University Of Scranton

PURPOSE: THE UNIVERSITY SEEKS TO CREATE A CENTER FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLIED RESEARCH IN HEALTH, SCIENCE AND CYBER SECURITY THAT WILL SUPPORT THE UNIVERSITY'S CORE EDUCATIONAL MISSION, WHICH INCLUDES PREPARING UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS FOR SUCCESS IN THEIR CHOSEN FIELD OF STUDY WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON PROGRAMS IN CYBER SECURITY, HEALTH SCIENCES AND STEM. ADDITIONALLY, THE CENTER WOULD SERVE AS A NEXUS FOR CAMPUS-WIDE OUTREACH, RESEARCH, AND SERVICE, SUPPORTING EXPANDED EFFORTS BY THE UNIVERSITY TO ENGAGE K-12 STUDENTS AND REGIONAL BUSINESSES BOTH ON ITS OWN AND THROUGH STRATEGIC COLLABORATION.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE PROJECT FEATURES NEW CONSTRUCTION OF A MULTI-USE FACILITY ON AN OPEN AREA OF UNIVERSITY PROPERTY ON THE 400 BLOCK OF MADISON AVENUE. THE SITE WAS CLEARED IN 2021 THROUGH THE DEMOLITION OF FOUR STRUCTURES. THE CURRENT BUILDING PLAN CALLS FOR A 65,000 SQ. FT. STRUCTURE WITH A TOTAL PROJECT COST ESTIMATE OF $31,500,000.EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE UNIVERSITY SEEKS TO CREATE A CENTER FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLIED RESEARCH IN HEALTH, SCIENCE AND CYBER SECURITY THAT WILL SERVE AS A NEXUS FOR CAMPUS-WIDE OUTREACH, RESEARCH AND SERVICE BY ENGAGING ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS AND PROGRAMS FROM ALL THREE OF THE UNIVERSITY'S COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS. THE CENTER WOULD ENHANCE CURRENT AND SUPPORT NEW INNOVATIVE ACADEMIC PROGRAMS IN HEALTH, STEM AND CYBER SECURITY, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON PROVIDING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS; AND LEVERAGE EXISTING, LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH REGIONAL NON-PROFITS, BUSINESSES, K-12 SCHOOLS, GOVERNMENT AND HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE CENTER WOULD SUPPORT ONGOING INSTITUTIONAL EFFORTS TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR CAREERS OR ADVANCED EDUCATION IN THEIR CHOSEN FIELDS OF STUDY WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON PROGRAMS IN CYBER SECURITY, HEALTH SCIENCES AND STEM.THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON AND THE GREATER SCRANTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAVE A LONG TRADITION OF COLLABORATION TO ADDRESS IMPORTANT COMMUNITY NEEDS. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD PROVIDE A PLATFORM TO ADVANCE CURRENT AND PLANNED EFFORTS TO ADDRESS CRITICAL WORKFORCE AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT NEEDS. THE CREATION OF THE CENTER WOULD SUPPORT AN EXPANDED PARTNERSHIP WITH SKILLS IN SCRANTON, THE INDEPENDENT 501C (3) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AFFILIATE OF THE GREATER SCRANTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. THROUGH THIS PROJECT, SKILLS IN SCRANTON WOULD COLLABORATE WITH THE UNIVERSITY TO DEVELOP OUTCOMES-BASED, SCHOOL-AGE CAREER PATHWAYS TARGETING K-12 STUDENTS, PARENTS/GUARDIANS, AND EDUCATORS IN LACKAWANNA COUNTY. THE PROGRAM WOULD ASSIST LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES AS THEY IDENTIFY PATHWAY OPTIONS EFFECTIVE WITH THE GRADUATING CLASS OF 2023 TO BE COMPLIANT WITH PENNSYLVANIA ACT 158 OF 2018.THE UNIVERSITY RUNS VARIOUS K-12 SCIENCE PROGRAMS, INCLUDING THE UNIVERSITY OF SUCCESS COLLEGE PREPARATION PROGRAM, A RANGE OF SCIENCE ENRICHMENT IN-SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES, AND CAMPUS-BASED ACTIVITIES WITH SCRANTON SCHOOLS AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNITED NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS. THESE PROGRAMS SERVE PREDOMINANTLY UNDERREPRESENTED AND LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. THE CENTER WILL SUPPORT BOTH PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THESE INITIATIVES.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: NO SUBRECIPIENTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED OR PROPOSED.

UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON INSTITUTIONAL RELIEF FUNDS

UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS.

EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT/ATTAINMENT

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

RECRUITING, PREPARING, AND RETAINING STEM EDUCATORS TO SERVE IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS IN PENNSYLVANIA -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL NEED FOR HIGHLY EFFECTIVE STEM TEACHERS. TO DO SO, IT WILL RECRUIT UNDERGRADUATE STEM MAJORS TO COMPLETE STEM DEGREES AND SUPPORT THEM IN BECOMING CERTIFIED AS SECONDARY TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS OR SCIENCE. THESE INDIVIDUALS WILL RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS AND OTHER SUPPORTS DESIGNED TO ENRICH THEIR STEM KNOWLEDGE, AS WELL AS THEIR TEACHING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS. TO EXPAND THEIR STEM CONTENT KNOWLEDGE, THE NOYCE SCHOLARS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN COLLABORATIVE MENTOR-SCHOLAR PROJECTS, SUMMER COMPUTATIONAL WORKSHOPS, AND A CHEMOMETRICS COURSE ((I.E., STATISTICS AND COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY). THEY WILL ALSO BENEFIT FROM FACULTY MENTORSHIPS THAT INCLUDE OPPORTUNITIES TO REFLECT ON THEIR ACADEMIC AND CAREER PURSUITS. MONTHLY WORKSHOPS WILL INCLUDE SESSIONS RELATED TO INTERPERSONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT, SUCH AS GRIT, AND CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE. SUCH SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THE PROJECT EXPECTS THESE UNDERGRADUATE NOYCE SCHOLARS WILL GAIN THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND PERSPECTIVES NEEDED TO SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNERS OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS IN PENNSYLVANIA IN HIGH-NEED SECONDARY SCHOOLS. THIS PROJECT AT SCRANTON UNIVERSITY INCLUDES PARTNERSHIPS WITH MID VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND LUZERNE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE. THERE ARE THREE SPECIFIC PROJECTS GOALS. THE FIRST IS TO RECRUIT, PREPARE, AND GRADUATE 21 QUALIFIED UNDERGRADUATE STEM MAJORS TO BECOME CERTIFIED AS SECONDARY TEACHERS OF SCIENCE OR MATHEMATICS. THE SECOND GOAL IS TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE LONG-TERM SUCCESS OF THESE STEM EDUCATORS. THE FINAL GOAL IS TO PLACE AND RETAIN A HIGH PERCENTAGE (90%) OF THESE SCHOLARS IN TEACHING POSITIONS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS UPON GRADUATION AS THEY COMPLETE THEIR TEACHING SERVICE REQUIREMENT OF TWO YEARS OF TEACHING FOR EACH ONE YEAR OF SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT. EARLY RESIDENCY TEACHING EXPERIENCE WILL BE PART OF THE SCHOLARS' COURSEWORK WHEN THEY PRACTICE AND HONE THEIR SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE ALONGSIDE AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER-MENTOR IN A HIGH-NEED CLASSROOM. FURTHER, TO ENSURE THAT THE SCHOLARS HAVE THE NECESSARY SUPPORT FOR THEIR PRAXIS TESTS, ENRICHMENT PREPARATION AND SUPPORT WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE NOYCE SCHOLARS THROUGH FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE RESOURCES VIA A LEARNING MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE. A ROBUST PROJECT ASSESSMENT PROCESS, LED BY AN INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR, IS INTENDED TO IDENTIFY ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM THAT ARE MOST EFFECTIVE IN STEM TEACHER RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND PREPARATION. THE PROJECT INTENDS TO USE RESULTS FROM THIS EVALUATION TO IMPROVE THE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM AND WILL DISSEMINATE THE RESULTS LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY VIA PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS. THIS TRACK 1: SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS NOYCE PROJECT IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. THE NOYCE PROGRAM SUPPORTS TALENTED STEM UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS AND PROFESSIONALS TO BECOME EFFECTIVE K-12 STEM TEACHERS AND EXPERIENCED, EXEMPLARY K-12 TEACHERS TO BECOME STEM MASTER TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IT ALSO SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTIVENESS AND RETENTION OF K-12 TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

CAREER: AMATEUR RADIO AS A TOOL FOR STUDYING TRAVELING IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES AND ATMOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE COUPLING

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DASI TRACK 1--PERSONAL SPACE WEATHER STATION

TRANSFORMING STEM IN NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA

RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE: MRI: TRACK 1 ACQUISITION OF AN OLYMPUS FV4000RS CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE SYSTEM TO ADVANCE RESEARCH AND TRAINING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON -AN AWARD IS MADE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON TO ACQUIRE AN OLYMPUS FLUOVIEW FV4000 INVERTED CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE TO ENHANCE TEACHING AND CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH IN MULTIPLE BIOLOGICAL FIELDS, DRIVEN BY UNDERGRADUATE AND MASTER?S STUDENT RESEARCH. IN LINE WITH THE UNIVERSITY?S GOALS OF PROMOTING SCIENCE AS AN ENTERPRISE OF INQUIRY AND DISCOVERY, THIS MICROSCOPE WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO MULTIPLE UPPER-LEVEL BIOLOGY COURSES TO ENHANCE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES TO UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS IN STEM. THE MICROSCOPE WILL ALSO BE ACCESSIBLE TO FACULTY MEMBERS AT OTHER UNIVERSITIES IN THE SCRANTON AREA, WHERE CONFOCAL ACCESS IS INADEQUATE OR ABSENT. IN ADDITION, CONFOCAL WORKSHOPS AND SUMMER RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WILL BE PROVIDED TO AID IN THE EXPANDED TRAINING FOR USERS BEYOND THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON. MORE SPECIFICALLY, ACQUISITION OF THIS MICROSCOPE WILL SUPPORT MULTIPLE RESEARCH PROGRAMS INVESTIGATING QUESTIONS IN CELLULAR BIOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, PARASITOLOGY, AND PHYSIOLOGY. BY ENABLING IN-DEPTH OBSERVATIONS OF CELLS/TISSUES, TIME-LAPSE IMAGING, AND CONTROLLED-CULTURE CONDITIONS, FACULTY AND STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO CHARACTERIZE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN NEURON DYNAMICS AND OTHER FACTORS, INCLUDING METABOLIC DYSFUNCTION, NEURODEGENERATION, ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS, AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN INSECTS. FURTHERMORE, SECONDARY DEPARTMENTAL USERS WITH EXPERTISE IN BACTERIAL EVOLUTIONARY MORPHOLOGY AND PLANT DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY WILL NOW BE ABLE TO IMAGE WITH MUCH HIGHER RESOLUTION AND MORE RAPID IMAGING, INCREASING EFFICIENCY. TOGETHER, ACQUISITION OF THE OLYMPUS FLUOVIEW FV4000 INVERTED CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE WILL ENSURE THAT THESE FACULTY ARE ABLE TO CONTINUALLY ADVANCE IN THEIR FIELD, REMAIN COMPETITIVE FOR FUTURE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, AND EFFECTIVELY TRAIN A FUTURE STEM WORKFORCE. 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.

BRC-BIO: PICK YOUR POISON: THE PHYSIOLOGICAL COST OF ALKALOID SEQUESTRATION IN DENDROBATID POISON FROGS -ORGANISMS TYPICALLY HAVE PHYSIOLOGIES ADAPTED TO THE ENVIRONMENTS THAT THEY INHABIT. HOWEVER, MANY HABITATS ARE RAPIDLY CHANGING DUE TO HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE. THESE CHANGES CAN IMPACT SPECIES? ABILITY TO PERSIST IN PREVIOUSLY ADEQUATE ENVIRONMENTS. POISON FROGS IN THE FAMILY DENDROBATIDAE ARE CHARISMATIC BECAUSE OF THEIR BRIGHT COLORS AND UNIQUE ABILITY TO SEQUESTER ALKALOID DEFENSES FROM THEIR NATURAL DIET OF MITES AND ANTS. THE FROGS USE THESE ALKALOIDS AS A CHEMICAL DEFENSE AGAINST PREDATORS AND MICROBES, YET LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE PHYSIOLOGICAL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPING THESE DEFENSES. MORE SPECIFICALLY, HOW DOES ALKALOID SEQUESTRATION INFLUENCE THE ENERGY REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS TO SURVIVE? AND IN TURN, HOW DOES THIS IMPACT HOW FROGS INTERACT WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT SUCH AS HOW MUCH TIME THEY NEED TO SPEND FORAGING FOR FOOD OR FINDING A MATE? FROGS ARE POIKILOTHERMIC, WHICH MEANS CHANGES TO ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURE WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT THEIR BODY TEMPERATURE. AS TEMPERATURE INCREASES, SO DOES METABOLIC RATE, WHICH WILL REQUIRE FROGS TO ACQUIRE MORE ENERGY (FOR EXAMPLE, EAT MORE FOOD) OR UTILIZE DIFFERENT THERMAL MICROHABITATS. THEREFORE, INCREASES IN TEMPERATURE DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO INCREASE THE COST OF ALKALOID SEQUESTRATION FOR FROGS. THE CURRENT PROJECT AIMS TO ESTABLISH A CAREER STUDY SYSTEM, ROOTED IN INVOLVING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL BE TRAINED IN CUTTING EDGE TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING PHYSIOLOGY AND CHEMICAL ECOLOGY. THE CHARISMATIC NATURE OF THE FROGS WILL ALSO ALLOW FOR OUTREACH EVENTS, ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT ECOPHYSIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION. AMPHIBIANS ARE ESPECIALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO CLIMATE CHANGE AS THEIR PHYSIOLOGIES, SPECIFICALLY RESPIRATION AND OTHER ASPECTS OF METABOLISM, ARE DEPENDENT ON SPECIFIC TEMPERATURE AND MOISTURE CONDITIONS. NEOTROPICAL POISON FROGS IN THE FAMILY DENDROBATIDAE ALSO HAVE SPECIALIZED PHYSIOLOGIES THAT ALLOW THEM TO SEQUESTER DIETARY ALKALOIDS TO BE USED AS CHEMICAL DEFENSES. THE GOAL OF THIS BRC-BIO PROJECT IS TO QUANTIFY HOW ALKALOID SEQUESTRATION BY DENDROBATID FROGS IMPACTS ECOLOGICALLY RELEVANT PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, SUCH AS METABOLISM. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL, A BREEDING COLONY OF 10 SPECIES OF DENDROBATIDS WILL BE ESTABLISHED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON, WHICH WILL BE USED TO TEST THREE PRIMARY HYPOTHESES: (1) SEQUESTRATION OF ALKALOIDS HAS A PHYSIOLOGICAL COST THAT WILL RESULT IN INCREASED METABOLIC RATE AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE; (2) CHANGES IN METABOLIC RATE WILL VARY BY FROG LINEAGE, AS ALKALOID SEQUESTRATION HAS EVOLVED MULTIPLE TIMES WITHIN THE FAMILY; AND (3) METABOLIC RATE WILL INCREASE PROPORTIONALLY WITH THE QUANTITY OF ALKALOID SEQUESTERED. THESE HYPOTHESES WILL BE TESTED BY PROVIDING FROGS WITH A CONTROL OR ALKALOID-SUPPLEMENTED DIET AND QUANTIFYING INDIVIDUAL FROG?S METABOLIC RATE BY MEASURING AND COMPARING RATES OF CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION AND OXYGEN CONSUMPTION. DENDROBATIDS NATURALLY POSSESS MORE THAN 20 DIFFERENT TYPES OF ALKALOIDS, AND THEREFORE A DIVERSITY OF ALKALOIDS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON PHYSIOLOGY WILL BE MEASURED. THE DATA GENERATED BY THIS BRC-BIO PROJECT, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FROG BREEDING COLONY, WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON STUDENT-LED INDEPENDENT PROJECTS, NOVEL PHYSIOLOGY EXPERIMENTS IN UNDERGRADUATE COURSES, AND OUTREACH WITH THE COMMUNITY AND K-12 SCHOOLS. 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.

BRC-BIO: TESTING THE DRIVERS OF HETEROGENEITY IN VECTOR-BORNE BLOOD PARASITISM AND ENHANCING BIODIVERSITY COLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION IN PARASITOLOGY -PARASITIC ORGANISMS HAVE AN INCREDIBLY PROFOUND IMPACT ON EARTH?S ECOSYSTEMS THROUGH THEIR CAPACITY TO CAUSE DISEASE IN THE HOST ORGANISMS THAT THEY INFECT. PARASITISM HAS BEEN ESTIMATED TO BE THE MOST COMMON MODE OF LIFE AMONG ALL OF EARTH?S SPECIES, AND PARASITES ARE PERVASIVE ACROSS THE WORLD?S WILDLIFE, LIVESTOCK, AND HUMAN POPULATIONS. YET AS INFLUENTIAL AS PARASITES ARE, NOT ALL HOSTS ARE EQUALLY LIKELY TO BECOME INFECTED WITH A PARASITE. WHILE SOME HOST SPECIES APPEAR TO BE PARASITE ?HOTSPOTS? THAT ARE FREQUENTLY INFECTED BY A DIVERSITY OF PARASITE SPECIES, OTHERS SOMEHOW MANAGE TO LARGELY ESCAPE PARASITISM. IDENTIFYING THE FACTORS THAT DETERMINE WHETHER A HOST SPECIES IS LIKELY TO BE PARASITIZED IS CRITICAL FOR ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF DISEASE IN NATURE AND THE CAPACITY FOR DISEASE TO SPREAD. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL EXPAND OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE WHETHER A HOST SPECIES IS LIKELY TO BECOME INFECTED WITH A PARASITE. PARASITE SPECIMENS COLLECTED FROM THIS WORK WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP A COURSE-BASED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN PARASITOLOGY, AND TO ENGAGE SCRANTON AREA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN PARASITOLOGY RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON. THIS BRC-BIO PROJECT WILL STUDY A DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF BIRDS, THEIR BLOOD PARASITES, AND INSECT VECTORS (MOSQUITOES AND CULICOIDES BITING MIDGES) IN NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TO TEST HYPOTHESES ABOUT THE DETERMINANTS OF PARASITISM IN VERTEBRATES. PARASITE SPECIMENS WILL BE PRESERVED AND ACCESSIONED IN BIODIVERSITY REPOSITORIES TO IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE NOVEL PARASITE SPECIES DIVERSITY, AND HIGH THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING APPROACHES WILL BE USED TO CHARACTERIZE PARASITE COMMUNITIES WITHIN BIRD AND INSECT VECTOR POPULATIONS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL TEST THE FOLLOWING HYPOTHESES: 1) BIRD SPECIES THAT ARE MORE FREQUENTLY INFECTED WITH PARASITES ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN COLONIZED BY PARASITE SPECIES OVER EVOLUTIONARY TIMESCALES, 2) ANTAGONISTIC ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN TWO COMMON GROUPS OF BLOOD PARASITES (HAEMOSPORIDIANS AND TRYPANOSOMATIDS) REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF HOST INFECTION, AND 3) HOST TRAITS AND BIASES IN INSECT VECTOR FEEDING BEHAVIOR INFLUENCE THE ACQUISITION OF PARASITES ACROSS HOST SPECIES. 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.

TRAVELING IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES (TIDS) ARE QUASI-PERIODIC VARIATIONS OF F-REGION IONOSPHERIC DENSITIES THAT AFFECT THE RANGE AND QUALITY OF HIGH FREQUENCY (3-30 MHZ) RADIO COMMUNICATIONS BY MOVING THE IONOSPHERIC SKIP-FOCUSING DISTANCE AS THE TID

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION GRANTS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A 400 MHZ NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR) SPECTROMETER TO ADVANCE RESEARCH AND STUDENT RESEARCH TRAINING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON

CROWDSOURCED OBSERVATIONS FOR IONOSPHERIC MODEL VALIDATION AND A DIAGNOSTIC APPROACH FOR FORECASTING EQUATORIAL SPREAD F

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIP

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING GRANTS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DASI TRACK 2: DEPLOYMENT AND OPERATIONS OF THE HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION (HAMSCI) PERSONAL SPACE WEATHER STATION NETWORK -THE HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION (HAMSCI) NETWORK IS A DISTRIBUTED ARRAY OF SMALL INSTRUMENTS (DASI) DESIGNED FOR THE STUDY OF SPACE WEATHER IMPACTS. THE PERSONAL SPACE WEATHER STATION (PSWS) PLATFORM WAS PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED THROUGH DASI TRACK 1 PROGRAM IN 2019. PSWS STATIONS HAVE ONE OR MORE INSTRUMENTS, EACH CAPABLE OF SENSING A DIFFERENT ASPECT OF THE GEOSPACE ENVIRONMENT. SEVERAL STATIONS WERE DEPLOYED AS PROOF-OF-CONCEPT INCLUDING THOSE BY AMATEUR HAM RADIO OPERATORS AND TODAY, THE PSWS NETWORK CONSISTS OF OVER THIRTY-FIVE STATIONS LOCATED PRIMARILY IN THE CONTINENTAL US, BUT SOME ALSO IN CANADA, ALASKA, AND EUROPE. IT IS USED TO STUDY THE IONOSPHERIC IMPACTS OF SOLAR FLARES, SOLAR ECLIPSES, GEOMAGNETIC STORMS, TRAVELING IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES, AND OTHER SMALL-SCALE IONOSPHERIC VARIABILITY. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE THE BACKBONE FOR THE HAMSCI PSWS NETWORK TO ENABLE A RANGE OF SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS BY DEPLOYING THIRTY STANDARDIZED STATIONS CAPABLE OF OBSERVING HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) DOPPLER SHIFTS, HF AMATEUR RADIO TRANSMISSIONS, VERY LOW FREQUENCY TRANSMISSIONS AND NATURAL RADIO EMISSIONS, AND THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD. TEN FULLY AUTOMATED, GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) DISCIPLINED AMATEUR RADIO TRANSMITTERS WILL BE ALSO DEPLOYED TO SERVE AS A NEW SOURCE OF GPS-STABILIZED HF BEACON SIGNALS. ONCE DEPLOYED, THIS ENHANCED NETWORK WILL ENABLE RESEARCHERS TO INVESTIGATE BOTH LOCAL AND CONTINENTAL SPACE WEATHER EFFECTS, INCLUDING THOSE CAUSED BY TRAVELING IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES, SOLAR FLARES, AND GEOMAGNETIC STORMS. THE NETWORK HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITIES. IT THUS PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTICIPATION BY AND OUTREACH TO OVER 730,000 LICENSED US AMATEURS AND ABOUT 3 MILLION WORLDWIDE. THIS WORK WILL IMPROVE SYNERGIES BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITIES, DEVELOP OPEN TECHNOLOGIES AND OBSERVATION NETWORKS THAT CAN BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EXISTING GEOSPACE INFRASTRUCTURE, AND DEVELOP MATERIALS THAT CAN BE USED IN FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO TEACH SPACE AND RADIO SCIENCE. HAMSCI HAS A LARGE ONLINE PRESENCE AND FOLLOWING WITHIN THE AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITY. THIS TRANSLATES TO THE POTENTIAL FOR EXTENSIVE PUBLIC RELATIONS AND LARGE OUTREACH. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT SEVERAL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS? PARTICIPATION AND INCLUDE MAJOR PARTICIPATION OF BOTH A MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION AND AN EMERGING (NON-R1) ACADEMIC INSTITUTION. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE GEOSPACE FACILITIES PROGRAM WITH CO-FUNDING FROM THE AERONOMY PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF ATMOSPHERIC AND GEOSPACE SCIENCES. 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.

SOLAR ECLIPSE QSO PARTY 2.0: AMATEUR RADIO CITIZEN SCIENCE TO STUDY THE IONOSPHERIC EFFECTS OF THE 2024 AMERICAN TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

LEAPS-MPS: NETWORK STATISTICS OF RUPTURING FOAMS -FOAMS FORM WHEN POCKETS OF AIR ARE TRAPPED INSIDE A LIQUID OR SOLID MATERIAL. THE STRUCTURES AND SYMMETRIES FOUND IN FOAMS HAVE DRAWN THE ATTENTION OF PURE MATHEMATICIANS FOR CENTURIES, BUT PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF FOAMS, BOTH DESIRABLE AND UNDESIRABLE, ARE ALSO HIGHLY RELEVANT IN INDUSTRY AND MANUFACTURING. THIS PROJECT WILL STUDY STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL FOAMS IN A CONTROLLED SETTING THROUGH COMPRESSING A SOAP FOAM BETWEEN TWO TRANSPARENT PLATES AND HEATING TO INDUCE EDGE BREAKING. THE NETWORK DYNAMICS WILL BE THEN CAPTURED THROUGH IMAGE PROCESSING ALGORITHMS. THE UNDERLYING DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS FOR MODELING RUPTURES, A VARIATION OF THE SO-CALLED COAGULATION EQUATIONS DESCRIBING STICKY PARTICLE AGGREGATION, WILL ALSO BE RIGOROUSLY ANALYZED. BECAUSE THE ELIMINATION OF FOAM IS VITAL IN MULTIPLE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES SUCH AS IN THE PRODUCTION OF DETERGENTS, THE PROJECT AIMS TO GENERATE DATA DIRECTLY RELATED TO RATES OF FOAM REDUCTION TO SHED LIGHT ON HOW TO OPTIMIZE THIS PROCESS. THE PROJECT INCLUDES UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES TO LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS FOCUSED ON DATA SCIENCE. THE STUDY OF MICROSTRUCTURE, OR COMPOSITION OF MATERIALS AT SMALL SCALES, IS CRITICAL FOR UNDERSTANDING MATERIAL PROPERTIES AT THE MACROSCOPIC LEVEL. WHILE MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THE COARSENING OF MICROSTRUCTURE VIA GAS DIFFUSION ACROSS CELL WALLS, THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THE EXPERIMENTAL GENERATION AND THEORETICAL MODELING OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL FOAMS WITH EDGE RUPTURE INDUCED BY HEATING. USING CELL-TRACKING ALGORITHMS COMMONLY FOUND IN MORPHOLOGY, THE PROJECT WILL EXAMINE THE EVOLVING NETWORK STATISTICS SUCH AS TOPOLOGICAL FREQUENCIES, COARSENING RATES, AND THE CREATION AND GROWTH OF MASSIVE CELLS. BECAUSE THE SECOND-ORDER REACTION OF CELL MERGING RESULTING FROM RUPTURE CAN BE MODELED THROUGH PROCESSES LIKE THE SMOLUCHOWSKI COAGULATION EQUATION, THIS PROJECT WILL CONSIDER A CLASS OF THESE EQUATIONS INSPIRED BY THIS MERGING AND WILL FOCUS ON RIGOROUSLY DERIVING PROPERTIES OF THE RESULTING CLUSTER STATISTICS. THE LONG-TERM GOAL BEING TO USE THE EXPERIMENTAL, COMPUTATIONAL, AND THEORETICAL METHODS DEVELOPED IN THIS STUDY FOR CONSTRUCTING A GENERAL THEORY OF COARSENING PROCESSES. 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: SOCIAL BRAINS AND SOLITARY BEES: A PHYLOGENETIC TEST OF THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR ON BRAIN EVOLUTION ACROSS MULTIPLE GAINS AND LOSSES OF SOCIALITY

UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON RLTT PROGRAM

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

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CEDAR: MEASURING DAILY IONOSPHERIC VARIABILITY AND THE 2023 & 2024 SOLAR ECLIPSE IONOSPHERIC IMPACTS USING HAMSCI HF DOPPLER SHIFT RECEIVERS -THIS PROJECT WILL STUDY IONOSPHERIC VARIABILITY ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES (CONUS) GENERATED BY DAWN/DUSK TRANSITIONS AND TWO SOLAR ECLIPSES OCCURRING IN 2023 AND 2024. DAWN AND DUSK PRODUCE A COMPLEX RESPONSE IN OBSERVED IONOSPHERIC VARIABILITY THAT IS STILL NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD. A NETWORK OF GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM (GNSS) STABILIZED/SYNCHRONIZED HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) RECEIVERS KNOWN AS GRAPES WILL BE USED FOR THE STUDY. THIRTY GRAPE RECEIVERS WILL BE DEPLOYED THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA TO OPTIMIZE THE STUDY OF THE IONOSPHERIC IMPACTS SIMULTANEOUSLY RECEIVED FROM TWO LOCATIONS. ADDITIONAL STATIONS WILL BE FUNDED BY THE HAMSCI AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITY. THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE OBSERVATIONS TO ANSWER THE SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS: (1) HOW DO DAWN AND DUSK IONOSPHERIC VARIABILITY VARY WITH LOCAL TIME, SEASON, LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, FREQUENCY, DISTANCE, AND DIRECTION FROM THE TRANSMITTER? (2) IS ECLIPSE IONOSPHERIC RESPONSE SYMMETRIC WITH REGARD TO THE ONSET AND RECOVERY TIMING? (3) HOW SIMILAR IS THE ECLIPSE TO THE DAILY DAWN AND DUSK TERMINATOR PASSAGE? (4) WOULD MULTIPATH HF MODE-SPLITTING IN THE POST-ECLIPSE INTERVAL BE SIMILAR TO DAWN EVENTS? (5) WOULD THE RESPONSE BE DIFFERENT FOR TWO ECLIPSES? THIS PROJECT IS PART OF THE HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION (HAMSCI) PROGRAM AND WILL BE OPEN TO VOLUNTEERS WHO WANT TO FIELD INSTRUMENTS AND CONTRIBUTE TO SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO ESTABLISH A NEW NETWORK OF DASI INSTRUMENTS THAT, DUE TO ITS LOW COST AND OPERATION BY VOLUNTEERS, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE MEASUREMENTS FOR YEARS TO COME. THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT STUDENTS (UNDERGRADUATE, MS AND PH.D.). 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.

SCRANTON'S STORY, OUR NATION'S STORY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CEDAR--EFFECTS OF IONOSPHERIC DENSITY IRREGULARITIES ON HIGH-FREQUENCY RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION -HIGH-FREQUENCY (HF, 3?30 MHZ) RADIO WAVES PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN LONG-DISTANCE COMMUNICATIONS. THEY HAVE APPLICATIONS IN SHORT-WAVE INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING AND COMMUNICATIONS BY AIRCRAFT, MILITARY OPERATIONS, AND AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS AND ARE USEFUL DURING EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. HF RADIO WAVE COMMUNICATION IS POSSIBLE THROUGH WAVE REFLECTION AND REFRACTION IN THE IONOSPHERE, WHICH IS PART OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE AT 100-2000 KM ALTITUDE. THE PROJECT AIMS AT INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF THE IONOSPHERIC DENSITY FLUCTUATIONS ON THE PROPAGATION OF HF RADIO WAVES, AND THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT ARE EXPECTED TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF GROUND HF COMMUNICATIONS. THIS RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO UNDER-REPRESENTED COMMUNITIES IN STEM AREAS AT A MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION. THE EFFORT IS BEING LED BY A WOMAN SCIENTIST AND INVOLVES SEVERAL EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS. THE PROJECT INTEGRATES RESEARCH INTO THE HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION PROGRAM TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF DISTURBANCES ON HF COMMUNICATION. THE RESULTS WILL BE WIDELY DISTRIBUTED AND OF SIGNIFICANT INTEREST TO VARIOUS GROUPS, INCLUDING AMATEUR RADIO ENTHUSIASTS, EMERGENCY SERVICES, AIRLINES, MARITIME ORGANIZATIONS, AND DEFENSE USERS. THE RESEARCH WORK WILL INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF IONOSPHERIC DENSITY FLUCTUATIONS ON HF WAVE PROPAGATION. SINCE SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCE THE IONOSPHERE, HF RADIO COMMUNICATIONS ARE ALSO SENSITIVE TO SPACE WEATHER. THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THREE SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS: (A) HOW ARE GROUND HF COMMUNICATIONS AFFECTED BY DIFFERENT SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITIES? (B) HOW DO SMALL-SCALE DENSITY IRREGULARITIES APPEAR IN VARIOUS SPACE WEATHER CONDITIONS? (C) HOW DO HF WAVES PROPAGATE THROUGH THE IRREGULAR DENSITY PROFILE?; AND FINALLY (D) HOW DOES SPACE WEATHER AFFECT SMALL-SCALE DENSITY IRREGULARITIES AND GROUND HF COMMUNICATIONS?. TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS, RESEARCHERS WILL UTILIZE SATELLITE, HF AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATION DATA SETS, AND WILL PERFORM FULL-WAVE SIMULATIONS USING ADVANCED FINITE ELEMENT METHOD (FEM) CODE, PETRA-M BY ADOPTING A REALISTIC DENSITY FLUCTUATION PROFILE. BY COMPARING THE PREDICTED WAVE PROPERTIES FROM THE PETRA-M CODE WITH THE OBSERVED HF COMMUNICATIONS, IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO EVALUATE HOW WELL THE MODEL SIMULATES REAL-LIFE CONDITIONS WHILE PROVIDING NEW INSIGHT INTO HOW THE HF RADIO WAVES PROPAGATE THROUGH IONOSPHERIC IRREGULARITIES. 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.

SERVICE FOCUSED SPECIAL CONGRESSIONAL INITIATIVE

ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING TRAINEESHIPS

EARMARKS

WORKFORCE TRAINING

HABITAT USE BY SPRING MIGRATING LANDBIRDS WITHIN THE GREAT LAKES BASIN

NURSE ANESTHETIST TRAINEESHIPS

DIRECTED GRANTS

ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION

I-CORPS: DETERMINATION OF SYRUP ADULTERANTS AND GEOGRAPHICAL AND FLORAL ORIGIN OF HONEY USING CHEMOMETRICS -THE BROADER IMPACT/COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL OF THIS I-CORPS PROJECT IS IN THE AREA OF HONEY ADULTERATION DETECTION. HONEY ADULTERATION WHICH IS THE PROCESS OF DELIBERATELY ADDING ADULTERANTS SUCH AS CORN, CANE, BEET, AND RICE SYRUPS IN HONEY CAN HAVE SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC AND ORGANOLEPTIC CONSEQUENCES. THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY WILL ALLOW HONEY IMPORTERS, PACKERS, AND RETAILERS, AS WELL AS FOOD AUTHENTICATION AGENCIES TO QUICKLY TRACK THE AUTHENTICITY OF THEIR HONEY PRODUCTS AT EACH STEP OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN BY QUANTIFYING THE ABOVEMENTIONED ADULTERANT SYRUPS IN A FACILE AND CONVENIENT MANNER. THIS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE PRODUCT?S AUTHENTICITY AND TRACEABILITY. FURTHER, IN SITU TESTING FOR THE PRESENCE OF HONEY ADULTERANTS AS WELL AS FLORAL AND GEOGRAPHIC FINGERPRINTING WILL ALLOW VARIOUS HONEY MARKET SEGMENTS TO DEMAND THE APPROPRIATE PRICE FOR THEIR PURE HONEY PRODUCTS IN THE GLOBAL MARKET. WITH FOOD FRAUD CONTINUING TO ESCALATE GLOBALLY, THE FOOD AUTHENTICITY MARKET IS EXPECTED TO GROW TO $8.3 BILLION (USD) BY 2023. ADULTERATED HONEY CONSTITUTES 7% OF FOOD FRAUD CASES, AMOUNTING TO $581 MILLION (USD) BY 2023 IN TOTAL MARKET SIZE DISRUPTION. THIS I-CORPS PROJECT IS BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PORTABLE MID-INFRARED SPECTROMETRIC DEVICE AND A SMARTPHONE APPLICATION SYSTEM THAT CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY QUANTIFY THE PRESENCE OF VARIOUS SYRUPS (I.E., CORN, CANE, BEET, AND RICE) AS WELL AS SUGAR CONTENT (I.E., GLUCOSE, FRUCTOSE, AND SUCROSE) IN HONEY IN LESS THAN 2 MINUTES. CURRENT METHODS FOR DETECTING THESE ADULTERANTS IN HONEY ARE CONSIDERED EXPENSIVE, TIME CONSUMING, ARCHAIC, AND CUMBERSOME. MOST OF THESE TESTS ARE BEING CONDUCTED VIA THIRD-PARTY LABORATORIES USING EXPENSIVE AND COMPLEX ANALYTICAL EQUIPMENT. THE SMARTPHONE APPLICATION SYSTEM WILL CONTAIN THE RESEARCH GROUP?S PROPRIETARY DEVELOPED MULTIVARIATE CALIBRATION SYSTEM THAT CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY QUANTIFY THE PRESENCE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED ADULTERANTS IN HONEY IN A FACILE, CONVENIENT, AND AFFORDABLE MANNER USING THE MID-INFRARED SPECTROMETRIC DEVICE. FURTHER, THE MULTIVARIATE CALIBRATION ALGORITHMIC SYSTEM WILL ALSO FEATURE ASPECTS RELATED TO DETERMINING THE FLORAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL ORIGIN OF HONEY. 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.

I-CORPS: BLOCKCHAIN-ENABLED PATIENT CENTRIC CONSENT TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO CARE -THE BROADER IMPACT/COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL OF THIS I-CORPS PROJECT IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOFTWARE SYSTEM THAT WILL ALLOW PATIENTS? EFFICIENT ACCESSIBILITY TO MEDICAL SECOND OPINIONS USING DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY. THE PROPOSED SOLUTION IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT THAN EXISTING SOLUTIONS. RECENT STUDIES IDENTIFIED BARRIERS TO THE MARKET INCLUDING LONG WAITING TIMES AND UNCLEAR COSTS. THE CURRENT SECOND OPINION SOLUTIONS DO NOT ADDRESS THE INTEROPERABILITY AND INFORMATION SILO PROBLEM, AND THEY KEEP THE BURDEN OF COLLECTING INFORMATION ON PATIENTS. PATIENTS PROVIDE RECORDS TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY, BUT UNFORTUNATELY MANY TIMES THE INFORMATION THEY PROVIDE IS INSUFFICIENT, AND NOT SPECIFIC TO THEIR VISIT, WHICH OCCASIONALLY REQUIRES REPEAT IMAGING/TESTING/STUDIES. THE PROPOSED SOLUTION SAVES PHYSICIANS TIME AND ADDRESSES CURRENT BARRIERS OF NON-TECHNICAL PATIENTS AS IT SIMPLIFIES, ORGANIZES, AND EFFICIENTLY PRESENTS THIS INFORMATION TO A PHYSICIAN FOR A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE PATIENT'S CONDITION. CURRENT MEDICAL SECOND OPINION MARKET SIZE IS ESTIMATED TO BE $7.1 BILLION BY 2025. THIS I-CORPS PROJECT IS BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY THAT SOLVES THE CHALLENGE FACED BY PATIENTS TO HAVE THEIR COMPLETE MEDICAL CHARTS AVAILABLE FOR DISSEMINATION. CURRENTLY, THE INFORMATION RESIDES IS WITH DIFFERENT MODALITIES AND TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS AND IS SCATTERED AMONG VARIOUS PHYSICIANS AND INSTITUTIONS. THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY USES THE DISTRIBUTED LEDGER BUILT-IN INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT SEAMLESS PATIENT CONTROL, NOTIFICATION, AND EVEN COMPENSATION, WHEN PERMITTED BY LAW, EVERY TIME THEIR DATA IS ACCESSED AND USED. HAVING THE DATA ATTACHED WITH A DISTRIBUTED LEDGER INFRASTRUCTURE ENABLES AN AUTOMATED TRACING MECHANISM THAT MAY SUPPORT A TRANSPARENT USE OF DATA ANY TIME. THE TECHNOLOGY HELPS MINIMIZE THE PATIENTS WAITING TIME BY ENSURING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE COLLECTED PATIENT RECORDS TO PHYSICIANS. IN ADDITION, IT HELPS THE PATIENT WITH THE COST ESTIMATION OF THE SECOND OPINION BY PREVENTING UNNECESSARY TESTS ALREADY DONE. 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.

I-CORPS: A DATA CAPTURE AND MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY TO TRANSFORM DATA ACCESS, STRUCTURE, AND SECURITY

THE HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION (HAMSCI) WORKSHOP; SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA; MARCH 17-18, 2023 -THIS AWARD PROVIDES SUPPORT TO THE HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION (HAMSCI) WORKSHOP TO BE HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON MARCH 17-18, 2023. THE HAMSCI WORKSHOP IS AN ANNUAL WORKSHOP THAT AIMS TO BRING TOGETHER MEMBERS OF THE AMATEUR RADIO AND PROFESSIONAL RADIO SPACE SCIENCE COMMUNITIES FOR MUTUAL BENEFIT. THIS WORKSHOP SERIES HAS LED TO CUTTING-EDGE WORK IN THE FIELDS OF SPACE PHYSICS, CITIZEN SCIENCE, AND THE USE OF CROWD-SOURCED IONOSPHERIC DATA. THE 2023 HAMSCI WORKSHOP WILL FEATURE PROMINENT LEADERS IN RADIO SCIENCE, SPACE SCIENCE, AND SPACE WEATHER. THE 2023 HAMSCI WORKSHOP IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT AND TIMELY, AS BOTH THE PROFESSIONAL SCIENCE AND AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITIES ARE PREPARING FOR THE UPCOMING 14 OCTOBER 2023 ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE AND THE 8 OCTOBER 2024 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE. BOTH ECLIPSES HAVE PATHS THAT SWEEP ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES (CONUS). THESE ARE THE LAST SOLAR ECLIPSES TO TRAVERSE THE CONUS UNTIL 2044, AND ARE THEREFORE IMPORTANT, TIME-SENSITIVE, INFORMATION-RICH OPPORTUNITIES FOR RUNNING UNIQUE AND ?CONTROLLED? IONOSPHERIC EXPERIMENTS. THIS MEETING WILL ALSO SERVE AS A BI-ANNUAL DEVELOPMENT MEETING OF THE HAMSCI PERSONAL SPACE WEATHER STATION (PSWS), A PROJECT FUNDED THROUGH THE NSF AERONOMY DISTRIBUTED ARRAY OF SMALL INSTRUMENTS (DASI) PROGRAM. DURING THIS TWO-DAY WORKSHOP, PROFESSIONALS AND AMATEURS COME TOGETHER TO GIVE ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS, EQUIPMENT DEMONSTRATIONS, AND HAVE INFORMAL DISCUSSIONS AND NETWORKING RELATED TO BOTH AMATEUR RADIO AND APPLICABLE SCIENTIFIC FIELDS. THE WORKSHOP TOPICS INCLUDE THE USE OF AMATEUR RADIO TECHNIQUES FOR OBSERVING AND UNDERSTANDING THE PHYSICS BEHIND TRAVELING IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES (TIDS), SPORADIC E, THE IONOSPHERIC RESPONSE TO SOLAR FLARES AND GEOMAGNETIC STORMS, AND SPACE WEATHER EFFECTS ON RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION. AN ATTENDANCE ON THE ORDER OF 100 PEOPLE IN PERSON AND UP TO 500 VIRTUAL PARTICIPANTS IS EXPECTED. THIS WILL BE A HYBRID WORKSHOP WITH FREE INTERACTIVE ZOOM PARTICIPATION AND LIVE STREAMING BY THE HAM RADIO 2.0 YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO ENSURE BROADEST ACCESSIBILITY. ALL PRESENTATIONS WILL BE ARCHIVED ON YOUTUBE AND MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH HAMSCI.ORG. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

THE HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION (HAMSCI) WORKSHOP; CLEVELAND, OHIO; MARCH 22-23, 2024 -THIS AWARD PROVIDES SUPPORT TO THE HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION (HAMSCI) WORKSHOP TO BE HELD AT CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY BETWEEN MARCH 22-23, 2024. THE HAMSCI WORKSHOP IS AN ANNUAL WORKSHOP THAT AIMS TO BRING TOGETHER MEMBERS OF THE AMATEUR RADIO AND PROFESSIONAL RADIO SPACE SCIENCE COMMUNITIES FOR MUTUAL BENEFIT. THIS WORKSHOP SERIES HAS LED TO CUTTING-EDGE WORK IN THE FIELDS OF SPACE PHYSICS, CITIZEN SCIENCE, AND THE USE OF CROWD-SOURCED IONOSPHERIC DATA. THE 2024 HAMSCI WORKSHOP WILL FEATURE PROMINENT LEADERS IN RADIO SCIENCE, SPACE SCIENCE, AND SPACE WEATHER. THIS WORKSHOP AIMS AT DISCUSSING THE 2023 SOLAR ECLIPSE RESULTS AND PREPARE FOR THE UPCOMING 2024 SOLAR ECLIPSE EVENT. THE MEETING THEME OF ?ALIGNMENT?, INSPIRED BY THE RECENT 2023 AND UPCOMING 2024 SOLAR ECLIPSES, REFERS ALSO TO ALIGNMENT WITHIN THE SCIENTIFIC STRATEGY OF THE HAMSCI INITIATIVE: BETWEEN COLLEGIATE AMATEUR RADIO RECREATION AND STEM CURRICULUM; BETWEEN DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS; BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL AND CITIZEN SCIENCE. DURING THIS TWO-DAY WORKSHOP, PROFESSIONALS AND AMATEURS COME TOGETHER TO GIVE ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS, EQUIPMENT DEMONSTRATIONS, AND HAVE INFORMAL DISCUSSIONS AND NETWORKING RELATED TO BOTH AMATEUR RADIO AND APPLICABLE SCIENTIFIC FIELDS. SEVERAL DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS HAVE BEEN INVITED. THE 2024 WORKSHOP WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE HEADWAY ON TOPICS OF PAST HAMSCI MEETINGS, INCLUDING THE USE OF AMATEUR RADIO TECHNIQUES FOR OBSERVING AND UNDERSTANDING THE PHYSICS BEHIND TRAVELING IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES, SPORADIC E, THE IONOSPHERIC RESPONSE TO SOLAR FLARES AND GEOMAGNETIC STORMS, AND SPACE WEATHER EFFECTS ON RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION. THIS MEETING WILL ALSO SERVE AS A BI-ANNUAL DISCUSSION FORUM FOR THE HAMSCI PERSONAL SPACE WEATHER STATION (PSWS), A PROJECT FUNDED THROUGH THE NSF AERONOMY DISTRIBUTED ARRAY OF SMALL INSTRUMENTS (DASI) PROGRAM. THIS WILL BE A HYBRID WORKSHOP WITH FREE INTERACTIVE ZOOM PARTICIPATION AND LIVE STREAMING BY THE HAM RADIO 2.0 YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO ENSURE BROADEST ACCESSIBILITY. ALL PRESENTATIONS WILL BE ARCHIVED ON YOUTUBE AND MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH HAMSCI.ORG. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

THE HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION (HAMSCI) 2022 WORKSHOP; SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA; MARCH 18-19, 2022

HAM RADIO SCIENCE CITIZEN INVESTIGATION (HAMSCI) WORKSHOP 2020; SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA; MARCH 20-21, 2020

RUI: PHYSIOLOGICAL HETEROGENEITY OF PLASTIC-ASSOCIATED MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES IN FRESHWATER LAKE LACAWAC

DEVELOPING BLACK STUDIES THROUGH THE HUMANITIES [THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON, A PRIVATE, JESUIT UNIVERSITY LOCATED IN SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, REQUESTS SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES (NEH) HUMANITIES CONNECTIONS PROGRAM FOR A PLANNING PROJECT ENTITLED ?DEVELOPING BLACK STUDIES THROUGH THE HUMANITIES.? THE PROJECT WILL REINVIGORATE INTEREST IN THE HUMANITIES BY DEVELOPING FOUR NEW INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSES FOR THE NEWLY LAUNCHED BLACK STUDIES CONCENTRATION; LAUNCH A BLACK STUDIES LEARNING LAB THAT INTEGRATES METHODS AND TOOLS FROM THE HUMANITIES INTO COURSES FROM OTHER FIELDS; OFFER FACULTY WORKSHOPS TO INCREASE SKILLS IN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEACHING; CREATE 10 NEW COURSE MODULES THAT SUPPORT MORE ROBUST HUMANISTIC APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND LEARNING IN BLACK STUDIES; AND DEVELOP A COLLECTION OF FACULTY AND STUDENT PROJECTS THAT FEATURE STORIES FROM RESIDENTS IN THE SCRANTON AREA. THE PROJECT WILL ELEVATE THE ROLE OF THE HUMANITIES WITHIN BOTH THE CURRICULUM AND THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE ON THE SCRANTON CAMPUS.]

A HEALTH HUMANITIES CONCENTRATION AND COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING

NURSE ANESTHETIST TRAINEESHIPS

DEVELOPING HEALTH-PROMOTING POTATOES

NURSE ANESTHETIST TRAINEESHIPS

NURSE ANESTHETIST TRAINEESHIPS

NURSE ANESTHETIST TRAINEESHIPS

NURSE ANESTHETIST TRAINEESHIPS

NURSE ANESTHETIST TRAINEESHIPS

NSL - BACCALAUREATE NURSING - OTHER ADMIN CHANGES