT: HETEROGENEOUS NETWORKS WITH DIRECTIONAL AND MIMO NODES: COVERT COMMUNICATIONS AND ROUTING

DIRECTED GRANTS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: A NEW CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR KARST SPRINGS USING STORM HYSTERESIS

RUI: SYNTHESIS OF MACROCYCLIC POLYMERS USING RADICAL TRAP ASSISTED-INTRAMOLECULAR ATOM TRANSFER RADICAL COUPLING

COLLABORATIVE RESESARCH: NEW ALGORITHMS FOR GROUP ISOMORPHISM

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HCC: SMALL: CREATIVE ACCESSIBILITY DESIGN TOOLS FOR MOBILE APP CREATORS: ENHANCING INCLUSION THROUGH INNOVATIVE DESIGN METHODS -MOBILE APPS ARE A VITAL PART OF OUR DAILY LIVES, SERVING BILLIONS OF USERS WORLDWIDE. HOWEVER, MANY APPS REMAIN INACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THERE IS NOT ENOUGH CONTRAST BETWEEN THE COLOR OF TEXT AND ITS BACKGROUND, IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO READ FOR SOMEONE WITH LOW VISION. INACCESSIBLE APPS CAN LEAD TO EXCLUSION, LOST CUSTOMERS, AND POTENTIAL LEGAL ISSUES FOR BUSINESSES. STILL, MANY APP DESIGNERS DO NOT CONSIDER ACCESSIBILITY. IN FACT, THEY MAY BELIEVE CONSIDERING ACCESSIBILITY WILL DISRUPT THEIR CREATIVE PROCESS. THIS PROJECT WILL WORK WITH APP DESIGNERS AND DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALISTS TO EXPLORE TOOLS THAT CAN LINK ACCESSIBILITY AND CREATIVE DESIGN, WITH THE GOAL OF IMPROVING BOTH THE ACCESSIBILITY OF APPS AND DESIGNERS' EXPERIENCE OF DESIGNING FOR ACCESSIBILITY. THE PROJECT OUTCOMES CAN ALSO SUPPORT OTHER MOBILE APP CREATORS WITH ACCESS TO FEWER RESOURCES, SUCH AS STUDENTS AND SELF-EMPLOYED DESIGNERS, TO ENSURE THEY ARE ALSO SUPPORTED IN CREATING ACCESSIBLE MOBILE APPS. THIS INITIATIVE WILL NOT ONLY IMPROVE THE ACCESSIBILITY OF MOBILE APPS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES BUT ALSO PROMOTE A MORE INCLUSIVE DIGITAL WORLD BY ENHANCING THE USABILITY OF MOBILE APPS FOR EVERYONE. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP CREATIVE ACCESSIBILITY DESIGN TOOLS (CADTS) TO ASSIST UNDER-RESOURCED PROFESSIONAL MOBILE APP CREATORS IN INCORPORATING ACCESSIBILITY INTO THEIR EARLY DESIGN STAGES. USING QUALITATIVE AND USER-CENTERED METHODS, THE PROJECT TEAM WILL IDENTIFY THE CRITICAL FEATURES NECESSARY FOR EFFECTIVE CADTS, FOCUSING ON VISUAL DESIGN AND NAVIGATION ACCESSIBILITY. THE METHODS WILL INCLUDE DIARY STUDIES, INTERVIEWS, AND DESIGN WORKSHOPS TO UNDERSTAND CURRENT DESIGN PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES FACED BY MOBILE APP CREATORS. INSIGHTS FROM THESE ACTIVITIES WILL GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CADTS, WHICH WILL BE ITERATIVELY PROTOTYPED AND EVALUATED WITH FEEDBACK FROM ACCESSIBILITY EXPERTS AND TARGET USERS. THE RESEARCH WILL EXPLORE HOW CADTS CAN SUPPORT CREATIVITY WHILE ENSURING ACCESSIBILITY, RESULTING IN NEW GUIDELINES AND EXEMPLAR TOOLS THAT ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY CAN USE TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN CADTS. OUTCOMES WILL INCLUDE IMPROVED SUPPORT FOR ACCESSIBLE DESIGN AMONG UNDER-RESOURCED MOBILE APP CREATORS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ACCESSIBILITY IN DESIGN COURSES. THE RESULTS WILL BE DISSEMINATED THROUGH ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS, WORKSHOPS, AND PUBLIC REPOSITORIES, ENSURING BROAD ACCESS TO THE TOOLS AND KNOWLEDGE GENERATED. 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: TRUST BUT VERIFY: THE USE OF INTUITION IN ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING -THE PROJECT, ?COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: TRUST BUT VERIFY: THE USE OF INTUITION IN ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING? IS A THREE-YEAR STUDY ABOUT ENGINEERING INTUITION CONDUCTED AT BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, AND EMBRY RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO EXAMINE THE APPLICATION OF INTUITION BY ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS AND GENERATE KNOWLEDGE THAT PROMOTES THE PROFESSIONAL FORMATION OF ENGINEERS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A STRONGER ENGINEERING WORKFORCE. ENGINEERING INTUITION IS A PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILL DEVELOPED THROUGH EXPERIENCE THAT ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS SUBCONSCIOUSLY USE WHEN UNDER PRESSURE FROM CONSTRAINTS (E.G., LACK OF TIME). ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS REGULARLY USE AND DEVELOP INTUITION ON-THE-JOB; HOWEVER, THE USE OF INTUITION IS OFTEN DISCOURAGED IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. RESEARCH QUESTIONS IN THIS STUDY FOCUS ON THE APPLICATION OF INTUITION IN ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING, SOLVING ?ILL? VERSUS ?WELL? STRUCTURED ENGINEERING PROBLEMS, AND PRIOR ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE LEVELS WHEN ENGINEERS SOLVE STRUCTURED PROBLEMS. THE STUDY WILL USE A VARIETY OF METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (SUCH AS SIMULATION INTERVIEWS). NEW ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS (SENIOR UNDERGRADUATES AND THOSE WITH LESS THAN ONE YEAR OF EXPERIENCE) AND MID-CAREER PRACTITIONERS (6-10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE) WILL PARTICIPATE. THE KNOWLEDGE GENERATED FROM THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR BRIDGING THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN CLASSROOM AND REAL-WORLD ENGINEERING PRACTICES, DESIGNING EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS THAT PROMOTE INTUITION DEVELOPMENT, AND UNDERSTANDING HOW EARLY INTUITION DEVELOPMENT CAN HELP LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL STUDENTS REGARDLESS OF INDIVIDUAL BACKGROUND, INCLUDING PAST ENGINEERING EXPERIENCES. THE PROJECT, ?COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: TRUST BUT VERIFY: THE USE OF INTUITION IN ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING? IS A THREE-YEAR STUDY ABOUT ENGINEERING INTUITION CONDUCTED AT BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, AND EMBRY RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO EXAMINE THE APPLICATION OF INTUITION BY ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS AND GENERATE KNOWLEDGE THAT PROMOTES THE PROFESSIONAL FORMATION OF ENGINEERS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A STRONGER ENGINEERING WORKFORCE. ENGINEERING INTUITION IS A PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILL DEVELOPED THROUGH EXPERIENCE THAT ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS SUBCONSCIOUSLY USE WHEN UNDER PRESSURE FROM CONSTRAINTS (E.G., LACK OF TIME). EXPERTISE IN A SPECIFIC AREA IS A PREREQUISITE OF INTUITION AND IS A DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC OF THE EXPERT. ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS REGULARLY USE AND DEVELOP INTUITION ON-THE-JOB; HOWEVER, THE USE OF INTUITION IS OFTEN DISCOURAGED IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN INTUITION?S USE IN ENGINEERING PRACTICE AND IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, COUPLED WITH LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTUITION, EXPERTISE, AND EXPERIENCE, PRESENTS AN IMPORTANT GAP IN OUR EXISTING UNDERSTANDING OF ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING AND FUTURE WORKFORCE PREPARATION. A QUALITATIVE APPROACH WILL BE EMPLOYED TO INVESTIGATE FOUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS: RQ1: HOW DOES THE APPLICATION OF INTUITION MANIFEST IN ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING? RQ2: HOW DOES THE APPLICATION OF INTUITION VARY WHEN APPROACHING ?ILL? VERSUS ?WELL? STRUCTURED ENGINEERING PROBLEMS? RQ3: HOW DOES THE DOMAIN OF PRACTITIONER EXPERTISE INFLUENCE THE APPLICATION OF INTUITION WHEN APPROACHING ?ILL? VERSUS ?WELL? STRUCTURED ENGINEERING PROBLEMS? RQ4: HOW DOES PRIOR ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE INFLUENCE THE APPLICATION OF INTUITION WHEN APPROACHING ?ILL? VERSUS ?WELL? STRUCTURED ENGINEERING PROBLEMS? COGNITIVE TASK ANALYSIS (CTA) WILL ELICIT EXPERT KNOWLEDGE FROM A SAMPLE OF NEW ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS (SENIOR UNDERGRADUATES AND THOSE WITH LESS THAN ONE YEAR OF EXPERIENCE) AND MID-CAREER PRACTITIONERS (6-10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE). PER BEST PRACTICES, CTA METHODS (SIMULATION INTERVIEWS, CRITICAL DECISION METHOD, AND KNOWLEDGE AUDIT METHOD) WILL BE USED TO SUPPORT ROBUST DATA COLLECTION. THE KNOWLEDGE GENERATED FROM THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR BRIDGING THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN CLASSROOM AND REAL-WORLD ENGINEERING PRACTICES, DESIGNING EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS THAT PROMOTE INTUITION DEVELOPMENT, AND UNDERSTANDING HOW EARLY INTUITION DEVELOPMENT CAN HELP LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL STUDENTS REGARDLESS OF INDIVIDUAL BACKGROUND, INCLUDING PAST ENGINEERING EXPERIENCES. 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: THERMODYNAMICS OF NUCLEATION: FROM WATER TO ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS

IMPROVING PATHWAYS FOR STEM TEACHER CERTIFICATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE LEAKY RAKE TO SOLID PLATE TRANSITION ON FLOW THROUGH BIOLOGICAL FILTERING STRUCTURES

WHITE NOSE SYNDROME RESEARCH

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ASSESSMENT OF PRODUCT ARCHAEOLOGY AS A PLATFORM FOR CONTEXTUALIZING ENGINEERING DESIGN

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: USING VIDEO MEDIA TO ENHANCE CONCEPTUAL LEARNING IN AN UNDERGRADUATE THERMODYNAMICS COURSE

GREAT APE CONSERVATION FUND 2017

FULBRIGHT-HAYS - FACULTY RESEARCH ABROAD

WORKSHOP: CREATING AND SUSTAINING DIALOGS ON CONCEPTUAL CHANGE IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FOLD FORM, STRAIN, AND MECHANICS AT THE WHALEBACK ANTICLINE: NEW APPROACHES TO A CLASSIC FIELD LOCALITY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RESEARCH: RUI: ENGINEERS MAKING PROCESS SAFETY JUDGEMENTS...MIND THE GAP! BELIEFS VS. BEHAVIOR

I-CORPS: RESIN MINI-EXTRUDER FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

I CORPS-L: SUPPORTING SYSTEM DESIGN IN ECE THROUGH AN INTERNET OF THINGS GAME AUTHORING SYSTEM

UNITED STATES UNIVERSITIES COUNCIL ON GEOTECHNICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (USUCGER)EARLY CAREER GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING CONFERENCE; BOSTON, MASSACHU

EVOLVING HANDS: BUILDING WORKFLOWS AND SCALABLE PRACTICES FOR HANDWRITING [TRANSCRIPTION HAS EVOLVED DRAMATICALLY IN THE 21ST CENTURY. ORIGINALLY VOLUNTEER-DRIVEN, THIS REQUIRED PRE-EXISTING UNDERSTANDING OF TERMS, SUBJECTS, AND SPELLINGS WITHIN DIGITIZED COLLECTIONS. TWO TOOLS CHANGING THIS MODEL WITHIN DIGITAL CURATION ARE OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION (OCR) AND HANDWRITTEN TEXT RECOGNITION (HTR). OCR IS UBIQUITOUS IN MASS DIGITISATION BUT HAS SUBSTANTIAL LIMITATIONS, WHILE HTR IS STILL UNFAMILIAR IN CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS. EVOLVING HANDS UNDERTAKES 3 CASE STUDIES RANGING ACROSS DOCUMENT FORMS TO DEMONSTRATE HOW THESE TOOLS CAN BE USED IN CURATION: HANDWRITTEN AND PRINTED LETTERS, DIARIES, ETHNOGRAPHIES, FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS AND PEDAGOGICAL DOCUMENTS FROM MULTIPLE CENTURIES AND LANGUAGES. BY COVERING A WIDE VARIETY OF PERIODS AND DOCUMENT FORMS THE PROJECT CAN FOSTER RESPONSIBLE, RESPONSIVE SUPPORT FOR CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, AND ESTABLISH MORE EFFECTIVE WORKFLOWS THAT FILL THE GAP BETWEEN DIGITIZATION, SEMANTIC-ORIENTED ENCODING, AND DATA DISCOVERABILITY.]

PROTECTED AREA CONSERVATION OF EASTERN CHIMPANZEES, WESTERN EQUATORIA, SOUTH SUDAN

LOCALIZATION OF GUNFIRE FROM MULTIPLE SHOOTERS (ARO RESEARCH TOPIC 5.2, INFORMATION PROCESSING & FUSION; STIR PROGRAM)

SHF: SMALL: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: USING IDENTIFIED CIRCUIT INVARIANCE FOR ONLINE ERROR DETECTION

"COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CCLI: EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS TO ENHANCE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CURRICULA WITH APPLICATIONS IN BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING"

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MODELS FOR DYNAMIC DISCRETE RESPONSE DATA WITH SPATIAL AUTOCORRELATION: SPECIFICATION AND ESTIMATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IMPROVING ENGINEERING STUDENTS? ABILITY TO MODEL AND ANALYZE SYSTEMS USING FREE BODY DIAGRAMS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: REFORM AND GOVERNANCE IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

CONFERENCE: CIRM 2024: OPERATORS ON ANALYTIC FUNCTION SPACES -THE CONFERENCE OPERATORS ON ANALYTIC FUNCTION SPACES WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE CENTRE INTERNATIONAL DE RENCONTRES MATHEMATIQUES (CIRM) IN MARSEILLE, FRANCE FROM DECEMBER 2 - 6, 2024. THE GOAL IS TO CREATE A DIVERSE GROUP OF MATHEMATICIANS POISED TO SOLVE AN IMPORTANT SET OF PROBLEMS IN FUNCTION AND OPERATOR THEORY, AND TO ALLOW ATTENDEES TO DEVELOP NEW DIRECTIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS. FUNDING WILL BE USED FOR US PARTICIPANT SUPPORT, WITH PRIORITY GOING TO MEMBERS OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS. CIRM PROVIDES FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT AS WELL AS AN EXCELLENT LIBRARY AND SERVES AS A PLACE FOR COLLABORATIVE WORK. THE FOCUS OF THE CONFERENCE IS ON RECENT PROGRESS ON HILBERT AND BANACH SPACES OF HOLOMORPHIC FUNCTIONS AND THE OPERATORS ACTING ON THEM. DURING THE WEEK AT CIRM PARTICIPANTS WILL DISCUSS IMPORTANT OPEN QUESTIONS IN FUNCTION THEORY AND OPERATOR THEORY, INCLUDING OPERATORS ON MODEL SPACES, TOEPLITZ AND HANKEL OPERATORS, CYCLIC VECTORS, SAMPLING, FRAMES, INTERPOLATION AND REPRODUCING KERNELS, AND THE CROUZEIX CONJECTURE. IN ADDITION TO THE TALKS, THE CONFERENCE WILL OFFER ACTIVITIES FOR ATTENDEES TO INTERACT AND DISCUSS FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH. MORE INFORMATION MAY BE FOUND AT THE CONFERENCE WEBPAGE, HTTPS://CONFERENCES.CIRM-MATH.FR/3085.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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

URBAN MOMENTUM ROUGHNESS PARAMETERS: MODELING AND SIMPLE PARAMETERIZATIONMODELING OF ATMOSPHERIC F

RUI: FLOW AND RHEOLOGY OF PARTICLE-FLUID SUSPENSIONS WITH VARIABLE HYDROPHOBICITY

US COLLABORATION WITH ARGENTINA, CHILE, AND URUGUAY: MODULAR FORMS IN THE SOUTHERN CONE

COMPUTING WITH MATRIX GROUPS

TO SUPPORT A PERFORMANCE OF JULIA WOLFE'S "ANTHRACITE FIELDS" AND RELATED ACTIVITIES.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INSPIRING INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY THROUGH PHYSICAL SIMULATIONS AND MOVING ANALOGIES

STUDENT SUPPORT AND MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR CPAIOR 2022 -THIS GRANT SUPPORTS STUDENT REGISTRATION FOR SELECT STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE STUDENT SUPPORT AND MENTORING PROGRAM AT THE NINETEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE INTEGRATION OF CONSTRAINT PROGRAMMING, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND OPERATIONS RESEARCH (CPAIOR) THAT WILL BE HELD IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, JUNE 20-23, 2022. THIS IS THE PREMIER, HIGHLY-INTERDISCIPLINARY, INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE THAT BRINGS TOGETHER RESEARCHERS FROM THREE DISTINCT COMMUNITIES TO EXCHANGE IDEAS. THE STUDENT MENTORING PROGRAM IS ORIENTED ON RESEARCH AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE ACTIVE WITHIN THESE COMMUNITIES. THE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES OF THIS CONFERENCE INCLUDE A MASTER CLASS TO TEACH SKILLS, OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO PRESENT AND DISCUSS THEIR WORK WITH THEIR PEERS, AND INTERACTION WITH AN IDENTIFIED GROUP OF SENIOR RESEARCHERS FOR ADVICE ON PH.D. RESEARCH. IN ADDITION, STUDENTS WILL HAVE ACCESS TO INVITED TALKS AND PAPER PRESENTATIONS. THE STUDENT SELECTION PROCESS EMPHASIZES SUPPORT TO STUDENTS WHO MOST NEED IT, INCLUDING THOSE WHO LACK OTHER MEANS OF SUPPORT. THIS RAISES THE POTENTIAL TO BRING IN PARTICIPANTS WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE ATTENDED THIS CONFERENCE DUE TO LACK OF HABIT OR RESOURCES. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR THOSE AT SMALLER INSTITUTIONS AND THOSE WHICH HAVE LESS DEVELOPED AI PROGRAMS. THIS EVENT PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH INVALUABLE EXPOSURE TO OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVES ON THEIR WORK AT A CRITICAL TIME IN THEIR RESEARCH AND ENABLES THEM TO EXPLORE THEIR CAREER OBJECTIVES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EXPLORING PARTNERED TEACHING OF INTERDISCIPLINARY CS+X COURSES

FY 2015 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP-PML/EE

PROJECT TITLE: TOWARD MULTISCALE EVALUATIONS OF LATERAL SPREADING: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH WITH NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY, AND BUCKNELL UNIVERSITYPERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: 5 16 2023 THROUGH 5 15 204PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: LIQUEFACTION-INDUCED LATERAL SPREADING OCCURS WHEN LOSS OF SHEAR STRENGTH MAKES SOIL ACT AS A LIQUID, CAUSING GROUND FAILURES SUCH AS SURFACE CRACKS AND LANDSLIDES. THESE LIQUEFACTION-INDUCED LATERAL DISPLACEMENTS (LDS) REPRESENT A MAJOR GEOHAZARD IN EARTHQUAKE-PRONE REGIONS LEADING TO SIGNIFICANT HUMAN AND ECONOMIC LOSSES. CURRENT PREDICTIVE MODELS ONLY FOCUS ON GEOTECHNICAL (I.E., SUBSURFACE CHARACTERIZATION) AND SEISMOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS (I.E., GROUND MOTION INTENSITY), AND DO NOT EXPLICITLY ACCOUNT FOR GEOLOGIC FEATURES THAT CAN CONTROL LATERAL GROUND DEFORMATIONS, EVEN THOUGH GEOLOGIC CONDITIONS PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN LIQUEFACTION OCCURRENCE, SEVERITY AND SPATIAL EXTENT. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO FILL THIS GAP BY DEVELOPING A MODEL THAT INCORPORATES RELEVANT GEOMORPHIC (I.E., SURFICIAL GEOLOGIC) VARIABLES IN LATERAL SPREADING ESTIMATION. GEOMORPHIC VARIABLES CAPTURE THE SURFICIAL PROCESSES AND ENVIRONMENTS THAT IMPACT LIQUEFACTION-PRONE SEDIMENTS, AND THEY CAN OFTEN BE ASSESSED FROM PUBLICLY AVAILABLE REMOTE SENSING DATA. ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE PROPOSED PROJECT PLAN ADDRESSES THESE CRITICAL NEEDS AND INCLUDES A TASK 0, WHICH REFERS TO WORK ALREADY COMPLETED BY THE PI AND CO-PIS AND THAT WILL INFORM THREE NEW TASKS:DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO IMPROVE REGIONAL-SCALE ESTIMATES OF LDS THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PREDICTIVE MODEL THAT CAN BE USED FOR LD RISK MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING BY GOVERNMENTAL GEOHAZARDS AGENCIES. SPECIFIC DELIVERABLES OF THIS PROPOSAL INCLUDE: (1) A NEW EMPIRICAL PREDICTIVE MODEL OF LDS THAT INCLUDES GEOMORPHIC VARIABLES, (2) A NEW CURATED ELECTRONIC DATABASE OF LDS AND ASSOCIATED GEOTECHNICAL, GEOMORPHIC, AND GROUND MOTION METADATA, AND (3) ADVANCES TOWARD IMPROVED REGIONAL-SCALE GROUND FAILURE HAZARD ASSESSMENTS USING SITE-SPECIFIC AND GEOSPATIAL DATAINTENDED BENEFICIARIES: PUBLIC SOCIETY AT LARGE WILL BENEFIT FROM REDUCED SEISMIC RISK AND CONSEQUENCES FROM EARTHQUAKE INDUCED GEOHAZARDS AS A RESULT OF THIS STUDY. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROPOSED GEOSPATIAL ANALYTICS FRAMEWORK COULD BE USED TO INVESTIGATE OTHER GEOHAZARDS AT MULTIPLE SCALES, WHICH WOULD DIRECTLY BENEFIT RESEARCHERS, PRACTITIONERS AND ACADEMICS CURRENTLY STUDYING LANDSLIDES, SITE RESPONSE, AND LIQUEFACTION TRIGGERING. LIKEWISE, THE NEXT GENERATIONS OF STUDENTS AND EARLY CAREER PROFESSIONALS WILL BENEFIT FROM CURATED AND WELL DOCUMENTED CASE STUDIES THAT CAN BE USED TO ADVANCE THE STATE OF THE ART IN LATERAL SPREADING.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: N A

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