College Of Wooster

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - IHE/INSTITUTION: THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - COLLEGE OF WOOSTER

CAREER: MULTIPHASE OXIDATION AND FATE OF PESTICIDES IN DRY AND WET DEPOSITION

THE SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS SCHOLARS MENTORING PROGRAM

REGULATORY NETWORK MODELING OF CELLULAR TRANSITIONS IN AGING EPITHELIA AND CAPILLARIES - PROJECT SUMMARY DURING EPITHELIAL WOUND HEALING, SENESCENCE MAKES SHORT-TERM USE OF DAMAGED CELLS BY BLOCKING THEIR DIVISION WHILE THEY BOOST SURVIVAL, PROLIFERATION, AND MIGRATION IN THEIR NEIGHBORS. MEANWHILE, PARTIAL EPITHELIAL TO MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT) CREATES MIGRATING AND PROLIFERATING CELLS THAT CLOSE THE WOUND. AGING IS KNOWN TO DISRUPT WOUND HEALING, BUT DESIGNING EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS IS LIMITED BY A LACK OF QUANTITATIVE COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS THAT REPRODUCE AND PREDICT THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH AGING DISRUPTS TISSUE HEALING. THIS REQUIRES MULTI- SCALE MODELS IN WHICH INDIVIDUAL CELL BEHAVIORS ARE DRIVEN BY DETAILED MOLECULAR REGULATORY NETWORKS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO BUILD AND EXPERIMENTALLY VALIDATE SINGLE-CELL NETWORK MODELS THAT REPRODUCE THE ENVIRONMENT-DEPENDENT COMMITMENT OF EPITHELIAL CELLS TO SENESCENCE VS. HYBRID E/M VS. MESENCHYMAL STATE AS A FUNCTION OF AGE. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT AGING MICRO-ENVIRONMENTS DISRUPT THE COORDINATION BETWEEN HYBRID E/M AND SENESCENCE IN HEALING EPITHELIA BY PROMOTING FULL EMT, BLOCKING ITS REVERSAL, AND SPEEDING SENESCENCE IN PROLIFERATING CELLS. THIS ULTIMATELY DELAYS WOUND HEALING IN EPITHELIAL SHEETS (AIM 1) AND DISRUPTS SPOUTING ANGIOGENESIS (AIM 2). THE HYPOTHESIS IS BASED ON RESULTS FROM PRELIMINARY MODELS THAT REPRODUCE PARTIAL VS. FULL EMT DETERMINED BY BIOMECHANICAL CUES AND SYNTHESIZE MECHANISMS OF SENESCENCE IN RESPONSE TO DNA DAMAGE. THE RATIONALE IS THAT UNIFIED REGULATORY MODELS OF THE FULL REPERTOIRE OF CELL BEHAVIORS OBSERVED IN AGING WOUNDS WILL TRANSFORM OUR QUALITATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF AGING MECHANISMS INTO A TOOL TO PREDICT NEW INTERVENTIONS. THE MAIN HYPOTHESIS WILL BE TESTED IN THREE SPECIFIC AIMS DESIGNED TO BUILD AND VALIDATE MODELS THAT REPRODUCE 1) MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE COMMITMENT TO SENESCENCE VS. THE MESENCHYMAL STATE IN AGE-DEPENDENT EPITHELIAL HEALING, AND 2) ANGIOGENIC PATTERN FORMATION, EMT, AND SENESCENCE IN HEALTHY VS. AGING CAPILLARIES. 3) A THIRD AIM INTEGRATES MODEL VALIDATION INTO A COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (CURE), WHERE STUDENTS LEARN BOOLEAN MODELING AND CONTRIBUTE TO A DATABASE OF MODEL /PUBLISHED EXPERIMENT COMPARISONS. OUR APPROACH CENTERS DYNAMICALLY MODULAR BOOLEAN MODELING, INNOVATIVE DUE TO ITS FOCUS ON REGULATORY SWITCHES WITHIN LARGER NETWORKS THAT TRIGGER DISCRETE CELL-STATE CHANGES. THIS RESULTED IN SOFTWARE THAT TRANSLATES MOLECULAR EVENTS INTO CHANGING COMBINATIONS OF CELL BEHAVIORS AND CAN AUTOMATE VALIDATION AGAINST MOLECULAR AND PHENOTYPIC DATA. THE PROPOSED WORK IS SIGNIFICANT FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AT WOOSTER, AS THE FUNDING WILL HELP SCAFFOLDS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY RESEARCH INTO OUR CURRICULUM: INTRODUCTION VIA CURE LABS, IN-DEPTH TRAINING VIA SOPHOMORE RESEARCH, AND PUBLISHABLE RESEARCH IN SENIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY. THE PROJECT STRENGTHENS RESEARCH COLLABORATION AND PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLEGE OF WOOSTER STUDENTS ACROSS THE LIFE SCIENCES. THE PROJECT IS SIGNIFICANT FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH BECAUSE IT IS EXPECTED TO GENERATE IN SILICO CELLS FOR TISSUE MODELS, WHICH CAN AID THERAPEUTIC DESIGN IN COPD, LUNG CANCER, AND DISEASES WITH PATHOLOGICAL ANGIOGENESIS. AS TISSUES PAY FOR HEALING BY AGING, THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO SPEED HEALING WHILE LOWERING ITS COST.

MRI: ACQUISITION OF AN NMR SPECTROMETER TO SUSTAIN EXCELLENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

REU SITE: PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AT THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER -NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF MATERIALS RESEARCH, THIS REU SITE IN THE PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENTS AT THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER INVOLVES STUDENTS AS COLLABORATORS ON INNOVATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE, PHYSICS, AND CHEMISTRY. EACH SUMMER, 8 STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN A 9-WEEK PROGRAM FOCUSED ON RESEARCH AND INCLUDING ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES. AS FACULTY AT AN INSTITUTION SPECIALIZING IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH, THE REU MENTORS ARE EXPERIENCED IN TRANSFORMING STUDENTS FROM TENTATIVE BEGINNERS INTO CONFIDENT SCIENTISTS. THE PROGRAM PARTICULARLY TARGETS BEGINNING STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS AND PREPARES AND MOTIVATES THEM FOR FUTURE CAREERS IN SCIENCE THROUGH A DIRECT, MENTORED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. A WELCOMING AND COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT PROVIDES A PLACE FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN MARGINALIZED IN THE STEM COMMUNITY TO THRIVE. THE PROGRAM'S RANGE OF RESEARCH AREAS PROVIDES AN INTELLECTUAL HOME FOR STUDENTS WHO USE EXPERIMENTAL AND COMPUTATIONAL METHODS TO EXPLORE INTERDISCIPLINARY TOPICS ACROSS MATERIALS SCIENCE, PHYSICS, AND CHEMISTRY. PROJECTS ADDRESS SYSTEMS AND PHENOMENA ACROSS VASTLY DIFFERENT SCALES, RANGING FROM MOLECULES TO GALAXIES. THROUGH ENGAGING STUDENTS IN THESE PROJECTS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, THE PROGRAM RESULTS IN BROADENING EDUCATIONAL ACCESS, DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL INTEREST IN STEM, AND INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE. TECHNICAL SUMMARY THE BROAD GOAL OF THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER REU PROGRAM IS TO CREATE AN ATMOSPHERE CONDUCIVE TO HIGH-QUALITY SCIENCE IN A VIBRANT RESEARCH COMMUNITY WHERE STUDENTS INCREASE THEIR CONFIDENCE AND SENSE OF BELONGING. THROUGH A BALANCE OF EXPERIMENT, COMPUTATION, AND THEORY, THE REU SITE ADVANCES KNOWLEDGE IN THE FIELDS OF CONDENSED MATTER, GRANULAR MATTER, SOFT MATTER PHYSICS, OPTICS, CHEMICAL PHYSICS, PATTERN FORMATION, SOL-GELS, AND ASTROPHYSICS. RESEARCH STUDENTS IN GRANULAR MATTER DEVELOP VIDEO ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES TO CHARACTERIZE THE AVALANCHE DYNAMICS ON A CRITICAL PILE OF BEADS TO INVESTIGATE UNIVERSAL SCALING LAWS. OTHER STUDENTS MEASURE THE THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF SWELLABLE ORGANICALLY MODIFIED SILICA, A SWELLABLE GLASS THAT ABSORBS MANY TIMES ITS OWN MASS IN ORGANIC LIQUIDS LIKE ACETONE AND HAS APPLICATIONS IN INDUSTRIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION. USING RECENT IMAGES FROM THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE, ASTROPHYSICS RESEARCHERS INVESTIGATE THE EVOLUTION OF CLUMPY GALAXIES. ALL RESEARCH PROJECTS ARE DESIGNED SO THAT EVEN NOVICE UNDERGRADUATES CAN MAKE SIGNIFICANT SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS. THEY BECOME PRACTICING SCIENTISTS THROUGH RESEARCH, ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS, AND COMPREHENSIVE WRITTEN REPORTS. AFTER THE END OF THE PROGRAM, FACULTY CONTINUE MENTORING STUDENT PARTICIPANTS TO PREPARE CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS TOGETHER. AS PART OF CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT OF MENTORING AND STUDENT TRAINING, THE PROGRAM LEADERS ALSO WILL DEVELOP A FRAMEWORK TO EXPLICITLY EXPAND STUDENTS' SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENTATION SKILLS. THESE TOOLS FOR DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING STUDENT CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENTATION WILL BE USEFUL TO OTHER PROGRAMS SEEKING TO BRING EFFECTIVE, HIGH-QUALITY RESEARCH MENTORING TO A BROADER, MORE DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATION. 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.

REU SITE: PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AT WOOSTER

NEW TARGETS FOR VECTOR CONTROL: REGULATION OF FEMALE BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY BY ADIPOKINETIC HORMONE IN AEDES AEGYPTI

REDOX PROPERTIES AND PARTNERS OF THE YEAST THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE TRR1 - PROJECT SUMMARY. REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES PRODUCED DURING THE INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE SLOW PATHOGEN GROWTH AND POTENTIALLY CONTRIBUTE TO PATHOGEN KILLING. HOWEVER, PATHOGENIC MICROBES COUNTER THIS OXIDATIVE BURST BY USING NUMEROUS OXIDANT DEFENSE ENZYMES THAT DETOXIFY REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES, OFTEN BY FORMING DISULFIDE BONDS. THE ENZYME THIOREDOXIN AND ITS PARTNER PROTEIN THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE ENSURE APPROPRIATE DISULFIDE BOND REDUCTION IN THESE OXIDIZED PROTEINS, CARRYING OUT COUPLED REACTIONS THAT ARE ULTIMATELY DEPENDENT ON THE REDUCTANT NADPH. WHILE THIOREDOXIN IS HIGHLY CONSERVED ACROSS BIOLOGICAL DOMAINS, THE THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE IN BACTERIA AND UNICELLULAR EUKARYOTES DIFFERS SIGNIFICANTLY ON A STRUCTURAL AND MECHANISTIC LEVEL FROM ITS COUNTERPART FOUND IN MAMMALS, MAKING IT A POTENTIAL ANTIMICROBIAL TARGET. THE MICROBIAL THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE IS DIMERIC AND EMPLOYS A CONSERVED PAIR OF CYSTEINE RESIDUES IN ITS ACTIVE SITE THAT ENABLE ITS INTERACTION WITH AND REDUCTION OF OXIDIZED THIOREDOXIN. IN ADDITION, ANOTHER CYSTEINE, LOCATED NEAR THE C-TERMINUS OF THE PROTEIN AND POSITIONED DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM THE ACTIVE SITE IN THE OTHER SUBUNIT OF THE DIMER, IS SUBJECT TO MODIFICATION BY THIOL-MODIFYING OXIDANTS IN VITRO AND A THIOL-REACTIVE ELECTROPHILE THAT COMMONLY TARGETS REDOX-ACTIVE CYSTEINES IN VIVO. NOTABLY, THIS C- TERMINAL CYSTEINE IS CONSERVED IN FUNGAL AND GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA BUT IS LESS HIGHLY CONSERVED IN GRAM- POSITIVE BACTERIA. BECAUSE YEAST LACKING THE CYTOSOLIC THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE GROW MORE SLOWLY THAN YEAST LACKING THE CORRESPONDING THIOREDOXINS (WHICH THEMSELVES HAVE DECREASED GROWTH RATES), WE PROPOSE THAT THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE MAY PARTNER WITH OTHER PROTEINS BESIDE THIOREDOXIN, PERHAPS THROUGH INVOLVING THIS CONSERVED C- TERMINAL CYSTEINE AS AN ALTERNATE SITE OF DISULFIDE EXCHANGE. IN THIS PROPOSAL, WE AIM TO (1) CHARACTERIZE WHICH CYSTEINE RESIDUES IN THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE ARE REDOX-ACTIVE AND HOW THEY CONTRIBUTE TO ITS CELLULAR FUNCTION, AND (2) DETERMINE WHETHER ADDITIONAL PROTEINS BESIDES THIOREDOXIN PARTNER WITH THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE. TO ACCOMPLISH THE PROPOSED WORK, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND I WILL USE A COMBINATION OF PROTEIN BIOCHEMISTRY AND CELL BIOLOGY, THE LATTER BEING PERFORMED IN BAKER’S YEAST. FUNDING OF THIS PROJECT WILL LEAD TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNDAMENTAL BIOCHEMISTRY OF THIOREDOXIN REDUCTASE AND MAY PROVIDE A NEW THERAPEUTIC AVENUE (OR AVENUES) FOR TREATING MICROBIAL INFECTIONS BY EXPLOITING THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE MICROBIAL PROTEIN. THE AWARD WILL ALSO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO HAVE A LONG-TERM INTEREST IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND HEALTH-RELATED DISCIPLINES.

MRI-R2: ACQUISITION OF AN X-RAY DIFFRACTOMETER (XRD) AND X-RAY FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETER (XRF) TO ENHANCE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AT A PRIMARILY UNDER

GP-UP: APPLIED GEOSCIENCES AT THE SOIL, WATER AND ENERGY NEXUS

REU SITE: PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AT THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER

MECHANISMS OF AXONAL PATHFINDING DURING NERVOUS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ENZYMOLOGY OF BACTERIAL NICOTINIC ACID CATABOLISM

REU SITE: CONDENSED MATTER AND NONLINEAR DYNAMICS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPH, QUADRUPOLE, TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETER TO ENHANCE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN THE CHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES

MRI: ACQUISITION OF AN LC/MS/MS TO ENHANCE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND TEACHING

LEAPS-MPS: OPTIMAL DESIGN OF THERAPEUTIC PHAGE COCKTAILS: A DATA-DRIVEN MATHEMATICAL APPROACH -ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST THREATS TO HUMAN HEALTH IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT BACTERIA, FOUND IN PEOPLE, ANIMALS, PLANTS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT, HAVE RAPIDLY EMERGED AND SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. BACTERIOPHAGES, OR PHAGES FOR SHORT, ARE VIRUSES THAT HAVE EVOLVED TO INFECT AND KILL BACTERIA. BEFORE THE WIDESPREAD USE OF ANTIBIOTICS, PHAGE THERAPY WAS SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED FOR THE TREATMENT OF A VARIETY OF INFECTIONS IN THE 1920S AND 1930S. AS A CENTURY-OLD INFECTION REMEDY, PHAGE THERAPY IS CURRENTLY VIEWED AS A POTENTIAL ANTIBIOTIC ALTERNATIVE AND IS BEING WIDELY REDEVELOPED TO TREAT MULTIDRUG-RESISTANCE INFECTIONS. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF PHAGES IN EXISTENCE, EACH WITH DIFFERENT PROPERTIES, IT IS THEREFORE IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPERIMENTALLY TEST THEM FOR EFFICACY AGAINST INDIVIDUAL CLINICAL PATHOGENS. MATHEMATICAL MODELS CAN HELP IDENTIFY CHARACTERISTICS THAT WOULD SUGGEST THAT A PHAGE IS A PROMISING THERAPEUTIC CANDIDATE. THIS PROJECT WILL LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN OPTIMAL COMBINATION PHAGE COCKTAIL AND ANTIBIOTIC THERAPY AND FURTHER REDUCE THE HEALTH RISKS AT THE HUMAN-ANIMAL-PLANT-ECOSYSTEM INTERFACE CAUSED BY ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE. THE PROJECT WILL ENGAGE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT RESEARCH BACKGROUNDS AND INTERESTS AND SUPPORT UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS IN STEM AT THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER. STUDENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM RECEIVING YEAR-ROUND INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING IN FORMULATING GENUINE LIFE SCIENCE QUESTIONS INTO STANDARD MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS. THE PROJECT WILL ADDITIONALLY ADVANCE CURRICULAR AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, WHICH WILL ENHANCE THE INSTITUTION'S RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AND FURTHER ESTABLISH A SUSTAINED, STUDENT-FOCUSED, AND INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROGRAM IN MATHEMATICAL BIOLOGY AT WOOSTER. THE PROJECT WILL EXPLORE THE TREATMENT EFFICACIES OF SINGLE, DOUBLE SIMULTANEOUS, AND DOUBLE SEQUENTIAL ADMINISTRATION STRATEGIES WITH THREE PSEUDOMONAS PHAGES BY USING NONLINEAR ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS TO MODEL THE DENSITY-DEPENDENT INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MULTIPLE-PHAGE AND BACTERIA. UNLIKE PREVIOUS STUDIES THAT FOCUSED ON THE PHAGE-KILLING ASPECT OF PHAGE THERAPY, THIS PROJECT WILL INCORPORATE BOTH PHAGE-KILLING AND THE EVOLUTION OF BACTERIAL PHAGE RESISTANCE. UNDERSTANDING BOTH IS IMPORTANT FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMBINATION PHAGE COCKTAIL AND ANTIBIOTIC THERAPY. THE INVESTIGATOR WILL CONSIDER A MORE BIOLOGICALLY REALISTIC MIXING THAN THE COMMONLY USED LINEAR INTERACTION, AS ADSORPTION RATE IS LINKED TO BACTERIAL GROWTH, INVESTIGATE THE STOCHASTIC MODELING APPROACH TO CAPTURE THE EMERGENCE OF PHAGE-RESISTANT BACTERIA, AND ANALYZE THE STRUCTURE OF THE MODEL USING BIFURCATION AND SENSITIVITY ANALYSES TO INFORM FURTHER MODELING MODIFICATIONS. THE MODELING FRAMEWORK HAS MANY INFERENTIAL AND EXPLORATORY USES FOR CLINICAL INVESTIGATION SUCH AS IDENTIFYING THE MOST SENSITIVE MODEL PARAMETERS, CORRESPONDING TO PHAGE CHARACTERISTICS, FOR PHAGE SELECTION AS WELL AS EXPLORING DIFFERENT TREATMENT REGIMENS. THE SPECIES-SPECIFIC AND PHAGE-SPECIFIC MODELING STUDIES CAN BE USED AS PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS TOOLS TO ASSIST IN THE DESIGN OF FUTURE CLINICAL STUDIES AND TO IMPROVE THE UNDERSTANDING OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA. 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: EFFECT OF COHESION ON SIZE AND STATISTICS OF AVALANCHES IN GRANULAR SYSTEMS

RUI: ENGINEERING ORGANOSILICA MATERIALS THAT RAPIDLY AND REVERSIBLE SWELL FOR WATER REMEDIATION

P2C2: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH:SPATIOTEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF NORTHWESTERN NORTH AMERICAN TEMPERATURES IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATIC FORCING

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: P2C2--TREE-RING RECONSTRUCTIONS OF WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC CLIMATE DYNAMICS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: REU SITE: A DISTRIBUTED NETWORK OF NEUROSCIENCE SCHOLARS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH:RUI:P2C2: EXTENDING KEY RECORDS OF HOLOCENE CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLACIER FLUCTUATIONS IN THE NORTH PACIFIC REGION USING SUBFOSSIL WOOD FROM SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH/RUI: TESTING HYPOTHESES ON PILLOW LAVA PRODUCTION DURING GLACIOVOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

RUI: INFLUENCE OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT ON FATE, TRANSPORT, AND BIOACCUMULATION OF ANTIDEPRESSANT PHARMACEUTICALS IN TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TAPPING AN UNUSED BIOMARKER FOR INSIGHTS OF PAST EVAPORATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: P2C2--RECONSTRUCTING NORTH PACIFIC CLIMATE VARIABILITY USING A MULTI-MILLENNIAL TREE-RING RESOURCE FOR GLACIER BAY, ALASKA

CERRO MAGONI MAPPING AND EXCAVATION PROJECT

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH, RUI: ASSESSING LOAD REDUCTION AND BIOLOGICAL RECOVERY AFTER 500 MGD TREATMENT UPGRADES IN AN EFFLUENT-DOMINATED AQUATIC ECOSY

RUI: A COMMON COGNITIVE FOUNDATION FOR RHYTHM IN MUSIC AND SPEECH

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TOWARDS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ATMOSPHERIC FATE OF PFAS -PER- AND POLY-FLUORINATED ALKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS), HAVE BEEN USED IN MANY INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS (E.G., NON-STICK COATING) AS A CHEMICALLY AND THERMALLY STABLE COMPOUND. HOWEVER, THESE COMPOUNDS HAVE KNOWN HUMAN HEALTH IMPACTS, AND THUS HAVE BEEN LARGELY PHASED OUT. NONETHELESS, PFAS COMPOUNDS ARE STILL DETECTED IN AIR AND WATER, AND THERE EXISTS A DATA GAP IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHEMICAL DEGRADATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FATE OF PFAS COMPOUNDS. THIS WORK WILL PERFORM LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS IN ORDER TO FILL THIS DATA GAP AND IMPROVE OUT UNDERSTANDING OF PFAS CHEMISTRY ? WITH A FOCUS ON PERFLUOROOCTANOIC ACID (PFOA) ? AND THE LIKELY IMPACT OF PFAS COMPOUNDS ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH. THIS PROPOSED WORK HAS THREE PRIMARY RESEARCH GOALS: (1) TO QUANTIFY THE THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES RELEVANT FOR ATMOSPHERIC PHASE PARTITIONING OF PFAS AND PFAS-REPLACING CHEMICALS; (2) TO ESTIMATE THE ATMOSPHERIC LIFETIME OF THESE CHEMICALS AGAINST OH CHEMISTRY; AND (3) TO INVESTIGATE REACTION MECHANISMS OF THESE CHEMICALS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROPOSED WORK HAS AN EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE TO ESTABLISH AN EXCHANGE TO ENABLE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO BROADEN THEIR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE BY CONDUCTING SUMMER RESEARCH AMONG THE COLLABORATIVE INSTITUTIONS. THIS PROPOSED WORK WILL CONDUCT THREE PRIMARY TASKS TO REACH THESE OBJECTIVES. FIRST, THE TEAM WILL QUANTIFY THE THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES ? NAMELY SATURATION VAPOR PRESSURE, HENRY VOLATILITY, AND ACID DISSOCIATION CONSTANTS ? THAT INFLUENCE THE PHASE PARTITIONING OF PFAS. SECOND, THEY WILL CONDUCT MULTIPLE OXIDATION FLOW REACTOR EXPERIMENTS TO CONSTRAIN THE IMPACT OF OH RADICAL CHEMISTRY ON PFAS. THIRD, THEY WILL ESTIMATE RATE CONSTANTS OF PFAS AGAINST OH AND DEVELOP POTENTIAL REACTION MECHANISMS. THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS ONE POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER. 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.

SUMMER SYMPOSIUM IN REAL ANALYSIS XLI

SUMMER SYMPOSIUM IN REAL ANALYSIS 34

FY 2016 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP MML/NCNR